Droid related stuff (problems/solutions tips, tricks, apps)

[MarcusAurelius]

my stock keyboard (on atrix) has been kind of sluggish in response lately. 3rd party keyboards work better?

[daoist]

Not that it helps you yet, but the stock ICS keyboard is phenomenal.

[PaulMuaDib]

to hell with everything about that tiered rollout bullshit and LG's notorious slow OS upgrades.

[PaulMuaDib]

biggest complaint/thing i miss that is hard to find in new keyboards is an easy to edit/add to dictionary. the way my droid 1 did it was great. tap the word not in the dictionary to put it in your email/text/tweet/whatever, tap again to add to dictionary. soon it had everything i normally type in the dictionary including people's names and internet/texting shorthand like wtf. easy as hell. many of the downloadable ones either don't offer that or want a few dollars for the "full version" where that's basically the only extra feature and none of them explain how they edit/add to the dictionary.

[nippletwister]

Wife's Droid 1 microphone stopped working. We're literally less than two months from contract. This is so frustrating.

Actually, it isn't the microphone - tried earbuds with a microphone, and that isn't working either, which suggests that all voice input isn't working, and that HAS to be a software thing. Ugh. Anybody else deal with something like this?

[caddymac]

Buy a used Droid to get by until the contract is up.

The used Droid Pro my wife is using has held up remarkably well for her use.

[nippletwister]

Went to the Verizon store today. Turns out they let you upgrade at 20 months instead of full contract. He couldn't answer this question, maybe some of you can: Is there any other incentive to wait until I'm out of contract? Is there additional savings at that point?

Anyway, the guy didn't have any Motos in his store - only iPhones and Samsung Galaxies. Said he was waiting for more to come in.

Wife wants a Droid that has a smaller screen but no slider keyboard. Ideas? She liked the Razr thinness but the Droid 4 screen size.

[floor punching mummy]

good luck. small phones aren't "in" right now. smaller screen = weaker processor and such.

[nippletwister]

Noticed. I guess Droid Pro has under 4" but it clocks 1Ghz

[caddymac]

No additional benefit to waiting. I usually start looking for a new phone once the website says I am eligible.

I wouldn't go with a Droid Pro unless it was for free.

[nippletwister]

I'm thinking Razr since they're $100. I'll miss the physical keyboard, but I'd miss the extra screen size you don't get on a 4.

[Turbo]

I waited over six months from when I was due for an upgrade and got $100 off. not sure if they still do that, and it's a long time to wait

[Gretyl]

that's more profit for the network operator, since they get the data plan money without having to pay off a new hardware subsidy

[nippletwister]

Got the Razr.

It's crazy how much bullshit ships on these phones now. Reminds me of buying an eMachine in 1998. Any tips on rooting and installing a clean copy?

inb4 LMGTFY

[nippletwister]

Frustrating: The Razr app drawer allows hiding unwanted apps, but the changes don't carry over to Launcher Pro. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Learn to live with all this crap, learn to live with stock launcher, or just root it?

[MarcusAurelius]

what is launcher pro and why should i have it

[floor punching mummy]

Got the Razr.

It's crazy how much bullshit ships on these phones now. Reminds me of buying an eMachine in 1998. Any tips on rooting and installing a clean copy?

inb4 LMGTFY

go to http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1363 (or whatever the appropriate forum for your phone). find a ROM you like. follow the instructions/youtube videos. you can probably get ICS on it.

[White Thunder]

You should root your phone if for no other reason than to remove the bloat you talked about. I wasn't interested in a custom rom on my Evo but it was still nice to get it cleaned up.

[nippletwister]

Next stupid question:

If rooted can/should I switch to the new 4.x? Moto is still in Gingerbread.

[floor punching mummy]

switching to 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich) is more than just a root thing. that's a full ROM flash.

[nippletwister]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1341578 ?

I'm hesitant to dive that far in. If I root (with this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1342567) will it disable future updates?

[floor punching mummy]

I'm hesitant to dive that far in. If I root will it disable future updates?

quite possibly. i rooted my Samsung Epic and it refused to take OTA updates as the presence of Clockwork Mod made the Sprint update freak out. YMMV.

