From CNET: Nexus 10 incoming!

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

Samsung Tablet = one big yawn.
Samsung Tablet rebadged as a Nexus = Absolutely the best tablet at any price.

That's because Google doesn't allow any funny shit. Samsung always uses and makes good components, but there are some engineering and marketing decisions that change really how the products are. For one thing, Samsung on their stuff monkeys with the user interface, don't offer as good support, etc. For instance, on some of the samsung phones, rooting is possible but not that big of a deal because you really can't have third party roms. Google phones by Samsung however, are very well supported because Google requires it. My wife is looking at new phones, and is running into this.

[Prestidigitweeze]

I'm not certain I follow you. The Samsung smartphones I've owned have all allowed third-party ROMs after rooting. It's no coincidence the company hired Steve Kondick of Cyanogen based on the third-party ROMs he'd created for various Galaxy and pre-Galaxy devices.

Originally Posted by Hellmark

That's because Google doesn't allow any funny shit. Samsung always uses and makes good components, but there are some engineering and marketing decisions that change really how the products are. For one thing, Samsung on their stuff monkeys with the user interface, don't offer as good support, etc. For instance, on some of the samsung phones, rooting is possible but not that big of a deal because you really can't have third party roms.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I'm not certain I follow you. The Samsung smartphones I've owned have all allowed third-party ROMs after rooting. It's no coincidence the company hired Steve Kondick of Cyanogen based on the third-party ROMs he'd created for various Galaxy and pre-Galaxy devices.

I think Verizon's Galaxy S3 had (has?) a locked bootloader even though the other flavors of GS3 didn't, so that might be the issue. Also, Samsung (and to be fair, almost everyone else) always put their own UI on their phones instead of plain Android, which is a big issue for some (e.g., the Samsung remote wipe issue a couple weeks ago.) The Nexus branded phones get stock Android and don't have the extra, uninstallable without rooting apps that most phones have. I have a Galaxy S/Captivate, it works ok, but it definitely needed Cyanogen to get to where I am happy with it.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I think Verizon's Galaxy S3 had (has?) a locked bootloader even though the other flavors of GS3 didn't, so that might be the issue. Also, Samsung (and to be fair, almost everyone else) always put their own UI on their phones instead of plain Android, which is a big issue for some (e.g., the Samsung remote wipe issue a couple weeks ago.) The Nexus branded phones get stock Android and don't have the extra, uninstallable without rooting apps that most phones have. I have a Galaxy S/Captivate, it works ok, but it definitely needed Cyanogen to get to where I am happy with it.

Oh yeah. Wife just got a Galaxy S 3 last night, and while it is a really nice phone, the UI sucks. For instance the app drawer button, is off to the side, instead of bottom center like on every other android phone. the notification drawer has power controls, but they're set to take up half the screen. Just silly stupid stuff.

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I'm not certain I follow you. The Samsung smartphones I've owned have all allowed third-party ROMs after rooting. It's no coincidence the company hired Steve Kondick of Cyanogen based on the third-party ROMs he'd created for various Galaxy and pre-Galaxy devices.

It is more of an issue with the non GSM carriers. For instance, the Galaxy S II does not have much in the way of third party support due to the lack of availability for drivers for the wireless for Sprint. You could get a ROM built for it, if you really didn't want 3G or WiMax.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Wife just got a Galaxy S 3 last night, and while it is a really nice phone, the UI sucks.

Right, but that's precisely why one roots.

It is more of an issue with the non-GSM carriers. For instance, the Galaxy S II does not have much in the way of third party support due to the lack of availability for drivers for the wireless for Sprint. You could get a ROM built for it, if you really didn't want 3G or WiMax.

Hadn't been following the rooting process for the SII, since I'm still on the original Galaxy S, but are you really saying that none of the multiple flavors of ROM for the SIII have allowed 3G and WiMax on the Sprint network?

Very often, certain ROMs are virtually stock with a few necessary improvements because there are people who enjoy that.

I prefer to get rid of most (and sometimes all) of the overlay because bloatware is the perennial drawback to most hardware.

It sounds as though porting a ROM for that purpose would be incredibly easy if one did find the drivers:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1927729

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Right, but that's precisely why one roots.

