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Does any one knows if these (awesome) features from iOS might show up in WP8?
I got iPad and Lumia 710 and as much as I love WP7 Apple had done one thing reasonably - it shop/s.
I use Netflix, Hulu and other services through VPN. On iOS it wan not a problem to setup 3 different accounts for 3 different markets US,UK and Poland. Also, because EU itself (inside) is almost like USA (travel and work wise) I don't understand why MS choose to divide EU market so much.
It is like if you by WP and are registered in NY once you move to California you will not get access to local apps registered in California Marketplace. Same thing here I live in Poland and in UK. I got back accounts in those 2 places I need to be able to get the apps I want without loosing those from different region I already had (paid for).
And I miss VPN for the times when I am away/abroad.
Any ideas if WP8 will be different here to WP7.5?
MS has been hit with monopoly/other laws in EU for a while now, each EU country has their own set of laws, might be why there are different EU markets... now why this doesn't apply to apple/google I have no idea :S
not based on location, but different carriers have different apps hidden by google :S this could be same as your EU markets?
eyeb said:
not based on location, but different carriers have different apps hidden by google :S this could be same as your EU markets?
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Still with Android this is a child play to get them anyway. With iOS, free stuff from any itunes store is easily available only WP is a problem. Shame as I really like Lumia 920... but since GxSIII is and will be much cheaper and without any issues mentioned above I might go with it
You legally shouldn't be able to access apps from other markets unless you're physically in that market. There's a reason why the app isn't available in your market. It's due to copyright issues. Netflix, hulu, etc aren't available in Poland, or UK, or wherever, because they don't have a right to distribute their libraries to those countries. You accessing that is going against this limitation.
Tl;dr: Windows Phone does it right by only allowing one marketplace per device. However, people should be able to switch what it is when they move, limited to a certain amount of times per year to prevent abuse like what you're trying to do.
vladzaharia said:
You legally shouldn't be able to access apps from other markets unless you're physically in that market. There's a reason why the app isn't available in your market. It's due to copyright issues. Netflix, hulu, etc aren't available in Poland, or UK, or wherever, because they don't have a right to distribute their libraries to those countries. You accessing that is going against this limitation.
Tl;dr: Windows Phone does it right by only allowing one marketplace per device. However, people should be able to switch what it is when they move, limited to a certain amount of times per year to prevent abuse like what you're trying to do.
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In theory you are right, but... accessing app and accessing service - not exactly the same thing.
+ all this is fine, but it is just a nice theory, not really for XXI century. Unfortunately copyright law (as well as patent law, especially in USA) are still based in XX century. This means that it is all working against the market and only to uphold monopoly and make the competition as small as possible, Rules and laws that are still in power in regard of copyright would not be allowed anywhere else, but "entertainment" and media it is very rich and very powerful industry (like tobacco and oil). This is why we get ACTA, PIPA, SOPA and more to come. They will do anything to prevent the change,
Ok... enough of off topic.
You say people should be allowed to change market few time per year... OK. How many is few? What if you travel frequently between USA, UK, Poland, Germany? What is you run out of those changes? You paid for the phone, you will pay for the service... you can not get it.
You say MS did it right??? Don't agree. My Live ID was setup when I was living in the UK (for few years). Now I live in Poland (but again I do plan to move). Unfortunately I cant use Polish apps although I bough my device here and I am here for the last 3 years. Should I setup up another Live ID just for Poland? Ok... I might... I can will buy stuff and than what if I will go back to UK?
Even apps that are available on both markets I will have to buy again, just because I have moved to different region of world? Can you imagine buying Angry Birds today and again i a year time just because you changes state and need to get different apps from "local" market?
In my opinion what Apple did is the best compromise. If you hold the CC you can register to new market and you don't loose your prev purchases. And free apps - where is the harm?
There is plenty small, cool apps - offered free only in Poland or UK just because their creators never thought some one from other country would be interested. And I suppose it cost more (per developer) if they want to offer their app world wide instead of just 1 country.
Would you agree (and pay) if your Windows PC would have the same kind of limitations?
Would you be OK if your car would have them?
Would you be OK if clothes you buy would be licensed to wear only in one country? After all trousers by Levis are sold in different prices in different markets.... you buying them cheap in USA and not buying in EU = loose of money for manufacturer.
Netflix gets my money, copyright owners and artists get the share... so what - my cash is not as good as Mr. Smiths from NY or Suth Dakota?
Yes it is... because idea is that for the same movie I should pay 3 times as much here..in EU. Fair?
+ quite a lot of movies I watch at Netflix I own on DVD anyway - it is just so much more convenient to stream than to play with different dvd each evening. But I do not have choice of similar service in EU.
Last thing I would add are exclusive deals signed by each of services Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc... with such popular product as film or music it should not be allowed. If you could access the same library through many different services you would choose the best one. Now service it self can be sht. but you got no choice if you want to watch certain titles.
Laws and copyright laws were supposed to make sure you are protected, that you do not LOOSE money not that you can make even more.
How come USE, EU, Japan, etc is fighting monopoly everywhere but not where movies and music are concerned. It is bad for the artists as well (beside few selected "stars" making millions). Shouldn't market decide - how much it will pay per production?
I do believe i read somewhere wp8 will have vpn support.
ROCOAFZ said:
I do believe i read somewhere wp8 will have vpn support.
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That is good news... question remains about apps from other markets or like in Android case form other than market sources...
Would SGS III be a good chopice instead of Lumia 920 (big screen Netflix and VPN should work)... it shpuld be quite a lot cheaper than Lumia 920...
i would have to certainly go with windows phone 8
ATHORNFAM2 said:
i would have to certainly go with windows phone 8
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Me too. If only I could resolve my two issues - access to VPN servers and availability of apps from different regions (iPlayer form UK and Netflix from US) I would not hesitate even for a higher price.
At the moment I got to go with SGS III and Android (I miss Nokia Drive and Music and Nokia itself already)
For hd2 WP7.5 every market is open with market enabler. You can install all Nokia apps, all HTC app, all Samsung apps, etc. On a "rooted" HTC HD2.
Ok, interesting.
This means that such a trick should also be available to at least some Nokia phones...
I have to say that I like the design of new Nokias. Not to mention that on every meeting 50% have their iPhones, rest has some Samsung, HTC or Sony devices and 100% of the time I am the only raisin with old school Nokia. Now ti seems that some folks are getting jealous...
Any way... HD2 is quite old device and hardware wise can not be as efficient as new 2011/2012 headsets, right?
+ there is one more issue - this trick has to work on WP8. Even if I can download and install Netflix app on WP7.5, without VPN access it is useless.
One more thought... and a question.
Beside interface... Is (or will be) Win8RT and WP8 the same system? If so... why did MS decided to split it into two? (Is there a forum for WinRT here somewhere? If I could make VPN and those apps make work on RT device I could save some money on my iPad replacemnt - at the moment I got to go with the likes of Samsung Smart PC or Asus 810 - Atom CPU + full Win8 Pro onboard.
As far as i know, WinRT is a framework for metro app development on Windows 8 and Windows phone(similar to win32, winFX etc etc), whereas WP is...an operating system. WinRT is integrated in Windows Phone due to the shared kernel.
WinRT is the Windows Runtime on which Metro Apps are built in Windows 8
WinPRT is the Windows Phone Runtime on which many Apps für WP8 are built which has similarities with WinRT but they are NOT identical
Windows RT is the ARM based Version of Windows 8 which does not allow for installation of additional Desktop Applications
WP8 and Windows RT presumably use the same Kernel and some system services but above that layer there are substantial differences. (common core, not common OS).
