Kogan Intentionally Violating the GPL - Off-topic

I would like to bring to the attention of the community, and seek your help with respect to, Australian online reseller Kogan, who I recently discovered are knowingly and intentionally infringing on the copyrights of many by copying and commercially distributing GPL'd software on a variety of Android devices and refusing to comply with their licenses, by not providing the source-code to product owners. The software in question includes both the Linux kernel and U-Boot, but most likely other software too.
I have of course contacted Kogan support and was responded to by a staff member; who I believe is their job to illegally dismiss and mislead customers who make legitimate legal requests for GPL'd source-code and the such. I have thus far endured a lengthy exchange from August 24th, 2013, up until my most recent message to Kogan support member Arun, on October 21st, 2013. I suspect it is Arun's job to dismiss GPL requests and the such because during this two month period, a friend of mine also purchased a different Kogan branded Android product and subsequently requested the source code; only to receive near identical responses from none other than Arun.
Devices that we (myself and my friend) personally bought from Kogan and have requested (and have been denied) source-code for include:
Dual-core Kogan Agora Smartphone - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-50-dual-core-smartphone/
Entering the exciting world of Android handsets has never been easier or more affordable than right now with Kogan’s Agora Smartphone.
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42" Agora Smart 3D LED TV (Full HD) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/42-agora-smart-3d-led-tv-full-hd/
Packed full of features and running the powerful Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), you will soon be accessing the newest video content, browsing the internet, checking your Facebook, posting to Twitter, managing your emails and making use of the rapidly expanding range of Android apps and games, all of which are easily accessible via the Google Play store.
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47" Agora Smart 3D LED TV (Full HD) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/42-agora-smart-3d-led-tv-full-hd/
Packed full of features and running the powerful Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), you will soon be accessing the newest video content, browsing the internet, checking your Facebook, posting to Twitter, managing your emails and making use of the rapidly expanding range of Android apps and games, all of which are easily accessible via the Google Play store.
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I believe the following are also a list of infringing devices:
Agora HD Smartphone - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-50-quad-core-smartphone/
Packed with a powerful 1.2GHz Quad Core processor, a dazzling 1280×720 IPS screen, high quality 8MP rear camera and running Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), this smartphone is unbelievable value!
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32" Agora Smart LED TV (HD) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/32-agora-dual-core-smart-led-tv/
Featuring High Definition 720p for HD Broadcasts and HDMI devices, while supporting crystal clear HD 720p playback via built-in Agora Smart TV.
Using Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) you can access video content, browse the internet, check up on your friends via Facebook, keep up to date on Twitter, manage your emails, watch the latest trending videos on YouTube and make use of an ever expanding variety of Android apps and games, which are all easily accessible via the Google Play store.
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55" Agora Smart 3D LED TV (Full HD) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/55-agora-smart-3d-led-tv-full-hd/
Packed full of features and running the powerful Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), you will soon be accessing the newest video content, browsing the internet, checking your Facebook, posting to Twitter, managing your emails and making use of the rapidly expanding range of Android apps and games, all of which are easily accessible via the Google Play store.
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Agora Smart TV Quad Core HDMI Dongle - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-smart-tv-quad-core-hdmi-dongle/
There is always something great on TV with the Agora Smart TV HDMI Dongle.
Plug it into the back of the television, complete the 3-step set-up and be greeted by a menu that will revolutionize how you spend your time on the couch.
Android Operating System delivers never-ending possibilities.
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Agora Mini 8" Dual Core Tablet (8GB) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-mini-8-dual-core-tablet-8gb/
The Kogan Agora Mini 8” Dual Core Tablet PC is perfect for anyone who wants to experience Android on a bright and responsive multi-touch screen with illuminated soft-keys, while maintaining the portability thousands of happy customers have loved in the Kogan Agora Tablet Series.
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Agora Mini 8" Dual Core Tablet (16GB) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-mini-8-dual-core-tablet-16gb/
The Kogan Agora Mini 8” Dual Core Tablet PC is perfect for anyone who wants to experience Android on a bright and responsive multi-touch screen with illuminated soft-keys, while maintaining the portability thousands of happy customers have loved in the Kogan Agora Tablet Series.
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Agora 10" Dual Core Tablet (8GB) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-10-dual-core-tablet-8gb/
The Kogan Agora 10” Dual Core Tablet PC is perfect for anyone who wants to experience Android on a large, bright, and responsive multi-touch screen with illuminated soft-keys, while maintaining the portability thousands of happy customers have loved in the Kogan Agora Tablet Series.
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Agora 10" Dual Core Tablet (16GB) - http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/agora-10-dual-core-tablet-16gb/
The Kogan Agora 10” Dual Core Tablet PC is perfect for anyone who wants to experience Android on a large, bright, and responsive multi-touch screen with illuminated soft-keys, while maintaining the portability thousands of happy customers have loved in the Kogan Agora Tablet Series.
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Yes, that's a lot of infringing devices! These are only the Android-running devices. I suspect their other TVs, their routers, and perhaps other embedded devices are also running Linux and other GPL'd software.
I am seeking the community's help in rectifying this situation. Kogan must provide the source-code to owners' of the above products upon the owner's request. In fact they must (and are definitely not in all cases), distribute the GPL license with these products along with a written offer provide (or instructions to obtain) the source-code for the GPL'd software running on these devices. As such, I would like every one of you to blog, video blog, write about, yell about, or otherwise make publicly known, that Kogan are knowingly and intentionally violating these licenses.
If by the off chance you are a contributor to the mainline Linux kernel, you can also send Kogan a legal complaint that they are infringing on your copyright. If you are a Linux contributor and willing to help, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are the owner of one of the products mentioned above, please contact Kogan support and request the source-code for the device(s) you own. Feel free to include in your contact messages the GPLv2 license (as it pertains to the Linux kernel).
Exchange with Kogan
Below are a few excerpts of my lengthy exchange with Kogan support staff member, Arun. Please excuse the typos, when I get frustrated and offended (yes as developer I find this offensive) I find it very difficult to write!
Myself said:
Hi Arun,
Sorry, I'd did try to be explicit in my request, but it does look as though you may have misinterpreted me.
I am after the source code for any open source software that runs on the the Kogan Agora 47 (and the Kogan Agora Smartphone as well actually) specifically as these are both products I've purchased from Kogan. What you've linked to is the source-code for the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) which is used as a basis for Android manufacturers. On it's own AOSP will not run on third-party devices. Every device is unique and has its own modifications to Android. Some of this software is licensed under the GPL[1] of which manufacturers (and resellers) are legally required to make available to owners of devices running the software.
I don't know precisely what GPL (or LGPL) licensed software runs on my Android TV (KALED473DSMTZA) and my Android phone (KHPHN05ANDA) because the licenses weren't included with the devices (which is actually a violation of the licenses). However, I do know that at minimum they both run a modified version of the Linux kernel, which is a core component of Android and licensed under GPL. I'd be inclined to think that the bootloaders running on the device are also derivatives of GPL licensed source code. I haven't bothered investigating on my own because I would have assumed you at Kogan already has access to this information and would be able to provide it to me.
As such I'm requesting the source code and a list of open-source software that run on the following devices that I own and operate:
- KALED473DSMTZA: 47 inch Android Smart TV
- KHPHN05ANDA: 5 inch Android Dual-Sim Smartphone
I do understand that any potential GPL (or other open source license) violations may be accidental on Kogan's behalf. I do also understand that Kogan works with Chinese manufacturers to provide these products and may need to chase this up with individual manufacturers. However, if this is going to take some time I would appreciate it if you could provide me with regular updates so that I can ensure that you're trying to address this. Otherwise I will need to report any violations of licenses to their respective copyright holders (and GPL Violations[2]) whom, hopefully it wouldn't come to this, may need follow up with legal action.
Thanks,
Benjamin Dobell
[1] GPL - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.htmlhttp://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
[2] GPL Violations - http://gpl-violations.org/http://gpl-violations.org/
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Arun claims:
Arun said:
We have thoroughly investigated this issue of GPL.
Now as we understand we have not made any changes to the Kernel source code.
Thus we are not required to publish or share anything and are fully complaint to GPL.
We have added the interface on top and are covered by Android licensing which is licensed under Apache 2.0.
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html
We don't need to give source code for the product, as we are entitled to modify Android base system and not release those changes to customers.
Android source is 100% available for everyone to download from Google.
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Arun said:
I have already explained, the Kernel is not changed and it is available for you to download online.
Drivers have been added to support the hardware and we have built an interface that goes over the top of Android, just a skin/theme.
We are not required to publish or share this information.
We are not violating any license agreement and not intending to do so.
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This is despite the fact that I had explicitly pointed out, and explained, the exact relevant portions of the GPLv2. The GPLv2 makes it very clear that the exact source code for each software release distributed to customers/consumers must be made available, which is entirely irrespective of whether the source-code is actually modified. This is because simply stating an embedded device runs Linux kernel is entirely ambiguous/useless; as there are plethora of versions, variants and even forks that one could be referring to. GPL violations FAQ (http://gpl-violations.org/faq/sourcecode-faq.html) summarise this requirement nicely:
What version of the source code do I have to release?
For each and every version of the executable program, you have to release the precisely corresponding version of the complete corresponding source code.
So if you have distributed ten different versions of firmware for an embedded product, and this firmware contains GPL licensed software, then you need to release ten different source code packages, each one corresponding for each executable version.
Please note that if you chose GPL Option 3b (rather than 3a), then the obligation only lasts for three years. This means that you do not have to provide source code for any executable code that was last distributed more than three years ago.
Please also keep in mind that both distribution on physical storage medium and distribution via data networks such as the Internet count as distribution.
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Of course, the "unmodified Linux kernel" argument, despite being entirely wrong, is also a complete and utter lie on Kogan's behalf. The mainline Linux Git repository most certainly does not include the necessary source-code and install scripts to build and install a version of the Linux kernel that would run on any of Kogan's Android devices.
NOTE: Arun is completely correct with respect to any modifications to the Apache 2.0 licensed components of Android; Kogan are under no obligation to release them. Which is why at no stage did I ask for the source-code to this software. This is simply Kogan intentionally trying to confuse matters in order to avoid their obligations.

