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Android for all and the new Nexus 5

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Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#221

Post by alimbada »

nly wrote: post #102
bsimpson wrote: post #5

I'm sad that the Galaxy Nexus isn't supported. My phone has increasingly been running out of RAM lately for reasons I don't understand - hearing Google boast about how KitKat has been optimized for memory had me hoping that it would support more than just the latest-greatest.

There will be a ROM for you somewhere.

Unacceptable. I put up with way too many buggy ROMs and crappy user experiences with my previous non-Nexus devices. The whole reason I bought a Nexus phone was so I'd receive timely updates and not have to worry about being left behind. The correct course of action for me now is to jump ship to iOS despite how invested I currently am in the Android platform. Luckily, owning an iPad (older than my GNex and running iOS 7!) makes it a little easier.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#222

Post by corresation »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #217
corresation wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Android 4.4 introduces platform support for hardware sensor batching, a new optimization that can dramatically reduce power consumed by ongoing sensor activities." This sounds remarkably similar to the M7. This functionality of Android 4.4 requires hardware support, which initially is only provided by the Nexus 5. It allows for continuous sensor measurements, only waking the application processor when it delivers a…

Or Motorola (owned by Google)'s X8, which was released before the M7.

Oh for sure I definitely don't want to imply that anyone was copying Apple, and something like this doesn't appear in silicon and software overnight. Instead it was an obvious need to anyone who ever did continuous sensor readings to watch their battery life take a perilous dive.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#223

Post by josteink »

blinkingled wrote: post #67
bsimpson wrote: post #5

I'm sad that the Galaxy Nexus isn't supported. My phone has increasingly been running out of RAM lately for reasons I don't understand - hearing Google boast about how KitKat has been optimized for memory had me hoping that it would support more than just the latest-greatest.

I am sad as well given KitKat was supposedly designed to work well on devices with 512MB RAM. Given the GNex has 1GB and over the time they've added bit of bloat with 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - I was very much expecting that KitKat would be the last release for the GNex. But to be fair it was released with 4.0 and got 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - 3 major releases and more minor ones. So yeah I think I'll give them a pass and hope CM t…

Not to nitpick details, but really.

> But to be fair it was released with 4.0 and got 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - 3 major releases and more minor ones

It only received one major update: ICS to Jellybean. If google calls all of 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 "Jellybean", getting updates from one version of Jellybean to another can hardly be called "major".

This is different from how Google did things back in the Gingerbread era, where these incremental updates were version 2.3.3, 2.3.4 etc.

But just because Google changed numbering scheme for Jelly Bean doesn't change that these were indeed minor updates. Almost nothing changed in the OS.

The Galaxy Nexus is the first and only Nexus device so far (sans the pointless Nexus Q) to only receive one major upgrade. That's less than most consumer-devices receive.

That's an insult to each and every buyer of that phone. I doubt you'll see them lining up for a new "Nexus" anytime soon.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#224

Post by Mikeb85 »

pwthornton wrote: post #71
reustle wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Galaxy Nexus came out at the end of 2011. It can only handle the latest OS for so long...

This is in stark contrast to iOS, which runs on a phone released in June 2010.

iOS 4 was such shit on the 3G it ruined that phone for nearly everyone who bought it, only a year later...

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#225

Post by blinkingled »

josteink wrote: post #223
blinkingled wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sad as well given KitKat was supposedly designed to work well on devices with 512MB RAM. Given the GNex has 1GB and over the time they've added bit of bloat with 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - I was very much expecting that KitKat would be the last release for the GNex. But to be fair it was released with 4.0 and got 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - 3 major releases and more minor ones. So yeah I think I'll give them a pass and hope CM t…

Not to nitpick details, but really. > But to be fair it was released with 4.0 and got 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 - 3 major releases and more minor ones It only received one major update: ICS to Jellybean. If google calls all of 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 "Jellybean", getting updates from one version of Jellybean to another can hardly be called "major". This is different from how Google did things back in the Gingerbread era, where these…

>It only received one major update: ICS to Jellybean.

