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I am a big android fan and can accomplish most of what people report they can accomplish with their phones provided they can post a decent how-to, but this is my second semester in college for computer science and i am starting to get a base of understanding and i want to start to be more active in the community so now that you know that i know NOTHING but can flash roms and such i want to get the ATT Note, it will be subsidized and under warranty and the size doesnt bother me BUT coming from the atrix i am frustrated that it seems everybody has EVERYTHING before i had it, so i would love to get the Nexus to ensure being up to date, Can you nexus people tell me if it is imperative for me to be a nexus owner to learn the workings of my green robot or am chasing the best gear without yet being able to utilize any of it yet. I presume you all enjoy the nexus and this forum will be a bit biased but really my question is, if i am not a real developer but a tinker will the nexus be a help or should i just get hardware i enjoy and hope the developer community will be strong for that model? Thanks for reading such a long post and for your thoughtful replies
If you are interested in Android why are you worried about devices? Android OS is the same on all, like Gingerbread, ICS etc. I don't know why you are concerned about what device to choose. Sorry if I am misunderstanding your question.
well, that is part of the question, should i care so much about the device?
i am asking in the nexus forum because if the device mattered then the nexus i presume would be the one to get, i just didnt know if things were at all simpler on the nexus,
the droid razr maxx now has a developer edition with an unlocked bootloader, so apparently there is a razr that is exactly the same as another razr except it is better developing on so i guess not all phones are the same that run android.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/29/motorola-announces-razr-developer-edition-with-unlocked-bootload/
I have a used/rooted HTC Evo i'd happily sell you, if you simply need a wifi capable android device to code on
im looking to buy a new phone and wonder if i should consider the nexus to be the best phone to buy and be able to learn on or if any phone that has an unlocked bootloader will suffice, i have an unlocked atrix which does fine but i want some new tech!
Am I understanding you correctly, you want to know which phone you should get because you want to start developing apps for Android?
If this is the case then the Nexus might be a better choice than the Note as it's sort of a reference device, and a lot of the phones coming out will have the same sort of features. With the Note you'd be testing your apps on a really large screen and you might find later on that they don't work as well on other devices.
I'm no expert or anything, I could be completely wrong!
this is exactly the type of thing im looking to hear, i think my preference is the note but if the community in general feels similar to this i think i will get the nex
Bump? I'm so curious on your thoughts xda
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
You can program and test with your Aitrix too. Honestly, you don't need a Galaxy Nexus or any Nexus device to do any Android app. development. If you really get into development, you might want one, so you can test your apps on Ice Cream Sandwich.
If you're in a hurry to get your hands dirty, might as well learn using the latest API, and as such there are only 2 devices with officially released ICS, the galaxy nexus and the nexus s. Sure, some devices have unofficial ports and leaks, but if you encounter a problem, you can't be too sure if it's the OS's fault or the app. Also, it would probably be a good idea to hold on to your Atrix, so you can test your app with gingerbread as well.
Well there are various points to consider...
Obviously it's useful to have a phone the can run ICS to develop with the newest API. But as almost nobody has ICS on the phone, for now it might be more interesting to test with an android version people really have in masses. Then again, this is nothing nexus specific.
The support of the galaxy nexus from the android open source project (AOSP) is the main feature of the google nexus phone. But for software development this only really gets interesting if you start to move from developing normal applications that everyone (without root) can install from the market to working on custom ROMs that have code changes in the core (google) android code. Or if you need debugging tools not available on normal end-user builds (engineering builds seem to have lots of more development features, debug symbols for native (JNI) libraries, etc).
If you just start out coding it's likely that you don't really end up doing that very soon (but i know someone who started working on really low-level x86 assembly just after learning to code, so YMMV).
And then again many of these features will be available also if CyanogenMod is available on the phone you're using (as they make the AOSP code work somehow on their devices).
And you should look at the hardware features too: e.g. Galaxy Nexus: NFC; Note: drawing tablet style digitizer.
I think there's no simple and fast answer, and i'm doing any really low-level android work to really know what's needed.