Kogan seems to be a smaller player, but on Android Platform, there are bigger players who are violating the GPL intentionally.
Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon are 3 brands which manufacture budget phones in India. Micromax is a very popular brand and it is currently the top selling phone company in India provided they sell phones at very cheap prices encouraging everyone to purchase them. The market is huge and Micromax would no more translate to a Local brand. The phones are being reviewed on Gsmarena and Youtube too making them more and more popular.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sQuickSearch=yes&sName=micromax
Micromax was making budget phones in India based on Chinese OS earlier. Most of their phones were rebranded Chinese phones and few of them still are. They made a move to Android, cutting down the Software Development cost for obvious reasons and reducing the price of the device. There have been numerous petitions and requests for source releases but none have been paid off so far. We all know that most of the Android AOSP code is not released, but all the major players atleast release the kernel sources, which is not the case for these brands. I have contacted them numerous times, but they have blindly refused to do anything about it stating that GPL doesn't exists and is not enforced in India.
Myself being a Recognized Developer and Contributer from India, I have been receiving a lot of PMs from other forum members asking me if there is a way to use the generic kernel source code and port it to the device, which I regard would be a lot painful and definitely not worth the effort.
Most manufacturers only know how to sell their phones, but they give a damn about the Software crime that they are committing. I haven't contributed to mainstream kernel myself and I could imagine how frustrated could one be when their intellectual property is shamelessly stolen.

dhiru1602 said:
Kogan seems to be a smaller player, but on Android Platform, there are bigger players who are violating the GPL intentionally.
Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon are 3 brands which manufacture budget phones in India. Micromax is a very popular brand and it is currently the top selling phone company in India provided they sell phones at very cheap prices encouraging everyone to purchase them. The market is huge and Micromax would no more translate to a Local brand. The phones are being reviewed on Gsmarena and Youtube too making them more and more popular.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sQuickSearch=yes&sName=micromax
Micromax was making budget phones in India based on Chinese OS earlier. Most of their phones were rebranded Chinese phones and few of them still are. They made a move to Android, cutting down the Software Development cost for obvious reasons and reducing the price of the device. There have been numerous petitions and requests for source releases but none have been paid off so far. We all know that most of the Android AOSP code is not released, but all the major players atleast release the kernel sources, which is not the case for these brands. I have contacted them numerous times, but they have blindly refused to do anything about it stating that GPL doesn't exists and is not enforced in India.
Myself being a Recognized Developer and Contributer from India, I have been receiving a lot of PMs from other forum members asking me if there is a way to use the generic kernel source code and port it to the device, which I regard would be a lot painful and definitely not worth the effort.
Most manufacturers only know how to sell their phones, but they give a damn about the Software crime that they are committing. I haven't contributed to mainstream kernel myself and I could imagine how frustrated could one be when their intellectual property is shamelessly stolen.
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Yea Micromax definitely refuses to comply with the GPL. I've only dealt with a couple of Micromax devices on request from users to build CWMR for them and then asked to build CM* for them and various other mods. Which w/o kernel src, it makes things alot more difficult, if not impossible. I just ended up declining to work on the devices.
Huawei and ZTE dont fully comply with the GPL on all their devices either. They like to only release src for a few devices and we dont want to get into their awful coding. lol

PlayfulGod said:
Yea Micromax definitely refuses to comply with the GPL. I've only dealt with a couple of Micromax devices on request from users to build CWMR for them and then asked to build CM* for them and various other mods. Which w/o kernel src, it makes things alot more difficult, if not impossible. I just ended up declining to work on the devices.
Huawei and ZTE dont fully comply with the GPL on all their devices either. They like to only release src for a few devices and we dont want to get into their awful coding. lol
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It is unfortunate but also true that they are all doing it. For instance, Vizio gave me answers, regarding the Co-Star, that are almost verbatim what OP got from Kogan: "no they are not obligated to release anything; if I want to see their kernel I can ask Google for the GTV source code, etc."

cyansmoker said:
It is unfortunate but also true that they are all doing it. For instance, Vizio gave me answers, regarding the Co-Star, that are almost verbatim what OP got from Kogan: "no they are not obligated to release anything; if I want to see their kernel I can ask Google for the GTV source code, etc."
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Dont know to take their answers as just being defiant or ignorant. lol
How do they think they are except from complying to the GPL for using/modifying the kernel src in which we all know they have to do to get it to work with their devices. lol
My vote is ignorance on behalf of the human relations depts, which dont have a clue wtf they are even talking about.

@Benjamin Dobell
How is progress going? I just saw this in an article on ausdroid
As utterly ridiculous this is, being a supposedly 100% google kernel (which it 100% can't be to run on this hardware etc) and how you are correct, there are big violators out there and frankly the "GPL" is nothing. It is kind of like threatening someone with no intent of hurting them: GPL are not going to do much. When HTC release broken kernel sources, 80 days after official OTA is out (when the new base is already out) people are just happy they release it. And while HTC, Samsung, Sony etc are legally supposed to provide kernel source, the main reason imo they release is to keep this xda/hacking community happy. If HTC didn't release kernel sources anymore, most of the community would leave the HTC devices, and buy a samsung or something. It might even make the news, so HTC would get bad publicity.
What does Kogan care, they are selling very small volumes of these phones compared with the big guns, and there are even less people interested in the sources. While I agree that you are correct and Kogan need to release source, not much can be done
Just my 2 cents

Good catch on the Kogan issue, but it will be hard to make a difference by going it alone. Best if you can get friendly with some journalists, perhaps the APC Mag guys or whatever to build up some buzz. Once you have someone interested you can fan the flames from there, to get the word out. You'll probably be surprised what they are willing to run on a slow news day As an idea, if you look at a number of the Kogan stories running in the news recently you might also find some interested journos.
BTW, I suspect Kogan could fix this quite easily by requesting that their Chinese suppliers also supply the kernel source along with the hardware/software deliverables. Might be hard to do that retrospectively but they should do that for all future devices.

Post this on the gpl-violations mailing list.
http://lists.gpl-violations.org/mailman/listinfo/legal/
It wouldn't be the first Android violator they've dealt with this year.

Kogan and the GPL http://ausdroid.net/2013/11/04/kogan-and-the-gpl/?utm_source=ausdroidnetapp
Kogan have been emailed twice re this but haven't responded at all. Hopefully this Might make them get their butts into gear.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

LLStarks said:
Post this on the gpl-violations mailing list.
http://lists.gpl-violations.org/mailman/listinfo/legal/
It wouldn't be the first Android violator they've dealt with this year.
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Just out of interest how many times has a violator been dealt with?
MontAlbert said:
Kogan and the GPL http://ausdroid.net/2013/11/04/kogan-and-the-gpl/?utm_source=ausdroidnetapp
Kogan have been emailed twice re this but haven't responded at all. Hopefully this Might make them get their butts into gear.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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If it makes it to sites other than ausdroid and portrays Kogan in a bad light... yeah I do see it evoking change. To get rid of their bad image if they want to keep selling phones

Most violators tend to comply when confronted by GPL organizations like the Software Freedom Conservancy and Free Software Foundation. Samsung partnered with the SFC recently to peacefully come into compliance over their exfat implementation which used a lot of GPL-licensed Linux filesystem code. Going to court is very rare.
And yes, most of these violations are discussed in the mailing list by people responsible for enforcement. Armijn Hemel and Brad Kuhn of the SFC especially.
I'd be willing to bet that Kogan is also using a GPL-licensed Busybox along with their Linux kernel.

LLStarks said:
Most violators tend to comply when confronted by GPL organizations like the Software Freedom Conservancy and Free Software Foundation. Samsung partnered with the SFC recently to peacefully come into compliance over their exfat implementation which used a lot of GPL-licensed Linux filesystem code. Going to court is very rare.
And yes, most of these violations are discussed in the mailing list by people responsible for enforcement. Armijn Hemel and Brad Kuhn of the SFC especially.
I'd be willing to bet that Kogan is also using a GPL-licensed Busybox along with their Linux kernel.
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I am wondering now, does Kogan even make their phones or is it another company that Kogan pays and puts their name on it? In that case, kogan representatives would have no clue at all
I guess the exfat thing worked, hopefully Kogan will be compliant

Doesn't really matter. Kogan is distributing binaries that contain GPL code. If there's a contracted hardware/software manufacturer involved they're also responsible but Kogan still has to do a lot on their end. They must be having one of those "what the hell are we even doing moments" since they control so little of the process behind their business model.
If Kogan is just putting their name on it, they have to ask that manufacturer (which I assume is foreign) to provide the source for the software involved. Out of matters of sheer practicality and perceived language barriers, Kogan would then share these sources with the English-speaking world. The manufacturer could do this themselves, but whatever.

