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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Click to collapse
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.
Related
So Hi,
I finally got sick of my Galaxy S II, will sell it on ebay, and I ordered a Nexus some Minutes ago.
Well, I have a few questions about the Galaxy Nexus...
1. It's a Google device, so can I just download the pure AOSP, compile it, put it on the Galaxy Nexus and everything will run without hacking around?
2. Do I lose warranty of doing point 1? Since it's a google maintained device...
3. It sounds strange, but can I also compile gingerbread or froyo? WOULD it be possible, or would it be a hard task?
4. Is a Nexus device a good device for starting developement of Kernels / Roms? I son't have experience with that, but I wanted to begin. I made some funny tries on my Huawei U8160, but it can do ... ehm ... nothing interesting...
5. What else should I know, when I own a Nexus device?
Thanks for answering my questions
t0desicy said:
So Hi,
I finally got sick of my Galaxy S II, will sell it on ebay, and I ordered a Nexus some Minutes ago.
Well, I have a few questions about the Galaxy Nexus...
1. It's a Google device, so can I just download the pure AOSP, compile it, put it on the Galaxy Nexus and everything will run without hacking around?
2. Do I lose warranty of doing point 1? Since it's a google maintained device...
3. It sounds strange, but can I also compile gingerbread or froyo? WOULD it be possible, or would it be a hard task?
4. Is a Nexus device a good device for starting developement of Kernels / Roms? I son't have experience with that, but I wanted to begin. I made some funny tries on my Huawei U8160, but it can do ... ehm ... nothing interesting...
5. What else should I know, when I own a Nexus device?
Thanks for answering my questions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes. Stock runs pretty well so that is always an option. You might need to hack it to a "yakju" build to receive updates from Google. You can find more about this in other threads.
2. You'll lose warranty, but it doesn't matter. If you need to send it back for warranty purposes, just relock the bootloader and get rid of any evidence that you were rooted. Stock Google Images are present to get you back to stock.
3. I don't see a reason why you would want to compile Gingerbread or Froyo for it. It's a step backwards especially when Ice Cream Sandwich is amazing. You can try but complications will arise getting all the features to work, but again.. I see no purpose in this because Gingerbread / Froyo isn't optimized for dual-cores.
4. Yes its a developer phone for a reason.
5. Enjoy the Nexus experience, the way Android should be without all these manufacturers putting ugly/laggy skins on top of Android.
Hi,
tanks for the fast answer.
3. I don't see a reason why you would want to compile Gingerbread or Froyo for it. It's a step backwards especially when Ice Cream Sandwich is amazing. You can try but complications will arise getting all the features to work, but again.. I see no purpose in this because Gingerbread / Froyo isn't optimized for dual-cores.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also don't see any reason... but who cares, I just wanted to know if it's possible to do this - maybe just to set myself something like a destiny, something like "I want to learn that much that I can do BLABLABLA"
But yes, I bought the Nexus just because of Icecreamsandwich, I think the hardware of the galaxy s ii is better, so it feels a bit like a downgrade.
t0desicy said:
Hi,
tanks for the fast answer.
I also don't see any reason... but who cares, I just wanted to know if it's possible to do this - maybe just to set myself something like a destiny, something like "I want to learn that much that I can do BLABLABLA"
But yes, I bought the Nexus just because of Icecreamsandwich, I think the hardware of the galaxy s ii is better, so it feels a bit like a downgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I guess it could be a project for you. There are other alternatives like webOS (which is now open sourced).... OR when Honeycomb gets open-sourced (if it ever does) you can port that lolol.
I don't think Galaxy S2 hardware is better, if only thing I'd say the processor possibly. But the screen size and 720p display just leads the road and makes Galaxy Nexus go way further than GS2 imo.
Well, two things that the Galaxy Nexus doesn't have (and oh how badly I wish they did) is the camera and the microSD slot. Other than that, the Galaxy Nexus seem to be on the up and up.
I, too, would like to know how to make Gingerbread and Froyo work on the Galaxy Nexus. It's not a practical thing, but just a "hey, if it's suppose to be a development platform, why can't we?"
Perhaps it's the binary drivers. But mostly I think it's because of the lack of physical buttons.
This makes me wonder if I should get a Nexus S to learn on so I can work with many different versions of Android to my heart's content, as well as extend my learned knowledge to other retail-based phones (HTC, Samsung, LG, etc) since they will also have physical (well, touch sensitive anyways) buttons.
I'm no programmer. I just want to learn how to compile from source, and also to find out how to make the source code work with different devices. Kind of like installing Windows on different PCs (downloading drivers, etc).
