Sorry, if this is the wrong thread or if this question itself is stupid.
One thing I have been thinking about in the last few days (especially with Android Nougat this close to release) is: "Why is there no Universal Android ROM (Cyanogen or other) that can be installed on any (or at least a number of common) devices like Windows or Ubuntu for PCs?"
I did a bit of research on the internet today, but the only answer I found over and over again is, that it's because of drivers and the sheer number of different phones and tables out there.
But now my more exact question: Why isn't it possible to bundle the drivers for SoCs, antennas, ... who are most popular (like Snapdragon 820, 810 ...) with a kind of standard AOSP ROM as this works with Windows (as far as I understand it)?
Thanks for your help!
Related
I have purchased an unkown brand of PDA phone which is manufactured in China/Taiwan where Windows Mobile 5.0 is installed. However, the machine seens very unstable because the system somehow will stop running when soft-reset or while using it. Is there any program I can use to check the ROM information/version of my device so I can upgrade it for a more apporpriate ROM/OS. Thanks!
Start -> Settings -> System -> Device Information (Under `Identidy`) may give you a clue. A photograph of your hardware may also help.
It says Microsoft Windows Mobile Version
OS 5.1.1700 (Build 14343.0.0.0)
ARM920T S3C2440A
Below is the photo of the machine, however the words are in Simplified Chinese.
http://www.m8cool.com/mobile/1/461/2833.html
As the phone singal is very weak and the machine is very unstable. Just wonder if I can find a better Radio Rom or OS to replace the exiting one.
I'm 99% sure it's a samsung, there was another thread with an similar or same (i don't remember) phone and query somewhere in this forum. i thought it was an abandoned concept, (remember the slider phones in the last two matrix films)
This phone looks like Samsung, and actually this model from Samsung has been for sold on market in China last year on CDMA network called SCH-M509 (China, with CDMA SIM card slot) or SCH-S250(Korea, without CDMA SIM card slot). Check the link below and you see Samsung is not running Windows operating system. (In Simplified Chinese wordings)
http://cgi.ebay.com.cn/ws/eBayISAPI...QsascsZ1QQsaslcZ0QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZunknown
You can see the phone I posted earlier looks the same as original Samsung. I'm sure that the Samsung phone is not running Windows Mobile but the one I purchased is on Windows Mobile 5.0, therefore, I really want to see if I can flash the ROM for better performance (or at least more stable and reliable).
Anyone able to help? If I want to flash the ROM, what information I need to know? ROM version? Machine model e.g. Magician, Wizard..etc? Any program I can check the ROM information? Thanks!
roms are unique to each device - the hardware is different, the touchscreen button combos are endless, so the rom needs to be different.
as it's not made by htc, you will not likely find anyone with a rom for it on this forum.
i think you have two choices,
1 check the other phone forums - howard, pdamobiz etc.
2 cook your own rom - there are guides scattered around this forum, i don't know if the process is the same for all, but if you check guides for more than one you'll get the idea
im not sure i get whats going on with this new winp7 rom thats been posted.
has anyone run it on an emulator? if not how do you know its even real? and when you guys are talking about dumping it what exactly does that meen, sorry for nuub questions but im not that up on the dev scene
Well, it can't be run in the Emulator, as the Emulator uses x86 ROMs, while actual devices are based on the ARM architecture, so basically as of now no one can say for certain if it is real (although some things look promising).
As the ROM is intended for use on a not yet known device it also can't be flashed to a device anyone owns.
Dumping means that they are trying to extract the files which are contained in the ROM image, which is difficult as the format is different from WM6.5 and no documentation exists for it.
If they can extract the files they then could be repackaged to known formats which then could be flashed - nobody knows if that will boot on any existing device though.
StevieBallz said:
Well, it can't be run in the Emulator, as the Emulator uses x86 ROMs, while actual devices are based on the ARM architecture, so basically as of now no one can say for certain if it is real (although some things look promising).
As the ROM is intended for use on a not yet known device it also can't be flashed to a device anyone owns.
Dumping means that they are trying to extract the files which are contained in the ROM image, which is difficult as the format is different from WM6.5 and no documentation exists for it.
If they can extract the files they then could be repackaged to known formats which then could be flashed - nobody knows if that will boot on any existing device though.
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ahh ryt. i get the emulator part, i actually have the visual studio 2k10 for win phone so i understand that there is a difference between computer based roms and mobile roms. but i thought maybe there was a tool out ther that could use mobile roms, lik a virtual box for phones, i know that people know the hardware specs for win phone 7.. 3 buttons, 1g processor, capacative touch screen etc etc so i thought maybe sumone had used it through a virtual phone
96edwy said:
... i know that people know the hardware specs for win phone 7.. 3 buttons, 1g processor, capacative touch screen etc etc so i thought maybe sumone had used it through a virtual phone
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Click to collapse
No, we've been told the minimum specs by MS.