Microsoft and it's product naming - never fails to confuse people.
Do you know if Windows 8 Pro (x86) and RT (ARM) will have the same limitations regarding installation of apps as Windows Phone?
And does anyone knows why MS went to all the trouble of creating Windows 8 RT, instead of making Windows Phone "richer" - just as Apple did with iOS.
After all...
Windows 8 RT will not be used on desktop (x86) PC's.
If it will have a desktop mode it will be very limited - I don't suppose we will be able to download (ARM) apps of the internet as with Windows 8 Pro (as we do it now).
It will rune the same apps - just few more because tablets will have different (bigger) screens.
The only difference will be in screen size and in its resolution (but not that big - 1366 x 768 vs 1280 x 720).
Same core of the system in both...
Both RT and WP are to run on ARM devices that only differ in size (ARM tablets are phones with larger screens after all).
In my opinion it would make sense to limit ver of Windows 8 to 2 or 3: Windows 8 Pro (x86); Windows 8 Enterprise (x86 for corporations/business, etc.) and Windows 8 Home (for ARM phones/tablets/hybrids). The only difference in the system for ARM devices would be interface (small - Phone and large "PC style" [or even with option to choose between them - as WP8 looks as it could do nicely on 10" screen] on tablet).
In fact, since you can not buy and install ARM system by yourself as you can not buy a device without it it could all just be Windows 8 - for PC, tablet and Phone.
As in Android.... different devices, different manufacturers = different interface but ONE system
You can not run ARM-compiled applications on Desktop Windows (weather it is x86 or x64).
You also can not run desktop compiled (x86 or x64) on ARM.
This is because the machine code between the two is different.
ARM apps can run on Desktop without big differences after they are recompiled.
Windows Phone 8 apps and Metro apps for desktop should be equally as constraint due to shared kernel. There might be some phone-specific stuff which might not work on desktop though. I haven't tried building any metro app yet to give you a detailed answer.
I don't know why you got to the conclusion that WinRT does not run on x86 desktops though....cause it is plain wrong.
WinRT is a framework for Metro apps, not an operating system.
mcosmin222 said:
You can not run ARM-compiled applications on Desktop Windows (weather it is x86 or x64).
You also can not run desktop compiled (x86 or x64) on ARM.
This is because the machine code between the two is different.
ARM apps can run on Desktop without big differences after they are recompiled.
Windows Phone 8 apps and Metro apps for desktop should be equally as constraint due to shared kernel. There might be some phone-specific stuff which might not work on desktop though. I haven't tried building any metro app yet to give you a detailed answer.
I don't know why you got to the conclusion that WinRT does not run on x86 desktops though....cause it is plain wrong.
WinRT is a framework for Metro apps, not an operating system.
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WinRT is an operating system and it is very close to Windows Phone. I suspect that in future we will see both of them grown into one.
WinRT is an ARM version of Windows 8 and as you said your self it will not run Windows 8 "Desktop" software.
What is more I suspect that it will not run (without some additional changes and work) even the apps wrote for x86 Metro - it looks the same but it ain't the same.
However I see no reason why it should not run "straight out of the box" apps from Windows Phone. After all it is exactly the same hardware (in phones) as in Windows RT devices.
Imagine you wrote an app A for "Metro" in x 86 and app B for WP.
If you have 3 devices (with free access/jailbroken) - 1 with Intel and Win8PRO, 1 with WinRT (lets say Tegra3) and 1 of the WP 8 phones what iI suspect is:
A will run (as is ) only on Win8PRO
B will run (as is) on RT device and Phone.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46334/windows-phone-8-windows-rt-separate-for-now - although thois article says that Win8Pro and WinRT are almost the same (unlike) WP... in my opinion it is much closer from WinRT to WP than from WinRT to Win8Pro.
Still, all those 3 are much closer to each other than iOS and MacOS - this means a lot less work for developer and much bigger opportunities.
My question from the post above was quite different. (but I am afraid we go off topic from the main subject - if you prefer to move this post to the right place - I dont mind)
In Win8Pro (I hope) I will have the same freedom I ever had with Windows. This means I can use Windows Store (if I want to) or I can download and install any thing else (with x86 code) from any other source.
Q1: Is it true for both modes - desktop and "Modern Interface" or will be installation of apps for "Modern" interface limited to MS own shop only?
Q2: If I start a program that can run in both modes (desktop/modern) like IE or Chrome (in future) will programs own interface change smothly with system or in reality "desktop mode" and "modern interface" require two separate programs. So if I start Chrome in desktop and move on to "Modern" I will have to start it again and both can run alongside (in the RAM) as two different browsers?
Q3: WindowsRT (ARM devices) it will have limited desktop mode I believe, and as I understand it will not allow for installation of ARM software from outside the Marketplace as WP does today. So even if one of you will write an ARM app I will not be able to use as easily as I could if it would be made for Win8PRO - correct?
Q1) You can install the App on your local machine if you have the Visual studio 2012 and the source code. You will need to upload the thing to marketplace in order to install somewhere else. The compilation produces a .appxrecipe file which is opened by the Windows Store app. The Store looks for the app online and if it doesn't find it...no install >.>
Haven't found a side-load mechanic so far.
Q2) It will require two separate programs.
One will be compiled using a desktop specific framework like WPF or WinForms, whereas the second requires WinRT.
WinRT is not an operating system, it is a framework similar to .NET(WinFX)-> this is the main reason why it is called Windows RunTime
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Runtime
Actually, Ill try making a mock Metro app and see what happens.
The only similar aspect between the Arm and Desktop versions is the presence of the shared kernel, which is in fact, only shared through its features, cause the base code is different.
If WinRT is not an operating system than what sits in ARM ver of surface tablet or in this device: http://tablet-news.com/2012/09/28/samsung-ativ-tab-ready-for-pre-order-coming-at-the-end-of-october/ - because it is not Windows 8 PRO I can tell you
Regarding you answer for Q2: that truly SUCKS! They went through trouble of making useless version of Win 8 for ARM tablets that is not Win 8 nor WP8 and will be more expensive that iOS/Android competition... but the did not write ?modern interface" in x86 way....
For a guy like me, Mr Average Joe it makes things even more f..ed up. I will have platform segmentation within 1, single device.
Now I will need 2 browsers, 2 mail clients, etc... and even swapping between modes will be like swapping between separate devices...
This is pure crazy!!!
I would not mind having to wait a bit for programs to change their layout and look (like when you now change them on Win7 and everything goes black& white for a moment or when one switches between "traditional Windows" and AREO style - that is what I was expecting.... as it looks now I am not so sure I still want Windows 8 on any of my devices....
The thing running on tablets is Win 8 without the desktop part.
You do not need two mail clients/browsers/whatever.
On Windows Desktop 8, you can continue to use your desktop (which is an app within Metro) and continue to work in a Windows 7-like enviroment. The only thing missing is the start button, which has been replaced by the Metro screen, which is better imo for finding apps than the Start menu if you configure it properly.
You can continue to use your desktop firefox/chroome/whatever and you desktop programs you used on Windows 7 with no problems.
The Metro is only present on desktop computers so that it can help with the tablet-phone-desktop-Xbox interoperability. It is not mandatory, in fact i use it like a start menu to quickly launch desktop apps more than anything else. In fact, Metro apps have quite huge limitations, and inevitably you will need to use the desktop to get to files hidden on your computer.