[White Thunder]

I'm hesitant to dive that far in. If I root will it disable future updates?

quite possibly. i rooted my Samsung Epic and it refused to take OTA updates as the presence of Clockwork Mod made the Sprint update freak out. YMMV.

Yeah if you root it you will need to flash all update roms yourself. Not a huge deal once you have done it a couple of times, but there is always the small chance something goes wrong and you brick your phone.

[Gretyl]

Is there a carrier anywhere in the world that carries both the iPhone and Android phones where the iPhone is not the top-selling phone?

[daoist]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1341578 ?

I'm hesitant to dive that far in. If I root (with this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1342567) will it disable future updates?

If you root your phone, your best bet is to eschew the standard carrier updates.

If they work at all, they usually break your root, and also patch the holes used to root your phone in the first place.

[Toilet of Sadness]

patch the holes used to root your phone in the first place.

True enough. I hate it when my OS provider patches known process elevation vulnerabilities.

[MarcusAurelius]

patch the holes used to root your phone in the first place.

True enough. I hate it when my OS provider patches known process elevation vulnerabilities.

facepalm


i hate when my hardware provider lets me use what i purchased as i see fit

[Gretyl]

Follow along, MA.

Rooting => no more official updates
Jailbreaking => no more official updates

Who is denied anything by their hardware provider?

[MarcusAurelius]

i guess it would've been more appropriate to replace hardware provider with OS provider there.

[Gretyl]

Again, for both Android & iOS, the OS providers issue updates that block exploits used to respectively root/jailbreak. Neither case imposes restrictions on how end-users actually use the devices they purchase. Rooted/jailbroken OS's are by definition outside the experience the OS was designed for.

You seem to think there's a distinction that makes a difference here.

[Gretyl]

There was a historical difference in that Android once shipped in a supported-rootable configuration for some devices. That is no longer the case in the market.

[daoist]

The same exploits that the white hats use to root/jailbreak devices are the same ones the black hats use to infect them with malware. Those holes gotta be plugged.

[Gretyl]

http://www.asymco.com/2012/05/13/android-economics-an-introduction/

Unexpected, exponential user growth is usually accompanied by a dramatic positive improvement in the finances of a company and a higher return to shareholders. The curious aspect of Android’s success is that it has not had an impact on either. The market has not “discounted” the half-billion anticipated Android users into a price for Google shares that reflects this growth. It can only imply that those users are not very valuable.

But why would there be such a disconnect between the number of users and their value?

In order to answer this question we have to come to grips with what I call “Android economics”. We need to understand how Google uses Android to make money and whether it is succeeding and if it’s not, why not.

[caddymac]

The used Droid Pro my wife is using has held up remarkably well for her use.

Droid Pro held up until two weeks ago. It started acting all weird, and then it shut off and never turned back on again. I tried pulling the battery, charging overnight, etc. Nothing would get the phone to come back to life.

My cousin sold us her Samsung Stratosphere 4G, as she wanted to go back to her old Blackberry. Took the phone into a Verizon store tonight after work. The Verizon people had to install a new 4G SIM card and we were up and running in about 10 minutes.

I really hope this phone holds up. It's getting expensive keeping the woman in a smartphone.

[fiveSD]

Droid Razr Maxx makes me angry about my Droid Razr. Lack of patience FTL

[daoist]

TOLD YOU

[floor punching mummy]

so, who else is rocking a GS3 now? i'm pretty happy with mine.

[MarcusAurelius]

hey, what's the status on tethering stuff now? i had some "foxfi" app that was free and set up a wifi hotspot just fine, but it seems the last update borked it. leaving for a trip tomorrow, totally willing to pay for something that works, just wondered if anyone is using that regularly. don't really feel like jailbreaking it now.

[daoist]

so, who else is rocking a GS3 now? i'm pretty happy with mine.

o/\o

[daoist]

hey, what's the status on tethering stuff now? i had some "foxfi" app that was free and set up a wifi hotspot just fine, but it seems the last update borked it. leaving for a trip tomorrow, totally willing to pay for something that works, just wondered if anyone is using that regularly. don't really feel like jailbreaking it now.

android?

If rooted:
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/ (free)

If not rooted:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ther&hl=en (14 day trial, $5 after)

[MarcusAurelius]

If not rooted:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ther&hl=en (14 day trial, $5 after)

This app is incompatible with your AT&T Motorola MB860.