It's getting a little sad that there is still no credible rumors on an official update for Verizon Nexus Owners. The 4.04 update to GSM owners may have caused some issues for them and Google jumped on it and fixed in a few weeks. Would love for Verizon/Google to show us a little love too.
Nope I already have 4.0.4, and have a ton of customization options that I wouldn't have with stock.
I've been here since December waiting for some bug fixes. Makes me sad really.
Its not on Google, this falls on Samsung/Verizon and their proprietary blobs or whatever the heck you call them, lol
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Nope. I come for the comedy of threads like this.
good day.
Verizon is the holdup, not Google. The only upside is that the firmware for the VZW version will probably not be prone to some of the same problems the GSM version has had due to the extra testing.
It's equally frustrating for VZW Xoom owners. The WiFi-only Xoom got ICS in January. The VZW Xoom is still on Honeycomb. Apparently Google finished the ICS build for it a while ago but Verizon hasn't finished testing because it isn't a priority device for them.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Yes, I visit this forum and a few others to try to get info on the Verizon update. My phone suffers from the audio reboot/one-way audio issue and it's extremely frustrating. I know I can root and flash but I choose to leave my device stock. It's a toss-up as I'd rather wait to have the update properly tested, but the phone part of my phone is almost useless.
Nope. I've been running IMM76D since day one of release. I will be running IMM76I in the next day or so as well, if I get off my butt.
Lucky Armpit said:
Yes, I visit this forum and a few others to try to get info on the Verizon update. My phone suffers from the audio reboot/one-way audio issue and it's extremely frustrating. I know I can root and flash but I choose to leave my device stock. It's a toss-up as I'd rather wait to have the update properly tested, but the phone part of my phone is almost useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've always taken a proactive approach to Android phones. I don't look at it as how bug free it is stock, but rather what I need to do to fix it and be happy.
And I am a happy owner.
cordell12 said:
Its not on Google, this falls on Samsung/Verizon and their proprietary blobs or whatever the heck you call them, lol
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Wrong. Google updates the Verizon Galaxy Nexus...it's just that updates have to be approved by Verizon first. Simple as that.
what are you guys doing? waiting around for stock images and ota's? flash cyanogen and be done with it, you'll be up to date and have more customizations than stock anyway ...
blowtorch said:
what are you guys doing? waiting around for stock images and ota's? flash cyanogen and be done with it, you'll be up to date and have more customizations than stock anyway ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer stock myself because I don't like the "everything AND the kitchen sink" mentality of custom ROMs. I like the "less is more" mentality. Plus, stock ROMs may not have quite the performance of a custom, but stock ROMs generally work better as daily drivers because they're more stable. In addition, kernels are a touchy subject for me as well. I sort-of have trust issues with developers writing kernel tweaks for hardware of which they have no documentation. Only OEMs truly know what a device's hardware is capable of and what its limitations are.
I also keep my stock ROM unrooted because root access doesn't really give me any functionality that I'm interested in. I'd basically root because I can, and that's not really very appealing. *shrug*
Different strokes for different folks.
blowtorch said:
what are you guys doing? waiting around for stock images and ota's? flash cyanogen and be done with it, you'll be up to date and have more customizations than stock anyway ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm waiting for a rom AND radio update the truly fixes some of the big items. I've been reading on the radios and as far as I've read there isn't a true fix on the radio (voice and data) yet for Verizon CDMA phones.
boe said:
I'm waiting for a rom AND radio update the truly fixes some of the big items. I've been reading on the radios and as far as I've read there isn't a true fix on the radio (voice and data) yet for Verizon CDMA phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The I515.LA02 radio that comes with the 4.0.4/IMM30B OTA is excellent. Improved my radio noticeably.
boe said:
It's getting a little sad that there is still no credible rumors on an official update for Verizon Nexus Owners. The 4.04 update to GSM owners may have caused some issues for them and Google jumped on it and fixed in a few weeks. Would love for Verizon/Google to show us a little love too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I prefer stock myself to, however... one of the main reasons I got the Nexus was for "timely" updates.
4 months is not timely when the rest of the world has an android version newer than my "flagship" device!!! I finally got fed up with Verizon's phone support/approval process so I unlocked/rooted/flashed AOKP and franco kernel.
I've never looked back.
oldblue910 said:
I prefer stock myself because I don't like the "everything AND the kitchen sink" mentality of custom ROMs. I like the "less is more" mentality. Plus, stock ROMs may not have quite the performance of a custom, but stock ROMs generally work better as daily drivers because they're more stable. In addition, kernels are a touchy subject for me as well. I sort-of have trust issues with developers writing kernel tweaks for hardware of which they have no documentation. Only OEMs truly know what a device's hardware is capable of and what its limitations are.