I've written this replay from a firefox browser within the desktop app on Windows 8, so you can take it for granted
Windows 8 is really not as bad as people make it out to be....it gives you lots of choices and you can continue to use it like windows 7 if you so desire. It has tremendous performance optimizations though...boots in 3 seconds for me(sometimes even faster).
mcosmin222 said:
The thing running on tablets is Win 8 without the desktop part.
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But those tablets are not x86 devices... + MS themselves is calling this Windows RT to make it clear it is not the same as Win 8 Pro.
What is more, ARM tablets are exactly the same as phone (same architecture, SOC's, etc.) just bigger screens...
When you say I do not need to browsers...than what do you suggest I run in the Metro style if (as you said previously) it is not the same app that runs in a desktop mode?
Or... if I start browsing the web browser in a Metro mode what I would want (and what I know now will not happen) is to see my browser with open sites displayed on the task bar once I go to desktop mode.
At least for me this would be a unifying experience... If the Metro mode will be completely separate from desktop mode I might as well stay on Win 7 and get w new device just with metro mode on it (ARM tablet)....
Please tell me I am wrong!!!!
I do not care too much about ARM ver. of Win8 (RT) as I do not plan to get it...
but if Win8Pro means it will be like two separate systems on one device it is scary.
At this point it looks like MS is saying rubbish... as its new interface is not really an interface... its a (almost) complete different system running alongside in a PC.
So... I can not start my program (I understand it would have to have a modern look prepared) in desktop (like today Classic Windows) style and move to modern (or for Win 7 Areo) style and still have the same program with just different layout/look bu the same data on the screen. Yes
If so.. I need to have two browsers to be able to see web sites in both modes, two mail clients..etc...
As the title suggests, I'm considering jumping from my HTC One to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and I have some questions. If this is the wrong forum, I'm sorry.
1. Is it possible (even through a hack) to set a homescreen background? I used to do this on the WP 7 themes on my iPhone, and it looked great with transparent tiles.
2. Has Google gotten into WP8? Voice, Gmail, Play Music?
3. Photo editing. What sort of post-processing options are there? I must have had 10gb of just photo apps on my iPhone, and I'm kinda struggling now on Android.
4. Keyboards? I've become a Swiftkey addict. Is there anything comparable to this in Redmond's garden?
5. Twitter and Facebook? My fiance has a Lumia 900, however her Facebook and Twitter apps look awful. Tweetbot was the best Twitter client I've ever used, so my standards are high.
Thank you in advance for any insight.
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
GoodDayToDie said:
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
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Thanks for the responses. With regards to music, I had a 64gb iPhone 4S and still have an active subscription to iTunes in the Cloud. So I could store most of my music on my phone, and have access to the rest as needed. My One is only 32gb, so I keep some music on it, and the rest I stream via Google Play.
As for Google, does WP8 integrate with Google Voice at all? Or is there at least an app?
With photos, there are some apps from iOS that I truely miss, and haven't seen any alternatives on Android as of yet. I fear my pickings will be even slimmer on WP8.
Does the built in keyboard have anything akin to Swype? I'm fairly certain my girls WP7 does not.
As my girl does have WP7, she can't upgrade to the newest Facebook and is thus stuck with the awful one she currently has.
Thanks again.
As I mentioned, there are apps for streaming music from Google. Nothing official, but the reviews say they work.
There's one app I can find in the store, "Spare Phone", which claims to integrate somewhat (and has the WP8-specific app capability to do so). However, it looks like it can't recieve GV calls directly (forward to your mobile number or take voicemail notifications only) when it's in the background. I'm pretty sure the dev could fix this with enough effort. The app costs $3.49 USD, so I can't easily test if for you. There's no OS-level integration with GV, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Google is Microsoft's biggest competitor in this space...
I have no real idea what the photo app situation is like. There are tons of them, some well-rated, plus some built-in features of the OS. I still prefer to do my photo editing with the power and precision of a PC, though, so I haven't tried. The photos are overcompressed as is (all smartphone photos are), so manipulating them tends to produce artifacts anyhow.
Nothing like Swype, sorry. Microsoft really needs to get with the picture there. It's especially sad/funny, considering that Swype was originally for Windows Mobile and (according to a guy I know who works there) they'd be happy to bring it to WP, but MS hasn't allowed it yet.
Most of my FB on the phone is just done using the built-in integration (People hub, Messaging hub. etc.), but the new WP8 app really is excellent.
1. No you can't set homescreen background. I hope it will be coming in WP Blue update.
2.Gmail works fine, Xbox music is very much better option.
3. WP store is full of lots of photo editing apps, 1020 itself has proshot app. I think you would be very happy in this department.
4.No, unfortunately but you can expect it in updates.
5. Both official apps are very very good. FB just got updated and it's very good. You can also have beta app which updates continuously so FB support from MS is very much active. Official twitter app has everything you want, same as its iOS & Android counter part.
Instagram has 3rd party app instance which is very good, even you can save photo in it. Official Vine app is coming till then 6 sec is available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Google Voice is handled quite nicely by Metrotalk. It takes some work to get setup properly, but once setup works very seamlessly.
Google has no official apps (aside from a poor Google search app) on Windows Phone, and the only thing known on the horizon is an official YouTube app (a joint project between Microsoft and Google). Otherwise Google has been pretty anti-Windows Phone. If you want the quality and selection of Google apps and services that you find on an Android phone, you simply won't get it anywhere except Android. Windows Phone and even iPhone don't compare to what Google offers on it's own platform. There are third party apps, and some of them are decent.
The Twitter and Facebook apps for WP8 now very closely match the functionality and look/feel of their official counterparts on iOS and Android. They still aren't as awesome, but thankfully, because of the tight OS integration, they aren't necessarily needed as much as you would need them on iOS or Android.
Nothing close to Swype and I'm gonna take a guess and say that it won't be coming anytime soon. There just isn't a demand for it. Clearly there is one here on this site (and other enthusiast sites), but this is a site made up of hardcore tweakers and enthusiasts. In the real world, most people do not know what Swype is and simply don't bother to learn it even if it is available to them. The Windows Phone keyboard is an excellent stock keyboard, and with some of the improvements being seen in Windows 8.1, you can expect it to get better as time goes on.
Almost any kind of configuring, tweaking, or hacking you may be used to on Android goes out the window with Windows Phone 8. For the most part, the operating system just works, so you don't always need it (like iOS), but some people still have that itch to tweak, and if that's you, Windows Phone 8 may not make you happy. But then again, I used to be that type of person, but once I got used to a platform that just worked and didn't need me to go ROM hunting every week, its just became so much better. The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
As with any upgrade, new line, or purchase, you should have an opportunity to try it for a bit before you go past the point of no return. So your best bet is to try it as your main driver for a week and see how it works for you.
prjkthack said:
The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
GoodDayToDie said:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
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Whether the product is yours or not does not matter much here. At its base level, all the platforms are "locked down" to a certain extent, some more than others, and what you can do is limited by what the OEMs (Microsoft, Apple, or Google) say you can do. Now you can go ahead and throw hacks at it, tear it apart, or throw money at it to completely change it, but that's going beyond the scope of this discussion. They choose what permissions you may alter or ask for. Finding loopholes to get around permissions or authorization goes beyond what the original manufacturer intended, but its pretty fair to say that its far easier to circumvent security on Android than on any other platform. Android's inherently more "open" platform allows for greater risk at times because it isn't as locked down as iOS or Windows Phone.
