Develop Bugs

[Q] Why A Nexus? Advantages of an OPEN DEVICE??

Hi guys, I have been on this forums for quite a while even though I don't own a Nexus myself. I have been browsing through the development section every day and looking at all the ROMs etc..
I know that everything is open on the Nexus, all the sources, drivers, etc. I know that the advantages of having a Nexus is stock experience, with faster updates directly from Google. But what is the advantage of having an open phone as a user? I don't find much difference between the ROMs for Galaxy S II and the ROMs for the Galaxy Nexus. In fact the Siyah kernel, i think, has many many more features than the most popular kernel on this forums, the Franco kernel.
I am not trying to spark up anything over here. I just want to know what is the benefit of having such an open phone?

Difference between being in a wheelchair in a jail cell, even a jail cell with a window and open field sunny day with your legs running however fast you can. Its like that.
let it be.

@rbiter said:
Difference between being in a wheelchair in a jail cell, even a jail cell with a window and open field sunny day with your legs running however fast you can. Its like that.
let it be.
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Click to collapse
I would think that, but I can't see that translating to development. I mean, I must be blind to not be able to see the differences, but I really can't. I don't see any major improvements in the ROMs on the Galaxy Nexus

darkgoon3r96 said:
I know that the advantages of having a Nexus is stock experience, with faster updates directly from Google.
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Click to collapse
You answered your own question.

I already had 2 not Nexus Samsung phones and I will never make this mistake again. The lack of updates, the crappy skin that tries to look as the iPhone, etc.
In my experience, the builds from Google are much more stable, fast and reliable. And nothing in TouchWiz add anything that matters to me. To me Android is Nexus, I dont think I will build anything that is not Nexus again (but I really hope that HTC build the next one, I love the build quality of their phones).

martonikaj said:
You answered your own question.
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Click to collapse
Haha, that wasn't my question. I am not asking why the Nexus is a better device. I am asking how does opening up the sources and drivers improve on the development...

darkgoon3r96 said:
I would think that, but I can't see that translating to development. I mean, I must be blind to not be able to see the differences, but I really can't. I don't see any major improvements in the ROMs on the Galaxy Nexus
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Click to collapse
Sorry man, but in my opinion the stock ICS on the GNexus is miles ahead of any build from the SII.

martonikaj said:
You answered your own question.
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The difference is some stuff on aosp
Roms still don't work on galaxy s2 but everything works on aosp roms on nexus because it's open and drivers and everything is available...
bottom line aokp cm9 etc will give u a better user experience on nexus fewer bugs
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

darkgoon3r96 said:
Haha, that wasn't my question. I am not asking why the Nexus is a better device. I am asking how does opening up the sources and drivers improve on the development...
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Click to collapse
Because your Galaxy Nexus comes with stock ICS out of the box. Sorry, but a custom ROM will never be as smooth and nice as the native out of the box OS.

juliano_q said:
Sorry man, but in my opinion the stock ICS on the GNexus is miles ahead of any build from the SII.
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I still don't get why you guys think the Stock is so much better than AOKP? I mean, isn't that very similar to stock?

OK, let me see if I can answer it. I'm not a developer, so take it with a grain of salt.
The phone I had before this was the Samsung Captivate. I bought it August 2010. At the time, it was one of the more advanced phones on the market. However, within about an hour of using it, I realized that the AT&T bloatware was a problem. Though the device had a lot of memory available, the app drawer was harder to navigate because of 15 different AT&T apps on the phone, most of which charged a monthly fee to do what Google's equivalent apps did for free. So, I had to root it.
Things were fine for a couple weeks, but then I noticed that there were several apps that I couldn't download because everyone was on Froyo and I was stuck on Eclair. There was no word when either samsung or AT&T was going to provide me with an update, so I had to take matters into my own hands and get a ROM from someone else. I'm not saying the devs didn't do a good job, but they were hamstrung by both AT&T and Sammy who were not giving them the tools they needed to do the job right the first time.
I should also point out that a lot of these problems were caused by AT&T's insistence that they have their own version of the Galaxy S that was different from everyone else's. Thankfully, all the carriers learned from that mistake.
Over the course of a year and 8 months, I tried at least a dozen different ROMs on my phone to either try to keep up with the changes in the market, or just to keep it from freezing. Even stock Gingerbread had problems, likely because it was rushed out. I finally found a stable build in a ROM that used ICS (ironically, ported from the GNex). So that meant, if not for the great work of Team ICSSGS, my Captivate would NEVER have been a stable phone. All those commercials about being a smartphone beta tester seemed to be designed with the Captivate in mind.
The point of all this: When it came time for me to get a new phone, I was considering waiting for the GSIII, but then Google offered the GNex off contract for $400, a not unreasonable price for the hardware at all, but what I was really paying for was getting off the treadmill. Now granted, at this point I've only had the phone for about a week, but it performs every function I need it to, and AT&T has no say in it. Samsung only had a say in the hardware. And that's how it should be, and honestly why I think Apple had such a marketing edge for such a long time. Apple told AT&T exactly where they can shove their customizations, and now we have Google doing the same, but not publicizing it enough.
TL;DR: Google experience and faster updates. But those are more valuable than you think.