Casey
Perhaps the old Emulator from the WinCE6 SDK might be able to run it, as it had to support native ARM Code, it had to emulate the CPU architecture, but most likely features of newer ARM Cores are missing and WP7 seems to be using them.
But obviously (as seen from the emulator) there is a way to compile the System to the x86 architecture, so maybe Intel gets around to include a decent graphices core and we might see some ULV Atom powered WP7 phones - or not ;-)
Hello XDA,
I've been following you for years. I started following you with my first Android phone, an HTC Hero. I've been very happy to be able to use a community ROM that made a far better experience than the stock ROM.
I recently got a brand new HTC One V PrimoU, and I'd like to make it my new polyvalent tool.
I'm not a noob in computers, kernel/linux related stuff, electronics, networking. I already tried some ROMs. In fact, I started with KangBang 3.0 (the same version as now I think), but both WiFi and BlueTooth were not working. Android could not even detected the WiFi MAC address, so I guess it was a driver or wireless chip firmware related problem. I think I was the only one affected, so it was maybe a bad flash or I used the wrong kernel. I did'nt investigate more at the time, but if it happens again to me, I'll send some system/kernel logs.
I then tried AOKP, had a great (really) experience with it, except that the Jack plug sound quality was awful. No bass, only mid/high tones. I even thought my speakers were dead at first, but then tried with headphones. Now, I want to try KangBang again, because that ROM was good, and fast, just missing WiFi.
TL;DR
I'd like to ask some precise questions about KangBang and the HTC One V.
I initially wanted to ask in the ROM dev thread, but can't since I'm a new user, so I ask here. Sorry if the questions are stupid/simple/answered, but let's make a clear base, with precise interrogations and answers, so that they will never be asked again
The kernel is included in the .zip file. Still, do we need to flash manually ? Or will the Aroma installer handle that ?
What about ROM Manager ? Is it recommended to use or is it a good way to brick a phone as I heard ?
Does this ROM change the base Android system and file structure ? Would it be compatible with a side-by-side installation of a Linux system such as Debian ? (To see what I mean by side by side installation of Linux, search Debian Kit for Android on Google, as I can't post links)
Also, I'd like to tell ROM makers these advices (don't take them bad, I you think I'm wrong about them there's no problem, just tell me why) :
It would not be a bad idea to give a simple statistic about the ROM : the load average with the ROM installed on an idle and clean phone. That would give a good indication of idle power consumption and ressource wasting.
I see that users reporting problems with their devices NEVER include any kind of debug information. Maybe you should ask for them, just because by searching for this debug information they might solve the problem themselves. Most Android systems and kernels report a LOT of information, that we can access with simple commands such as dmesg.
Last but not least, I would like to thank you, ROM developers and XDA users for allowing me to play this way with my phone, and to make it work exactly the way I want.
Hugo G.,
ummm this device has kangbang?? (btw questions go into q&a )
so i'll move onto the TL;DR which i was grateful for
1) The rom thread should say what kernel but yes, we don't have s-off so flashed manually
2) Ignore rom manager don't touch it
3) think of it as the differences say with debian vs ubuntu vs mint all basically debian but all with they're own differences (pros and cons)
also about the "suggestions" to the devs, that will NEVER go down well, why should YOU suggest to use what to put in the threads also i know in my threads i ASK for logcats time and time again...
hope this helps
if you need more info i'll be welcome to add more, but 1st i need sleep BADLY
Google says android 4.4 kitkat is available for everyone. So is it means we can flash it directly to our galaxy w?
Now our smartphones become a mini computers.
in dekstop computers we can install a new os(linux or windows) directly. The OS recognize the drivers then install them directly or from the web. Maybe some of hardwares drivers cant find but its very rare issue.
So why android doesnt like this. Thats everybody install new version of android and its install the phones drivers directly or from the internet.
The smartphones hardware manufacturers less than dekstop computers hardware manufacturers but dekstop computers OS can do it well and avaliable for every kind of computer.
Why Android OS install like dekstop computers OS.
pharatlil said:
Google says android 4.4 kitkat is available for everyone. So is it means we can flash it directly to our galaxy w?
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No, it needs to be ported.
pharatlil said:
in dekstop computers we can install a new os(linux or windows) directly. The OS recognize the drivers then install them directly or from the web. Maybe some of hardwares drivers cant find but its very rare issue.
So why android doesnt like this. Thats everybody install new version of android and its install the phones drivers directly or from the internet.
The smartphones hardware manufacturers less than dekstop computers hardware manufacturers but dekstop computers OS can do it well and avaliable for every kind of computer.
Why Android OS install like dekstop computers OS.
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Click to collapse
This is just partially true. Windows and Linux for desktop PCs already come with most of the drivers directly on the CD or DVD or at least with hardware IDs for the drivers they can download and install via internet.