Quick update for those interested.
Re: http://www.zdnet.com/kogan-to-comply-with-gpl-requirements-for-android-source-7000022847/
1. Kogan have not contacted me at all to indicate that they intend to resolve their GPL infringement.
2. Kogan claimed they have only had one request for source code; this is completely false. As I mentioned in my original post, at least both myself and my friend have requested the source code for various devices. Since then I have also been contacted by a few others that requested the source code also.
3. Kogan claimed that I was requesting source-code for a brand new phone. Which they seem to be using as an excuse for why the source is not yet available. This is completely false, I actually requested the source-code for Dual-Core Kogan Agora phone. Which is the previous generation of Kogan Agora (compared to the Quad core model) and has been available for almost 12 months. In addition to this, I also requested the source-code for a Kogan Agora TV. This particular model of Android TV has only been available for around 3-4 months, I believe. However, other Kogan Android TVs have been available for around 6 months.
Re: Sending Kogan a notice of copyright infringement; still working on getting that sorted.

any update on this?

Hey Ben, have you heard any further from Kogan? I'm keen to get my hands on the gpl stuff for my 55" Agora (nee. Konka ) SmartTV but there seems to have been no movement besides an attempt by Kogan to quell any negative publicity over 6 weeks ago... despite them having shipped modified firmware on TVs that hit the country mid - December. ...

adr6ian said:
Hey Ben, have you heard any further from Kogan? I'm keen to get my hands on the gpl stuff for my 55" Agora (nee. Konka ) SmartTV but there seems to have been no movement besides an attempt by Kogan to quell any negative publicity over 6 weeks ago... despite them having shipped modified firmware on TVs that hit the country mid - December. ...
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Funny they lied their butts off in that article they did about it wrt who asked for it, how many asked for it and what they asked for. Not once did they reply to any of my emails from Ausdroid. We wanted to give them a chance to put their story in print but maybe I upset them ?
Ben did receive the source code. Not sure how public kogan have made this. Ie. Can anyone find it of their website or do they need to request it and then will get a private link?
I am yet to hear back from him as to whether the source actually works and builds the kernel correctly.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

MontAlbert said:
Funny they lied their butts off in that article they did about it wrt who asked for it, how many asked for it and what they asked for. Not once did they reply to any of my emails from Ausdroid. We wanted to give them a chance to put their story in print but maybe I upset them ?
Ben did receive the source code. Not sure how public kogan have made this. Ie. Can anyone find it of their website or do they need to request it and then will get a private link?
I am yet to hear back from him as to whether the source actually works and builds the kernel correctly.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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here's their public site
http://www.kogan.com/au/

MameTozhio said:
here's their public site
http://www.kogan.com/au/
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And? So what? Everyone knows their public site. Where is the link to the source on their site?
Good on them for coming up with the source. I for one doubted they'd be able to get it. Chinese manufacturers tend to not give up the source often, if ever. But it shouldn't be hard to find if someone wants it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

My Google foo is failing me, because I can't unearth a publicly linked version... closest I can find is the X 8000 series stuff on a Chinese forum, but the X 8000 is different enough from the v712 series based on specs that without the OEM firmware I'm not game to dabble with..
All I really want is to re enable the KKMULTISCR service that isn't active in the Kogan build but is present in all other re badged konka units such as the TCL and HiSense units and the Direct Sale v712 in NZ...
MontAlbert, if you have any suggestion feel free to PM me
I've mailed Kogan and formally requested the source, but I suspect I'll get a run around... maybe I'm cynical but
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Related

M/s LG Are you listening?

This decision may come as a surprise to some of our readers, particularly given the sales figures posted by Samsung for recent product launches such as the flagship Galaxy S3 and Note II. Nonetheless, this year, the XDA Developers’ OEM of the Year is Sony Mobile.
The relationship between XDA and Sony has been frosty in the past, thanks in part to the locking of bootloaders, subsequent lack of updates, and Sony’s efforts in early 2011 to target open source community “developers” with lawsuits in other product categories (such as the Playstation 3). This resulted in many top developers turning a blind eye to anything and everything Sony. They eventually dropped the suit later on in the year, but that was no consolation to the community.
Despite these events, a change was signaled in September of 2011, when Sony’s Head of Developer Relations posted a notice to the community that they supported independent Android OS developers. Then in early 2012, Sony Mobile released the Sony Xperia S, the first Sony Android phone to be released with flagship-level specs. Soon after, Sony signaled a change in their stance towards open source development by releasing a guide for unlocking the bootloader on the Xperia S and then releasing not only the kernel source code but also a guide for building it.
In just over 12 months, they had gone from suing a developer that hacked the bootloader on his own purchased device, to providing the tools to unlock the bootloader on a high-quality device and giving users the instructions to build the kernel source. No other manufacturer had done that, nor have any others to date. That is full-on GPLv2 compliance like we’ve never seen before at XDA.
Here is a list of the other steps they took towards openness in the community in 2012:
In March Sony officially released a public beta of ICS for the Xperia Play when no other manufacturer was officially releasing betas.
In April Sony released ICS for their entire 2011 line of devices, becoming the first manufacturer to do so.
Their Sony Developer Relations team announced a program to allow developers to borrow devices for application testing.
In August the Sony Xperia S became the first non-Nexus device (not counting the Motorola Xoom) to be included in the AOSP device tree as an experimental device. They then followed that up by releasing the AOSP binaries for the Xperia S.
Later in August Sony began open-sourcing their own code for the Dynamic Android Sensor Hardware Abstraction Layer (DASH for short) to the community.
In October they joined XDA at the Big Android BBQ to discuss their plans for further open source interaction in the community.
They announced they would be taking the lead for the AOSP source for the Xperia S and manage it themselves in their own github, and begin merging in Android 4.2.
They continue to utilize their highly active development blog where their developer team discusses their views on Android, and announce preview “Alpha” and “Beta” builds of updated device firmware and seek user feedback.
CyanogenMod custom firmware distribution is maintained for several Sony devices by a number of Sony Mobile developers, in their own time.
Given the recent trend by companies such as Samsung to often overlook the custom ROM developer community (in favor of application developers), it is refreshing to see Sony going far beyond what is required to improve the experience of their devices for anyone interested in developing for the platform. Given their contributions to the Android community-at-large in 2012 alone, and their complete turn around in less than 16 months, Sony is XDA’s OEM of the Year for 2012!
If you’re looking for a couple great options for Sony devices, we recommend the Xperia S or the Xperia T.
Now, what we really want to hear is YOUR top OEM for 2012. Vote below to let us know!
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The link
The only thing holding me back from this device is the locked boot loader:crying:
Pretty sure one major reason why LG won't make the bootloader open is the exclusive game and software contracts they have on this phone with certain service providers in Asia.
The funny thing about Sony, and other companies, is that they will only release a bootloader like this if someone is not willing to pay to keep it closed. So the praise for Sony here is a bit misplaced, to put it like that. Generally rooted phones receive a limited amount of support afterwards, simply because they believe they don't earn any money on them afterwards.
I.e., the only reason Sony does something like this isn't because they will design their own software shell to operate with other shells. Instead it's for two reasons:
1. They're 100% confident that rooted shells are inferior to theirs, and is locked down in certain ways that makes it useless as far as replacing the original one.
2. They realize that an extremely small number of people actually do root their phones or use a custom kernel.
Now, if they came out and said: "We have a sales philsophy that isn't tied to the locked down shell, and instead one that is focused on the device and the features of the device only. While the software we have can be used interchangeably with other shells, because of the way it's designed from the bottom up to do so - and we encourage the community to create their variants of the surrounding software package". If they did that, they'd deserve praise.
Something like this - well, that's about the same level as praising a mugger for telling you where he's going to fence your stuff.
UIQrules said:
Pretty sure one major reason why LG won't make the bootloader open is the exclusive game and software contracts they have on this phone with certain service providers in Asia.
The funny thing about Sony, and other companies, is that they will only release a bootloader like this if someone is not willing to pay to keep it closed. So the praise for Sony here is a bit misplaced, to put it like that. Generally rooted phones receive a limited amount of support afterwards, simply because they believe they don't earn any money on them afterwards.
I.e., the only reason Sony does something like this isn't because they will design their own software shell to operate with other shells. Instead it's for two reasons:
1. They're 100% confident that rooted shells are inferior to theirs, and is locked down in certain ways that makes it useless as far as replacing the original one.
2. They realize that an extremely small number of people actually do root their phones or use a custom kernel.
Now, if they came out and said: "We have a sales philsophy that isn't tied to the locked down shell, and instead one that is focused on the device and the features of the device only. While the software we have can be used interchangeably with other shells, because of the way it's designed from the bottom up to do so - and we encourage the community to create their variants of the surrounding software package". If they did that, they'd deserve praise.
Something like this - well, that's about the same level as praising a mugger for telling you where he's going to fence your stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you are actually misguided on this one. Sony's Developer Relations team does not want any of their device's bootloader locked - it's the carriers who desire them locked. At the executive level, Sony has to deal with misperception that unlocked bootloader == rooted phone. They are slowly changing that mindset, but it's an uphill battle. There are a large number of Sony devices capable of being unlocked, and they go to great lengths to make sure they help the user do it.
What will always be a struggle is the carrier's and their hold on the industry. Once that hold gets loosened, then we'll see a lot more positive things.

