Android GBAtemp's Ultimate Guide to Android OS

[CarbonX13]

Well, long-time no update! Been so busy with school work that there's hardly any time to focus on this as of late... =S

In the latest update I bring in the Tablet section, with some noted manufacturers, as well as a mini pros/cons section comparing tablets to laptops. In response to ProtoKun's note for the Xoom being added to the Motorola section back in May, I felt that the tablet market could use some expanding and development before I added tablets as an entirely different section (they are rather different from smartphones in terms of target audience and usage).

In other notes, rooting will be done in a separate guide from this one, because I feel it wouldn't really apply as part of the more "introduction to beginners" approach with this one.

As a bonus note, after writing the tablet section I've become more appreciative of ASUS than ever, with their different approach to the tablet market. EVERY SINGLE MANUFACTURER nowadays seems to all have their tablets come under the specs of:
- 10.1-inch, 1280x800 display
- 1GHz dual-core processor
- nVIDIA Tegra 2 GPU chipset
- 5MP back camera with 1.3MP front camera
- 16/32GB internal storage with expandable microSD slot.

It actually drove me crazy listing the specs for most manufacturer's devices. Thank you ASUS for taking a much more interesting hardware approach, it gives me something to talk about... And thank you HTC for making devices that don't match up with the otherwise "standardized" specifications.

Tablet manufacturers should really need to push things forward with Ice Cream Sandwich around the corner.

Expect a more quicker update next time, because Ice Cream Sandwich is bound to be revealed next week or so. Rumour has it we're seeing the Nexus Prime or whatever it's called being released on October 11th.

 

[Terminator02]

Happy to see an update, just a few here are a lot of notes:


"There is also an option that lets users test an app in a virtual Android environment for a limited time prior to purchase."

you should be sure to say that's on for on the computer storefront, not from the app



The Motorola section is pretty outdated, you should mention the Droid 3, X2, and Bionic, as well as the Photon on sprint (that's pretty good, but not quite as good as the S II variant for sprint)

The "LG Optimus Series" is more the Optimus One that's been renamed by different carriers with letters that stand for the carrier, and I believe verizon renamed it completely

you should list the Arc S instead of the Arc for Sony Ericsson

You might want to remove some of the older HTC devices

For Custom Launchers you should mention Zeam Launcher, which is a very lightweight and snappy homescreen (and free!), good for older devices that are getting bogged down with other launchers

And you should link to ADW Launcher, the free version of ADW EX

You should mention Motorola's Motoblur (and their recent abandonment of the name, as it's widely reguarded as terrible) and the more updated version of Sense (3.0) and Touchwiz (3 I believe)

The ASUS EE Pad Slider is incredibly thick and the keyboard is quite cramped, the ASUS transformer is still superior to it, don't lead people to believe that it's any better

 

[CarbonX13]

Few notes in reply:
- Motorola section was definitely out of date, but part of it was probably due to the fact most of their recent devices are CDMA and haven't hit markets out of the USA (as far as I've seen). I've added the three CDMA ones as one to save space (they have practically identical specs) while the Photon gets its own section because it has a GSM flavour as well.
- Fixed LG Optimus heading.
- The Xperia Arc S is pretty much identical to the original Arc, the only difference really being the 1.5GHz processor. I'll place them under the same heading, with a bracketed (S).
- The Android UI and Custom Launcher sub-sections are incomplete, so there will be future updates that will definitely add more to those areas. I've never heard of Zeam Launcher actually, so I'll have to look into that. I'm planning to add Go Launcher and Launcher 7 so far to custom launchers. On the Android UI front I've got plans to introduce the defunct MotoBlur UI (Motorola) and TimeScape UI (Sony Ericsson). HTC Sense 3.0 and TouchWiz 4 will receive their updates as well.
- I wouldn't call 17.3mm particularly thick, but I'll add a note in there about that, as well as the cramped keyboard. It's still a good option for those looking to just pack one device without any clunky add-ons to plug in to.

 

[chyyran]

Just to tell you, the myTouch line, isn't exactly "exclusive" to T-Mobile.

The myTouch 4G is identical to Videotron's HTC Glacier, and Mobilicity's HTC Panache.
In Canada, of course.

 

[CarbonX13]

Just to tell you, the myTouch line, isn't exactly "exclusive" to T-Mobile.

The myTouch 4G is identical to Videotron's HTC Glacier, and Mobilicity's HTC Panache.
In Canada, of course.

Yeah, is has obviously seen re-iterations elsewhere under different brand names, but as a whole they're released under that exclusive T-Mobile line-up first and foremost, and whether HTC decides to release it elsewhere has been hit or miss.

 

[PizzaPino]

wow nice summary. but lg had the first 3d phone, not htc.

 

[CarbonX13]

wow nice summary. but lg had the first 3d phone, not htc.

HTC Evo 3D hit the market in June for the U.S. carrier Sprint. The LG Optimus 3D didn't hit the market until July.

 

[PizzaPino]

oh you're right. i live in europe :')

 

[CarbonX13]

Minor update with information on the revealing of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as the (Samsung) Galaxy Nexus.

 

[ProtoKun7]

You need to fix the Samsung logo, by the looks of it.

 

[CarbonX13]

Updated information throughout the guide, with the official launch of Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus. Removed certain devices from the guide as they are now less prominent than before. I haven't had much time to keep updated with all the manufacturers and stuff, so if I missed a very significant device that was released, please let me know.

As for the guide, it is very much complete in the most part. Just a few sections needed to be added in Android UI (MotoBlur of Motorola, Timescape of Sony Ericsson), and Custom Launchers (Go Launcher, Launcher 7, etc.)

The rooting guide will be started up over the Christmas holidays, as recent weeks are being dedicated to school work.

 

[ProtoKun7]

You should probably change the Gingerbread summary. Not really the "latest and greatest" OS now ICS is out.