darkgoon3r96 said:
I still don't get why you guys think the Stock is so much better than AOKP? I mean, isn't that very similar to stock?
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Click to collapse
You just answered yourself... great roms/builds like aokp would not be possible without the Android Open Source Project. Even after saying that the quality on aosp devices running aokp like the gnex and ns are miles ahead of say the sensation or something along those lines due to the very face the the nexus phones have open source readily available.
Sent from my Maguro Yakju

The open let's you literally change ans re-code any part of the device you want. A touch wiz phone cannot do this cause the code is closed.
Custom roms on other devices are not the same though you may think they are. Most of the time something doesn't work cause it relies on a closed touch wiz framework function that has to be reverse engineered or hacked, or usually never works at all..
You need the kernel source code to really make any legit custom rom, and often have to wait months foe it to be released.
With an open device, you literally can implement anything your imagination can cone up with. No bugs or work a rounds.

In my opinion, there are two major differences:
1. On a Nexus device, you are guaranteed a large developer community. The SGSII may have a large developer community, but that's because it's pretty much of the most popular phones. If you buy something like the Samsung Galaxy Infuse (which several of my friends have) then you won't have nearly as big a developer community as the one for the Galaxy Nexus.
2. It's much much easier to root/customize/flash a Nexus device than any other device. All you need is "fastboot oem unlock" and the phone opens up for you. No need for bootloader downgrading/rooting exploits/HTCDev/manufacturer restrictions. This phone is designed to be a developer device. Also, when you screw up a Nexus, it is much easier to solve problems. Phone not booting? Use CWM. Recovery borked? Fastboot. Fastboot not working? ODIN flash. Lots of fail-safes.

Thanks a lot guys for taking the time just to help me out

I got my gnex last wednesday. No regrets at all, it's an amazing phone. My next phone will definitely be another nexus.

Advantage of having a Nexus?
It is like Burger King, you can have it your own way.

Ditching my Samsung Focus for Galaxy Nexus

Hello there,
I have been following and reading these forums for years but today I finally decided to post something. After reading about the ban on Nexus devices, I went online today very early and bought my own. I'm frankly very tired of the way Microsoft has been dealing with its WPhone platform and after reading what Jelly Bean brings to the table for Android, I'm hooked up!
As this is going to be my first Android phone I would appreciate any comments or insights you guys could provide me with.
Thanks for your time!

barroco said:
As this is going to be my first Android phone. I would appreciate any comments or insights you guys could provide me with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a brand new android / nexus owner the main thing you need to know is that Apple is the devil and to hate everything about them

I'm also in the same boat. I'm not sure whether to get either the HTC One X, LG Optimus 4X HD or the Galaxy Nexus. I dont care about updates as I use custom roms. Or shall I wait for a quad core Nexus phone?
P.s. the phones in my signature are review devices so I have tried the Nexus and One X... just need insight
Sent from my Asus Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app

When you first get the phone. Unlock the bootloader (search the forums on how to do it). After that, enjoy the phone and look around the Play Store for apps that you may like. There are a lot of apps to look around from.
The reasoning behind unlocking the bootloader (first thing) is because if you DO decide to root and flash custom ROMs after you already set your phone up. You can back up your apps / data whereas if you want to root/flash... you'll have to unlock bootloader (which will wipe everything).

ap3604 said:
As a brand new android / nexus owner the main thing you need to know is that Apple is the devil and to hate everything about them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
I was really pissed yesterday night after knowing about the injunction on the Galaxy Nexus phones!
Also, when it comes to my previous experience with MS/Windows Phone 7 this is what I have to say:
ATT and their update schedule sucks. Do yourself a favor and never buy a phone from them, especially if it's Android or Wp7. You will never see timely or meaningful updates for your phone.
Lack of Swype. Swype is a very sweet technology that we don't get to enjoy in the Wp7 platform. I mean, symbian and meego have swype! Wp7 don't have anything but a very crappy kb and and ****ty autocorrect. I was also very tired of dealing with that.
Lack of over the air updates. Seriously MS? I still have to connect my phone to zune and update that way? Not to mention that can only happen if ATT thinks I, as a customer, deserve to update my phone.
Lack of interesting/appealing apps. We all know how this is in Wp7.
Lack of interesting in keeping legacy devices updated. Which honestly happens with android as well, with the difference being that if you have an android phone, you have the chance of flashing a new rom/forcing the updates as the code is open source. Go try that with a Wp7 and see if it's that easy... NOT!
No custom ring tones still, really... after more than two years? Give me a goddamn break!
And franky, there's more, a lot more, but those are things I can think of right away.
*sighs*

weeo said:
I'm also in the same boat. I'm not sure whether to get either the HTC One X, LG Optimus 4X HD or the Galaxy Nexus. I dont care about updates as I use custom roms. Or shall I wait for a quad core Nexus phone?
P.s. the phones in my signature are review devices so I have tried the Nexus and One X... just need insight
Sent from my Asus Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was excited about quad core phones and so on until I read what Intel had to say on android not being optimized to deal with dual/quad cores. The hardware is there, ready to ship with multiple cores. However, according to intel (they have been developing their own android phones), android as it is right now isn't optimized to take advantage of multiple cores. Maybe in the next major release of the OS that won't be an issue anymore, but as it is right now the software isn't ripe enough to do that. So, in my case, I decided to save a few bucks and buy the galaxy nexus for 350 from google. Maybe in the future when the software is up to par with the hardware I will consider a quad core android phone.

