Over the past couple of years I have been attracted to Android devices due to Android's ability to adapt across so many hardware platforms. The first tablets I encountered were the Archos 7 and 70it. These devices were my first Android learning tools. I was, and still am frustrated that nobody has widely customized them, or I would still be using them today (yes, there is Bull available, but I have never taken the time to sit down and do such a lengthy procedure to flash it). I decided to move up to a larger screen, anyway because my eye sight isn't what it used to be.
Then I discovered the Arnova line of products and bought the 10g2. The day it arrived back in December (I think, since the purchase was a Christmas present to myself), I found Freaktab.Com and within he first hour I had flashed Finless Bob's first custom ROM. It was that simple and quick to take a stock device and improve upon its performance and functionality immediately. Out of the box, I wasn't impressed, but with the Finless ROM, I switched from an exclusive pc user to an almost exclusive Android user overnight.
From that point, my G2 became my security blanket, and I was almost obsessed (almost?) with flashing every update Bob released, and commenting on the results. With the Finless 2.1a or 2.2 Pro ROM, I would still consider the 10G2 a relevant product.
I guess due to brand loyalty, and the fact that I didn't know the RK3066 processor even existed, when the 10bG3 came out, I wanted to be the first at freaktab.Com to have one. Snakekiller beat me to it. When it arrived, I wasn't impressed with it much. You can read the long list of issues we had to overcome.. Bottom line, Arnova released an incomplete firmware in order to rush out a product. It took from June until now to come up with a ROM that really kicks ass, thanks to Snakekiller and Bob.
Ok, enough with the background stuff...(before the intervention team arrives to take me away) My point here is that I'm afraid that makers of these Android products are making some really decent hardware, but they aren't putting much time into OS development. That is good in the sense that it makes their products more affordable for us. The 200-300 price range is very attractive, and we all like that. The problem is that the manufacturers do everything possible to make it difficult for those making custom ROM'S by not releasing kernel updates or source codes until their products are off production, if ever. Why do they make it so difficult? What is the up side to this way of doing business. Perhaps they aren't structured for support and development except for quick and easy release... Just get the damn things out the door.
The mainstream consumers aren't interested in signing on to sites like this to even explore ways to improve their products. They just want products that work out of the box. I feel sorry for them, because they are the ones having to pay three times as much for big brand names who charge for all the development/support they put into their products. And really, their products can't hold a candle to the bells and whistles we can put into the cheaper devices. These cheaper tablets aren't attracting the mainstream because they aren't reliable products without some sometimes major modifications.
Makers of the products we buy here in the freaktab.com world are missing the boat here. They need to embrace the DEV community and learn from our discoveries. That's what open source is all about. Instead, they consider us THE ENEMY. Instead, they make us keep guessing what kernels are appearing across the world depending on which assembly run is being released this week. Their whole business model is designed to be counterproductive to it's customers.
If problems are discovered and fixed by us, they should take note and apply those fixes in their next release. If we find issues that can't be resolved without a new kernel, they should be happy to help. We are only trying to improve their products. It isn't like we are trying to do something illegal with their products, we are only trying to make them more usable.
The first manufacturer to discover the benefits of this new business model can ultimately bring the mainstream into their customer base and prove once and for all that Android is superior. Oh yeah, and make a lot more money, too.
Now that I've solved the world's problems today, back to trying to decide which RK3066 tablet to buy.........
Randy
Then I discovered the Arnova line of products and bought the 10g2. The day it arrived back in December (I think, since the purchase was a Christmas present to myself), I found Freaktab.Com and within he first hour I had flashed Finless Bob's first custom ROM. It was that simple and quick to take a stock device and improve upon its performance and functionality immediately. Out of the box, I wasn't impressed, but with the Finless ROM, I switched from an exclusive pc user to an almost exclusive Android user overnight.
From that point, my G2 became my security blanket, and I was almost obsessed (almost?) with flashing every update Bob released, and commenting on the results. With the Finless 2.1a or 2.2 Pro ROM, I would still consider the 10G2 a relevant product.
I guess due to brand loyalty, and the fact that I didn't know the RK3066 processor even existed, when the 10bG3 came out, I wanted to be the first at freaktab.Com to have one. Snakekiller beat me to it. When it arrived, I wasn't impressed with it much. You can read the long list of issues we had to overcome.. Bottom line, Arnova released an incomplete firmware in order to rush out a product. It took from June until now to come up with a ROM that really kicks ass, thanks to Snakekiller and Bob.
Ok, enough with the background stuff...(before the intervention team arrives to take me away) My point here is that I'm afraid that makers of these Android products are making some really decent hardware, but they aren't putting much time into OS development. That is good in the sense that it makes their products more affordable for us. The 200-300 price range is very attractive, and we all like that. The problem is that the manufacturers do everything possible to make it difficult for those making custom ROM'S by not releasing kernel updates or source codes until their products are off production, if ever. Why do they make it so difficult? What is the up side to this way of doing business. Perhaps they aren't structured for support and development except for quick and easy release... Just get the damn things out the door.
The mainstream consumers aren't interested in signing on to sites like this to even explore ways to improve their products. They just want products that work out of the box. I feel sorry for them, because they are the ones having to pay three times as much for big brand names who charge for all the development/support they put into their products. And really, their products can't hold a candle to the bells and whistles we can put into the cheaper devices. These cheaper tablets aren't attracting the mainstream because they aren't reliable products without some sometimes major modifications.
Makers of the products we buy here in the freaktab.com world are missing the boat here. They need to embrace the DEV community and learn from our discoveries. That's what open source is all about. Instead, they consider us THE ENEMY. Instead, they make us keep guessing what kernels are appearing across the world depending on which assembly run is being released this week. Their whole business model is designed to be counterproductive to it's customers.
If problems are discovered and fixed by us, they should take note and apply those fixes in their next release. If we find issues that can't be resolved without a new kernel, they should be happy to help. We are only trying to improve their products. It isn't like we are trying to do something illegal with their products, we are only trying to make them more usable.
The first manufacturer to discover the benefits of this new business model can ultimately bring the mainstream into their customer base and prove once and for all that Android is superior. Oh yeah, and make a lot more money, too.
Now that I've solved the world's problems today, back to trying to decide which RK3066 tablet to buy.........
Randy
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