[Bubba]

Rather than further dereailing the "there's an app for that" topic, I thought I'd start a general Android topic...

If anyone with a Galaxy S 2 fancies running Ice Cream Sandwich and can't be bothered waiting for the upcoming official Samsung Firmware, I'm sure you'll already be aware that there are quite a few ROMs out there already.

I installed this one yesterday and it seems to be working just fine: Resurrection Remix ics Rom v9.1 Ultimate XXLB 4.0.3 Full-Wipe

It's based on a beta Samsung release of ICS, but it scraps Touchwiz and uses the Trebuchet Launcher from the upcoming CyanogenMod9 instead.

I've not had any issues apart from occasional strange hangs and in general it's really snappy.  I don't think there's any must have features in ICS over Gingerbread but it's all just a bit more polished.

I'm sure there'll be loads of ROMs based on the official release (rumoured for March) but I was just bored at home and fancied checking it out.

[Bubba]

And a new version (no wipe install) of this ROM released today. Nice!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1436854

[slackline]

For those not with rooted Galaxy S2's Samsung announced that Android 4.0 (gay names for releases can fuck off!) is rumored  be available in March (same for HTC), although if you've got a phone through a carrier you'll invariably have to wait longer for them to tweak the ROM (and that could take some time!!).

[Bubba]

Yeah, carrier branded updates will take forever even after the official manufacturer ones have been released...and they'll be full of even more bloatware.

The Samsung ICS release will be Touchwiz based and since everyone whinges about it I thought I'd try something else. This CM9/Trebuchet offering works just as well as Touchwiz did, you just lose the screen reference dots at the bottom.  It seems that most of the current ICS ROMS are based on a Samsung 4.0.3 beta release.

One thing I did notice yesterday was that I was getting a GPS fix much faster than on my previous Gingerbread 2.3.4 ROM.

[Bubba]

Run a full Ubuntu desktop from a docked Android phone: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

[slackline]

Was just about to post a link to that!

[Bubba]

Fuck me, I've out-Linuxed slack--line 

[slackline]

 

Clocked it an hour or so ago but was busy trying to draw a graph.

Looks interesting, need to read more as to whether the PC boots from the Android phone or whether its just providing a desktop environment from the phone to the.

Its slow and subtle, but GNU/Linux is gaining ground.

[ben]

having just upgraded to a Galaxy S2, have my old HTC Desire up for grabs. It's on Orange but guess that can be dealt with..

Orange say they'll give me £73 to 'recycle' it so if anyone wants to start a bidding war at that? 

[Fj]

i've just rooted and installed a new CyanogenMod rom on my motorola milestone as they stopped updating after 2.2
although there was a chance of bricking the phone it didnt turn out to be that hard.

definitely recommend it to breath life into a 2+ year old andriod phone to bring it back in line with the latest releases.

check out http://www.xda-developers.com/ find your phone and follow the guides. 

[slackline]

Android-x86 a project porting Android to the x86 architecture and run Android on your netbook/laptop/desktop.

[Bubba]

Official ICS update for SGS II is imminent - some manuals have been released  GASP !! 

[Bubba]

Some great offers on the Market (or should I say Google Play) at the moment - apps/games for 49p

[Paul B]

what happened with Taptalk? It looks like they revoked its free status recently which is mildly frustrating...

[Bubba]

It was only free on Getjar, not on the Market. I can't see any way of getting updates from Getjar so I just paid the £2.

It's a solid app and I use it for quite a few forums now so £2 seems like a good deal.

[slackline]

Android 4.0 for Samsung Galaxy SII is released in Europe today

(Obviously no timeline on when operators will tweak these and roll them out).

[Paul B]

It was only free on Getjar, not on the Market. I can't see any way of getting updates from Getjar so I just paid the £2.

It may be, but it seems like a 'bit' of a con allowing it for free download to get people to use it and then changing its status (not in the marketplace but in the app itself) so it no longer works without upgrading. I didn't realise it was a trial period or I'd have gone with the free alternative that was biting at its heels.

[Bubba]

Mine never stopped working, I just wanted the latest version.

[slackline]

Anyone interested in writing applications for Android might be interested in Android Java IDE, which allows you to develop, compile and test applications on your handset.

Register article

[Paul B]

Or Appinventor that as been re-released by MIT.

[slackline]

Liking Android 4.0.3 on the S2, a bit cleaner, not tried face recognition phone locking yet (not that arsed anyway). 

Thought I'd bricked it when the OpenSource alternative to the leaked Odin, Heimdall failed to confirm the file transfer of two of the partitions (Cache and Hidden), but rolling back to Heimdall-1.3.1 solved it (i.e. don't trust version 1.3.2!).  Re-rooted no problem too (with Chainfire's kernel).

A few apps didn't seem to work or allow reinstalling afterwards, but this was resolved by unmounting the external SD card and installing them.

Some of the fonts looked a bit shit on some screens so I've installed Font Installer Root  to choose an alternative.

[Paul B]

What do people think of the budget Android tablets?

Speaking to one UKB member he suggested that likely, they'd all ultimately disappoint yet I'm drawn to things like the Momo9. There's ample video of them running ICS smoothly but there's a distinct lack of decent reviews.

Given as I have an android phone the lack of 3g doesn't really bother me as I can (wireless) tether it if necessary but the resolution of most look low (less than 720p).

[Bubba]

I'm assuming you don't want to pay Apple prices otherwise I'd get an iPad. 

You seen this one? Looks quite nice.

[Paul B]

No, the one I mention (Momo9) is sub £100 (in the UK), your link is doing something odd for me. It doesn't look like a link and it doesn't go anywhere?

[Bubba]

Sorry Paul, link fixed...