[INFO] Emailing to HTC a.k.a. Operation "ath6kl_sdio.ko"

Emailing to HTC
a.k.a.
- - - Operation "ath6kl_sdio.ko" - - -
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Hey Guys,​
As you know, our great little phone has lot of potentials, but HTC condemned it to the status of an entry-level phone, meaning its main purpose is to draw new customers to their more expensive devices. And thus they leave us in the dark in the development front, and not just us but other less hi-spec phones too, like our twin-brother the Explorer forum or the Amaze 4G who have both achieved amazing things despite the lack of support.
Compared to other companies like Sony and Samsung who aims to be a "good open source citizen" by releasing entire source codes ahead of the actual phone launch, we can call it carelessness, laziness or a marketing model with debatable efficiency, but that is not too important now.
The only thing we can do - similarly to other users of neglected phones, like the Amaze 4G - is to inundate HTC with emails from each one of us, so they become aware that there is a strong and willing community of Desire C users who are devoted to this phone not just because it is cheap, but for other reasons too :victory:
For me personally it's the size that hands down beats all the higher-spec bigger bros, and feature wise all it's category. Think about yours and write to them.
The aim of this thread is to highlight the holes in the official support and to provide information for anyone who is prepared to write HTC regarding the development issues we are facing. The post below will be updated parallel with the info we are gathering here.
>>> Therefore it would be appreciated if our devs and more technically literate members added their insights on these problems, so it can be communicated to the company effectively in an appropriate manner.
However we are looking for sharing valuable information here as we don't have anything else right now, so please aim for constructive comments and don't spam the thread with "it aint gonna happen no way" and "i hate you HTC, die cun**ts", herpaderpaderp and so on.
Sobbing, ranting or being cynical does not help at all, in fact does the opposite. <<<
::::: So guys, we can choose wether moaning about the shortcomings of our phone or actually do something about it even if one isn't a dev. Based on the info you find here and on these forums, write an email to HTC, some of us have done it already. We have nothing to lose and a pro-active collective attitude can make real change. In fact that's the only thing that does
CLICK to write to HTC
if you run out of space in the provided text-box, alternatively you can contact them here:
http://www.htc.com/uk/contact/email/
However, expect to get a well-bred canned reply with no actual help at all, but as an example look at the recent Amaze 4G success story (thanks for odunluzikkim and sakindia123 for pointing out).
You have to realise our strength is in collective effort, and its success is depending on each one of us, seriously.
To educate yourself in the topic:
-- about the success of the Amaze 4G community:
http://www.change.org/petitions/htc...ivers-sourcecode-associated-with-the-amaze-4g
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1679112
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1557500
-- about HTC's violations and company attitude:
http://users.livejournal.com/joshua_/41833.html
http://users.livejournal.com/joshua_/43185.html
http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-c...ore-decisive?utm_source=ac&utm_medium=twitter
-- about the competition and HTC's situation on the market:
http://www.tmonews.com/2013/01/as-s...-different-financial-results-can-htc-survive/
http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+Samsung+Snag+99+of+Mobile+Phone+Profits+/article24616.htm
-- about software licensing:
http://www.fsf.org/about/
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License
http://www.bsdnewsletter.com/bsd/license.html
http://pthree.org/2007/08/08/bsd-license-explained-in-layman-terms/
And finally, if you believe this is a good cause and benefits for the whole Android and Open-Source Community:
) ) ) ) ) SPREAD THE WORD! ( ( ( ( ( ​​
- Include this or the petition in your signature and blog and write about it in forums. Click to download the press pack or the avatar pack
- Use Twitter, Facebook, G+ and all your social networks to tweet, share, post about it and about HTC's ignorant attitude
- Bombard @HTC and @HTCdev Twitter and Facebook and express the issue
More on #HASHTAGS will follow later -
Stay tuned
How and What to Write
Known issues with official support that hinders us in development:
Source code of the WiFi driver called "ath6kl_sdio.ko", that prevents the porting of fully functioning custom ROMs like CM9/10, AOKP and so on
S-OFF
ICS 4.04
Bootloader or Stock Kernel bug that causes reboot in Recovery
And we have the lack of Jelly Bean issue, but honestly I believe it is part of HTC's marketing policy, and asking them for it would be like asking Apple to build SD card slot in iPhones lol. Officially it is not gonna happen. But I also believe porting JB will happen sooner or later regardless if they care or not, and if they can make our devs' work easier with something, that is even better.
However given the situation, our priority now is the precious ath6kl_sdio.ko driver. And we will get it one way or an other So the emails and our petition should be focused on that, we can deal with the rest once we have this.
::::: Sooo, you want to write an email to HTC? Let our voice be heard and spam the hell out of them! But we need to do it professionally Have a good read on hasoon2000's thread from the Amaze 4G forum, it's amazing what these guys have been gone through. They have tried literally EVERYTHING and they were ready to push it even further.
The Battle Plan, Phase 1:
Phase 1 Operation “ath6kl_sido.ko”
Email Awareness Campaign;
This campaign will be a focused in two pronged strategy to HTC. The idea behind this is to create awareness within HTC that ;
(a) There is a problem with the Desire C software that needs to be addressed
(b) That we will not back down from this issue
(c) That the standard emails from support agents are not good enough and getting us nowhere
(d) That we would like the problem escalated to the appropriate division
(e) That we get a clear and defined answer to the problem from HTC
With this in mind we will embark on the following strategy;
i. Design four emails to HTC, hardcore and soft core, Desire C user and Non desire c users. DONE
ii. Orchestrate a combined email drive to htc support and htc public relations departments on Monday 8th April starting at 12:00 gmt
iii. These emails will be sent as close together as possible
iv. The troops will select a mail of the four templates that they comfortable with and adjust them if need be
v. That the emails will go to the following email addresses only: [email protected] (Vice President of Global Communications & Public Affairs); [email protected]
vi. This strategy will be implemented for one week only and then we will change tactics.
vii. To involve as many people as possible, including, family members and friends who do not belong to XDA
Click to expand...
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A couple of things to consider before writing your email:
--- "ath6kl_sdio.ko" was released by Atheros Communications Inc. under dual BSD/GPL license.
Apparently this means they are not obliged to release the code, since BSD - in contrast to GPL -, allows them to keep it if they want to. Dual BSD/GPL means they are free to choose either of the licenses:
- GPL grants that the code stays open source, once it has been reused it has to be released by law, no matter how mighty the company is there is no way around it, and this is why corporations don't like it, obviously it is set against the capitalist framework, and this is why open source loves it.
- BSD is also a free software license, but it allows you to take the free code and not giving it back to the open source community.
We can safely assume HTC chose the second option.
Basically we have to accept the fact that legally, they have the right to keep the code. On the other hand it is not a good fashion from them to do so, and we have to highlight this to them and to anyone out there on every possible channels. This is what means "giving them a bad PR".
--- From a point of marketing efficiency: HTC has been doing quite badly for while now against their competition, who recognised the asset in the co-operation with communities like ours. More support means more trustable brand image and stronger customer base. They are losing market due to being closed-minded.
--- Brand image: which company wants to be known for **** support, especially if they are openly state the opposite. On the main page of www.htcdev.com can be read:
HTC is constantly pushing to create the ultimate experience for developers. Now you can access the tools you need to make great things happen.
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- sounds quite embarrassing after flicking through the pages of this thread...
--- Keeping the code is very questionable ethically, this is what also russell664 was pointing out in his emails. This is a rational we can stick to, because there is simply no reason to keep the source code away from us, other then a stubborn and static marketing model, which is being proven to be outdated, inefficient and unsustainable. They are hoping an upheaval from One X and Sense 5, which is great, but the other companies have great new stuff too plus a loyal customer base, boooo....
--- Keeping the Desire C source code is not a question of life and death to them, but rather an initial decision which follows an outdated marketing model which leaves the open source initiative, like ours out of consideration (A clever company however grabs every bit of opportunity to turn it into profit). This is why we have to make them aware that we are here and we want the code, and we are not going to stop until they release it.
--- HTC is a huge company with bureaucratic structure. Convincing them won't be an easy task, be prepared to for a long and tough struggle. For the guys in Amaze 4G forum took 7 month. However they already have pioneered this before us which hopefully makes our job a bit easier. We just have to follow their example.
Be adult (even if you are not) and consider these before you post "...they don't help us... :crying:" etc. Know that they won't acknowledge their mistake or tell you "here is the driver, mr. xda member desire c user". Remember it is not a person but a corporate entity we are talking to at the end.
Do your homework:
Everyone who is concerned, please read through hasoon2000's thread, there is everything you need to know about how to deal with HTC. It is 30 pages but if you don't, you have no right to complain y u no have CM9
Let me quote the enlightening words of negotiation-master hasoon2000 from this post:
Remember, HTC is a huge company. You can't send an email like this
Y u know releaze da driverz 4 da Desiya See.
You have to be professional with them, at all times.
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Click to collapse
Read ALL my posts so you can see my professionalism and CALL THEM OUT! Don't accept what they have to say. Frankly, I don't care what they say because I know what they will say. You need to attract attention and give them bad PR, professionally of course. After months of working on it and teaching people, they finally released the source.
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Click to collapse
Unified template? Don't even. If I received multiple emails of the same thing with the only difference is the name, I wouldn't care because you didn't actually make an effort to convince me. Everyone has different experiences with different manufacturers, phones, etc. Tell them your story, why you got the Desire C. Whether it's because you have a budget or you don't want the latest and greatest phone. Maybe because you like the size of the phone or you have small hands. Whatever it may be, they had a reason for you to buy the phone or everything else. Tell them why you bought it, how you want to customize the phone with your hard earned money.
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These guys are corporate people. All they want is money. Find statistics on how HTC is losing sales and how Samsung/Apple are getting more market share. Tell them how HTC is losing customers and exposure over something small. Compressing the source code takes no more than 2 minutes. Uploading it takes a few minutes. Is that REALLY going to kill them? No, unless they don't release the source code. Tell them how Samsung was not developer friendly in the beginning and when they became developer friendly, look at them now. They are making BANK! HTC could do the same IF they weren't being assholes. When someone sees how cool a phone is when it has a custom ROM, people will start purchasing from that manufacturer because of the cool stuff it can do. Tell them all these things! Look at the Amaze 4G, we got out source.
