Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 3.0 Honeycomb rumors and facts

[andrew.barr]

I live in the US, and I tether my devices to my Sprint HTC EVO, for no charge.

Sprint actually just changed it's "Everything Plans" to unlimited data even over 3G (it used to be capped at 5GB/month), so now I don't even have to worry about using up my bandwidth while I'm out.

I will never buy a tablet on a contract, as it just doesn't make sense to me, but everyone has their own needs, and what is best for them.

What is your average monthly bill, if you don't mind me asking?

[Harfainx]

My wife and I have a shared family plan. 1500 minutes to landlines during 8am-7pm, unlimited everything else (data, text, mms, calls to any cell phone, all calls between 7pm and 8am, and no roaming charges anywhere in the US). We pay like $124 a month I think, and we also have protection against most any kind of damage ($7 per phone a month extra).

It's not a great price, but it's better than most pay for that kind of plan in the US.

[andrew.barr]

My wife and I have a shared family plan. 1500 minutes to landlines during 8am-7pm, unlimited everything else (data, text, mms, calls to any cell phone, all calls between 7pm and 8am, and no roaming charges anywhere in the US). We pay like $124 a month I think, and we also have protection against most any kind of damage ($7 per phone a month extra).

It's not a great price, but it's better than most pay for that kind of plan in the US.

It's honestly pretty close to what my family pays for what they have; and theirs is a legacy Verizon plan that is no longer offered. They get a bit more "bang for the buck"- but there's a corporate discount involved, and they are extremely restricted in what kinds of phones they can get (no smartphones). Do you know if a contract like the one you have is offered to new subscribers? (I suspect it isn't)

[Harfainx]

That's actually their current plan. I pay a little less because of a discount, but I think the plan is normally like $129 before any taxes or add-ons. Sprint charges $10 extra per month per smart phone now as a mandatory fee, no matter where you live, or how much you use it (and $7 per phonefor the full insurance coverage if you want to get that).

Just check out the Sprint site, and under "Shop", just go to "Plans" and put in your zip code. I have the "Everything Data Family" 1500 plan. My wife and I each have an HTC EVO. I'll be upgrading to the EVO 3D on the 24th of this month

[exelletor]

I think they fixed the reboot rpoblems etc a long time ago and are now working on new features, like improving the tv output(something like Archos Remote Control,), improving the youtube app etc... May be they will update Gen8 to Gingerbread and add flash support.

[racky]

I think they fixed the reboot rpoblems etc a long time ago and are now working on new features, like improving the tv output(something like Archos Remote Control,), improving the youtube app etc... May be they will update Gen8 to Gingerbread and add flash support.

How do you know or you just think ?

[exelletor]

I think they fixed the reboot rpoblems etc a long time ago and are now working on new features, like improving the tv output(something like Archos Remote Control,), improving the youtube app etc... May be they will update Gen8 to Gingerbread and add flash support.

How do you know or you just think ?

I only think. They never did so long over just bug fixing fw, so we will get something new...

[RedGiant17]

I live in the US, and I tether my devices to my Sprint HTC EVO, for no charge.

Sprint actually just changed it's "Everything Plans" to unlimited data even over 3G (it used to be capped at 5GB/month), so now I don't even have to worry about using up my bandwidth while I'm out.

I will never buy a tablet on a contract, as it just doesn't make sense to me, but everyone has their own needs, and what is best for them.

Did you have to root your EVO to do this? I cant get mine to connect at all.

[ponghclub]

I own A70IT and very impressively with. My next will be 101 except UI on 'SWITCH TO TV' that hold me down. I wish the next genaration of Archos will improve with changing time. Now we have Netflix and ... so we need better friendly UI....all chiness tablets have better UI feature than us.

[Harfainx]

I live in the US, and I tether my devices to my Sprint HTC EVO, for no charge.

Sprint actually just changed it's "Everything Plans" to unlimited data even over 3G (it used to be capped at 5GB/month), so now I don't even have to worry about using up my bandwidth while I'm out.

I will never buy a tablet on a contract, as it just doesn't make sense to me, but everyone has their own needs, and what is best for them.

Did you have to root your EVO to do this? I cant get mine to connect at all.

The tethering I use requires root, as I use "Wireless Tether for Root Users". That's about the best one you can get, but it does require root. Sprint just recently changed the 3G coverage to unlimited data on the plan, which allows me to use it more.