It really depends on what you intend to do and how much you can work around various roadblocks on the way.
I traded an iPhone 4S with a gentleman from Kijiji for his Galaxy S3, around the time when the iPhone 5 was announced. Myself being an Apple fanboy since iPhone came out way back in 2007, and since the original 2G model I had since slaved to buy each model every release up to and including the 4S. Upon 5's announcement and press conference, I was underwhelmed, and decided it was time to jump ship, having in my opinion seen Apple beginning its fall from the top. Enter the Galaxy S3.
First thing I did when I finished my routine battery maintenance (this phone was brand new in a sealed box, and the guy traded me for my almost year old 4S.. what a steal!) was try to remember what my username/password was to XDA to see what cool stuff I could do - having an ancient HTC Touch I knew of the community and how awesome it was. My first, and possibly most difficult step was understanding terminology and what advantages of "Rooting" was. After a few weeks of reading and one exchange to Rogers after I bricked my phone (high five for pretending to be an idiot!), I finally felt comfortable with using Odin and the tools. I had no idea what this "Recovery" was, or what CWM was at the time, so a few stupid questions later I figured out how powerful (read: dangerous to idiots like myself) the recovery system was. After a few accidental wipes and another near-brick incident, I grew confident in using CWM Recovery. Time to start flashing ROMs and having fun!
A lengthy stint with a few of the Android ROMs, notably Intergalatic, BlackJelly, while both awesome ROMs, I eventually found that it was a lot of fluff and stuff I didn't need in a phone. Nothing against the ROM developers, they made/make an excellent product, but for me, I wanted something simple, basic.. hey look! over there! It's TASK650! Wow, what a smooth and stable ROM. While it was a rude awakening entering his threads and seeing such a significant amount of hate towards newbs asking questions already answered 10 times over, and receiving hate messages from members who wont be named for myself asking similar questions, I eventually grew to understand and enjoy the ROM for the majority of the time I've had the device.
A few times I dabbled in Paranoid variations, KANG and non-KANG, and even tested out a few of the other Original ASOP ROM's, but significant bugs unrelated to the development teams themselves had me growing more and more frustrated with the device to the point where I was contemplating switching devices all together, or returning to stock.
Well, this morning, March 26th 2013, I decided to go back. After about 3 hours of work, and over-confidence in my abilities to flash back to stock causing a few repeated steps, I managed to get back to stock, rooted, and debloated. I couldn't be happier at the time being. The device does what I want, the battery life is so far pretty damn good, almost on par with ktoonsez's Kernel settings (but still less).
What was the point of this post?
I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I wanted the community to know the story of a former Apple Fanboy. I also wanted everyone new here know that there are a significant amount of over-talented developers here doing awesome work aimed at their own niche group of people. I believe I personally gave every developer and ROM group a fair shot, and I wanted to thank each and everyone mentioned above and any other members who assisted me in my noobish misadventures. I also wanted to get the non-developers in this wonderful community to understand that it's OK being stock, but it's also OK to flash whatever ROM you want, ask your questions, read your FAQs and use Search - it's there for a reason.
Always good to try different platforms. I have done the android, ios and back to android thing. Been tooling around with my iPhone 4 lately as my son is getting it (20 months old) to play learning games on.
I was actually surprised that it still hauls pretty good arse in apps and games
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
A few months ago, I was fed up with being three updates behind. I'd made the mistake of buying my GalNex from Verizon. (Obviously, thinking I'd be all "pure Android", "on Googles developer phone", and "get my updates straight from Google.") I know better now and I'll buy my Nexus from Google next time. So, back on topic, the only CFW experience I've had has been with my PSP and Wii. I don't know how many times I've visited, gotten intimidated by the amount of information, and left. One evening, I was especially fed up with Verizon and I hit XDA hard. I read everything I could find, took notes, drew diagrams, and finished up by asking a few questions. A week later, I was on my first custom recovery and ROM...and it felt like a brand new phone. It was faster, smarter, and prettier! Tablet mode even gave me a bigger screen...who would have thought loading a ROM would give me a bigger screen. Haha. (If you've used it, you know what I mean.) I've bounced around between a few different builds but for the last month-or-so, I've stuck with the PA builds.