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::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And now some examples of his correspondence with the company. Look at how he did not let them to overwhelm him and get away with bullsh*it. He broke the same canned responses what we already got, and gained attention with sheer logic:
Here is what I wrote:
HTC has made a promise to help to development community by releasing the source code as well as unlocking the bootloader for their devices. However, the TI WLAN source code has been withheld from the community. This slows development and can even cease development for the device completely. Without the source code, developers will have to develop blindly and hoping not to break anything in the process. The Amaze 4G has great potential due to his hardware and power that it harnesses. Android is an Open Source OS, but HTC is sounding more like Apple, holding their source from the public. People purchased the device to experience the "Real Feel" of Android by customizing it, installing Custom ROMs, tweaking it, etc. Without the WLAN source code, we, as a community, have starting to lose faith in HTC and some of us have even pledged to never purchase an HTC device again due to HTC's policies. The community will like for HTC to rethink their strategy and be "Open" with the community. The best form of advertisement is by "The Word-of-Mouth". When our community, the tech savvy and the owners of a smartphone, see how HTC listens to their customers requests, they will become more profitable and retain/gain new and loyal customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow along my lines but don't copy and paste it. Be truthful to them. Open your mind/heart. Tell them why we want, why it will help, why it will help their image with consumers, how it can lead to more business and brand loyalty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC responded to me
Dear Odai,
I understand you would like to have certain source codes like the WLAN drivers to the development community. I realize that this information is of great importance to you. The only source code we have available is the full source code available on the HTC Developer website at http://htcdev.com. We do not currently have an option to send individual parts of the source code separately. Any parts of the kernel source code that are not included in the released source code on the website should be considered propriety and not available for release. Please visit http://htcdev.com/contact to leave comments about this feature. I thank you for sending your email to HTC today.
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My response to that
Since HTC is committed to helping the development community, hence HTCDev has been started, there have been a fair share of issues that is being withheld from us. There has been a lack of support for certain devices since new flagship phones have been released. For example, the HTC Amaze 4G is a device with great hardware, but HTC has not given us full support due to the face of the HTC One series being released. As a business student, I understand what is being done. HTC would like their new flagship phones to sell and give less support to older devices. However, we are being left out and since this is my first non-Nokia device, I feel betrayed by HTC already. I purchased the Amaze 4G due to its hardware and I know it can unleash its true potential, only with the help of HTC. However, this is not the case. There are devices with over 10 custom made kernels and how many does the Amaze have? Only one and that is for Gingerbread and it has slight modifications since the full source has not be released. This is a huge setback to us users. We have barely any type of custom ROMs. We have not AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs since we need the full kernel source to even make a kernel that is compatible with AOSP ROMs.
The Sensation development is sky high booming with plenty of developers. As a developer for the HTC Amaze 4G, looking at the Sensation development is heart breaking. The Amaze is truly better, but yet has no support from those who created it. It is like leaving a baby in the street. You do not do that.
HTC needs to realize for those who purchase their devices and would like to retain loyalty to HTC, HTC needs to treat their customers back as well. Without us, HTC is nothing.
As I stated earlier, this is my first Non-Nokia device and I already feel betrayed by HTC. If HTC cannot fix their act and be committed to those purchase their devices, they will lose customers significantly.
There should be a way to release the full source to us HTC Amaze 4G owners by talking to other companies that have their hardware in the Amaze. If that cannot be done, this will be my first and last HTC device ever.
So do what you can and stay committed to your program for us HTC users. Without your support, we feel betrayed since the company is not living up to their word. For us, it is hypocrisy while you guys believe it is business. The best business is customer support. If customers are not given what they have been truly promised, HTC might as well just shut down or reallocate to another industry. Just my opinions and my response.
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The responded to my message.
I can definitely understand how the previous agent’s answer would make you upset. I’ll be glad to help you, Odai. By law, all that we are required to release is the kernel source code. HTC will release source code in accordance with any applicable open source license terms, i.e. GPL v2.0. Other source codes, which are not required to be disclosed by the open source license terms, unfortunately cannot be disclosed by HTC, as they may be proprietary to HTC or its licensor.
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My response
Samuel, thank you for responding. Danielle blew off my message and that is not great customer service. However, I see conflicting interests from messages I have been told as well as other. Some of the users have been told
"HTC will typically publish on http://developer.htc.com or htcdev.com the Kernel open source code for recently released devices as soon as possible. HTC will normally publish this within 90 to 120 days. This time frame is within the requirements of the open source community."
Also, "Hello, (name omitted), and thank you for contacting HTC regarding your concerns with the T-Mobile Amaze ICS kernel source code. I understand how important it is for you to have this information for your phone. As you stated in your email to us, you aren’t talking about the Gingerbread source code, but I would like to note that the source code for Gingerbread is available on our htcdev.com website. The ICS software for the Amaze is relatively new for us, having just released a couple months ago. It does take time for the code to be compiled and we aren’t trying to keep it from you or our other customers. Also, the Amaze does have Sense 3.6 when upgraded to ICS, as do all our devices, thus far, that have received the ICS update. Unfortunately, though it is available for customer use, we don’t support the htcdev.com website and do not know if or when the kernel source code for ICS will be released. I apprecate you contacting us with your concerns and thank you for being an HTC customer!"
Why are the messages all conflicting? Some say it is not required, some say you have to wait 90 - 120 days when devices, like the Sensation, received the source code within 2 weeks of the ICS release. The management is either terrible or the staff is not properly trained.
Do you see why we are not happy with HTC? High Tech Computers is what HTC stands for, correct? HTC is also looking to help out the development community, correct? The only company that TRULY believes in the development community is Samsung. They acknowledged the work at XDA-Developers.com and they see how important it is to get in touch with those who love to customize their devices. Without releasing the source code to use so we can take advantage of OUR devices, you'll end up with unsatisfied customers and you will lose loyal customers. As a first time owner of an HTC device, I am pretty mad that I can't truly take advantage of it. I worked for T-Mobile for a few years and sold many HTC and Samsung phones. I always saw the Samsung owners are able to have full and true control of their devices. It is not the same however, with HTC.
Click to expand...
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Remember folks! TAKE INITIATIVE! CALL THEM OUT! TELL THEM WHAT OTHER COMPANIES ARE DOING! Be a man! lol
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Can I say progress?
Dear Odai,
Thanks for getting back to me, Odai. I’m honestly not sure why there is conflicting information. The first email that you quoted contains the correct information. The time frame that we generally release new kernels is 90 to 120 days. Though I don’t know why the Sensation’s source code was available so soon, there’s no reason I can see why the Amaze’s wouldn’t be released within the 90 to 120 time frame previously mentioned. Since the Amaze 4G is part of the bootloader unlock program, the latest source code will be posted to htcdev.com when available. Due to the inconsistency of the responses you’ve seen, I can definitely understand why you and others would be so unhappy. Personally, I’m going to do what I can to make sure this addressed and prevent conflicting and misinformation in the future. I agree with you that members of the developer community have the right to this information and only with that can they push their devices to the limit. If there’s anything else I can do for you, please let me know. Thanks again for taking the time to contact us and for being an HTC customer.
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My response
Samuel, I am glad that you have acknowledged the issues and the inconsistency in the messages we are given. I commend you for that.
As a Recognized Developer on XDA-Developers, as well as speaking on behalf of the Amaze 4G community, we would like HTC to work a deal with us. We need the source code, the full source code I should say, to help our development for the Amaze.
Reasons are as follows:
1. It will retain customer loyalty.
2. It will increase in sales/customer database.
3. Receiving a better name for the company.
I will explain how it will for each reason.
1. As I have stated, it will retain customer loyalty. When customers see the company taking care of them and fully addressing their issues, customers will be happy, even if the problem is not fixed. They see HTC cares and tries to do their best. HTC has well built all around devices and that is why customers continue purchasing HTC devices.
2. The sales number will increase. It may be a slight amount, but when customers enjoy their phones, they will continue purchasing the devices in the future. When I show my friends what my phone can do, it blows their mind. I have friends who purchase the phone I have because I show them what it can do and what their phones cannot do. Remember, the best advertisement is word-of-mouth.
3. A company should be a people company. HTC shows that they care about the development community by opening HTCDev. That is wonderful to see someone has been paying attention to us. Samsung does promotions specifically for XDA-Developers. They have truly recognized our community and they even hired a developer! HTC should see how big the customer base of XDA-Developers, CyanogenMod, RootzWiki and many other development websites/forums. When they show true interest in us, we will defend the company if someone speaks bad about it, etc.
All the reasons tie in with one another. Samuel, I believe you should pass our conversation along to the higher management. They should not blow our community off.
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Are you guys taking notes??
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Another response
Dear Odai,
I really appreciate all the feedback you’ve given us, Odai. I can definitely take and forward our conversation to management. Hopefully through this we can get you guys some more support. If there’s ever anything else I can do for you, just let me know. I hope you have a good weekend, and thanks again for reaching out to us.
Click to expand...
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You guys REALLY need to do the same as I did! BRING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION!
Read the conversation. Look at my writing style. See how I took the initiative and yet, I was 100% professional?
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Click to collapse
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Okay, you enjoyed the reading I hope
Finally, here are the points to bear in mind, ALWAYS:
When you contact them initially, the agent handles you as a retard by default: answers to questions you didn't ask or just simply gives stupid answers. Not because he is a bad person or high on drugs, but not trained on solving such a case. If it becomes apparent that they cannot manage your query, the maximum they can do is to escalate the case, but again, it depends on the agent, towards which department does he/she do that, it can vary. But if we push it through, at the end this will be more efficient since they will be having the same case coming from all over the departments of the company, and the managers of each of these departments will have to notice us as a community with strong commitment, among the usual "how to change my battery" or "my dog swallowed my Wildfire, you gonna pay for this" type of emails. If your first email fits to the text box provided on www.htcdev.com, then the best is if you send your email there.