[andrew.barr]

I had an idea to extend a program that uses OpenVPN over USB to do rootless tether. It could use it's own Bluetooth service to do this over BT. The Archos has inbuilt OpenVPN so it should, in theory, work great.

Rooting makes me nervous, although on a more popular model like the EVO they might have it down to something easily confused with a science. Bet it makes f/w updates that much more fun, though.

[andrew.barr]

So did Sprint formerly have a 3 gig soft cap? I ask this because I recently got onto a prepaid Virgin Mobile plan, which is operated by Sprint and uses their 3G network. I was told by the person who recommended it to me that there was such a cap, but maybe things have changed.

Wireless Tether for Root using WiFi would be problematic for me due to policies where I work. They are, uh, not fans of WiFi networks.

[Harfainx]

I can't speak for all of the plans, or a plan on Virgin Mobile, but the plan that I was on had a 5GB soft-cap (in 3G coverage), then they started slowing down your connection speeds, and charging you for data. They just recently changed it for completely unlimited. Their data plans on mobile broadband devices though are still capped, which doesn't make much sense (those are the MiFi devices).

[10robertb]

Regarding gingerbread rumors, I just came across this ad on P.C. Richards a consumer electronics store located in ny metro area http://www.pcrichard.com/catalog/produc ... lNo=501772 . It is possible it is an error but if Archos can put
gingerbread on low end Arnova tablet there is no reason they could not upgrade gen 8. Shipping date and price seem accurate
but resistive multi touch screen? but clearly states android 2.3 twice in specs. At the very least it will get our hopes up

[Diknak]

Regarding gingerbread rumors, I just came across this ad on P.C. Richards a consumer electronics store located in ny metro area http://www.pcrichard.com/catalog/produc ... lNo=501772 . It is possible it is an error but if Archos can put
gingerbread on low end Arnova tablet there is no reason they could not upgrade gen 8. Shipping date and price seem accurate
but resistive multi touch screen? but clearly states android 2.3 twice in specs. At the very least it will get our hopes up

Can and should are very different. It will take extra hours to upgrade the os and they are focused on gen 9. Plus, I would prefer a polished froyo over a poorly implemented gingerbread.

[andrew.barr]

they are focused on gen 9.

How is it that on Friday you responded in the other thread to the post on Archos official Facebook page about an f/w upgrade for Gen 8, and on Sunday post this, which you obviously have no proof of whatsoever?

[Diknak]

they are focused on gen 9.

How is it that on Friday you responded in the other thread to the post on Archos official Facebook page about an f/w upgrade for Gen 8, and on Sunday post this, which you obviously have no proof of whatsoever?

You can focus efforts on one project and still work on another. I'm not saying that they won't release another firmware update because that is clearly not the came. I am saying the effort to upgrade to gingerbread is a lot more than bug fixes in froyo.

[andrew.barr]

they are focused on gen 9.

How is it that on Friday you responded in the other thread to the post on Archos official Facebook page about an f/w upgrade for Gen 8, and on Sunday post this, which you obviously have no proof of whatsoever?

You can focus efforts on one project and still work on another. I'm not saying that they won't release another firmware update because that is clearly not the came. I am saying the effort to upgrade to gingerbread is a lot more than bug fixes in froyo.

On the other hand, Google has certainly fixed a lot of Froyo bugs in Gingerbread, and it's likely that Archos' suppliers (WiFi chip, to name a big one) have done so as well.

They may decide that trying to chase bugs in Froyo is a waste of time given that it's already two releases behind the current and Ice Cream Sandwich is coming out soon (?).

I do see that the WiFi is badly behaved on the Samsung Intercept as well. I guess I'm sort of surprised; Closed-source Linux WiFi drivers have always sucked for many reasons- mostly because companies only ever cared about Windows and never really tested their designs on anything else. Also, they write their Windows drivers and then throw a little money at some Indian/Chinese outsourcing house to give them a binary kernel module so they can claim Linux support. But now that there is a huge market for Linux WiFi drivers in the form of Android, you'd think there'd be appropriate pressure on these idiots. Apparently not.

[Ominous]

They may decide that trying to chase bugs in Froyo is a waste of time given that it's already two releases behind the current and Ice Cream Sandwich is coming out soon (?)

How about this:Android 3.2 Will Bring Real Honeycomb Goodness to 7-inch Tablets

[andrew.barr]

It'd be nice if these Taiwanese and Chinese companies actually made products that they tested and engineered instead of making products on the cheap or trying to get attention with gimmicks.