If you want to unlock the bootloader go and find the thread about toolkit 7,it is verkligen easy to use.
Skickat från min Jelly Belly via Tapatalk 2

If you're a flashaholic like me, the Galaxy Nexus is what you want I had Jelly Bean only a few hours after Google announced it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

Pjodor said:
If you want to unlock the bootloader go and find the thread about toolkit 7,it is verkligen easy to use.
Skickat från min Jelly Belly via Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I definitely will once I receive the phone next week. Although I think I will be using the official rom more often than not, unless I find something better out there =)
Thanks for all the helpful advice guys!

barroco said:
I was excited about quad core phones and so on until I read what Intel had to say on android not being optimized to deal with dual/quad cores. The hardware is there, ready to ship with multiple cores. However, according to intel (they have been developing their own android phones), android as it is right now isn't optimized to take advantage of multiple cores. Maybe in the next major release of the OS that won't be an issue anymore, but as it is right now the software isn't ripe enough to do that. So, in my case, I decided to save a few bucks and buy the galaxy nexus for 350 from google. Maybe in the future when the software is up to par with the hardware I will consider a quad core android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is I cant change my phone until i raise enough money... so surely going ahead of the game is better? Is there going to be a new Nexus out this year?

weeo said:
The thing is I cant change my phone until i raise enough money... so surely going ahead of the game is better? Is there going to be a new Nexus out this year?
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Click to collapse
No one is really quite sure. Some people argue that the Nexus 7 was the "nexus device of the year" while others say that there will be multiple nexii being released in Q4 of this year (each from different manufacturers). So to sum up... nobody really knows for sure! But, Google has a history of releasing one Nexus phone a year, and so companies tend to follow their previous trends. Now whether it'll have a new or updated OS (4.2, 5.0) is a whole 'nother story...

barroco said:
Thanks!
I was really pissed yesterday night after knowing about the injunction on the Galaxy Nexus phones!
Also, when it comes to my previous experience with MS/Windows Phone 7 this is what I have to say:
ATT and their update schedule sucks. Do yourself a favor and never buy a phone from them, especially if it's Android or Wp7. You will never see timely or meaningful updates for your phone.
Lack of Swype. Swype is a very sweet technology that we don't get to enjoy in the Wp7 platform. I mean, symbian and meego have swype! Wp7 don't have anything but a very crappy kb and and ****ty autocorrect. I was also very tired of dealing with that.
Lack of over the air updates. Seriously MS? I still have to connect my phone to zune and update that way? Not to mention that can only happen if ATT thinks I, as a customer, deserve to update my phone.
Lack of interesting/appealing apps. We all know how this is in Wp7.
Lack of interesting in keeping legacy devices updated. Which honestly happens with android as well, with the difference being that if you have an android phone, you have the chance of flashing a new rom/forcing the updates as the code is open source. Go try that with a Wp7 and see if it's that easy... NOT!
No custom ring tones still, really... after more than two years? Give me a goddamn break!
And franky, there's more, a lot more, but those are things I can think of right away.
*sighs*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 has one of the best keyboards on the market that is arguably rivals iPhone keyboard. But I agree with the other points you listed.

anton2009 said:
No one is really quite sure. Some people argue that the Nexus 7 was the "nexus device of the year" while others say that there will be multiple nexii being released in Q4 of this year (each from different manufacturers). So to sum up... nobody really knows for sure! But, Google has a history of releasing one Nexus phone a year, and so companies tend to follow their previous trends. Now whether it'll have a new or updated OS (4.2, 5.0) is a whole 'nother story...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. If i buy the GN, would it be classed as "outdated". I know all phones get outdated but I don't wanna get a outdated (specswise) phone. Its really tough... thanks for your reply, gotta thank this now. Btw sorry at @OP for thread jacking..
I am also gonna buy the Nexus 7 so that could be my Quad Core device... really stuck here
Sent from my Asus Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app

RogerPodacter said:
WP7 has one of the best keyboards on the market that is arguably rivals iPhone keyboard. But I agree with the other points you listed.
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Click to collapse
SwiftKey X
@weeo: Galaxy Nexus isn't outdated in any form or shape. People may criticize that it's outdated because of core numbers.
But honestly... who needs a Quad Core? Is it nice to have? yeah... is it a necessity? not really.
Jelly Bean.... what's the first phone getting it? Galaxy Nexus... Is it really outdated? In hardware perspective, it may be somewhat outdated but not to the extent that it has NO hardware that it can't compete with other devices.
Software wise... Galaxy Nexus is more than relevant and it will stay this way for the next two years.