The point is that their ridiculous initial ignorance actually pays off for you, because you can embarrass them by facing them with their own outcrying stupidity, such as they don't even know their own devices. Complain about their poor customer support and give examples why until they have to take you seriously, and believe me - they will. After this most possibly you will get a new agent who uses less template and replies to your actual questions, and not like an answering-bot. But for this, you need get though the initial impersonal template-using phase. So again please, don't post their reply with comments like "wtf thats weird" and "thats a whole load of bullcraq and [email protected]*%trash" - otherwise everyone will think you are childish. Don't be naive and expect their initial style, which will change if you don't behave like a child, trust me.
Also aim to post their reply with yours, with the one you replied, to keep the ball rolling. You have the chance to be more pro-active here, this is what we need, don't just paste it passively and then expect we will munching on it. We already have seen enough of those emails, show us your initiative! And don't leave your first email out of the conversation, so other members can benefit from your words. Don't be shy, everyone has to start somehow and we are here to help each other.
And most importantly, you will have to maintain a professional manner, otherwise you lose your advantage as a serious and self-aware customer you have against them.
>>>>>>>>
Here is what I wrote (thanks for whoamigriffiths for the english check). You can follow the lines of these and hasoon2000's original email, but please make it personal, don't just copy-paste it. Remember what he told us here. Explain them what you want and why you want it, why it is important to us and why co-operation is beneficial for both of us, and why the lack of real co-operation is not. Also, express that you are writing in the name of the whole community. You can mention our forum had more then 2.000.000 views since it was founded in July 2012.
And most importantly, be explicit. Always state that you want the source code of the WiFi driver "ath6kl_sdio.ko".
They will continue to hear about us Wether they like it or not.
Dear HTC,
I belong to a thriving community of Desire C users and developers. We like this phone very much and chose it for numerous reasons, price was not the only factor.
Personally I like its small size which still comes with an attractive design and relatively good performance.
For me, these features helped me decide to choose this phone, not only over others in the same category, but over more expensive devices on the market - hands down.
However the lack of substantive official support for our phone hinders us in further enhancing this already great little device.
We as a community are well aware that certain things, like official Jelly Bean support is unlikely to happen for various reasons that are both out of our reach as well as out of your reach too as a Company.
But speaking in the name of our Community, I am asking you to kindly enhance your customer support and, like your competitors, release more source code for us to use.
The most important code that we need is:
- the source code of the WiFi driver "ath6kl_sdio.ko" that is not present in the kernel source
Without it the porting of fully functioning custom ROMs like the famous CyanogenMod, AOSP and AOKP is not possible.
We have been fond of HTC since the Hero came out, which was the first phone on the market that was cool enough to compete with iPhone.
Also we have appreciated the Companys attitude in opening up to the Open-Source Community in the past by setting up HTCdev.com, that has been providing help for Independent Developers.
We aim to further strengthen this co-operation and believe together we can work for even better devices that are more customised according to the users needs.
This makes us - your more adventurous customers - happier and our work on this device has to be for the good of everyone: us, HTC and quite possibly, both new phones and new customers in the future.
A better support now, also makes it possible for us to tell everyone in the Open-Source Community that HTC is one of those rare Companies which honestly cares for its users.
With kindest regards,
Your Name
from XDA Developers HTC Desire C Community
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Soon, like the Amaze 4G guys we will release a petition, which will be addressed to Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC. Until then write your emails and stay optimist regardless of the response, remember the positive example in front of us. Stay focused on what we want and be persistent. No need to get angry, simply because we are part of something which is incomparably stronger then them:laugh:
Great job starting this thread :good: .Hopefully all the desire c users from our forum will support this and our device can finally get the attention it deserves
Re: Emails to HTC
U guys want help from htc ????
They won't !!!
U ask for help to out Pico devs .....
They will surely help u
If u want htc to help u guys
Wait for years
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda premium
Yup great idea . Hopefully we can keep this thread positive
Apex-Predator said:
U guys want help from htc ????
They won't !!!
U ask for help to out Pico devs .....
They will surely help u
If u want htc to help u guys
Wait for years
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you sure? i'm asking because had been like this before. did you read this link? this thread? it's worked before.
Apex-Predator said:
U guys want help from htc ????
They won't !!!
U ask for help to out Pico devs .....
They will surely help u
If u want htc to help u guys
Wait for years
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think emailing HTC and asking help from Pico devs doesn't exclude each other. We do whatever we can, and all the help is appreciated really much, as already it is from you guys We are pulling ourselves together for bigger horizons.
As far as i'm concerned, we need to annoy HTC to prove that there is a user base that requires support. Weather that support is in the form of jellybean or the source code of the kernel with WIFI modules. The point is as many others will agree is that HTC is a hand out and forget company they release nice little phones, and leave them unsupported, which is wrong, we need to get HTC's attention on this matter, me for one am sending multiple emails to them asking why they will not do anything, and if they can release some more source code.
Hopefully we can make something of this thread, keep it positive and post your emails from HTC here so everyone can see what they say about the matter.
The devs should focus on a CM9 setup, leave HTC devs behind, yes there open source would help but they wont help due to no money involved, the push the power of this phone it looses them money on the bigger phones (One X etc) our devs have the ability to make a CM9 or JB rom, support our devs!!!!
XDroidie626 said:
The devs should focus on a CM9 setup, leave HTC devs behind, yes there open source would help but they wont help due to no money involved, the push the power of this phone it looses them money on the bigger phones (One X etc) our devs have the ability to make a CM9 or JB rom, support our devs!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey XDroidie626, I agree with you that the reason for lack of support is that there is no money incentive behind it, but there is also a vested interest for the big companies to support open-source communities, which pays off indirectly for them and it is good for everyone, and it's an increasing trend. I think emialing HTC and supporting our devs do not exclude each other, we put in whatever we can
stick
I think the thread should be sticked, as it is for raising awareness for new and existing members. If you think it too, report it through the reporting service and ask for making it stick.
Okay I contacted them, and this is what I got:
Thank you for contacting HTC regarding your HTC Desire C.
My name is Rob and I am a Technical Support Agent for the HTC Written Team.
I understand you are missing the Wi-Fi modules in the kernel source code.
I'm afraid we do not have the facility to send certain parts of the source code. If you are not able to find the part you are looking for, please then follow the HTC Dev Twitter. Any additional releases will be posted on here.
HTC Dev twitter: https://twitter.com/htcdev
Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.
I am confident that this will resolve your query, in the unlikely event that this does not please call or instant chat to one of our Technical Support Agents who will be waiting to guide you through step by step. Our Contact Details can be found at www.htc.com/uk/contact
Should you wish to continue your correspondence via email then please reply using the link below​
Not one bit of help
guys forget jB .. htc one v doesnt have it so does desire c ... look for ics 4.0.4 with sense 4.1 !!
Re: [INFO] Emails to HTC
russell664 said:
Okay I contacted them, and this is what I got:
Thank you for contacting HTC regarding your HTC Desire C.
My name is Rob and I am a Technical Support Agent for the HTC Written Team.
I understand you are missing the Wi-Fi modules in the kernel source code.
I'm afraid we do not have the facility to send certain parts of the source code. If you are not able to find the part you are looking for, please then follow the HTC Dev Twitter. Any additional releases will be posted on here.
HTC Dev twitter: https://twitter.com/htcdev
Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.
I am confident that this will resolve your query, in the unlikely event that this does not please call or instant chat to one of our Technical Support Agents who will be waiting to guide you through step by step. Our Contact Details can be found at www.htc.com/uk/contact
Should you wish to continue your correspondence via email then please reply using the link below​
Not one bit of help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I told ya
They won't help !!!
U guys need to find our own ways
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using xda premium
Post this thread on your Twitter, Facebook etc!
Email sended :3
@alex-predator, i asking you again. did you read this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1679112
really, not to be so pessimistic.
russell664 said:
Not one bit of help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not surprising, but we have to keep pushing to reach a critical mass
utsav17 said:
guys forget jB .. htc one v doesnt have it so does desire c ... look for ics 4.0.4 with sense 4.1 !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please read this post, no one is hoping for official JB here.
Apex-Predator said:
I told ya
They won't help !!!
U guys need to find our own ways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one said it is going to happen by writing an email, and as I said to keep contacting HTC by the entire community doesn't exclude finding our own ways in developing, in fact this is what our devs are doing right now.
And to everyone who is reading this, from now on I would really appreciate if you only posted constructive comments, this thread is not for gloating or giving out frustrations but to help to make things happen. Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to contact HTC technical support.
I appreciate you taking the time to provide us with some feedback regarding what you would like to see us provide to better assist you and other members of the development community, Andrew.
I will certainly notate your feedback for consideration with regards to providing specific source codes and providing an S-Off option in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, they have given me a "positive" answer...in the future....
TheRedHunter said:
Sure, they have given me a "positive" answer...in the future....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are 100% the expected responses, we just have to keep pushing on a regular basis, all of us.
Suggestion
I know that other thread asked for people to write from the heart etc in an attempt(successful) to get things done
But
And this is just a suggestion from personal experience.
The majority of people are likely to read a thread like this and nod in agreement , then do nothing about it.
It might be good if someone wrote a 'template' email for people to copy and paste as well as the link to the email of HTC (Already includedI know).
You might find you get a much better response from the people who read (and don't generally participate)the Forum.
I know HTC will see the same email over and over BUT they will be from different people and phone numbers . It will in effect become a written protest from desire c owners.