Anyway, I wanted to thank the dev's and the forum members for contributing your time. I'm in good shape now and I finally feel like I'm getting that Nexus experience I was hoping for.
Serious question, and not one to knock any developer or anyone else, and I am not complaining... But why don't we have more custom ROM's for this device?
I have owned lots of Nexus/Pixel devices in the past, and within a few months of release there were dozens of ROM's available for the device, but for this device there is a couple kernels and a few unofficial or "build it yourself" ROM's and that is it. It just seems very odd that a device so open by design and sold extremely well doesn't have more options. Why?
I admit I haven't had much involvement in the custom ROM community in a few years, and I haven't really felt a need to use a custom ROM in some time as I have been using Moto, Nokia, Nexus, and Pixel devices for the most part for years and just a few tweaks here and there are good enough, but I went to look into other possibilities with my Pixel 3a XL recently and found there just isn't much of anything.
acejavelin said:
Serious question, and not one to knock any developer or anyone else, and I am not complaining... But why don't we have more custom ROM's for this device?
I have owned lots of Nexus/Pixel devices in the past, and within a few months of release there were dozens of ROM's available for the device, but for this device there is a couple kernels and a few unofficial or "build it yourself" ROM's and that is it. It just seems very odd that a device so open by design and sold extremely well doesn't have more options. Why?
I admit I haven't had much involvement in the custom ROM community in a few years, and I haven't really felt a need to use a custom ROM in some time as I have been using Moto, Nokia, Nexus, and Pixel devices for the most part for years and just a few tweaks here and there are good enough, but I went to look into other possibilities with my Pixel 3a XL recently and found there just isn't much of anything.
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I think your statement of "I haven't really felt the need to use a custom Rom..." is very telling. We also get monthly updates without jumping through hoops and we have feature sets we all like. Also Google Pay is being used more and more and you need to unlock the bootloader which breaks GP. I mean you can do kernel mods to enable it but it's just not worth it. What would you like that you don't currently have? I can name a few things like modifying location of the clock, changing vibration, things like that. But is it worth not having security updates or hoping the rom dev will update the rom? And then asking for an ETA and getting hammered by users for asking. It's just not worth it and devs have moved on to other money making ventures. Begging for donations doesn't pay the rent.
Bottom line, it's not worth it for rom devs and thus we have just a few. Flashing is not as easy as it used to be with dual slots. I remember just flashing each file and vendor and done. Bootloop, no prob just reflash the image. Not anymore. Now it's "omg your rom bricked my phone". Last thing.. we all have things to do now whereas we were young and stupid years back. Just give me a nice display, good battery, some options, and I'm good. Just some random thoughs.. agree or disagree but simply observations on my part.
There are ROMs not listed on xda available but you have to search them out. But even on that end it's in the range of 3-4 bonito ROMs that I can think of.
I'm guessing we'll see more builds sooner rather than later since 10 just got officially released earlier in the month(plus TWRP isn't available for 10 yet - not that that would stop fastboot flashable ROMs from being built). Also the upcoming release of the pixel 4 should drop prices on the 3aXl which means more people will pick up this device and more ROMs will(most likely) be built. *That's my theory at least...I've seen other devices' development happen that way in the past so that's where I'm coming from.
I also think a combination of factors has slowed development in general across the board: less people buy new phones as often now(our phone is less than 6 months old), and stock android has gotten to the point that just rooting and minor tweaking is good enough for a lot of people. Not me personally - I always use custom ROMs - but for some others all they need is slightly tweaked stock, some theme-ing ability, and a few root apps like adaway or root browser to stay happy.
But anyway, big thanks to those who are building for our device. Y'all have skills that I do not have - which are much appreciated by me & many others.