zephiK said:
SwiftKey X
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FTW! I'm really happy with the Android 4.0 keyboard. Very predictive and I've heard 4.1 has a better keyboard
Sent from my Asus Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app

weeo said:
FTW! I'm really happy with the Android 4.0 keyboard. Very predictive and I've heard 4.1 has a better keyboard
Sent from my Asus Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
Yeah I heard it does as well, but I never gave it a chance because I'm addicted to SwiftKey X.... also I modified my post about "Galaxy Nexus" being outdated

4.1 has the exact same vanilla keyboard as 4.0 had... nothing special or new that I can tell

zephiK said:
SwiftKey X
@weeo: Galaxy Nexus isn't outdated in any form or shape. People may criticize that it's outdated because of core numbers.
But honestly... who needs a Quad Core? Is it nice to have? yeah... is it a necessity? not really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro that touched me right at the end. :crying:

zephiK said:
Yeah I heard it does as well, but I never gave it a chance because I'm addicted to SwiftKey X.... also I modified my post about "Galaxy Nexus" being outdated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, SwiftKey X is really great, highly recommended.

zephiK said:
When you first get the phone. Unlock the bootloader (search the forums on how to do it). After that, enjoy the phone and look around the Play Store for apps that you may like. There are a lot of apps to look around from.
The reasoning behind unlocking the bootloader (first thing) is because if you DO decide to root and flash custom ROMs after you already set your phone up. You can back up your apps / data whereas if you want to root/flash... you'll have to unlock bootloader (which will wipe everything).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Ezekeel's app to unlock the bootloader without wiping.. it costs money and I've never tried it though. Also, you have to root it yourself afterwards.
barroco said:
I was excited about quad core phones and so on until I read what Intel had to say on android not being optimized to deal with dual/quad cores. The hardware is there, ready to ship with multiple cores. However, according to intel (they have been developing their own android phones), android as it is right now isn't optimized to take advantage of multiple cores. Maybe in the next major release of the OS that won't be an issue anymore, but as it is right now the software isn't ripe enough to do that. So, in my case, I decided to save a few bucks and buy the galaxy nexus for 350 from google. Maybe in the future when the software is up to par with the hardware I will consider a quad core android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhh, you have to keep in mind Intel is trying to sell their (at present, single-core) chips. They're not exactly an unbiased observer here.
The Nexus is still a good choice, however. It's now pretty cheap (though may not remain that way once the injunction sets in) and it'll be the first to get jellybean and project butter.
weeo said:
Thanks. If i buy the GN, would it be classed as "outdated". I know all phones get outdated but I don't wanna get a outdated (specswise) phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, uh, I have to disagree with the other person here. The GN is a last-generation phone (not just in cores, but in stuff like camera, GPU) and, as such, it can be called "somewhat outdated".

Firefox OS on SGH-T989

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is actually listed by Mozilla as a supported device for Firefox OS....
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox_OS/Firefox_OS_build_prerequisites
... with one important note:
Samsung Galaxy S2
The only model that works is the i9100; no other variants are officially compatible. (i9100P might work, since the only change is a NFC chip added)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this mean our SGH-T989 will not be compatible? Has anyone actually tried Firefox OS with our model?

If someone tried it, there would probably be a thread on it somewhere. About it working on our devices, just take a step back and think, can we run i9000 roms? Our phones and the i9000 are pretty different and I doubt Mozilla would go out of their way to get a t989 and do the work themselves, since our phone isnt International and only sold in a handful or markets. Can it be made to work on our phones? Possibly, with a knowledgeable Dev doing the work, and even then who knows.
The OS as a whole seems to be still in a "beta" form so its not ready yet for the consumer so I doubt anyone would do all the work to port it over to have a half assed OS on their phones, but possibly with time, when the OS is good to go for the market someone will do the leg work to port it over to our phones, but I probably wouldnt hold my breath.

RXDriv3r said:
If someone tried it, there would probably be a thread on it somewhere. About it working on our devices, just take a step back and think, can we run i9000 roms? Our phones and the i9000 are pretty different and I doubt Mozilla would go out of their way to get a t989 and do the work themselves, since our phone isnt International and only sold in a handful or markets. Can it be made to work on our phones? Possibly, with a knowledgeable Dev doing the work, and even then who knows.
The OS as a whole seems to be still in a "beta" form so its not ready yet for the consumer so I doubt anyone would do all the work to port it over to have a half assed OS on their phones, but possibly with time, when the OS is good to go for the market someone will do the leg work to port it over to our phones, but I probably wouldnt hold my breath.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still to this day android is still a beta imo
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

Redsmurf said:
Does this mean our SGH-T989 will not be compatible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is
The only model that works is the i9100; no other variants are officially compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not clear enough?

don728871 said:
Still to this day android is still a beta imo
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could say that. I personally think it was beta back in the Gingerbread days, and ICS was a huge improvement and JB is the topping to the ice cream sandwich lol, imo JB is like rc, its a finished product, it can only get better.