News: According to PlayOn site, Chromecast support coming soon

I was just doin a little reading up on the Chromecast, Plex, and other random news and info and came across this tidbit of info. For those of you that are familiar with "PlayOn," I was browsing their website and just happened to notice that they have officially listed on their site that Chromecast support will be coming to PlayOn very soon. Also, when looking through their support forums, I came across a thread that was started just a couple of days ago and "Chris" from the PlayOn staff confirmed to the opening poster that Chromecast support was in fact just right around the corner. I thought this sounded like great news for us, the Chromecast community.
Check their site out for yourself ---> PlayOn | Supported Devices Compatible with PlayOn | PlayOn
--Thread on PlayOn Forum
The site is down right now.
I wonder to what level of compatibility PlayOn will see on the Chromecast - my concern would be any additional latency that it brings in (but could be really good if they can get past that!)
The day PlayOn gets released for ChomeCast, I'll be warning people of doing business with this company.
MediaMall has had some very sinister marketing techniques in the past and this should be known.
abuttino said:
The day PlayOn gets released for ChomeCast, I'll be warning people of doing business with this company.
MediaMall has had some very sinister marketing techniques in the past and this should be known.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll second that. I purchased a PlayOn lifetime license when it was a fairly new product and somehow that's parlayed in to them trying to get me to buy another "lifetime" license ever since when new features are added.
Here's a discussion where several others spell out the details.
edit:lol, they're still at it too.. they finally added HD and have a special offer for existing lifetime users to upgrade.
tl;dr - PlayOn sells you a "lifetime" license, renames the product when they add features then tries to sell you another "lifetime" license
Houndx said:
I'll second that. I purchased a PlayOn lifetime license when it was a fairly new product and somehow that's parlayed in to them trying to get me to buy another "lifetime" license ever since when new features are added.
Here's a discussion where several others spell out the details.
tl;dr - PlayOn sells you a "lifetime" license, renames the product when they add features then tries to sell you another "lifetime" license
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't find the exact licensing terms, but sometimes a "lifetime" license does not include lifetime upgrades or updates - simply unlimited use of that particular version.
As long as the product you bought the license for remains available for use (ie, they don't disable it) then it's legal... Not nice, but still legal...
bhiga said:
Couldn't find the exact licensing terms, but sometimes a "lifetime" license does not include lifetime upgrades or updates - simply unlimited use of that particular version.
As long as the product you bought the license for remains available for use (ie, they don't disable it) then it's legal... Not nice, but still legal...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I'm not implying they didn't live up to their legal obligations.. only that they failed on the moral ones.
Houndx said:
Oh, I'm not implying they didn't live up to their legal obligations.. only that they failed on the moral ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. Releasing a new product is one thing, but doing a small change and renaming, that's not nice and it doesn't encourage others to buy your product - lifetime or otherwise - either.
I guess it could be worse - they could make it only apply to the lifetime of a specific device. Then few people would ever get lifetime.
At least TiVo let me transfer my lifetime subscription for the Series 3 (granted, the S3 at launch was near $800) - and they raised the lifetime rates but warned existing customers first... And when there's a new system update it doesn't invalidate my lifetime subscription.
A company like TiVo wouldn't get a way with that.
Actually, I didn't know about the HD thing, but I called it years ago. Even used the word HD.
People on their forums tell me I should drop it and stfu but I don't see a problem warning people about their devious marketing.
Sent from my XT926 using Tapatalk
By the way you will ABSOLUTELY NEVER find a EULA on their site. I don't remember if you have to agree to one to install the software either
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Actually, a simple google search for PlayOn.tv eula returns the EULA page for PlayOn.
And the EULA is included in the MediaMall install folder.
I tend to think conspiracy is where you look for it. I purchased a lifetime license back in 2009 for 19.99 (before there was a PlayOn Premium) and it still works exactly as advertised.
I purchased a PlayOn Premium license in 2010. I chose not to upgrade by Basic license as I figured I would continue to use it on a 2nd PC (which I do). Each time an update is released with bug fixes, both installations are updated.
I have never found anything deceptive about their marketing at all. Sure, I would have liked to have gotten HD for free, but I also understand that development costs money. The HD add-on is completely optional. I chose to add HD to my PlayLater license so I could record in HD but haven't added HD for PlayOn yet. The add-on for PlayLater only cost me 3.99. I think the add-on model is the fairest from a consumer perspective. If I had a slow PC, and was a new customer I wouldn't want to pay for a feature that I can't use.
That all said, since I purchased my lifetime Premium license in 2010, dozens of new channels have been added along with some very cool features that haven't cost me a thing. Things like Roku and Mobile support, PlayTo and Record To, the PlayOn Browser extension (PlayMark and PlayCast), not to mention the huge improvements made to MyMedia (which is still completely free, by the way).
I did do some searching around and found this from when I first purchased my Basic license (this is from 2009):
"What you get for buying a License
Your license will be valid forever for all patches and bug fixes for the current major version of PlayOn. All functionality and feature enhancements to PlayOn will be free for existing licensed installations, unless a new major version is released, at which point a new license may be required to access newer functionality."
I get why some might be upset...Heck, I'd always rather get something free vs. paying for it...but deceptive and greedy? I don't think so.
There were devious marketing tactics..
This really doesn't matter. PlayOn has so many other shortcomings that it doesn't make the energy to type worth it.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
I gave up on PlayOn ages ago. I supported PlayOn from very early on. I bought what I was informed was a one time fee. Well that one time fee turned into a yearly fee. And then it turned into "hey buy this extra stuff for even more". I foolishly paid for 3 years of that crap and all I really wanted to do at the time was stream media from my pc to my xbox 360. Wish I had been told or heard about Plex back then. One time fee and it's worked flawlessly the entire time I've used it. Would never give a damn dime to PlayOn ever again.
Edit: Just realized after reading other posts that I'm not the only one who was disgusted with the deceptive fees of PlayOn.
Sent from my Droid Razr M using xda app-developers app
I spoke at length with an Skip, an employee at MediaMall.. Three general consensus from everyone there "they've done no wrong" and for some reason, the users believe it.
However, I can't value anyone's opinion that can stand commercials at twice the volume of the actual show. They are more for content than they are quality.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
[email protected] said:
Your license will be valid forever for all patches and bug fixes for the current major version of PlayOn. All functionality and feature enhancements to PlayOn will be free for existing licensed installations, unless a new major version is released, at which point a new license may be required to access newer functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That basically says if you bought a license for the current Version 3.x.xx.xxxx the second V4.x.xx.xxxx comes out your LIFETIME license for PlayOn expires even if you live to see Version 5!
So it is deceptive to say your buying a LIFETIME LICENSE when really all your doing is buying a V3 license and as soon as they decide to change the Version number your License is no longer good!
Apparently it isn't YOUR LIFETIME they are talking about just the lifetime of their current Version which for everyone else is merely a License not a LIFETIME License!
It's like any software version numbering. Once a new update comes out, you are expected to pay.
They play on (no pun intended) words using the "Lifetime" and nobody seems to give a rats ass.
This is the same game played by politicians. Except, politicians play with our money and freedoms.
I'd bet that 70% of their customer base are Low-info voters.
To keep a company alive that practices this kind of moral bankruptcy is just retarded.
So goes the rest of people that don't seem to have any morals these days..
Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX HD using Tapatalk
Asphyx said:
That basically says if you bought a license for the current Version 3.x.xx.xxxx the second V4.x.xx.xxxx comes out your LIFETIME license for PlayOn expires even if you live to see Version 5!
So it is deceptive to say your buying a LIFETIME LICENSE when really all your doing is buying a V3 license and as soon as they decide to change the Version number your License is no longer good!
Apparently it isn't YOUR LIFETIME they are talking about just the lifetime of their current Version which for everyone else is merely a License not a LIFETIME License!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my opinion isn't valid because I don't agree?
You write that "as soon as they decide to change the Version number your License is no longer good!", but that is simply not true. The Basic license I purchased back in 2009 still works exactly as it did when I purchased. No features or channels were removed and I still receive updates with bug fixes. I had an opportunity to upgrade my Basic license, but chose to keep it and use on another PC.
And since I purchased my PlayOn Premium license, many new features and channels have been added that have not cost me anything.
I just don't see any bad intent here.
Your opinion matters less only because you try and fight a losing battle.
The fact of the matter, it is not really lifetime if you are going to make people pay on the release of a new version.
Arguing semantics over morals is just another losing battle.
Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX HD using Tapatalk
[email protected] said:
So my opinion isn't valid because I don't agree?
You write that "as soon as they decide to change the Version number your License is no longer good!", but that is simply not true. The Basic license I purchased back in 2009 still works exactly as it did when I purchased. No features or channels were removed and I still receive updates with bug fixes. I had an opportunity to upgrade my Basic license, but chose to keep it and use on another PC.
And since I purchased my PlayOn Premium license, many new features and channels have been added that have not cost me anything.
I just don't see any bad intent here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your opinion isn't valid because LIFETIME should mean it NEVER EXPIRES for as LONG AS YOU LIVE!
The fact your license still works 6 years later is more a testament to their lack of development and adding enough features in ALL THAT TIME to require a new version number than it does their honesty in Marketing....
According to your definition EVERYTHING is a LIFETIME License...Including that license to run Windows 3.1 20 years after it was released!
It is dishonest marketing merely for the fact that they can make a version 4 tomorrow and you can't use it without paying for another LIFETIME!
Thats a License not a LIFETIME license...
I have a LIFETIME membership to Plex Pass....And guess what it will still work when Version 1000 comes out as it does for Version 0.9!
It will be valid for MY lifetime and truth is it will be valid long after I'm dead.
But oncePlayOn decide to change the version number to #4 your license is dead for the purposes of running their latest product!
Even more deceptive; PlayOn had special sale right before they released the new version.
I can't imagine anything more deceptive than that. A final push to get everyone on lifetime to give the devs a bonus for their hard work on the next version.
That's just downright mean.
Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX HD using Tapatalk