And that was kind of what I thought... The custom ROM scene, particularly on Google devices is just shrinking. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
Time will tell as this community moves into 10 development, but I'm guessing things will pick up a bit. Hang in there:good:
Bob nesta said:
There are ROMs not listed on xda available but you have to search them out. But even on that end it's in the range of 3-4 bonito ROMs that I can think of..
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For Android 10? Ive seen zero. 10 is very different than Pie and Bonito has a bunch of uniqueness as well. Building 10 for it is no small task and may take a while before you see 10 Roms for it. Even the handful of Rom devs (or teams) that have 10 builds dont have Bonito.
This is very similar to when Shamu came out. It took 2-3 months before custom Roms were working as there were so many changes from Hammerhead and Marshmallow was a very different build vs KitKat. There were also very unique challenges when Marlin came out for the same reasons. I hope to have Velocity up and running in the next few weeks but I wouldnt hold my breath on it as this has been one of the most challenging updates Ive come across and Ive been building Roms for Nexus/Pixel devices since JellyBean.
ctfrommn said:
For Android 10? Ive seen zero. 10 is very different than Pie and Bonito has a bunch of uniqueness as well. Building 10 for it is no small task and may take a while before you see 10 Roms for it. Even the handful of Rom devs (or teams) that have 10 builds dont have Bonito.
This is very similar to when Shamu came out. It took 2-3 months before custom Roms were working as there were so many changes from Hammerhead and Marshmallow was a very different build vs KitKat. There were also very unique challenges when Marlin came out for the same reasons. I hope to have Velocity up and running in the next few weeks but I wouldnt hold my breath on it as this has been one of the most challenging updates Ive come across and Ive been building Roms for Nexus/Pixel devices since JellyBean.
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Oh, not for 10. I was referring to pie. I'm pretty sure some of those pie ROMs slowed development down in anticipation for 10, so it's just a slow time right now.
It's cool... I understand a lot of work goes into building, so when/if they come - they come.
One question - does the a/b partitioning and lack of recovery partition make building harder or easier? (This is my first a/b device...just wondering.)
*And thanks for your hard work; I've been lurking on your kernel thread and see how much you've been refining it. Looking forward to your ROM whenever it drops. :good:
Never owned or dev'd for an a/b device except Marlin (Pixel 1) and that was pretty different from this I believe. Lack of recovery only affects how we flash it. The biggest issue right now is getting all the needed vendor/device stuff for it to boot and run right. No idea why this is never fully included with AOSP + posted binaries but it isnt.
The kernel (as always) is much simpler than a full Rom. Im still trying to get my head fully around the nuances for building a Rom for this. Rest assured they will come. Im definitely going to be spending more time on that side now.
---------- Post added at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 AM ----------
acejavelin said:
The custom ROM scene, particularly on Google devices is just shrinking.
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Most people that bought the Pixels had little need for a custom Rom. This will change I think with the lower cost of the "a" line. So many people jumped off the Google phone train when the Nexus died and the cost was simply higher than they/I/we wanted to spend for a phone. The "a" line is a lot of what the Nexus line was so I would guess this will bring many back, though OP has done a good job taking and keeping most of them.
Not sure I would agree with that.
The elephant in the room is the activity across this entire forum section; there are few people here compared to another Pixel like the vanilla 3XL, massively less than you'll find over on the OnePlus sections. They're giving the A series credit for Goog seeing an 88% increase in Pixel sales this year but those sales do not appear to be to people like us that frequent this place, if they were, they would be here. I think at least for now this phone sold to ordinary folk, people who have never looked at their phones and wondered if they're truly bricked or just soft-bricked. Can't honestly say I know I'm right here but a look at the activity and available goodies over in OnePlus land is certainly compelling. Less money and bigger numbers along with an unlocked bootloader have attracted plenty of enthusiasts and along with them, development.
The regular 3 has been out a lot longer and development is mature. I also cant say Im definitively right either of course and I 100% agree OP has taken most of the low budget enthusiasts over to their side, especially outside the US.
Either way, it makes no nevermind to me. I will always build for the device I own and choose the device I own very carefully. There will be at least Velocity for the 3a XL its just a matter of how long it takes to get it up and running.