[daoist]

Can you enable install from untrusted locations? Pretty sure you can get the apk from clockworkmod's site.

[daoist]

so, who else is rocking a GS3 now? i'm pretty happy with mine.

oh also which did you get?

I got the white one with the more gee bees.

I'm on verizon and have it rooted. I may play with trying to brute force the crypto on the bootloader. Fuckin verizon.

Have you tried any cases or anything?

I generally don't like cases, but this thing feels like it's going to slip out of my hands every time I use it. Ideally I'd like to find a replacement battery cover that's grippy.

[floor punching mummy]

i have the blue with 16GB. i'm not an app slut so i don't really need the extra space. haven't rooted yet. i haven't tried any new ROMs yet. the stock one doesn't aggravate me, and i like the quick access to apps direct from the lock screen.

no cases. it is a bit slippery but i haven't had any accidents yet. that back case cover is pretty flimsy, though, it'd be nice to just replace it with something stronger if nothing else. the problem with grippy cases is that they're hard to get out of your pocket.

[MarcusAurelius]

I generally don't like cases, but this thing feels like it's going to slip out of my hands every time I use it. Ideally I'd like to find a replacement battery cover that's grippy.

my atrix is slippery as shit. i bought a case the first day for the grip

[daoist]

i have the blue with 16GB. i'm not an app slut so i don't really need the extra space. haven't rooted yet. i haven't tried any new ROMs yet. the stock one doesn't aggravate me, and i like the quick access to apps direct from the lock screen.

no cases. it is a bit slippery but i haven't had any accidents yet. that back case cover is pretty flimsy, though, it'd be nice to just replace it with something stronger if nothing else. the problem with grippy cases is that they're hard to get out of your pocket.

yeah I hear you on the pocket thing. I'd settle for "not slippery"

[Jobu]

i have the blue with 16GB. i'm not an app slut so i don't really need the extra space.

I don't have one, but I thought I read that the SD is user upgradable.

[floor punching mummy]

i have the blue with 16GB. i'm not an app slut so i don't really need the extra space.

I don't have one, but I thought I read that the SD is user upgradable.

it only comes with internal storage, no SD card included. slapped the 16 GB from my old phone in the SD slot...might as well get a 32 next time i see one on sale. should probably use it to hold files/ISOs for work. the swappable battery and SD were what made me get this one over the latest HTC.

[caddymac]

I just loaded up AirDroid on the wife's phone. Pretty neat stuff.

I also sideloaded it into the Kindle Fire.

[Gretyl]

http://mattgemmell.com/2012/07/23/closed-for-business/

I read earlier this week about a developer who made their Android version free after the $1 game was extensively pirated. Stories like this come as no surprise, but the industry press rarely deals with the core problem - and nor does Google.

I know a guy here in Edinburgh (a friend of a friend). He’s a nice guy. Runs his own business just as I do, and he’s a developer just as I am. We often end up chatting in the pub when we’re out in a large group. He has a bit of an “iOS is evil because it’s closed-source” thing going on, and likes to evangelise Android. It takes exactly one Jerry Maguire quote to chasten him (and bring a flush to his face) every time: show me the money.

People like to throw around figures about Android’s handset penetration. Yes, Android is on a lot of devices. That’s lovely. But the real question is: as a developer, can you make money from it?

Interested to see how consumer uptake of the Nexus 7 affects this problem.

[Toilet of Sadness]

Interested to see how consumer uptake of the Nexus 7 affects this problem.

Why would this 1 device make a difference to the situation?

[Gretyl]

Because Google has significant self-interest in seeing that particular tablet succeed.

[caddymac]

Like the Google phones before it?

[Gretyl]

Oh, Google's had no problem with Android phone uptake, for reasons entirely beyond the software ecosystem.

[MarcusAurelius]

Ordered the 8gb. I've wanted a tablet for a while, and can't beat that price. Should get here tomorrow.

Now to figure out what to use it for.

apparently it comes with a $25 google play store credit. i've actually never payed for an app or game. what should i get? apps/games aren't per-device, right, so i can also use the same stuff on my phone?

[daoist]

yeeeep.