I am not sure people will agree with that. Even if Google called all 4.{1,2,3} releases JellyBean they did introduce significant new features in every version. Take a look - http://www.android.com/about/jelly-bean/ . 4.2 brought new camera with PhotoSphere HDR etc, full Braille accessibility services, stock browser HTML5 Video support and better performance and Gesture Keyboard. 4.3 brought Restricted User Profiles, OpenGL ES 3.0, Bluetooth LE/AVRCP etc. Not more of the same IMHO. (Now some of these required HW support not available on the GNex but still the point is it will work well at least another year on 4.3 giving it a 3 yr lifespan - not bad for that piece of crap hardware - it uses a TI SoC and TI isn't in that business anymore.)

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#226

Post by pwthornton »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #134
pwthornton wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is in stark contrast to iOS, which runs on a phone released in June 2010.

Even my iPhone 5 feels as laggy as the original 2G iPhone did, now that I've updated to iOS 7. I wish I could hit the undo button on that 'upgrade.'

The iPhone 5 runs great on iOS 7. Perhaps you're referring to the long animations for certain tasks, but those can be turned off.

The iPhone 5 runs very well on iOS 7. The iPhone 4S runs fine, but not quite as smooth. The iPhone 4 is a bit slow, and I highly recommend anyone with an older iOS device to turn off the animations and other effects. It makes for a smoother experience.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#227

Post by manmal »

chinpokomon wrote: post #210
manmal wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shameless plug: My app "HN" has slightly better ratings, but also a reduced feature set: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manuelmaly...

A great start, but until I can post a comment through the app, I can't really "use" it. :-/ I'm looking forward to that future update.

Yeah, it's definitely on the list. Sadly, life often gets in the way when I should have time to spend time on HN. I guess I have too many hobbies..

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#228

Post by jinushaun »

eigenvector wrote: post #201
lambda wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was upset when my N1 didn't get the Android 4 release. Apparently, the whole Nexus thing means you are first in line to get updates when they come out (as opposed to carrier phones which frequently get updates several months after they are released, and may never get updates), but that only lasts for about two years.

Although 3rd party developers eventually brought ICS (and Jelly Bean for that matter) to the Nexus One with a lot of hacking, there were good technical reasons why there was never an official release. ICS needed drastically more space on NAND than Gingerbread, as evidence by 3rd party ICS ROMs requiring you to repartition your NAND as well as mount /data on the SD card if you wanted to install more than two or three…

The Nexus One couldn't install ICS or JB because Google and HTC made the stupid decision to give the system only 256 MB of storage--relying instead on the "endless potential" of SD storage to store apps. I can wipe my Nexus One, return to a clean copy of Gingerbread and will still only have about 30 MB of space for apps. What a joke.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#229

Post by jinushaun »

MAGZine wrote: post #101
X-Istence wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most recent iOS only now deprecated the iPhone 3GS which was released in June 2009. Up until two months ago a 4 year old device was still running the latest version of iOS. Why is Google unable to do the same?

Because every Android device running an certain version of an OS all have exactly the same functionality for the most part. iOS might have everyone on the same version, but features are pruned for older hardware. As if getting through one software revision wasn't difficult enough through manufacturers and carriers to a magnitude of devices... users who are determined can still get the latest version of android on wha…

It's not about user-facing features. It's about the damn API version! Fragmentation is a problem for users AND developers. With the news about the Galaxy Nexus, Google is basically telling developers to keep targeting old version of Android and avoid the latest APIs. As far as I'm concerned, the Android Support Library is the one true API.

Re: Android for all and the new Nexus 5

#230

Post by jinushaun »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #134
pwthornton wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is in stark contrast to iOS, which runs on a phone released in June 2010.

Even my iPhone 5 feels as laggy as the original 2G iPhone did, now that I've updated to iOS 7. I wish I could hit the undo button on that 'upgrade.'

My 4S runs great on iOS 7.
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