And yes, the lack of activity in this forum is almost shocking to me but last I was here with any regularity was in the Nexus 4/Nexus 5 days which was the wild west of Android development.
Let's not forget to mention the constant free advertising xda does for oneplus as well; that definitely helps their cause.
*And I'll admit it - I fell for it myself: bought a oneplus 7 pro, found that I hate curved displays, and returned it the next day - but the hype on xda fooled me for sure. The 7t pro looks nice, but I'm good - I'm hanging in with my bonito and seeing where things go.
krabman said:
Not sure I would agree with that.
The elephant in the room is the activity across this entire forum section; there are few people here compared to another Pixel like the vanilla 3XL, massively less than you'll find over on the OnePlus sections. They're giving the A series credit for Goog seeing an 88% increase in Pixel sales this year but those sales do not appear to be to people like us that frequent this place, if they were, they would be here. I think at least for now this phone sold to ordinary folk, people who have never looked at their phones and wondered if they're truly bricked or just soft-bricked. Can't honestly say I know I'm right here but a look at the activity and available goodies over in OnePlus land is certainly compelling. Less money and bigger numbers along with an unlocked bootloader have attracted plenty of enthusiasts and along with them, development.
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Hahaha. "vanilla 3XL" far superior to any 3a. I will go with small a
It doesn't surprise me because I, too, am finding myself comfortable with stock and avoiding all the inconveniences (mainly the merry-go-round of breaking things that check for root)... the only thing I really miss is being able to block ads and titanium backup. But it just isn't bothering me enough to care...
Golf c said:
Hahaha. "vanilla 3XL" far superior to any 3a. I will go with small a
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I owned the 3XL and didn't find it far superior. In fact I took it back and got a 6T while I waited for the next thing. Mainly it was the notch, and redraws in the GUI. In any event I only meant to refer to the regular 3XL or by extension any Pixel.
I guess if I paid @$300-400usd more for a device that has a smaller battery, with the same camera hardware(rear - don't care about the selfie cam), no headphone jack, and had a hideous notch so the OEM can claim "small bezels" - I may also be bitter & lurking in other devices' threads & talking smack(so I could feel better about my purchase...?)
Enjoy your 3xl and your notch... I guess. Congrats. :good:
Anytime you want to contribute to the 3axl community you are totally welcome to. No bitterness here. Otherwise...please go back to your "far superior" 3xl land please. We are not good enough for you here.
Take care.
*Bows down to the "far superior" 3xl owner*:angel:
I'm not going to claim expertise when I say this but I can call out plenty of experience on XDA over the course of many phones: I would not expect this forum section to be getting more active in the future. I'm not saying a ROM wont come but there was never much activity here at any time, it is quite slow now, it continues to get slower. Everything I've seen over my time here tells me that trend will continue. I'm honestly surprised about that because I had thought when I purchased this phone that this section would be moderately active. I was wrong. I don't like saying that and wish it wasn't true but that's how I see it.
I'll be off toward 4XL land soon; I have all the coffee tables a man needs in one life and I like my toys.
krabman said:
I'm not going to claim expertise when I say this but I can call out plenty of experience on XDA over the course of many phones: I would not expect this forum section to be getting more active in the future. I'm not saying a ROM wont come but there was never much activity here at any time, it is quite slow now, it continues to get slower. Everything I've seen over my time here tells me that trend will continue. I'm honestly surprised about that because I had thought when I purchased this phone that this section would be moderately active. I was wrong. I don't like saying that and wish it wasn't true but that's how I see it.
I'll be off toward 4XL land soon; I have all the coffee tables a man needs in one life and I like my toys.
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You mean bezzels right not coffee tables. Hahaha
acejavelin said:
Serious question, and not one to knock any developer or anyone else, and I am not complaining... But why don't we have more custom ROM's for this device?