RXDriv3r said:
You could say that. I personally think it was beta back in the Gingerbread days, and ICS was a huge improvement and JB is the topping to the ice cream sandwich lol, imo JB is like rc, its a finished product, it can only get better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then sooo were iOS 1,2 and 3 lol. You guys just say that because even in the 2.x days android was faaaaar lagging behind iOS in both the software AND hardware requirements. Jellybean was the first rendition to properly render GUI elements using the GPU (ICS started it, wasn't complete though) hence the notorious "android lag.". IOS was smooth from the start, powervmr .
That being said, I personally dislike Apple products, go figure

RXDriv3r said:
If someone tried it, there would probably be a thread on it somewhere. About it working on our devices, just take a step back and think, can we run i9000 roms? Our phones and the i9000 are pretty different and I doubt Mozilla would go out of their way to get a t989 and do the work themselves, since our phone isnt International and only sold in a handful or markets. Can it be made to work on our phones? Possibly, with a knowledgeable Dev doing the work, and even then who knows.
The OS as a whole seems to be still in a "beta" form so its not ready yet for the consumer so I doubt anyone would do all the work to port it over to have a half assed OS on their phones, but possibly with time, when the OS is good to go for the market someone will do the leg work to port it over to our phones, but I probably wouldnt hold my breath.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don728871 said that Android is still a Beta. In a sense, that is true. It's a work in progress that will probably not end. Ever. In that sense, it is still a beta as it also takes in data and user submitted reviews about their issues, likes, dislikes and the such to make it better and better and better.
Now, for Firefox OS, I'd consider it more of a pre-release alpha. They've got the concept down, they've got a working-ish OS for the most part but yes, like you said, it's a half assed ish OS for the most part and probably, nobody would use this as their daily driver until a stable beta (after extensive testing, updates and stuff) is released.
So for now, nothing to expect here. Let's move along shall we?
Wait a sec, let's look at iOS.
Now, yeah, people say it's lag free. True-ish for the most part...
but let's look at it from another perspective. Has iOS 6 changed in any way?
Yeah, I guess in optimization and whatnot but come on, what OS has changed so dramatically?
Evolved in such a way that it's already awesome but it just keeps getting better and better?
That, as we all know, is android. From Cupcake, we've come a long way to Jelly Bean.
That was 4 years ago. Took a while...
Now knowing how other OS's evolved,
it is now safe to assume that Firefox OS isn't going anywhere far for now.

Ooshi said:
don728871 said that Android is still a Beta. In a sense, that is true. It's a work in progress that will probably not end. Ever. In that sense, it is still a beta as it also takes in data and user submitted reviews about their issues, likes, dislikes and the such to make it better and better and better.
Now, for Firefox OS, I'd consider it more of a pre-release alpha. They've got the concept down, they've got a working-ish OS for the most part but yes, like you said, it's a half assed ish OS for the most part and probably, nobody would use this as their daily driver until a stable beta (after extensive testing, updates and stuff) is released.
So for now, nothing to expect here. Let's move along shall we?
Wait a sec, let's look at iOS.
Now, yeah, people say it's lag free. True-ish for the most part...
but let's look at it from another perspective. Has iOS 6 changed in any way?
Yeah, I guess in optimization and whatnot but come on, what OS has changed so dramatically?
Evolved in such a way that it's already awesome but it just keeps getting better and better?
That, as we all know, is android. From Cupcake, we've come a long way to Jelly Bean.
That was 4 years ago. Took a while...
Now knowing how other OS's evolved,
it is now safe to assume that Firefox OS isn't going anywhere far for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent point! Android Evolution has been gradual and drastic ... but still, when it did pick up, it was different. I think if Firefox OS can include a captivating element right from the start, it can make an impact. However, I don't see it being too radically remarkable.

How is development for the SIII?

So I'm due for an upgrade and I was wondering about this phone as it's the only one I really want. I currently have a motorola phone that was a flagship when it was first released(Atrix 4G) and while it was a decent phone, Motorola didn't really support it and stick to its release schedules with the phone. Normally this would not be a bad thing since there is the development community that one can fall back on, but this hindered the development community since developers needed to rely on Motorola for drivers and kernel along with Nvidia because the processor in the phone was a Tegra and I'm sure you guys already know how much Nvidia and open source don't go well together lol.
Anyways I was wondering if the SIII has(or will have) any sort of issues in the same area due to closed source or Samsung not releasing drivers,etc... to developers after major releases. I would wait for the SIV, but the phone is getting into screen size territory I'm not comfortable with and I don't want a Nexus 4 because the battery life doesn't seem to be as great as the SIII. Basically once I get my next phone, I want to be able to hold onto it for a few years without feeling the need to upgrade because of out of date software. The hardware in the SIII seems more than sufficient to be future proof.
Another side question: would there be any mods that retain some of the software features found in touchwiz or add any such as multitasking? Not a deal breaker, but just wondering.

