Topic: Everything Android - The Official Android Thread

[BranDonk Kong]

**** just got real. Tegra 5 will be able to run anything a PC or high-end game console can run, according to EPIC Games founder, Tim Sweeney. Unreal Engine 4 will be on Tegra 5 (and Android phones, tablets and game consoles) in the near future. Lots of big stuff coming from CES already, including new Android PCs.

[shingi_70]

Even being #3 it says a lot that Samsung is probably the only handset maker who seems to take a killing off of android.

Makes me wonder what happened too HTC since they were essentially the most popular maker around the time the Evo came out and out of nowhere they just fell out of vouge
 Seems the only difference between than HTC and the Samsung of today is money and Samsung doesn't mind flooding the market.

[tendoboy1984]

I've been playing around with my Galaxy S2, and I actually like the TouchWiz UI. Navigating the interface feels very intuitive. I also like how Samsung phones have a menu shortcut button next to the Home and Back buttons (it makes navigating apps much easier).

Apparently LG likes TouchWiz too, because their Optimus UI is a blatant copy of it.

How does TouchWiz compare to HTC's Sense and LG's Optimus UI?

[Plugabugz]

I've been playing around with my Galaxy S2, and I actually like the TouchWiz UI. Navigating the interface feels very intuitive. I also like how Samsung phones have a menu shortcut button next to the Home and Back buttons (it makes navigating apps much easier).

Apparently LG likes TouchWiz too, because their Optimus UI is a blatant copy of it.

How does TouchWiz compare to HTC's Sense and LG's Optimus UI?

Samsung's love of a physical button continues to wreck Google's attempt to overhaul the UI with Holo going forward. For example, look at how certain apps behave on a TouchWiz phone versus a Nexus - the latter are all universal in their design language (but vary, as always).

Sense is the best of the three because it tries to be different while conforming to that setup.

[shingi_70]

I always liked the way that HTC had their button line up for thier pre ICS phones.

Not a fan of how much Samsung messes with android and I think the note is probably the only time I like the skin tbh.


Well CES started and it looks like the big thing is windows/android hybird machines.

Webos TV looks freaking awesome. Really hope LG decodes to bring it back to phones.

[tendoboy1984]

ASUS announced their new ZenFone line of low-cost Android smartphones. They currently run Android 4.3 and will be upgradeable to KitKat.

Their off contract prices are as follows:
ZenFone 4 - $99
ZenFone 5 - $149
ZenFone 6 - $199

All three phones have recent Intel Atom chips. They start with 4GB storage and go up to 16GB (and they also have a micro-SD slot).

What do you think? Should I get the Moto G or wait for these new ZenFones to come out?

[tendoboy1984]

I've been curious about something... If Chrome OS is open source like Android, then why can't manufacturers make their own skins for it like they do with Android?

[BranDonk Kong]

They probably can, but why **** it up?

[tendoboy1984]

Why does Microsoft have full control over Windows updates (regardless of what brand device you have), while Google has to rely on manufacturers for Android updates?

My Samsung Windows 8 laptop will get the same updates as your ASUS Windows 8 desktop. But my Samsung Galaxy won't get the same updates as your HTC One.

Does Microsoft just have more control over their own OS?

[BlackNMild2k1]

WebOS on the smart TV is the next step for smart TV's.

TV's will soon be like giant stationary cell phones with their connectivity and capabilities. All these custom apps will be responsive and actually useful. Maybe you'll be able to segment your screen to multitask while you watch,  maybe have Skype open at the same time as Netflix, or Facebook at the same time as a movie from your DVD player.

Either way LG should try to be that with WebOS as lots of TV UI's suck or are extremely basic, and it won't be long before Apple's HDTV becomes a thing and Android is all over everything else that can run an OS.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I just thought of something... Why does Microsoft have full control over Windows updates (regardless of what brand device you have), while Google has to rely on manufacturers for Android updates?

Google struck an unfavorable deal with manufacturers in order to push android into being relevant. They didn't hold firm for that kind of control. Now every manufacturer gets the update first and tweaks it to include all of their own proprietary **** that we didn't ask for, who then push it to the service providers that apparently do the same which is why different phones on different services sometimes get the same update at differ times.

Someone let me know if that is not accurate.