I have owned lots of Nexus/Pixel devices in the past, and within a few months of release there were dozens of ROM's available for the device, but for this device there is a couple kernels and a few unofficial or "build it yourself" ROM's and that is it. It just seems very odd that a device so open by design and sold extremely well doesn't have more options. Why?
I admit I haven't had much involvement in the custom ROM community in a few years, and I haven't really felt a need to use a custom ROM in some time as I have been using Moto, Nokia, Nexus, and Pixel devices for the most part for years and just a few tweaks here and there are good enough, but I went to look into other possibilities with my Pixel 3a XL recently and found there just isn't much of anything.
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Well, I personally have stopped using custom ROMs after switching to a Pixel. Before this, I always was eager to install AOSP-based ROMs on my previous devices (Samsung and LG).
But especially LG is a disappointment software-wise: My LG G5 had a very good battery runtime with the initial ROM, but future updates killed this. Not to speak of non-existing updates and even security patches. My Samsungs were just awful from the start, they were immediately in dire need of AOSP.
On top, updating vendor images always was a PITA.. On my G5, I always had to do a clean flash, get rid of the bloat, flash the GApps etc.
But the Pixels are different. They also can have a bug here and there, but nothing severe. Battery runtime stays good with updates, and security patches always are on time. Updates are easy even when you are rooted.
Hence I just rooted my Pixel 3a XL and called it a day. Since Android 10 with its dark mode, I can even skip Substratum. YMMV of course, but this is how I see it.
I only root for system-wide adblock and HEBF Optimizer. Everything else is stock.
Custom Roms arent all (or even mostly) about features. There is so much more performance (and efficiency) to be had by building vs stock. Development will break loose soon enough. And when it does, then we will see what this device is truly capable of.
I've used the stock rom (android 10) which came on the device, and the Malaysk is what i'm currently running (not paid for as I don't agree with forced payments for roms!) and it is still very laggy and stuff doesn't seem to work.
I've not updated for about 9 months, is there any new roms available (presuming we're talking stock roms since there only seems to be two russian guys making these roms and Hal9k still only has his old Android 9 rom)
How does the Hal9k android 9 rom compare? is it better performance/less bugs etc? compared to stock 10/Malaysk ?
Thanks in advance.
if you don't agree to pay someone else's work, keep the original rom
or make one yourself free for all
entirely not the point, but thanks for your input.
pakoner said:
if you don't agree to pay someone else's work, keep the original rom
or make one yourself free for all
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I see this reply used alot; the comment avoids the OPs comments entirely and the issues around these paid roms, including things like lack of support and the fact that they do not contribute to the advancement of the forums.
Try commenting on topic, addressing the points raised instead of confirming biases.
The fact is they take others work, modify the stock rom and then charge for it.
Coming back on topic, there's generally no need for these modified roms, as the mods/issues they address are no longer an issue (e.g. use a USB OBD), or issues such as speed dependant volume, can be found in launchers or installable apps.
Well there is if people have an older rom unit and want to upgrade it with a more up to date rom with fewer bugs and more inbuilt options.
That said, newer options and features worth having are still few and far between. It seems only car manufactures are able to develop their own units with features that work which do address peoples needs.
For anyone with an older car or a car lacking a good head unit, people have few options. Of course its a far cry from tape players and a readers digest atlas. But once purchased these universal units have so little support or upgrade options people are very much at the mercy of independent developers.
Thankfully these few people are willing to share their knowledge and skill for all. While they might only tinker with what came before, their upgrades and developments are still at their own pace - and thats their choice. If they charge a few quid for some of it then so what. Be gratefull we have them still at all.
Because what really is a shame is that there are now too few skilled developers like them. And that IS the problem. A few years ago developers for phone roms were ten a penny with good healthy competition and a huge influx of ideas and knowledge.
Sadly there are more and more people today with such skills only interested in developing for cash rewards by advertisers on the back of malware or worthless apps.
Those few that do try to help such as those here in the forums, even if they make a charge, do make some progress and share with all. Remember they are also constrained and rely heavily on far more restrictive and less supportive google tools these days than they were.
The real shame is there just isn't enough of them.