octahedron said:
So I'm due for an upgrade and I was wondering about this phone as it's the only one I really want. I currently have a motorola phone that was a flagship when it was first released(Atrix 4G) and while it was a decent phone, Motorola didn't really support it and stick to its release schedules with the phone. Normally this would not be a bad thing since there is the development community that one can fall back on, but this hindered the development community since developers needed to rely on Motorola for drivers and kernel along with Nvidia because the processor in the phone was a Tegra and I'm sure you guys already know how much Nvidia and open source don't go well together lol.
Anyways I was wondering if the SIII has(or will have) any sort of issues in the same area due to closed source or Samsung not releasing drivers,etc... to developers after major releases. I would wait for the SIV, but the phone is getting into screen size territory I'm not comfortable with and I don't want a Nexus 4 because the battery life doesn't seem to be as great as the SIII. Basically once I get my next phone, I want to be able to hold onto it for a few years without feeling the need to upgrade because of out of date software. The hardware in the SIII seems more than sufficient to be future proof.
Another side question: would there be any mods that retain some of the software features found in touchwiz or add any such as multitasking? Not a deal breaker, but just wondering.
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Seriously doubt Samsung will "prevent" users from being able to mod unofficially. This is one of their two flagship devices. However, it is the carriers that should worry you more. Remember that there are different hardware versions of the SIII as well. Most likely the international versions will be always ahead in getting new updates. On a carrier such as AT&T you are most likely to be the last to receive an update, if you get it at all. Ultimately, if you want guaranteed updates, Nexus 4 is the only sure way to go.
And seriously, read before you ask about mods. Yes and Yes to both questions. Read through and you will find a lot.

aybarrap1 said:
Seriously doubt Samsung will "prevent" users from being able to mod unofficially.
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This is not completely true. Samsung has already angered alot of the top developers by not releasing the proper info on the exynos chip in some phones. Even after saying they would. Even some CM maintainers have sworn off Samsung until them come threw. But they still have some of the best tract records for android. Even though Sony is moving up fast.
@OP you will always find something about one company or another that wall cause issues with open source development. This is due to the phone OEM not owning all the software code for the devices. Take CDMA phones. They use a closed sourced phone to work on the network. Nothing Samsung can do about it as it is not theirs. We won't even start on the WiFi and BT chip.
In the end. Get a phone that does what you want and need. Development should never be a first choice. That is just a bonus.

aybarrap1 said:
Seriously doubt Samsung will "prevent" users from being able to mod unofficially. This is one of their two flagship devices. However, it is the carriers that should worry you more. Remember that there are different hardware versions of the SIII as well. Most likely the international versions will be always ahead in getting new updates. On a carrier such as AT&T you are most likely to be the last to receive an update, if you get it at all. Ultimately, if you want guaranteed updates, Nexus 4 is the only sure way to go.
And seriously, read before you ask about mods. Yes and Yes to both questions. Read through and you will find a lot.
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Click to collapse
I seriously doubted Motorola would have had issues with the Atrix seeing as how it was their flagship device as well. Seeing as how I've never had a Samsung smartphone, I'm not sure how they handle their updates and it has nothing to do with the carriers as much as it had to do with their Nvidia and Motorola because of Tegra and the fingerprint scanner/lapdock.
And "seriously" I've browsed through the developers forum before to see how active it was. All I wanted was a quick confirmation to my question instead of scanning each thread for a phone I may or may not get.

zelendel said:
This is not completely true. Samsung has already angered alot of the top developers by not releasing the proper info on the exynos chip in some phones. Even after saying they would. Even some CM maintainers have sworn off Samsung until them come threw. But they still have some of the best tract records for android. Even though Sony is moving up fast.
@OP you will always find something about one company or another that wall cause issues with open source development. This is due to the phone OEM not owning all the software code for the devices. Take CDMA phones. They use a closed sourced phone to work on the network. Nothing Samsung can do about it as it is not theirs. We won't even start on the WiFi and BT chip.
In the end. Get a phone that does what you want and need. Development should never be a first choice. That is just a bonus.
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Gotcha and thank you.

Hello fellow Atrix owner! I'm a former Atrix owner myself. I can you tell right now, this place is hoppin' compared to the Atrix. You won't be disappointed with the choices with ROMs here! Got a couple of former devs from the Atrix over here as well making ROMs!
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

I have 4.2.2 running almost flawlessly already. Even the nexus devices are just having this update rolled out. I think that goes to show the quality of the S3 development. There certainly isn't a lack of ROMs to choose from in this community.

Deggy said:
Hello fellow Atrix owner! I'm a former Atrix owner myself. I can you tell right now, this place is hoppin' compared to the Atrix. You won't be disappointed with the choices with ROMs here! Got a couple of former devs from the Atrix over here as well making ROMs!
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
CamFlawless said:
I have 4.2.2 running almost flawlessly already. Even the nexus devices are just having this update rolled out. I think that goes to show the quality of the S3 development. There certainly isn't a lack of ROMs to choose from in this community.
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Well this is good to know

I rooted and had neutrino running on my wife's atrix. Samsung phones are easy compared to that process. There are plenty of stock based and aosp roms available. I have flashed at least 20 different roms since October. I will be jumping on the S4 though when it arrives.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

The samsung was easy to root and there seems to be plenty of rom choice comparatively to some other android phones i've owned.

y0yerrj0sh said:
The samsung was easy to root and there seems to be plenty of rom choice comparatively to some other android phones i've owned.
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S3 is easy to hard brick too if you aren't paying attention to what you are doing. Just saying.....