what you guys think about Chinese smartphone?

So ya I'm working on a research about the expending Chinese smartphone market
And I want to know what westerner like you guys think about Chinese smartphone, like what is your impression on Xiaomi or one plus one, and of course I'm a Asian so please help !!!!
If you can, I also want to know what phone you are using as a reference
thank you
Well I like my Chinese devices, why have one good device when you can have many faulty ones for the same price which you can get many refunds and replacements!
The last two months have been like this for me:
-bought Pendo pad 7 dual core, kitkat android tablet ($50) Didn't like it and it had a live of dead pixels so I got a refund about a week later.
-bought a Pendo pad 7 quad core Windows 8.1 tablet ($90). Liked it but as I mostly downloaded stuff on it with malware, I often fully wiped it. It stopped getting wiped and had a hardware rattle, so I refunded it.
-missed having an android tablet, so read some reviews and decided the one I had was probably really bad, so I bought both the Windows and android tablets at the same time.
-my non Chinese phone broke, so I sold the android Pendo pad to my brother, and bought a (I think its Chinese) ZTE tempo for $50.
Had no faults since. I like the Chinese phones/tablets, since they are so cheap. However, because they can be high maintenance, I understand they are not for everybody.
-also bought a matching Pendo keyboard for the tablets, and also had to get a replacement as it stopped pairing with the devices.
Side note:
I bought all these devices from local stores (except the keyboard, it was about an hours drive away), so it wasn't hard to get refunds/replacements. I wouldn't recommend buying electronics straight from China.
With my experience with tons of Chinese device I can say: It's cheap, average perfomance but really bad hardware quality. But some are really good like Xiaomi or Onda....
I have one plus one dude and its awesome.
Hey, Chinese devices are high-tech devices that present technologies just launched on the market, few know about them because they do not have their own famous brand. Not everyone is good because even the level of external radiation may be higher than normal, in a nutshell, you have to buy with care.
Sorry for my BAD ENGLISH, I'm ITALIAN!
TitanusDeveloper said:
Hey, Chinese devices are high-tech devices that present technologies just launched on the market, few know about them because they do not have their own famous brand. Not everyone is good because even the level of external radiation may be higher than normal, in a nutshell, you have to buy with care.
Sorry for my BAD ENGLISH, I'm ITALIAN!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hola
sheldon1998 said:
So ya I'm working on a research about the expending Chinese smartphone market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's very detailed ackground info.
sheldon1998 said:
And I want to know what westerner like you guys think about Chinese smartphone, like what is your impression on Xiaomi or one plus one, and of course I'm a Asian so please help !!!!
If you can, I also want to know what phone you are using as a reference
thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is difficult to lump all chinese smartphone manufacturers together in one group but,.....one difference that I can see is the tendency to create phone with permanently locked bootloaders, not providing kernel sources as the GPL demands, not providing post-sales support and updates and, not providing any AOSP code that can help kickstart custom rom development. On the plus side, they tend to have decent specs (only looking at Qualcomm models - MediaTek, Allwinner, RockChip devices etc are usually to be avoided) and are cheaper than familiar brand names.
Companies like Oppo and OnePlus that try to create devices that are unlockable, rootable and well supported with AOSP roms get my vote. The vast majority of chinese manufacturers big and small like Lenovo, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Gionee, Coolpad etc make products that can never make it to my shortlist because they are dead-end devices. I've advised everyone I know who bought one of these devices to return them.
No bootloader unlock, usually no root, no kernel sources, no custom roms?. No thanks!
MiyagiSan said:
That's very detailed ackground info.
It is difficult to lump all chinese smartphone manufacturers together in one group but,.....one difference that I can see is the tendency to create phone with permanently locked bootloaders, not providing kernel sources as the GPL demands, not providing post-sales support and updates and, not providing any AOSP code that can help kickstart custom rom development. On the plus side, they tend to have decent specs (only looking at Qualcomm models - MediaTek, Allwinner, RockChip devices etc are usually to be avoided) and are cheaper than familiar brand names.
Companies like Oppo and OnePlus that try to create devices that are unlockable, rootable and well supported with AOSP roms get my vote. The vast majority of chinese manufacturers big and small like Lenovo, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Gionee, Coolpad etc make products that can never make it to my shortlist because they are dead-end devices. I've advised everyone I know who bought one of these devices to return them.
No bootloader unlock, usually no root, no kernel sources, no custom roms?. No thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in short, you are also a flashaholic, aren't you?
I've found Huawei to have lots of development. Otherwise, I agree.
Maynard100 said:
So in short, you are also a flashaholic, aren't you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not really. I use these criteria as a measure of whether a device is a dead-end device.
Further, it is only right that a device that I buy is under my control and that I am able to do as I please with it.
---------- Post added at 12:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
Jesse72 said:
I've found Huawei to have lots of development. Otherwise, I agree.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei and ZTE have some well known devices that have enjoyed decent development support. On the whole though, they churn out devices that don't enjoy any or much dev support AFAICT.
MiyagiSan said:
No, not really. I use these criteria as a measure of whether a device is a dead-end device.
Further, it is only right that a device that I buy is under my control and that I am able to do as I please with it.
---------- Post added at 12:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
Huawei and ZTE have some well known devices that have enjoyed decent development support. On the whole though, they churn out devices that don't enjoy any or much dev support AFAICT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, I agree that huawei doesn't have dev support which turn potential buyers away.

Google Android One Program Important News

For those that are not yet informed, this is an important article as to how Google will proceed with the Android One program.
Android One 2nd Gen may be the last of it's kind in terms of a unified, inexpensive Android platform with top to bottom hardware and software standards.
Article Link
Cyntil8ing said:
For those that are not yet informed, this is an important article as to how Google will proceed with the Android One program.
Android One 2nd Gen may be the last of it's kind in terms of a unified, inexpensive Android platform with top to bottom hardware and software standards.
Article Link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the original and very essence of the android one program will be marginalized and eventually die a natural death. long live the android one. apple has the last laugh. lol...
WSJ article, which is the source of the arstechnica oped, is paywalled. So I don't know for sure whether this is just a special exception made by Google for one particular market.
boborobo said:
WSJ article, which is the source of the arstechnica oped, is paywalled. So I don't know for sure whether this is just a special exception made by Google for one particular market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I sure hope that's true but, ARS Technica is usually dependable on their reporting and the chances of them omitting that detail's unlikely. Emerging and small economy OEMs are notorious for for pushing crap stock firmware and even worse security/update policies if any.
I hope google keeps pushing all OEMs to comply to a standard when it comes to security and updating instead of opting in. They've started implementing stricter policies regarding MM in that regard and I hope they keep following through in that direction. It's not like OEMs really have a choice if Google decided to implement higher standards.

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