That being said, being more locked down inherently offers more security or at the very least, piece of mind, whether that be protection from scripts or hacks, viruses, financial security, or just preventing errors/crashes. Denying or granting access to certain activities, or just flat out not having the option to deny/grant certain activities can be the base for a safer, more reliable, more secure operating environment. "Security" and being "locked down", in some cases, go hand in hand. Of course it can mean many different things to many people.
Now you could also be referring to other "security" features like corporate encryption policies or secure NFC or stuff like that, but that wasn't part of the original discussion, so my use of the word security does not include any of that, but I understand that certainly those types of security features may or may not exist between platforms.
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
OGhoul said:
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
mcosmin222 said:
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
OGhoul said:
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
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Click to collapse
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
There are apps which can stream from Google Music.
Alternatively, get a phone that has a microSD slot; my ATIV S has 80GB of total local storage, never mind the amount I have in my butt.
mcosmin222 said:
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iCloud.
OGhoul said:
iCloud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
mcosmin222 said:
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
OGhoul said:
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes windows phone will upload full res images to skydrive. Great feature actually. BTW have you looked at Xbox music? Its similar to Google play music and iTunes streaming. Take a look, it might be what your looking for: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Xbox music, Pandora, Nokia Music all work great on my 1020. And something new in WP8, it can sync from your iTunes library. (new WP8 desktop app, no more Zune app like used for WP7)
Did you ever get the 1020 and what were your thoughts?
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4
Hi,
So, Android has a permission system which albeit somewhat flawed (malware can gain permissions not intended for it) and not very suitable for laymen (non rooted phones have to either accept all permissions or be denied from the app. In many programs people don't have the luxury of not using them) theoretically has merit. IOS has...well actually I'm not sure how it works security wise but I pressume it creates sandboxes for each app, layman wise it is reasonable since you (theoretically) can deny access for all programs to certain components (no need to jailbreak).
How does WP works?
Thank you.
Security is different, apps can't do as much as on android. But iOS is better in this, because capabilities are like in Android: you can see what the apps want prior to installing them, but blocking some of them isn't possible.
I am very saddened to hear this.
Is there an ability in place similar to Androids rooting?
Also, what do you mean by "apps can't do as much as on android"?
Thank you!
@th0mas96's post is technically *mostly* accurate but very confusing and doesn't actually answer your question at all.
The short version is that WP apps use a capability-and-sandbox system much like iOS and Android, with each app getting a sandbox that gives it read-only access to the app-specific install directory and the global system directory, read/write access to the app-specific data directory, and access to whatever other stuff is specified in the capabilities. Capabilities are currently all-or-nothing; you can't reject or disable any capability except by just not installing the app.
I could go into the technical implementation of the system a bit, but the short version is that WP8 apps use fairly standard NT (as in the NT kernel that is at the core of PC Windows versions) security features: each app has a unique token (rather than inheriting the token of the process that crated it, the way it normally works on PC but very much like how Windows Store apps work on Win8) which contains the app-specific Security IDentifier (SID) that gives access to the app directories, plus the SIDs of the various capabilities that the app has.
What @th0mas96 was talking about is that WP capabilities usable by third-party developers are much more restrictive than they are on Android. For example, Android allows an app have full read-write access to your contacts or to send SMS directly. WP8 doesn't allow that unless you use capabilities that are normally neither allowed on the store nor allowed in sideloaded apps (Microsoft's code can have them, of course - that's how the built-in SMS app works - but not Joe Random Dev). The downside of this is obvious; some app behaviors (like a full replacement for the SMS app or phone dialer) are not possible. The upside is that apps are *way* more limited in how malicious they can be; the most common way that Android malware makes money (remember, the vast majority of malware is for profit) is by sending SMS to "premium" numbers. On WP8, an app could *compose* such a message, but it couldn't *send* it for you (unless it had a capability that third-party apps normally can't have) so you'd have a chance to see what the app was doing and decide not to send that message after all.
This means that the ability to disable capabilities is much less important on WP8 than on Android.
Oh, then those restrictions are actually good news.
Aside from from your typical run-of-the-mill malware my main concern was actually privacy. I have a huge displeasure from apps like Whatsapp which on android takes a whole plethora of liberties and was hoping that perhaps some other system may contain their user data voracity and their ability to control the divice their on.
Is there any link in which I could see the full list of those restrictions?
I'm still downhearted from not having a more fine grained control of the system but maybe it still has it uses in some scenarios...
Also, thank you very much for your comprehensive explanation!
i found a tiny file stored inside some of the unbranded htc accord RUUs. its call disablewriteprotect.test. the only thing the file contains is a sentence stating write protection will be disabled until this file is removed. followed by a music note and some other symbol. so there you go thats how you make your entire htc 8x read and write. one file less than 1kb in size. ROOT!
but how can we flash this file. im still working on it. this file is located within the efi partition which also houses the ffuloader.efi, and severl other efi executables. check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53687985#post53687985
you wont find that on google search.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app
Window phone Security Issues
Your Windows Phone is secure by design. Many security features are turned on by default. For example, apps you download from the Windows Phone Store are tested by Microsoft and encrypted to make sure you don't accidentally install malicious software on your Windows phone.
Set a password
Setting up Kid's Corner
If you've ever handed your smartphone to a child, you know that they can quickly get into all sorts of apps and settings they shouldn't. No such worries with Kid's Corner, a place on your phone where your child can play with the games, apps, music and videos
Use the free Find My Phone service
Say yes to updates . check out more at Master Software Solutions - Windows Phone Update
grilledcheesesandwich said:
i found a tiny file stored inside some of the unbranded htc accord RUUs. its call disablewriteprotect.test. the only thing the file contains is a sentence stating write protection will be disabled until this file is removed. followed by a music note and some other symbol. so there you go thats how you make your entire htc 8x read and write. one file less than 1kb in size. ROOT!
but how can we flash this file. im still working on it. this file is located within the efi partition which also houses the ffuloader.efi, and severl other efi executables. check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53687985#post53687985
you wont find that on google search.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds interesting.
Not something I'd try )) but interesting.
Aman Raien said:
Your Windows Phone is secure by design. Many security features are turned on by default. For example, apps you download from the Windows Phone Store are tested by Microsoft and encrypted to make sure you don't accidentally install malicious software on your Windows phone.
Set a password
Setting up Kid's Corner
If you've ever handed your smartphone to a child, you know that they can quickly get into all sorts of apps and settings they shouldn't. No such worries with Kid's Corner, a place on your phone where your child can play with the games, apps, music and videos
Use the free Find My Phone service
Say yes to updates . check out more at Master Software Solutions - Windows Phone Update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pressume this is an advert for Master Software Solutions, but nevertheless I did google the term you suggested and got nil results. I also browsed the main site of the company itself but haven't found anything related, nor did I find anything on their facebook page.
Regardless, I checked out this Kids corner thing, it's cute but not really security related...
Thx anyway.
Maybe some things are a lil bit old but everytime gold,lol.
Work in progress.......
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What is a kernel?
If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't something unique to Android -- iOS and MacOS have one, Windows has one, BlackBerry's QNX has one, in fact all high level operating systems have one. The one we're interested in is Linux, as it's the one Android uses. Let's try to break down what it is and what it does.