Lollipop update for Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4

Since this is first samsung device which i own, i dont know which sites to follow for informations.
So i would be thankfull if anyone can say, will this tablet get lollipop treatment.
I dont want to be dissapointed because its new, 3-4 months old tablet.

electrash said:
will this tablet get lollipop treatment.
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Who knows? We don't even know if our devices will get an official 4.4.4 let alone 5.0.
Samsung won't ever give you confirmation of something like an upcoming update as usually their support desks seem to know so little that you may as well ask the man in the moon.
CM12 will bring AOSP Lollipop, but it's still work in progress

hundred_miles_high said:
Who knows? We don't even know if our devices will get an official 4.4.4 let alone 5.0.
Samsung won't ever give you confirmation of something like an upcoming update as usually their support desks seem to know so little that you may as well ask the man in the moon.
CM12 will bring AOSP Lollipop, but it's still work in progress
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Click to collapse
So that means no high hope for update. I guess this will be my first and last device from them. Thank you for answer

electrash said:
So that means no high hope for update. I guess this will be my first and last device from them. Thank you for answer
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I wouldn't give up hope just yet (Lollipop hasn't been out for long), but neither would I be holding my breath for an update either.....

Samsung has to integrate TouchWiz and do a lot of quality testing , if they released an unstable or unsecured release of Lollipop it would cause more problems and customers as they have a reputation to keep, if you look at Samsungs line of products maybe only one or two products actually have Lollipop, as they are probably slowly testing feedback and bugreports, if they just recklessly just throw an update to every-device it would cause havoc
If I had to guess I would say sometime next year (probably within the first 3-4 months) this tablet will get a update.

otyg said:
Samsung has to integrate TouchWiz and do a lot of quality testing , if they released an unstable or unsecured release of Lollipop it would cause more problems and customers as they have a reputation to keep,
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This is what they should be doing, but if you look at this years 4.3 Jellybean release for Galaxy S3 they appeared to have done none of it. Also, just read this morning that the Note 4 will skip straight to 5.0.1 - so they're probably not going to waste much time porting many more snapdragon devices to 5.0, which could mean an even longer delay.
Please excuse my cynicism, I've been a Samsung customer for too long....

electrash said:
Since this is first samsung device which i own, i dont know which sites to follow for informations.
So i would be thankfull if anyone can say, will this tablet get lollipop treatment.
I dont want to be dissapointed because its new, 3-4 months old tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing May or June of 2015 for Android 5.x and that will be the last update. I really hope they get Lollipop on the Note 10.1 2014, which is more important to me than my tab pro 8.4.

hundred_miles_high said:
Who knows? We don't even know if our devices will get an official 4.4.4 let alone 5.0.
Samsung won't ever give you confirmation of something like an upcoming update as usually their support desks seem to know so little that you may as well ask the man in the moon.
CM12 will bring AOSP Lollipop, but it's still work in progress
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
by using your logic, the galaxy s5 hasnt got 5.0, because it hasnt got 4.4.4 too

timuralaskara said:
by using your logic, the galaxy s5 hasnt got 5.0, because it hasnt got 4.4.4 too
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Say what?
Where did i say that one was dependent on getting the other?
By my logic Samsung haven't confirmed one or the other - not the next incremental revision, let alone the next version.
From past experience they are unlikely to respond fully to enquiries about what updates are due and remain very non commital at the best of times.
pretty straight forward to understand......

Lollipop 5.0.2. just started rolling out to the Tab S series:
http://www.sammobile.com/2015/04/23/samsung-galaxy-tab-s-8-4-gets-the-lollipop-update/
Hopefully it's not that big a leap to get out the Tab Pro series as well. I don't think the differences were anything radical....

d99x said:
Lollipop 5.0.2. just started rolling out to the Tab S series:
http://www.sammobile.com/2015/04/23/samsung-galaxy-tab-s-8-4-gets-the-lollipop-update/
Hopefully it's not that big a leap to get out the Tab Pro series as well. I don't think the differences were anything radical....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw on one site that whole pro line will get lollipop 5.0.2 very soon.
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

Samsung Lollipop update uncertainties
I was about to buy a Galaxy Tab Pro (3 actually) but this whole Lollipop update thing has given me cold feet. I'm going to stick with iPads. I just don't like the feeling they're withholding OS updates in order to drive new (Galaxy Tab S2) hardware sales. I always felt that was happening with Windows and PC hardware vendors and I ended up buying a Mac because of it (and never looked back).
Good luck guys and may all your Lollipops be as fruity as an Apple.