I also keep my stock ROM unrooted because root access doesn't really give me any functionality that I'm interested in. I'd basically root because I can, and that's not really very appealing. *shrug*
Different strokes for different folks.
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Click to collapse
Why don't you try a custom ROM first? There are many that are awesome
"daily drivers." I am running Gummy 1.0.1 and it is freaking incredible! The stability is better than stock and you can't tell a difference from stock if you don't change anything in the Gummy settings. Instead of having trust issues with developers, give them a shot and try some of the stuff out.
oldblue910 said:
I prefer stock myself because I don't like the "everything AND the kitchen sink" mentality of custom ROMs. I like the "less is more" mentality. Plus, stock ROMs may not have quite the performance of a custom, but stock ROMs generally work better as daily drivers because they're more stable. In addition, kernels are a touchy subject for me as well. I sort-of have trust issues with developers writing kernel tweaks for hardware of which they have no documentation. Only OEMs truly know what a device's hardware is capable of and what its limitations are.
I also keep my stock ROM unrooted because root access doesn't really give me any functionality that I'm interested in. I'd basically root because I can, and that's not really very appealing. *shrug*
Different strokes for different folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogenmod 9 has been stable for months now as they have been focusing on it as a main priority. Not to mention obvious extra features that they have been adding once they have been deemed stable. I use GLaDOS kernel and easily get 3x the battery life and way faster than any stock rom's kernel. Custom kernels like GLaDOS and Lean Kernel never had the "signal drop" issue with 4.0.4 because they patched it in their kernels a along time ago.
Root doesn't add any functionality that you are interested in? Have you heard of LBE Privacy Guard? https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5sYmUuc2VjdXJpdHkubGl0ZSJd
Dev's only improve on stock as far as i am concerned. I donate and support devs because of the enhancements that they make in making this phone better. You are not getting all you can out of your phone if you're on stock ...
like you said to each his own ...
The tools are available for the latest update. If you don't want to take it into your own hands then you really can't complain about it if you're unwilling to fix it yourself.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
blowtorch said:
what are you guys doing? waiting around for stock images and ota's? flash cyanogen and be done with it, you'll be up to date and have more customizations than stock anyway ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am waiting for OTAs. Modifying my primary means of communication scares the crap out me, espeically with the chance of making it a $300 paperweight. I understand that tens of thousands of people modify their Android devices every day without issue, and the risk of bricking is extremely low. However, there is still a risk and due to that, I choose to wait. The reward does not outweigh the risk for me.
I just gotta say this. THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO INSTALL A CUSTOM ROM. NONE. ZERO.
Why do you think android is open source? The arguments against rooting/unlocking and installing a custom rom are laughable. If you run stock, and complain about not being on the cutting edge, you have to realize that this is YOUR choice.
AOKP M5 will be JUST AS STABLE as stock, but with better performance, battery life, customization, etc.
If you are still on 4.0.2/4.0.3 you have nobody to blame buy yourself.
---------- Post added at 05:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------
Lucky Armpit said:
Yes, I am waiting for OTAs. Modifying my primary means of communication scares the crap out me, espeically with the chance of making it a $300 paperweight. I understand that tens of thousands of people modify their Android devices every day without issue, and the risk of bricking is extremely low. However, there is still a risk and due to that, I choose to wait. The reward does not outweigh the risk for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use the toolkits to root/unlock, and flash custom roms, the risk of bricking your phone is 0%. This is assuming that your phone is not a lemon.
There is NO risk to rooting/flashing custom roms, ZERO. Even if you did something stupid like pull your battery while flashing something, you can ALWAYS restore.
Just curious why a lot of people seem to prefer these devices over devices like Motorola Razr, etc? Is because these devices are updated more frequently than most? I've read that somewhere, but don't remember where. Thanks.
ti-force said:
Just curious why a lot of people seem to prefer these devices over devices like Motorola Razr, etc? Is because these devices are updated more frequently than most? I've read that somewhere, but don't remember where. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus devices are bloat free (no motoblur, touchwiz, sense skins on top - just pure Android)
They (like you said) are the first to get updates to new Android releases
They are much simpler to unlock/root/theme/modify etc than others
The development of roms, kernels mods etc is the largest of any other Android phone probably and is always evolving
Pretty much why I chose a Nexus - I knew I would be able to get pretty comprehensive help with any aspect of it on these and other forums
Guiding.God said:
Nexus devices are bloat free (no motoblur, touchwiz, sense skins on top - just pure Android)
They (like you said) are the first to get updates to new Android releases
They are much simpler to unlock/root/theme/modify etc than others
The development of roms, kernels mods etc is the largest of any other Android phone probably and is always evolving
Pretty much why I chose a Nexus - I knew I would be able to get pretty comprehensive help with any aspect of it on these and other forums
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your response; it's much appreciated. Since I've only ever used Moto Android devices, I'm not very familiar with the offerings by Nexus. Does Samsung actually make the Nexus, but Google owns Nexus?