Your ROM simply isn´t about the same size like a Linux or Windows DVD It also doesn´t have a 100GB HD, a DVD drive and at least 4GB RAM installed.
So if you want an Android that is about as easy to install on all devices, you would have to make it about that big in size like a Linux or a Windows installation DVD which most of the devices couldn´t handle.
That´s why it needs to be ported with just the drivers for your specific device. And this is also the advantage to keep it as small and slick as possible.
Most of linux os about 1gb.
Windows is about 1-2 gn. Not about 100gb.
İ ha ve a galaxy s3 and stock rom about 900mb.
İf google want to give latest firmwares every device They can make a pc program and it finds devices specs automatically.
Samsung, htc, lg...etc.. maybe dont want to give newest firmwares to older devices for selling new devices.
But why google dont make roms for every device. Android is a linux based os and linuxs difference is its avaliable for everyone. So i think googles s strategy about android isnt true. İt must be same way with linux.
pharatlil said:
Most of linux os about 1gb.
Windows is about 1-2 gn. Not about 100gb.
İ ha ve a galaxy s3 and stock rom about 900mb.
İf google want to give latest firmwares every device They can make a pc program and it finds devices specs automatically.
Samsung, htc, lg...etc.. maybe dont want to give newest firmwares to older devices for selling new devices.
But why google dont make roms for every device. Android is a linux based os and linuxs difference is its avaliable for everyone. So i think googles s strategy about android isnt true. İt must be same way with linux.
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Click to collapse
A totally fresh installed Windows 7 already is taking about 4GB on your HD and needs a way bigger partition to get installed at all.
Android is not a linux based rom. It´s a Java based ROM. Only the kernel is linux and this needs to be compiled first and match your hardware to make it able for the rom to work at.
Google only offers the basic code for a ROM but the rest must be added by the manufacturers. Beside this linux also wasn´t that userfriendly like it is now. The very first releases even didn´t use an UI. All had to be done on command line. Was meant to be used on servers but not for end users and though it was open source it took about 20 years from this stage to become an userfirendly OS for endusers like Windows.
So this is like comparing apples with pears. Best you ask Google and see what they will answer you.
İm disagree with you. or i couldnt explain well.
There in not more hardware manufacterers than PCs. But dekstop computers OS can handle it. For example i have got a hp compaq nx8220 notebook. its very old pc but i intalled windows 8 and its running very well. There is no drivers for windows 8 but windows have a feature for it. İ install many drivers in compatibility mode. ( Yes HP didnt publish a driver for it but windows's this compatibility feature solve the problem.)
Im not a developer but i know programming dialectic (i wrote programs in q basic and gw basic but i stay away from programming because of my job.) im interested about java and c++ and im learning. im seeing that developers main problem to porting Android to a device is hardware drivers. İf manufacterer give codes they port it easier.
İ want to say my hp compaq nx8220 is very old device but its runs with windows 8 very stable.
But my old phone and and my wifes phone galaxy w isnt a old device but they r saying your device cant runs properly with android's newest OS. It has 512 mb ram and 1,4ghz processor.??? (my notebook worst but runs w8)
Maybe one day some developers agree with my opinion and work with hardware drivers than making alot of custom roms. So maybe one day we enter a web page (for example cyanogenmod web page)and flash newest rom like installing a newest OS to a PC.
You may agree or disagree. No problem with that. It´s just you are comparing apples with pears. An Android Phone isn´t the same like a PC. Doesn´t have a HD or something equial to this in its capacity and so on. Neither Android, Firefox OS or Ubuntu Touch do have such an installer included that will install the Operating System on all devices. They all need to be ported. The same even for Windows Phone. So rather than arguing with me, go out and ask all the big players like Google, Ubuntu, Firefox or Microsoft why this isn´t the same like fo a PC.
With the release of Xiaomi's Windows 10 rom, is there a possibility that this could be ported over to phones such as the LG G3 with the same chipsets, chips and ram??
Would definitely breath new life into the device and something i would be willing to donate for.
It would definitely be a possibility, but devs would have to be willing to put a lot of time and work into learning the structure of the new os and adapting it to the dissimilar hardware between the g3 and the mi4
I was guessing the same thing but the first emerging problem is the following (please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm here to learn):
when you extract this specific rom, you find out about 20 partitions (unlike other lumias)..and it's almost the same number of partitions that an android rom for xiaomi has.
So my guessing is: xiaomi's bootloader hasn't changed, it's the same for windows 10 mobile and for android. They build a rom (probably working on the NT kernel of windows) suitable for this specific device. Of course lg's devices manage the memory with a different partition scheme..so, if I haven't written wrong things (otherwise correct me), to make a port is necessary to have an in dept knowledge of window's kernel (a not so simple task since it's closed source) in order to change *at least* the partition scheme and to make it suitable with lg's bootloader. People who can manage with this task, as far as I know, are not too much..