simty said:
I was about to buy a Galaxy Tab Pro (3 actually) but this whole Lollipop update thing has given me cold feet. I'm going to stick with iPads. I just don't like the feeling they're withholding OS updates in order to drive new (Galaxy Tab S2) hardware sales. I always felt that was happening with Windows and PC hardware vendors and I ended up buying a Mac because of it (and never looked back).
Good luck guys and may all your Lollipops be as fruity as an Apple.
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Click to collapse
Well hello mr apple troll. You do realise ios updates can take ages also? having owned 5 ios devices from iphone 1 to ipad 1 to ipad air 2 etc. Apple also hold update releases until the next new product generally "the best thing yet since.." enjoy your limited ios device. For me it's Android

Definitely not a troll !
Sayid_Jarah said:
Well hello mr apple troll. You do realise ios updates can take ages also? having owned 5 ios devices from iphone 1 to ipad 1 to ipad air 2 etc. Apple also hold update releases until the next new product generally "the best thing yet since.." enjoy your limited ios device. For me it's Android
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I work for a Google school and I think that's just about the biggest vote of platform confidence anyone can give. We do need at least one new Android tablet to test Appinventor Apps and we will buy. However, KitKat has been a frustration. Not being able to capture direct to MicroSD for example is unforgivable in the modern OS era. Lollipop promises to fix a great many KitKat issues and I think the HARDWARE partners like Samsung have a responsibility to get the customer base past KitKat ASAP.
I do not know what you mean when you say: "Apple holds update releases". But if you are suggesting that Apple only applies software updates to ONE generation of hardware you are totally wrong. I have an iPad 2 which has now had 5 different iOS iterations from iOS4 to iOS8 and is now possibly 3x better than the already excellent device I originally purchased. I've never had to even wait extra time because it's an older device. I want this for Android as well! and I reserve the right to put as much pressure as I can to make the hardware vendors give it to us. Let's not forget the damage platform fragmentation does to the Android developer community. It's in the best long-term interests of all hardware partners to keep as many of us as possible on the newest version of Android but they are not walking the walk. We need to encourage them.
My intentions are good, peace out.

simty said:
I was about to buy a Galaxy Tab Pro (3 actually) but this whole Lollipop update thing has given me cold feet. I'm going to stick with iPads. I just don't like the feeling they're withholding OS updates in order to drive new (Galaxy Tab S2) hardware sales. I always felt that was happening with Windows and PC hardware vendors and I ended up buying a Mac because of it (and never looked back).
Good luck guys and may all your Lollipops be as fruity as an Apple.
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Click to collapse
Funny that I can't update my GFs macbook past osx 10.7 because 'it's too old' when it more than meets requirements.
No need to shill here.

Give me a break!
Swizzy88 said:
Funny that I can't update my GFs macbook past osx 10.7 because 'it's too old' when it more than meets requirements.
No need to shill here.
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Well, the youngest that MacBook could possibly be is October 2008! Unfortunately it's a 32bit machine which is just a different technology generation. It is a bit of bad luck though. I have a MacBook Pro from Mid 2007 that's running the very latest Yosemite OS just fine. It's pretty amazing when an 8 year old computer just keeps getting better and better for free. AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. Screenshots of the system profile can be posted if you have doubts.

I don't know why people are trying to argue this, it's a simple fact that Apple are just better in updates than Samsung will ever be. The main reason for it is that it's easy for Apple to support since they make their own hardware and software that doesn't run on thousands of devices like Android. Samsung should still try to do a better job at updating. I don't like how they didn't even say whether the Tab Pros will get Lollipop or not, even though they were released only a few months before the Tab Ss (which did get Lollipop) and are just as powerful (they use the same chips).
Regardless I myself am gonna flash CM12 on my Pro 8.4 because I don't know if Samsung ever intend on giving us the update we deserve and regardless I am tired of TouchWiz.

Well one thing Android will have that Apple never will, is Android IS OPEN SOURCE and also Samsung is pretty good in releasing the source code for its products and kernels, meaning even if they don't release an update for a specific device it can still be supported by 3rd party firmwares or if you want to compile it yourself. - let's see someone do that with Apple.
http://opensource.samsung.com/reception.do
You don't think Apple has IOS 8 or 9 in the works? if it was Open Source like Android then Apple users would be doing the same thing begging for the update, but since Apple is closed source you don't hear about it until they tell you.
2 Cents
Also I still think the Tab Pro series will still get an update , I think Samsung owes at least one major version update being it was released at nearly the same time as the Tab S - I am suspecting it will be next in line for the lollipop update - considering its the Pro series line it might need more security and testing then the S series does.

lollipop update for tab pro.
http://www.youmobile.org/blogs/entr...-1-Lollipop-Update-is-coming-by-Early-Q3-2015

simty said:
I Not being able to capture direct to MicroSD for example is unforgivable in the modern OS era. Lollipop promises to fix a great many KitKat issues and I think the HARDWARE partners like Samsung have a responsibility to get the customer base past KitKat ASAP.
t.
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3rd party apps not being able to write to the SD card is a deliberate security decision. However, it is easily overridden by an app from the Play Store. Search for "sdfix". BTW, it is also needed in lollipop so waiting for 5.1.1 won't help.