Android devices use the Linux kernel, but it's not the exact same kernel other Linux-based operating systems use. There's a lot of Android specific code built in, and Google's Android kernel maintainers have their work cut out for them. OEMs have to contribute as well, because they need to develop hardware drivers for the parts they're using for the kernel version they're using. This is why it takes a while for independent Android developers and hackers to port new versions to older devices and get everything working. Drivers written to work with the Gingerbread kernel on a phone won't necessarily work with the Ice Cream Sandwich kernel. And that's important, because one of the kernel's main functions is to control the hardware. It's a whole lot of source code, with more options while building it than you can imagine, but in the end it's just the intermediary between the hardware and the software.
When software needs the hardware to do anything, it sends a request to the kernel. And when we say anything, we mean anything. From the brightness of the screen, to the volume level, to initiating a call through the radio, even what's drawn on the display is ultimately controlled by the kernel. For example -- when you tap the search button on your phone, you tell the software to open the search application. What happens is that you touched a certain point on the digitizer, which tells the software that you've touched the screen at those coordinates. The software knows that when that particular spot is touched, the search dialog is supposed to open. The kernel is what tells the digitizer to look (or listen, events are "listened" for) for touches, helps figure out where you touched, and tells the system you touched it. In turn, when the system receives a touch event at a specific point from the kernel (through the driver) it knows what to draw on your screen. Both the hardware and the software communicate both ways with the kernel, and that's how your phone knows when to do something. Input from one side is sent as output to the other, whether it's you playing Angry Birds, or connecting to your car's Bluetooth.
It sounds complicated, and it is. But it's also pretty standard computer logic -- there's an action of some sort generated for every event. Without the kernel to accept and send information, developers would have to write code for every single event for every single piece of hardware in your device. With the kernel, all they have to do is communicate with it through the Android system API's, and hardware developers only have to make the device hardware communicate with the kernel. The good thing is that you don't need to know exactly how or why the kernel does what it does, just understanding that it's the go-between from software to hardware gives you a pretty good grasp of what's happening under the glass. Sort of gives a whole new outlook towards those fellows who stay up all night to work on kernels for your phone, doesn't it?
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What is a Nandroid backup?
If you've read about hacking or rooting your Android phone (or tablet, or media player) you've seen the word Nandroid used. When tinkering with your device, there's always a very good chance you'll be left with firmware that won't boot, leaving you in a bit of a lurch. A Nandroid backup can mean the all the difference here.
What it is, is a full backup of partitions on your device's NAND flash (NAND stands for NOT AND, a type of electronic logic gate -- it's like the hard drive of your Android device) storage. Think of it as a snapshot of the current running system, and it can be used to restore that that point at any time. Both user data and system files are backed up, and it's a far cry from what we think of when talking about a traditional backup from other software. In fact, it's something that many folks wish was part of the stock Android recovery. Yes, to preform a Nandroid backup you'll need a custom recovery on your device so that the executable files and scripts are there. These have been left out of the stock recovery, likely over issues that would arise if users can backup proprietary files.
Getting the custom recovery on your device is the hardest part, thankfully. Once installed backing up and restoring with Nandroid is simple, involving nothing more than choosing the option and verifying -- no wires needed. Even if you never plan to hack your phone, flashing a custom recovery and running a Nandroid backup is always a good idea. You can find more information about custom recoveries, as well as methods to install and use them, in the device-specific section for your device in the Android Central forums. Give it a look, and decide if it's something you're interested in doing.
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What is an IMEI?
The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is a unique set of 15 digits used on GSM phones to identify them. Because the SIM card is associated with the user and can be swapped from phone to phone, a method is needed to keep track of the hardware itself, and that's why the IMEI was developed. Math nerds will enjoy the way they are calculated -- the first 14 digits are decided by the GSM association, and the final check digit is computed using what's called the Luhn Formula -- crazy base-8 math that mere mortals like most of us don't understand, nor want to understand. You can see the IMEI of your Android phone by looking in settings > About phone if you're curious. (Or on the box if you still have it. Or under the battery or on the phone itself.
What is this number used for? That's the real question, isn't it. Like the MEID number on CDMA phones (think Sprint and Verizon), the IMEI is used for network control. It's not very common, but your mobile operator can block a phone based on it's IMEI in cases where it's been reported stolen or someone didn't pay the bill. Because it's not easy to change the IMEI of your phone (and maybe even illegal -- check your local laws) it's also used to keep track of phones that were involved in criminal activity, and the UK in particular has a handy database of phones used for these purposes. The IMEI number is also used to specify a phone for wiretapping by federal governments worldwide.
On a lighter note, Android apps can also use your IMEI number. The app will declare that it has access to your personal information, and the IMEI can be used to keep track of the device in a remote database. This sounds pretty scary, but it's an easy way (though not necessarily the best way) for app developers to keep a settings database online for your phone, in their app. Let's say you mark a bunch of favorites in a wallpaper app. Those favorites are kept in a small database file online, and when you reconnect to the app it reads your IMEI number to find your preferences. Not an ideal method, but it's easy.
One last thing -- now that we know a little more about IMEI numbers, they will soon be changing to IMEISV numbers. The use-case scenarios are the same, but the data structure and method of calculation is different. An IMEISV gets rid of the check digit (and its complicated Luhn formulated calculation) in favor of two digits used for software version numbering. Like everything else in the mobile space, network identification changes rapidly.
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What is a bootloader?
What is a bootloader? At its most basic level, your Android smartphone is like a hard drive, made of up several partitions. One of those partitions holds the Android system files, another holds all the app data you accumulate (which is how you're usually able to update without losing all your stuff), and others to do more behind-the scenes stuff.
Think of the bootloader as a security checkpoint for all those partitions. Because if you're able to swap out what's on those partitions, you're able to break things if you don't know what you're doing. Or, with a little hackery, you're able to run custom ROMs.
There's a lot of squawking about bootloaders being "locked." Actually, most phones shipped with a "locked" bootloader, including the developer-friendly Nexus devices. (Nexus devices and a couple tablets are easily unlocked with a single command.) No, more accurately, most bootloaders are locked and encrypted, meaning the traditional "fastboot oem unlock" command won't do a thing.
And that's a bone of contention for those who love a manufacturer's hardware and want to tinker with their devices. HTC and Samsung and Motorola -- just about everyone, really -- ships devices with locked and/or encrypted bootloaders. Tinkerers (we really don't like calling 'em "hackers") have to find a way around the encryption, usually with some sort of an engineering bootloader that wasn't supposed to be available to the general public. But in recent months, we've seen HTC provide a free tool that will unlock the bootloaders on a number of its devices, and ASUS just got on board, too. Sony Ericsson recently has provided unlocking tools. Motorola's promised to do so as well, but there's been little movement. LG and Samsung ship with unencrypted bootloaders.
Why keep a bootloader out of reach? Probably the biggest reasons are that the carriers and manufacturers don't want to have to support hacked phones. The other is that a lot of time and money is spent developing these things. HTC Sense ain't cheap. Neither is TouchWiz. But Samsung and HTC both have managed to find a middle ground with the modding community, and pressure is on other companies to do so as well.
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What is Dalvik?
What is Dalvik? We hear that word getting thrown around a lot on the Internet when talking about Android and its inner workings. While there's no easy explanation we can give in just a few paragraphs, we can cover the basics and point you in the right direction if you need to feed your nerdly side. In its simplest terms, Dalvik is a virtual machine that runs applications and code written in Java. A standard Java compiler turns source code (written as text files) into Bytecode, then compiled into a .dex file that the Dalvik VM can read and use. In essence, class files are converted into .dex files (much like a jar file if one were using the standard Java VM) and then read and executed by the Dalvik Virtual Machine. Duplicate data used in class files is included only once in the .dex output, which saves space and uses less overhead. The executable files can be modified again when you install an application to make things even more optimized for mobile. Things like byte order swapping and linking data structure and function libraries inline make the files smaller and run better on our devices. The Dalvik VM was written from square one with Android in mind.