Thanks again.
ti-force said:
Thanks for your response; it's much appreciated. Since I've only ever used Moto Android devices, I'm not very familiar with the offerings by Nexus. Does Samsung actually make the Nexus, but Google owns Nexus?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google owns the Nexus brand and uses it to showcase their latest software offerings as well as to set a general trend of direction it envisions for Android as a whole - It contracts out the actual hardware manufacture to it's partners like HTC (Nexus One), Samsung (Nexus S & GNex) and ASUS (Nexus 7 tablet) etc.
Seeing as this particular forum is for the Galaxy Nexus specifically, you can find some more info here http://pocketnow.com/2012/07/20/whats-next-for-googles-nexus-brand-of-devices/ and ofcourse even more by using Google's no.1 product - Google Search
Carrier freedom.
Dev support.
Peer support.
Price.
Hardware good enough.
Pure android.
Serious geek toy.
(The gnex is Google brand, but manufactured by Samsung.)
Okay thanks, guys. It's all more clear to me now. So basically any Nexus device will be updated before any other device, correct? Say even before the Samsung Galaxy S111?
Thanks again.
ti-force said:
Okay thanks, guys. It's all more clear to me now. So basically any Nexus device will be updated before any other device, correct? Say even before the Samsung Galaxy S111?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No not any Nexus device. The GSM Nexus that you can buy from Google directly gets updates before any other device. The carrier locked (CDMA) Verizon and Sprint Nexi got the latest updates 2-3 months after the GSM model did, still they are ahead of most phones for updates.
stelv said:
No not any Nexus device. The GSM Nexus that you can buy from Google directly gets updates before any other device. The carrier locked (CDMA) Verizon and Sprint Nexi got the latest updates 2-3 months after the GSM model did, still they are ahead of most phones for updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, okay. Thank you much.
ti-force said:
Just curious why a lot of people seem to prefer these devices over devices like Motorola Razr, etc? Is because these devices are updated more frequently than most? I've read that somewhere, but don't remember where. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updated frequently, for longer, with great stock software.
If you're into rooting, its trivially easy.
If you're into ROMs, it'll be one of (if not the) best supported device for a long time to come.
Unlocked straight from Google.
Pentaband.
Honestly, I was a huge HTC fanatic up until I first played with the Gnex. After an hour of playing with my new Gnex I was hooked, after a week of tweaking it I decided I will not own any other device but a Nexus branded one from this point on. I hated samsung because of how plastic and toylike their phones seemed to be but after owning my Gnex I changed my mind. My last phone (Inc2) had scratches on the screen within a week and dust under the screen within a month. I'm going on 3 months with my Gnex and keep it naked in the same pocked as my car keys sometimes with not a single tiny cosmetic ding.
Anyway, got a little off the subject, honestly the only way I will ever hesitate in the future from buying a nexus device is if crappy motorola is making it. I still love HTC and I definitely have a newfound love for Samsung after owning my Gnex and playing with the Note 2 and the GS3.
Bottomline, once you own a google flagship phone nothing else really compares.
dankblaze said:
Bottomline, once you own a google flagship phone nothing else really compares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've never been so close to freedom.
sent from my i9250
Thanks for your opinions, guys. I'm currently in the process of trying to purchase a GNexus online. If it all works out, hopefully I'll be able to experience first hand some of the great things that you guys have experienced.
ti-force said:
Thanks for your opinions, guys. I'm currently in the process of trying to purchase a GNexus online. If it all works out, hopefully I'll be able to experience first hand some of the great things that you guys have experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get it for a dollar through best buy currently. At least for verizon.
dankblaze said:
You can get it for a dollar through best buy currently. At least for verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll check into that. Thanks! Probably requires an upgrade, though. Right? I can't upgrade for 4 more months....
ti-force said:
I'll check into that. Thanks! Probably requires an upgrade, though. Right? I can't upgrade for 4 more months....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that requires a new 2-year contract...
ti-force said:
I'll check into that. Thanks! Probably requires an upgrade, though. Right? I can't upgrade for 4 more months....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want an upgrade, ditch the carrier with an unlocked phone! :good:
I choose this phone because it will be vastly developed on even two years from now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
After a long time staying loyal to the Nexus line I just picked up an S3. Main reason was the 44$ price tag and the fact I could stick a 64GB micro SD in here.
