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Details of Android 3.0, SIP, Video Chat
dkd903 was one of several folks to note that a bunch of details about Google's Android 3.0 are
beginning to leak out. The platform is codenamed Gingerbread; it includes video chat to compete with the iPhone, and a graphical overhaul to try to make it look a bit better compared to its rivals.
I gotta say, after messing around with Sense, I can't freakin' STAND the stock Android OS look. I'm currently running xtrSense on my Eris, which is a freakin' GREAT rom...but yeah, stock Android is just fugly.
Looking forward to a system-wide visual update.
Living With a Nerd
How about video chat that works with the iPhone as well?
Would be nice to use my Epic to video chat with a friends iPhone.
Everyone who was smart enough to get a Nexus One rather than locked down Motorola garbage.
but google wants to compete with google talk video chat with the rest of video providers.
They better have API support for front cameras and all that new stuff, because thats something that is clearly missing in todays API, while there are already several phones with front-facing cameras in the market.
Its possible to interact with them by setting the appropiate parameters in the API, but those parameters are not consistent across devices.
Overall, I think the biggest 3.0 change should be look&feel.
And I hope they don't just overhaul the UI and write beautiful google apps. I hope they do a complete UI tools overhaul so develpers can effortlessly create beautiful apps. Im not buying any of that fragmentation nonsense crap. The real issue is a lack of a "Interface builer" so we can build beautiful apps with no extra effort.
Combine a really good "interface builder", "default layout settings" or whatever it might be with Android's customization and we got a clear winner in the UI and UX space.
Thats my 2c
Waiting for manageable full disk encryption, plus capability to encrypt the SD card. Android will never be fully accepted into the enterprise if this doesn't happen. Touchdown is ok, but doesn't really scale well across a huge client base.
Unfortunately, I think SIP support in Google Voice is going to be gutted in the US like how the Skype app works. I'm sure everybody in Europe will be free to make calls over SIP, but all us Americans will be stuck with Wifi only. Even if we could make calls over 3G, it's fairly difficult to find a carrier that will sell you only a data plan at a reasonable rate. For example, Sprint will sell you a 3G plan, but it's $50 a month, which is only $10 a month less than the data+voice bundle.
The only thing that I need is to be able to connect to my office OpenVPN without having to root the freakin' phone.
My N900 does it, but I'm stuck with IPSec on the Desire which fails completely because of damnable NAT from the telco (Vodafone and O2 in my case!)
Our sales droids would love to have an Android!
It's disappointing that they are now playing catchup again. How about some features that the iPhone doesn't have that it would want to copy? Android may have some great devs behind it but they surely don't seem to have anyone that is trying to come up with new and interesting things to put on the Android (like some sort of "idea man"). Everything they seem to do is to make it more and more commoditized and more generic. I'm not saying they shouldn't work on things like Video Chat, but I think they should also try to come up with that one "great new shiny thing" at least once a release. Flash was a complete bomb since it took months and months for it to roll out to everyone and then it was super buggy and slow. Pretty soon, phone manufacturers aren't even going to advertise "This phone is using Android"... because there's no buzz about it anymore. Consumers could hardly care less about building in "me too" features 6-12 months after a competitor's phone has it.
This is from a long time Android user.
> The real issue is a lack of a "Interface builer" so we can build beautiful apps with no extra effort.
> Combine a really good "interface builder", "default layout settings" or whatever it might be with
> Android's customization and we got a clear winner in the UI and UX space.
Try Google App Inventor, an official tool from Google itself
http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/
I have a Samsung Galaxy S (Epic, Fascinate in some markets) which it a top of the range phone. It has broken GPS (like most every other Galaxy S owner) and no official Samsung Android Froyo 2.2 update is forthcoming, and 3.0 is leaking?
I feel aggrieved to be honest. I suspect this isnt a software problem and it may be hardware now.
I was visiting another town the other day, and collegues from another org, were giving me gip as they all had IPhones and merrily pointed out locations, as mine couldnt get a lock at all. "Well, you have your Live Wallpaper. I guess thats something."
If you like a bit of corporate show boating I would advise against a Samsung Galaxy S.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
Android has an All/Some/None setting to turn off UI animations, in Settings/Display/Animation, so once again it gives people the choice.
It's been there since 1.6 at least.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
+/- keys are a lot better then pull down menus and dials will get ridiculously annoying with 30 days in a month, 24 hours a day and 60 minutes in an hour.
+/- is very scalable, if I want the count to go faster I just hold the button down, moving your thumb around in a circle is a very unnatural motion even for someone who's been playing video-games for 25 years. The wheel interface needs to die.
Further more, if the +/- arent up to the task, I'll just type in the fucking date/time.
If Google want to improve it, I'd suggest adding a few buttons for common usages or perhaps even a dial-pad (12 key interchangeable between 0-9 and months). On 800x400 screens, this should be easily doable.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.