Confused yet? Don't feel bad, geeky programming talk usually has that effect. Think of it this way -- when you build a Java application for your computer, a Java Virtual Machine runs the compiled output of the source code. This is why Java runs on just about any operating system. Dalvik is a mobile-optimized version of a Java Virtual Machine, built with code from the Apache Harmony project, which is open-source and runs better than a standard Java VM would on our limited hardware, designed so that you can run more than one instance of the VM at a time -- ie multitasking. Because Dalvik is open-source, it's also been ported to other operating systems, like the one on the BlackBerry PlayBook. It's pretty damn complicated, pretty damn cool, and Oracle (the company that bought Java from Sun) hates it.
Android uses Dalvik because while the license for the standard Java Virtual Machine is GPL2 (free and open-source), when placed in a mobile device and using the Java Micro Edition, it is not. The big dispute between Google and Oracle is all based around Dalvik. Google claims it was written in a "clean-room" environment without using any of Oracle's code, and Oracle disagrees. We claim to have no idea, we're just glad it works as well as it does.
For more on Dalvik, see the Google I/O website.
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LG's L-series
They made a big splash earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, and a few carriers in Canada jumped at the chance to sell them, but then they seem to have fallen off the map. I'll admit, even I have to look and see what we're talking about when we have potential news about the L3, L5, or L7. Let's have a refresh.
Imagine LG's Prada phone, but remade for folks who don't buy Prada. The L-series phones are all stylish (and really resemble LG's iconic Prada phones -- check out our look at them in Barcelona) and have an emphasis on good looks. The entry-level L3 competes with phones like HTC's One V and Samsung's entry-level Galaxy phones. It's running Gingerbread on a 3.2-inch display, but it looks nice doing it. Compared to something like the Motorola Defy Mini, you get good looks along with your dirt-cheap pricing. The L5 takes things up a notch to Ice Cream Sandwich and a 4-inch screen, placing it in the middle of the road where most people look first when buying a new smartphone. They'll see the L5, and notice the build materials and design. Finally, the L7 looks to compete with the big dogs of the Android world, with all the bells and whistles you would expect from a high-end smartphone, in a damn fine looking external shell. All three are eye-grabbing, and getting people to notice is the first hurdle. We're really not sure why we don't hear more and see more about them, but we're guessing a saturated market has something to do with it.
Maybe we'll see the L-series phones make their way into the spotlight, maybe we won't. But at least now we all know what we're talking about when we see them mentioned.
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Multitasking
Multitasking is a word you'll hear a lot around here and at other places on the Internet that talk about smartphones or other tech. It doesn't mean what it used to, back when dinosaurs with long beards first dreamed up computers, but it still makes a very big difference for some folks and can be the deciding factor when picking a smartphone operating system. Let's have a look and see what the fuss is all about, and how it relates to Android.
A long time ago, in a laboratory far, far away, some Jedi masters decided that computers should do more than one thing at a time. They really already were doing plenty of things behind the scenes, but to the user it was a case of entering a command, and waiting for it to finish. Using threads and schedulers, and probably a little magic and a lot of luck, engineers were able to work up an operating system that could run more than one user command at a time, and multitasking was born. When you switch to a new VT (virtual terminal) on a Unix box with no GUI, you're multitasking. When you have more than one window open on your Windows or Mac or other computer that does have a GUI, you're multitasking. You're doing more than one thing at a time, and the computer is running more than one user task at a time. You can now read Android Central while your completely legal torrents are downloading in the background.
On a smartphone, multitasking is a bit different. We don't have the luxury of a 20-inch monitor, so showing more than one "thing" running at a time isn't a big deal. Samsung is testing the waters and trying it with the Galaxy S III with the Pop-Up Play feature, but for the most part whatever we're doing takes the whole screen to do it. We also don't have tons of RAM and video memory available and have to watch the power usage. This means smartphone multitasking has to be a bit, well, smarter.
Smartphones have been multitasking for a long time. All the mobile operating systems do it a bit differently -- some suspending all other apps in the background, some saving the state and closing the app itself, and others just letting everything run. The way Android does it is to let threads and processes run depending on their priority. If you're using Google Play Music, the processes that make the sound come out of the speaker have a high enough priority to stay running when you switch away from the app. Not all of it is running in the background, but enough of it is to keep the tunes playing. Other apps can be killed if they aren't being used, and some apps get "frozen" (for lack of a better word) and restore themselves when brought back to the foreground. What's important, and prioritized, is decided when the application is written and compiled so the end user doesn't have to worry about it. It's not perfect, but it follows the very strong multitasking model from Linux and tweaks it for Android. It's all open-source, so manufacturers and ROM builders can (and have) tweaked things to allocate memory the way they want it allocated. Sometimes the tweaks are great, sometimes not so much.
In the end, remember the next time you open an app and start up where you left off that you're seeing multitasking at work.
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Haptic feedback
It's one of those little things that can make a big difference, and something we never really think about. Simply put, haptic feedback (commonly referred to as haptics) is the use of touch feedback to the end user. You know how your Android phone vibrates a tiny bit when you tap one of the navigation buttons? That's haptics at work.
Since the screen on your Android phone or tablet is pretty much just a smooth sheet of glass of some sort or another, it's difficult to register any sort of tactile feedback to our fingers. When we type on a computer keyboard, we know when our fingers have pressed a key down. Our mouse (and some trackpads) do the same thing with a healthy click when we press the button. On a smartphone, we just have to trust we've done something, and wait for it to happen. Haptics helps here. The short and light vibration when typing out a message with an on-screen keyboard can make a big difference for many of us, and I can see myself being pretty frustrated if an on-screen button didn't let me know I had pressed it.
Haptics go beyond navigation and the keyboard though. They can be a very important part of mobile gaming. Gunning your way through an enemy horde is much more satisfying when you feel every shot from your rifle, and nothing lets you know you've hit the wall in your favorite racing game like a harsh vibration from your phone or tablet.
Probably the best thing about haptic feedback on Android devices is the way it can be customized. The OS itself is open, meaning OEM and developers can adjust things to get them just the way they like, including leaving the settings wide open to the user like we see in CyanogenMod ROMs. More importantly, application developers have access to the hardware controller to customize haptic feedback for their products. It goes one step further with the addition of things like the Immersion haptic SDK to the mix, where developers have an almost unlimited way to make their applications register with your fingers as well as your eyes and ears. Sometimes, the little things mean a lot.
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F is for Factory Reset
A factory reset is the ultimate cleansing of your Android device. It's usually either a last resort to fix a problem, done before you sell it, or because you like to flash ROMs. When you perform a factory reset you're essentially wiping out everything you've ever done to the phone and restoring it back to the basic manufacturer software. As we've mentioned before, it doesn't uninstall any software updates you've received from the folks who made your phone, but it does wipe out any core application updates you've grabbed from the Google Play store. The technical details are as follows:
/system is untouched, because it's normally read-only
/data is erased
/cache is erased
/sdcard is untouched
When your phone or tablet reboots, it's like it was when you opened the box as far as apps and user data goes, except for your data on the SD card partition (either a real, physical microSD card or a partition named sdcard).