Hadn't been following the rooting process for the SII, since I'm still on the original Galaxy S, but are you really saying that none of the multiple flavors of ROM for the SIII have allowed 3G and WiMax on the Sprint network?

Very often, certain ROMs are virtually stock with a few necessary improvements because there are people who enjoy that.

I prefer to get rid of most (and sometimes all) of the overlay because bloatware is the perennial drawback to most hardware.

It sounds as though porting a ROM for that purpose would be incredibly easy if one did find the drivers:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1927729

I mostly use Cyanogenmod. Fairly stable, sticks mostly with the stock interface, with a few good usability tweaks, plus it has some of the most wide spread support. CM started supporting the sprint version of the GS3 with version 9, but has zero support for the GS1 or GS2, due to driver issues. My guess is the GS3 is supported because it shares enough in common with the Galaxy Nexus, which has been supported by the Android Open Source Project since day one (and by extension, pretty much all ROMs). At least with those, you can root them, so you can uninstall the bloatware.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Oh yeah. Wife just got a Galaxy S 3 last night, and while it is a really nice phone, the UI sucks. For instance the app drawer button, is off to the side, instead of bottom center like on every other android phone. the notification drawer has power controls, but they're set to take up half the screen. Just silly stupid stuff.

Install Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher. They are not only better looking, but faster. I got the Nova Launcher when Google had the 25c sale, and it is heads and shoulders above the stock Samsung launcher.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by afv011

Install Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher. They are not only better looking, but faster. I got the Nova Launcher when Google had the 25c sale, and it is heads and shoulders above the stock Samsung launcher.

Personally, I like the default Android "Holo" theme the best. I figure I'll let her play with it for a while, and if she doesn't like it (already some issues, and she's had it for about 14 hours, 8 of which was while sleeping), I'll drop Cyanogenmod on it, and let her play with something more Vanilla.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Personally, I like the default Android "Holo" theme the best. I figure I'll let her play with it for a while, and if she doesn't like it (already some issues, and she's had it for about 14 hours, 8 of which was while sleeping), I'll drop Cyanogenmod on it, and let her play with something more Vanilla.

I agree. The launcher will not change the looks of the rest of the OS, it is still TouchWiz and looks rather Gingerbread-ish. I'm also considering CM10, but I'll wait until it's officially supported.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by afv011

I agree. The launcher will not change the looks of the rest of the OS, it is still TouchWiz and looks rather Gingerbread-ish. I'm also considering CM10, but I'll wait until it's officially supported.

I have had CM10 since they started building nightlies, and it is nice. Jellybean fixed a lot of issues i had with ICS. Like the voice recognition will pause if there is too much silence, where ICS would throw an error and switch back to standard keyboard after you dismissed the error

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by afv011

I agree. The launcher will not change the looks of the rest of the OS, it is still TouchWiz and looks rather Gingerbread-ish. I'm also considering CM10, but I'll wait until it's officially supported.

"wait"

I am surprised. I thought you would pull out your tool kit, eprom burner, and manuals and get right to work on adaptations.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

"wait"

I am surprised. I thought you would pull out your tool kit, eprom burner, and manuals and get right to work on adaptations.

Ah, well, that's the usual modus operandi, all of my devices are running some baked ROM, but the S3 is still on stock - I guess I'm still on the honeymoon period But if Sammy don't pull their finger out soon, well, CM10 here I come...

[afv011]

There's a Google event on the 29th, maybe they'll announced this Nexus10? Or could it be the Nexus 7 32GB?

Here's the link, though it has no info on the event.

Link

[Hellmark]

Oh man, more frustration. We just got a new printer too, which supports Google Cloud Print. I set it up on our google accounts, and then when I went to try it on her phone, and on the browser and email apps they included they restrict you from using any printer other than a Samsung printer. WTF.

Also, apparently, the Samsungized version of the browser limits you to 8 tabs. My Nexus S 4G is roughly a quarter of the specs of her Galaxy S3, but it has no such limit.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by afv011

There's a Google event on the 29th, maybe they'll announced this Nexus10? Or could it be the Nexus 7 32GB?

Here's the link, though it has no info on the event.

Link

I'd bet on the Nexus 10...
...or the Best Buy tablet.

Or, maybe WalMart is getting into the android tablet business, too.