So far I think the phone is ok but WOW does their bloatware make the phone sucks. I really want my old Android OS back and wil be reading all the guides I can about flashing it.
Anyone else gotten one? Anyone flashes it yet?
sspikey said:
After a long time staying loyal to the Nexus line I just picked up an S3. Main reason was the 44$ price tag and the fact I could stick a 64GB micro SD in here.
So far I think the phone is ok but WOW does their bloatware make the phone sucks. I really want my old Android OS back and wil be reading all the guides I can about flashing it.
Anyone else gotten one? Anyone flashes it yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just root it and freeze/delete the apps you don't need. Stay away from AOSP, you'll get used to Touchwiz and love what it offers over those buggy ROMs.
Sent from my SGH-I747M
I may try and find someone in town with a custom rom S3 and try it out. I REALLY miss my CM roms on my Nexus S.
You are right though, there are some great features bundled in the touchwiz OS but a ton I simply want gone. I simply hate the layout of a lot of the included programs like the SMS, calendar and phone.
sspikey said:
I REALLY miss my CM roms on my Nexus S.
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Click to collapse
If it's CM you're after, that's definitely available for your new phone. The device code you're looking for is d2att, i.e. this is the download page you'd want.
Of course, you might want to root the device first (the most applicable image for your device would probably be the Rogers one), and put a new recovery image on there - I suggest TWRP for that, though if you're used to CWM that's certainly an option as well.
Welcome to the wide world of the S3, and have fun!
If you want AOSP / AOKP get Task650 Roms. Hes has a 100% perfect 4.1.2, and a great stable 4.2.1 ROM out. Check in original android. Been using it for a long long time on both the S3's in our household and everyones super happy. Super fast and no crashes or problems. TW was just too slow.
His Rom's are for AT&T.
geoldr said:
If you want AOSP / AOKP get Task650 Roms. Hes has a 100% perfect 4.1.2, and a great stable 4.2.1 ROM out. Check in original android. Been using it for a long long time on both the S3's in our household and everyones super happy. Super fast and no crashes or problems. TW was just too slow.
His Rom's are for AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T's model is the exact same as the Bell, Rogers (and Fido), and Telus
Man you guys are all so welcoming with the wonderful links. Thank you so much.
So im surprised no one else has chimmed in as a new fido owner. I must say their cost is a little high for the phone which might be the reason why. 250$ on a 2 year plan for a phone that is free most elsewhere aint cheap. Luckily for me I got a great deal on it (44$ total cost!)
Does anyone have some warranty related info or links they could send me? I have read about an hours worth and cant seem to gather a clear picture. From what I can tell theres are three methods to rooting this device.
Also, any info on what to backup in order not to brick this phone?
This phone is quite a bit more work than the Nexus I had earlier. None the less I am pretty sure ill have tons of fun!
smelenchuk said:
If it's CM you're after, that's definitely available for your new phone. The device code you're looking for is d2att, i.e. this is the download page you'd want.
Of course, you might want to root the device first (the most applicable image for your device would probably be the Rogers one), and put a new recovery image on there - I suggest TWRP for that, though if you're used to CWM that's certainly an option as well.
Welcome to the wide world of the S3, and have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the awesome info.
Looks like I will be tripping the flash counter no matter what I do accoding to the first link. Have there been any further developements since that post was written? Warranty is a concern of mine with this phone as its quite pricey!
l'm on fido with a unlocked Rogers GS3 which I used one of the threads here to unlock yourself
Check out my sig
yulet said:
Just root it and freeze/delete the apps you don't need. Stay away from AOSP, you'll get used to Touchwiz and love what it offers over those buggy ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO. Touchwiz is complete garbage and really slows the S3 down. I used it for a couple of weeks and could not stand all the Samsung bloat and the Samsung replacement apps (phone, messaging, etc.).
Wiped it and I'm running CM 10.1 nightly (1/13) and the phone is a beast now. Super fast, with the best possible UI, i.e. the way Android is meant to be!
Yes there are a few bugs but they're nothing major and at this point CM 10.1 is definitely good enough to be a daily driver. DO NOT hesitate to drop TW crap for CM!
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S3 is easy to hard brick too if you aren't paying attention to what you are doing. Just saying.....