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Honeycomb equals Gingerbread, Android chaos vs. Apple zen and rooted users blocked from Movies for Android
#14 | 5:28 |
Wednesday May 25, 2011
Android Weekly
Wednesday May 25, 2011
In this week's episode we discover that Android Honeycomb, 3.0 is effectively just a re-skinned Android Gingerbread, 2.3. This information comes thanks to an intrepid user on the XDA Developers forums.
Anyone that looks at the current Android tablet landscape would be forgiven for thinking its chaotic. It is. The Intel and Nvidia CEOs both still say that Android is the OS to watch on tablets and as prices come down and manufacturers standardize on specs, it'll get a lot better. We're still waiting for the Google reference design tablet that we talked about in episode seven.
Turns out that if you've rooted your phone, you're blocked from using Google's new Movies for Android service. Google's response was that rooted users could, in theory, dig in to their phones, grab rented or streaming movies and in turn, pirate them. Lame.
Anyone that looks at the current Android tablet landscape would be forgiven for thinking its chaotic. It is. The Intel and Nvidia CEOs both still say that Android is the OS to watch on tablets and as prices come down and manufacturers standardize on specs, it'll get a lot better. We're still waiting for the Google reference design tablet that we talked about in episode seven.
Turns out that if you've rooted your phone, you're blocked from using Google's new Movies for Android service. Google's response was that rooted users could, in theory, dig in to their phones, grab rented or streaming movies and in turn, pirate them. Lame.
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iTunes Show Notes
The Honeycomb IS the Gingerbread
Android fragmentation is a favorite buzz phrase of Apple fan boys, Stevie J and... well, realistic Android users who enjoy the Android experience but wish that Goog would tidy up a bit.
Honeycomb has always been a little confusing. It's a full version jump from the 2.x present Android OS into 3.0. Both the 2. and 3. Android OSs are current and continue to be supported. The difference is that 2. is the smartphone and 3. is the tablet version of the OS. Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to unite all Android devices under a common 2.4 banner... and yet Honeycomb support continues with many Android tablet users awaiting their update to 3.1.
You're forgiven if your eyes are glazing over...
Turns out, there's a lot more in common that anyone realized. We recently posted in the Android news feed that Honeycomb 3.1 is really just a re-skin of Android Gingerbread, 2.3. The codebase is the same; Honeycomb is just a tablet tweak of Gingerbread.
On the XDA Developers forums, a recent video post proves the point. On a Honeycomb tablet, simply change the pixel density to any value over 160ppi, reboot and you're presented with the Gingerbread UI. Change the value back to something below 160ppi and you're right back into Honeycomb.
I can't imagine you'll be running your shiny new tablet in Gingerbread, but it's good to know that the fragmentation isn't as bad as it may appear.
Question though: Now that the 3. version numbering has been taken for Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to be the universal tablet / smartphone OS, where do you go from Android 2.9? Also, what desserts start with N?
Android chaos vs. Apple zen
Like it or lump it, the iPad does a lot of things right. We're not fans of the closed, almost dictatorial nature of the relationship between Apple and its developers, Apple and its users or Apple and, well, just about everyone really. However, the iPad is, without a doubt, the very picture of tablet success.
Android tablets continue to see release that best the iPad in raw specs while still managing to undercut the iconic Apple tablet in price. However, adoption is slow.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and Intel CEO Paul Otellini recognize the fragmentation and yet, continue to push Android as the platform of choice. Naturally; neither company's chips reside in the iPad.
The tablet wars are being likened to the earliest days of the Mac vs. PC debate. A debate that's raged since well before the smarmy "I'm a Mac" guy and the clueless (but somehow more endearing) "I'm a PC" guy.
Otellini suggests that the Android Alliance, which we talked about in our last episode as well as moves like unifying Android under one version, will go a long way to effectively defrag the Android market.
Android Movies blocked
If you're using a rooted Android device, you're out of luck when it comes to using the recently released Android Movies service.
Predictably, digital rights management, DRM, is to blame. Rooted users are apparently blocked from the Google Movies for Android service as in theory, rooted users could access the movie files and in turn, pirate them.
Google should have been able to explain to the the powers that be that blocking rooted Android users isn't the answer. As we point out in our news feed, anyone savvy enough to root their Android phone and install a custom ROM is likely savvy enough to fire up a torrent client and grab any movie they want.
Presumably, this this move comes from pressure put forth by the The Motion Picture Association of America, the MPAA, as it tries desperately to maintain a stranglehold on the works its members purvey.
Review of the Day
Blogger
Android fragmentation is a favorite buzz phrase of Apple fan boys, Stevie J and... well, realistic Android users who enjoy the Android experience but wish that Goog would tidy up a bit.
Honeycomb has always been a little confusing. It's a full version jump from the 2.x present Android OS into 3.0. Both the 2. and 3. Android OSs are current and continue to be supported. The difference is that 2. is the smartphone and 3. is the tablet version of the OS. Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to unite all Android devices under a common 2.4 banner... and yet Honeycomb support continues with many Android tablet users awaiting their update to 3.1.
You're forgiven if your eyes are glazing over...
Turns out, there's a lot more in common that anyone realized. We recently posted in the Android news feed that Honeycomb 3.1 is really just a re-skin of Android Gingerbread, 2.3. The codebase is the same; Honeycomb is just a tablet tweak of Gingerbread.
On the XDA Developers forums, a recent video post proves the point. On a Honeycomb tablet, simply change the pixel density to any value over 160ppi, reboot and you're presented with the Gingerbread UI. Change the value back to something below 160ppi and you're right back into Honeycomb.
I can't imagine you'll be running your shiny new tablet in Gingerbread, but it's good to know that the fragmentation isn't as bad as it may appear.
Question though: Now that the 3. version numbering has been taken for Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to be the universal tablet / smartphone OS, where do you go from Android 2.9? Also, what desserts start with N?
Android chaos vs. Apple zen
Like it or lump it, the iPad does a lot of things right. We're not fans of the closed, almost dictatorial nature of the relationship between Apple and its developers, Apple and its users or Apple and, well, just about everyone really. However, the iPad is, without a doubt, the very picture of tablet success.
Android tablets continue to see release that best the iPad in raw specs while still managing to undercut the iconic Apple tablet in price. However, adoption is slow.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and Intel CEO Paul Otellini recognize the fragmentation and yet, continue to push Android as the platform of choice. Naturally; neither company's chips reside in the iPad.
The tablet wars are being likened to the earliest days of the Mac vs. PC debate. A debate that's raged since well before the smarmy "I'm a Mac" guy and the clueless (but somehow more endearing) "I'm a PC" guy.
Otellini suggests that the Android Alliance, which we talked about in our last episode as well as moves like unifying Android under one version, will go a long way to effectively defrag the Android market.
Android Movies blocked
If you're using a rooted Android device, you're out of luck when it comes to using the recently released Android Movies service.
Predictably, digital rights management, DRM, is to blame. Rooted users are apparently blocked from the Google Movies for Android service as in theory, rooted users could access the movie files and in turn, pirate them.
Google should have been able to explain to the the powers that be that blocking rooted Android users isn't the answer. As we point out in our news feed, anyone savvy enough to root their Android phone and install a custom ROM is likely savvy enough to fire up a torrent client and grab any movie they want.
Presumably, this this move comes from pressure put forth by the The Motion Picture Association of America, the MPAA, as it tries desperately to maintain a stranglehold on the works its members purvey.
Review of the Day
Blogger
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