[tendoboy1984]

Well since Google owns Motorola, they should get updates much quicker than the other manufacturers. The Moto X and Moto G got KitKat shortly after the Nexus devices got it. And Motorola is now sticking with stock Android, making things even better.

[Ceric]

Also Android is allowed vastly more customization than Windows Phone.  Unfortunately what killed Microsoft Strategy and literally everyone who wasn't MS saw this coming is that Updates need Carrier approval.  So Microsoft will have an update ready for consumers and they have to wait 6 months to get it when developers have had the production version for a while.

[BranDonk Kong]

Let's all say it together, the difference with Android is...

..."ANDROID IS OPEN SOURCE!"

That's the main reason behind, well, everything. They make the OS in itself, and put it on their Nexus (or close to Nexus) phones - they do not put it on HTC's phones, or Samsung's (developer edition Galaxy and One excluded), the manufacturers do it, how they want, when they want. This gives you the choice for many different potential experiences and UIs based on what you think will work best for you. Delays come from carriers, and manufacturers trying to get you to buy a new phone.

[shingi_70]

I was about to say because android is Open Source.

___😄

[tendoboy1984]

Are all of those community-developed Android mods allowed by Google? I know Linux has a lot of mods developed by the community, but what about Android?

[tendoboy1984]

I just bought a Moto G from Amazon. I was considering the Nokia Lumia 521, but the Moto G has better specs.

Finally something to replace my shitty Galaxy S2. I'll just stick with Motorola from now on. They only use stock Android now, and they should get updates directly from their parent company Google.

[BranDonk Kong]

Are all of those community-developed Android mods allowed by Google? I know Linux has a lot of mods developed by the community, but what about Android?

I've officially given up on you.

[Plugabugz]

Motorola is announcing a device on the 14th in the UK.

I hope it's the X. If it is, and it's a good price, i'll get that to replace my iPod.

[Shaymin]

Has anyone here been crazy enough to buy a Nexus device through a carrier and can say if it's loaded down with crapware?

I'm looking at a Nexus 5 because gravity and Jellybean have combined to kick the crap out of my Note2, but I need to know if I'm safe going through my carrier now or should wait until I have free cash next month and get the Play Store version.

[BranDonk Kong]

They don't come with any bloatware, but there's no reason to buy one from a carrier unless you just can't afford it outright. The Verizon Galaxy Nexus had a couple of things on it, but that's because Verizon phones have to be "Verizon Certified" and need to have a couple of their account management apps on them.

[Plugabugz]

They don't come with any bloatware, but there's no reason to buy one from a carrier unless you just can't afford it outright.

I cannot speak about the US of A, but here buying outright is a reason to break out of contracts and reduce what you pay to the networks.

[tendoboy1984]

I'd rather get a subsidized phone than pay $500+ off contract (which is way overpriced to begin with).

In other news, I just received my Moto G from Amazon today. I haven't activated it on T-Mobile yet, but my first impressions are very positive. The phone feels very solid and durable, and stock Android is so much faster than TouchWiz. The screen also has a higher pixel density / resolution than my Galaxy S2.

I'm very impressed with what Google & Motorola were able to achieve with a $200 phone. Motorola's new direction of focusing on quality over quantity seems to be working out for them. HTC is supposedly doing the same thing (quality over quantity) with their HTC One line.

[pokepal148]

The phone feels very solid and durable, and stock Android is so much faster than TouchWiz.

What's this, a device made in 2013 is faster then a device made in 2011? Oh stop the presses. The moto G seems to be more comparable to the US Dual core version of the S3 then the S2. I am not arguing that touchwiz is faster, I'm saying that the more fair comparison would be found in a newer Samsung device.

I for one have decided to opt for the Zenfone 5 over the moto G because Google continues to pretend that micro sd cards don't exist. Sadly Motorola seems to have been forced into this position as well.

[tendoboy1984]

Even my ex girlfriend's Galaxy S4 was laggy compared to the Moto G. TouchWiz is full of bloatware and it hogs RAM; that's part of the reason why I chose a stock Android phone. Plus since Motorola is owned by Google, they should get updates quicker than the other manufacturers (as evidenced by Moto X / G getting KitKat shortly after the Nexus devices).

Most tablets run stock Android, and I'm surprised phones haven't followed suit.