Doing a factory reset is easy -- open the settings, do a little digging (different manufacturers put it in different places, but start with privacy or storage), select it and confirm. Your device will reboot into the recovery partition, erase everything, they reboot into the setup again. One thing to note though -- if you've rooted and ROM'd in any way, you should never do a factory reset from settings. Often times it works just fine, but some devices and some ROMs are so different once hacked that you'll end up with a bricked phone. We hate bricked phones around these parts. Follow the instructions from the folks who developed the software you're running instead, and use the reset method they recommend.
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End of life
End of life is a term none of us ever want to hear. We envision it means the death of our phone, and we should just throw it away and get a newer model. After all, it's at the end of its life, right? Not really. End of life means something different to carriers and manufacturers than it does to enthusiasts like us. The easy way to look at it is that when the folks in suits get together and decide that a phone isn't going to make enough money so it's worthwhile to keep producing it, it has reached the end of its life. That may mean a refreshed, newer model (like the Droid RAZR MAXX), or a shift to a newer model with new, and arguably better, features like the EVO 3D. We have to remember that the folks who make these phones do it so they can make money, and like any good business they want to maximize their profits.
But what does end of life mean in the real world? First off, it means that once the current stock sitting on the shelves is sold there won't be any more new ones to replace them with. There may be refurbished units floating around, but no more new phones of that model are being made. It doesn't mean that the phone is done getting updates, but don't expect too many new features to come along -- things are in maintenance mode and bug fixes and security patches are the only things that will be addressed. It also doesn't mean your warranty is affected in any way. Even if you were to buy a brand new phone that has already reached the end of life status, you'll still get the full manufacturers warranty.
Most importantly, it doesn't mean that the phone is going to stop doing anything it already does today. The HTC EVO 4G is a great example. It was a huge hit for HTC and Sprint, and actually stayed in production longer than any of us would have thought. Some places are still selling them new (although they're getting harder to find), and those EVO 4G's sold new today are every bit as good, and have the same warranty from HTC, as the ones sold in 2010. Sprint still offers customer service, and it's still one heck of a phone.
Don't be put off by the words end of life. While we wouldn't recommend you search out a new phone that's already been discontinued, they still perform as they should and you'll find lots of folks who still love them.
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DLNA
DLNA, or the Digital Living Network Alliance is an organization set up by Sony in 2003 that determines a universal set of rules and guidelines so devices can share digital media. The devices covered include computers, cameras, televisions, network storage devices, and of course cell phones. The guidelines are built from existing standards, but manufacturers have to pay to use them and have their device join the DLNA.
With DLNA devices, you can share video, music and pictures from a Digital Media Server (DMS) to your Android phone or tablet. A DMS could be your computer, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, a television or Blu-ray player, or even another Android device. Anything that has a DLNA server, or can have one installed will act as a DMS. Fun factoid: when a DLNA server is installed on a cell phone, tablet, or portable music player it's called a M-DMS -- the M stands for Mobile.
Once a DLNA server is in place, our Android phones usually have two functions -- to act as a Digital Media Player (M-DMP) or a Digital Media Controller (M-DMC). The player is easy enough to figure out, it finds content on a DLNA server and plays it back. A DMC will find content on a DLNA server, and push it to another connected player. For example, my television has a DLNA player, and my laptop has a server. With the right software, I could use my Android phone to find the content on my laptop and play it on my television. DLNA can really be fun if you have all the right equipment.
But chances are Android (and eventually other mobile devices) will be moving away from DLNA. With Ice Cream Sandwich, Wifi Direct is part of the operating system and has the potential to do everything DLNA can do, and more. We already have seen it replace DLNA streaming in the HTC One series with the Media Link HD receiver, which streams content from a Sense 4 device to a monitor with HDMI input. It uses native Wifi Direct, and by all accounts works really nicely. Or Samsung, who is using NFC to kick off a Wifi Direct session for fast data transfer on the Galaxy S III. We'll have to wait and see what manufacturers do with Wifi Direct, because having it built into the OS is a big plus -- even for a company like Samsung who makes millions of DLNA devices each year.
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Bloatware
When you think of Android phones, you think of bloatware. We wish it weren't so, and not every phone comes with, but the majority of Android phones out there come from carriers and are chock full of bloatware. We've complained about it, and found ways to remove it, but what exactly is it?
Most folks consider any applications that your carrier (or the folks who built your phone) pre-installed to the system as bloatware. Usually, these applications are a front end to some service or content that you'll have to pay for, and usually it's something you would never download and use on your own. All the carriers, and all the manufacturers, are guilty of including it, and we tend to hate it all equally. When you open the app drawer on your new phone, and see City ID staring back at you, just waiting for you to click it, you can't help but hate it.
But why is it there? It's one down side of Android's open nature. Google gives Android away to anyone and everyone, but realistically only a very few companies can afford to make cell phones. And they don't make them with you and me in mind as their customer. HTC, or Samsung, or LG (you get the picture) makes Android phones for the carriers. They work out deals to decide hardware and software they want to include, and part of those deals are these "value-added applications" we lovingly call bloatware. Verizon and HTC love you, but they still want you to click the app and send in the money. Because Google isn't involved and doesn't make any rules about it, they can include any app they like in your new phone. Nobody likes it, but it is the side effect of being open.
Thankfully, Ice Cream Sandwich brings along the ability to disable (most of) these apps without rooting or tinkering with the system files on your Android device, and that provides the best solution we can think of. Certainly there are some people who found a use for City ID or VZ Navigator, and they should have the opportunity to use those apps if they like. And we can disable and hide them, and forget they exist.
What is the AOSP?
AOSP is a term you'll see used a lot -- here, as well as at other Android-centric sites on the Internet. I'll admit I'm guilty of using it and just expecting everyone to know what I'm talking about, and I shouldn't. To rectify that, at least a little bit, I'll try to explain what the AOSP is now so we're all on the same page.
For some of us -- the nerdly types who build software -- the full name tells us what we need to know. AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project. The AOSP was designed and written by folks who had a vision that the world needed an open-source platform that exists for developers to easily build mobile applications. It wasn't designed to beat any other platform in market share, or to fight for user freedom from tyrannical CEOs -- it exists as a delivery mechanism for mobile apps -- like Google's mobile apps, or any of the 400,000+ in the Google Play store. Luckily, Google realized that using open-source software would ensure that this operating system/mobile application content delivery system is available for all, for free. And by choosing the licensing they did, it's also attractive to device manufacturers who can use it as a base to build their own mobile OS.
The premise plays out rather nicely. Google writes and maintains a tree of all the Android source code -- the AOSP. It's made available for everyone (you, me, manufacturers you've never heard of and not just big players like Samsung or HTC) to download, modify, and take ownership of. This means the folks at CyanogenMod can add cool stuff like audio profiles. It also means folks like HTC can change multitasking in ways that many of us don't like. You can't have one without having the other. The big players then use their modified version of this source to build their own operating system. Some, like Amazon, radically changed everything without a care to use Google's official applications and keep their device in compliance with Android guidelines. Some, like HTC radically changed everything yet followed the Android Compatibility Program (ACP) so they could include Google's core application suite -- including the Google Play store. Some, like the folks at CyanogenMod, enhance the pure AOSP code with additions but don't change the overall look and feel. Again -- that's how this open-source thing works. You can't have it without allowing folks to change it as they see fit, for better or worse.
Any of us can download and build the AOSP. We can even stay compliant with the ACP and contact Google about including their applications. Yes, any of us could build our own device using the AOSP code in our garage or basement with Google's full blessing. That's the beauty of the AOSP, and we wouldn't want it any other way.
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What is a widget?
What is a widget? In Android, the word widget is a generic term for a bit of self-contained code that displays a program, or a piece of a program, that is also (usually) a shortcut to a larger application. We see them every day on web pages, on our computer desktop and on our smartphones, but we never give too much thought into how great they are. Widgets first appeared in Android in version 1.5, and really gained traction thanks to HTC's Sense-flavored version of the operating system. Prior to the release of the HTC Hero and our first taste of Sense, widgets were functional, but pretty bland in appearance. Since then, OEMs and independent developers alike have done some marvelous things with widgets, and it's hard to imagine using Android without them.
Android widgets come in all shapes and sizes and range from the utilitarian 1-by-1 shortcut style to full-page widgets that blow us away with the eye-candy. Both types are very useful, and it's pretty common to see a widget or two on the home screen of any Android phone. A full-page widget, like HTC's weather widget for late-model Android phones, tells you everything you need to know about the current conditions, and is also a quick gateway to the weather application where you can see things like forecasts and weather data for other cities. At the other end of the spectrum, the Google Reader 1x1 widget watches a folder in your Google Reader account and tells you how many unread items there are, and opens the full application when pressed. Both are very handy, and add a lot to the Android experience.
Most Android phones come with a handful of built-in widgets. Some manufacturer versions of Android offer more than others, but the basics like a clock, calendar, or bookmarks widget are usually well represented. This is just the tip of the iceberg though. A quick trip into the Android Market will dazzle you with the huge catalog of third-party widgets available, with something that suits almost every taste. With Ice Cream Sandwich supporting things like higher resolution screens and re-sizable widgets, it's going to be an exciting year seeing what developers can come up with.
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What is tethering?
What is tethering? Besides the grounds for a giant debate about ethics (the kind that you can only find on the Internet) tethering, in this case, means to share the Internet connection from your phone with other devices. There are several ways to accomplish this -- connecting your phone to your computer via USB, setting up your phone as a wireless hotspot and router, and sharing a data stream over Bluetooth. All these connection types are built into Android, with native Bluetooth tethering new in Ice Cream Sandwich. Of course, different manufacturers can, and have, modified things so that these options are excluded -- at the behest of the carrier, of course. We'll talk more about why in a few minutes.
Tethering itself is pretty easily done. USB tethering involves installing device drivers (Windows only) and plugging in your phone to a high-speed USB port on your computer, then using your computer's built-in connection manager to use the phone or tablet as a USB modem. Bluetooth tethering will need the phone paired with the computer, and the connection type set up correctly in your computer's Bluetooth settings. Wifi is the easiest way -- you just turn it on and connect as you would any other wireless hotspot.
Except that many carriers, especially in the United States, have blocked tethering this way.
You see, your carrier wants to charge you a premium to use your data plan from any device besides your phone. Nobody likes it, but it's in the terms you agreed to when you signed up. They have all sorts of ways to block tethering on their end, and they are pretty diligent about it. Android hackers and developers also have found ways to work around these blocks, and it's a big cat and mouse game. An inside source with one the the biggest cellular carriers in the world has specifically told me that if your usage pattern draws suspicion, there is no current method that can't be detected by you carrier, including the newer VPN methods. If you do it a lot, without paying the extra fees associated with it, you'll get caught.
We're not going to judge anyone, and a few of us here at Android Central think charging extra for tethering is silly -- especially with data caps. Just know what may happen before you start so you don't get caught unaware.
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What is sideloading?
What is sideloading? It's a term you see a lot thrown around while talking about Android applications, and it's simple to explain. It means installing applications without using the official Android Market. What's less simple is how it's done and why you would do it. That's where this post comes in. Let's explain it, shall we?
How to do it is easy enough, so let's start there. In the Application settings on your Android phone, you'll find a check box to "Allow installation of non-Market applications." When it's checked, you can sideload. You'll also see a pop-up warning when you check this box letting you know that your phone is now more vulnerable to attacks from applications, and that you accept all the responsibility that comes with doing this. It makes sense -- you can't hold Google responsible for applications you didn't download through their service using their security methods.
Sideloading apps is easy to do as well. You download them to your phone, then use a file manager application to find them and "click" their entry. You'll invoke the app installer program, and it will install your app just as if it had came from the trusted Android Market. It won't be associated with your Android Market account, but it shows in your app drawer just like all the rest. It didn't used to be this easy for everyone. Under the guise of security, AT&T used to block users from sideloading by removing the Unknown sources field in the device settings. Whenever you tried to manually install an app, it would be blocked because it wasn't allowed. This could be circumvented by using adb from the SDK or by using a program like the Sideload Wonder Machine. Luckily, those days are past us and AT&T has re-evaluated their position, and now allows the installation of non-Market apps.
Why would you want to sideload. There are several reasons, one being that Google has allowed carriers to block certain applications based on the model and network your device is running on. We've seen carriers block apps that permit tethering without paying the extra associated fees, and some carriers have exclusives for certain apps and they aren't available for the others. That's a whole other mess that we'll tackle in another post -- just know that it happens. There are other reasons to need to sideload apps, too. Want to use a different appstore like the one from Amazon? You'll need to enable sideloading. The same goes for beta testing apps for developers, or even coding your own apps and testing them on your phone. There are a lot of legitimate reasons for sideloading. Of course, there's always the piracy aspect. If you want to steal from hard working developers you'll need to enable sideloading. You also suck. Sideload, but don't steal from developers.
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What is open source?
What is open source? Open-source software is software that makes the source code freely available, for anyone to see and use. There are different open-source licenses that have different use conditions, from the GPL (GNU General Public License) -- which allows "free distribution under the condition that further developments and applications are put under the same license" -- to more liberal licenses like the Apache License, which doesn't require modifications to be open and have the source code available. Android uses both of these licenses, and we'll have a look at them in turn.
The Linux kernel that is used in the OS is covered under the GPL. This means that any changes made to the source code must be made available when a binary (geek-speak for a compiled, executable piece of software) is released to the public. This means manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, Motorola and the rest must release the kernel source-code for any devices they sell at the same time they begin selling them. For the most part, hardware manufacturers are pretty good about doing so, but they often miss the time frame and release the source code a little later than we would like. These are the code releases you see us mention -- the kernel and other open-source "bits" that are covered under the GPL.
The Android OS source code is released mostly under the Apache License. Anybody is allowed to download the source code and change it however they like, but they are not required to make their changes available in source code form to the public. This is why we can't change and recompile things like HTC Sense or MotoBlur -- the changes to the base Android source code aren't available to us. While many folks (myself included) don't like this situation very much, it does make sense from a business standpoint. If manufacturers had to share all of their secrets, there wouldn't be as much monetary incentive to innovate, so the source was offered with a far more liberal license. It certainly worked, as we see devices from many major players in the electronics world.
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too,too
aaaaaand too
Good one buddy!
It's good for noobs!
And pro's!!
updated 2+3 post.
Awesome guide bro very informational
Can you emphatize in any way the questions ? Like bold it.
I try to read but i get lost easly x'D
Yeah i know what u mean,i do it with colors.
NERDIFIED TILL DEATH!!!
I like this so far. Please keep up the good work.
Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.
Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I
I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.
The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!
My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.
@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.
The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast