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How is your Honeycomb device going? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The Sticks
Posts: 3,720
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How is your Honeycomb device going?
When I first bought my Xoom, I had some gripes about the facebook app force-closing almost constantly. The market app was sometimes not bothering to download my choices, and the BBC new web site insists that my flash player needs updating.
Since then I think they've fixed the bugs in facebook and the market. The BBC videos work mostly now or I switch to Firefox. Overall it's done exactly what I bought it for, and well. A good thing compared to some of the crap I've bought in haste previously.
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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I bought a Xoom at the weekend, and have been pleased with it so far.
![]() I find some sites are a bit flaky with the browser though. Twitter seems to jump around a lot (the site not the app). And sites that require you to hold down a mouse button to move around (e.g. Zingzing TV listings) don't work at all. Must admit I find the on-screen keyboard more frustrating than I thought i would, and it obscures half the screen. Wonder if the bluetooth keyboard would be better? Copy and paste could be better. Very difficult to get a stubby finger in between two letters accurately. ![]() Also I miss right-click style context menus, and there should be Home and End buttons on the browser, to save you from having to scroll all the way up and down. I bought it with the idea of reading my morning paper on it (among other things), but I'm not sure any paper does a proper android tablet edition yet? I know Kindle does, but they don't get good reviews (no pictures). |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 5,900
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Got my Asus eee Transformer (with the dock) at the end of last week, loving it.
Would recommend giving the Dolphin HD browser a go, optimised for Honeycomb and seems to be the best one out there at the moment. Haven't found a decent facebook app so I am presently accessing it via the browser. Gone with Plume for twitter, very impressed with it and a nice experience to use. First android device I have had, all these free apps to try and not encountered any major problems or any bloatware so far.BTW does anyone know when the BBC will fix the Iplayer app so it works with Honeycomb? |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,195
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Quote:
Would recommend giving the Dolphin HD browser a go, optimised for Honeycomb and seems to be the best one out there at the moment.
Quote:
Gone with Plume for twitter, very impressed with it and a nice experience to use.
Quote:
First android device I have had, all these free apps to try
and not encountered any major problems or any bloatware so far.
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,573
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Quote:
Got my Asus eee Transformer (with the dock) at the end of last week, loving it.
Would recommend giving the Dolphin HD browser a go, optimised for Honeycomb and seems to be the best one out there at the moment. Haven't found a decent facebook app so I am presently accessing it via the browser. Gone with Plume for twitter, very impressed with it and a nice experience to use. First android device I have had, all these free apps to try and not encountered any major problems or any bloatware so far.BTW does anyone know when the BBC will fix the Iplayer app so it works with Honeycomb? Quote:
Did you check out the Maxthon browser? Its quite good as well (https://market.android.com/details?i...browser.tablet)
Yeah, I'm using that one as well. Yeah, that'll keep you busy for the rest of the decade ![]() Check out http://www.xoomforums.com/forum/moto...apps-list.html for a list of optimized apps that are for Honeycomb and not just work with it. Also check out http://www.transformerforums.com/for...apps-list.html for same. First is the Xoom forum and second for Asus transformer. Both very helpful for all things Plus in google search box enter site:market.android.com "3.0 and up" for a list of apps that are for honeycomb only Lastly for facebook check out https://market.android.com/details?i...fbtabletwidget looks cool...... |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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I love my Xoom. I use it to:
Wake me up during the week day with an alarm stream my media stored on a networked PC. Read comics, many of which are free See when the bus is coming in real time! One of my home screens is set up for downloading. I use this app to search usenet for er, a linux video I may want to watch...and once its done, this file explorer can create a short cut to the download location and with a couple of clicks I can watch what I've downloaded. As for games, if you want to show off your tablet check out Riptide GP. I'm also playing an online version of Elite called Vendetta Online and a single player Freelancer clone called Galaxy on Fire. Kid Mode is great for younger children. Finally, PhotoFunia is an amazing app for messing around with pictures. You can embed your pictures in pre-created scenes and the results are great. What I don't like...waiting for ages for the 3.1 update and hearing nothing from Motorola. Its more irritating that the update speeds up the web browser and as I find it a bit slow I'm eager for the update. Most of the weather apps are a bit poor for accuracy. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The Sticks
Posts: 3,720
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If you're waiting for Honeycomb 3.1 on a UK WiFi Xoom, the US software works fine. You just have to live with the US dictionary and change the various options on ebay and google to use the UK sites. It does void your warranty, but they've fixed some bugs and I can now resize some widgets, like emails and tasks.
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Apparently 3.1 is out any day now.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 5,900
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Quote:
Apparently 3.1 is out any day now.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/06/android-32-honeycomb/ Bit concerned that that will be the last major update for Honeycomb with Ice Cream Sandwich being released in the not to distant future. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4,573
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Quote:
Already got 3.1 on the Transformer, seems like 3.2 is coming very soon to the Zoom and other tablets.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/06/android-32-honeycomb/ Bit concerned that that will be the last major update for Honeycomb with Ice Cream Sandwich being released in the not to distant future. Unless Google also add SD card to it the no point in waiting for any extras with it. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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What sort of size are these upgrades likely to be?
I hope they improve the browser on the Xoom, because it's as sluggish as anything, at the moment.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The Sticks
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Quote:
What sort of size are these upgrades likely to be?
I hope they improve the browser on the Xoom, because it's as sluggish as anything, at the moment. ![]() A nice feature I found was having my application settings backed up with google. Even though I flashed my xoom for 3.0 US and wiped everything, it prompted me to re-download all my previous appplications and remembered all my wifi and account passwords. ![]() (The 3.1 update did NOT clear my device again.) |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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Quote:
The current images for 3.0 on the Moto site are around 120MB. After I had put the US version on mine, it downloaded the 3.1 update a couple of minutes later. On Wifi it took maybe 2 minutes.
A nice feature I found was having my application settings backed up with google. Even though I flashed my xoom for 3.0 US and wiped everything, it prompted me to re-download all my previous appplications and remembered all my wifi and account passwords. ![]() (The 3.1 update did NOT clear my device again.) I was thinking around 500 MB for some reason. |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Quote:
What sort of size are these upgrades likely to be?
I hope they improve the browser on the Xoom, because it's as sluggish as anything, at the moment. ![]() http://xoomfaq.com/newsblog/files/03...w-Browser.html It helped me a bit. 3.1 has some browser improvements afaik. |
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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Quote:
To speed up the stock browser try
http://xoomfaq.com/newsblog/files/03...w-Browser.html It helped me a bit. 3.1 has some browser improvements afaik. It's also better to get the desktop version of pages, rather than the mobile version. ![]() But am I losing something by turning off OpenGL rendering?
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The Sticks
Posts: 3,720
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I turned off OpenGL on mine just now and it still makes it better in 3.1 I think. Hard to judge. The user agent is very handy to know. I was annoyed the way some sites see android and assume you have a narrow low res screen!
Here's the user agent string my 3.1 (US) xoom gives as Desktop: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:5.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/5.0 As Android it gives: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 3.1; en-us; Xoom Build/HMJ37) AppleWebKit/534.13 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.13 |
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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Quote:
I turned off OpenGL on mine just now and it still makes it better in 3.1 I think. Hard to judge. The user agent is very handy to know. I was annoyed the way some sites see android and assume you have a narrow low res screen!
Here's the user agent string my 3.1 (US) xoom gives as Desktop: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:5.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/5.0 As Android it gives: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 3.1; en-us; Xoom Build/HMJ37) AppleWebKit/534.13 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.13 E.g. seemingly broadbandspeedchecker wouldn't display the dials without OpenGL? Anyway, I've left the UA string on Desktop for now.
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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One area that the Xoom has disappointed me is when I am posting on forums such as this one.
Navigating within a reply box is nigh on impossible. ![]() I understand that the iPad lets you scroll within a text box using 2 fingers, but on the Xoom all that achieves is to zoom in to the screen. They could at least have put arrows keys on the on-screen? |
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Hackers Keyboard on the Market has arrows on the keyboard which let you move the cursor around, if this helps a bit.
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Quote:
Actually I've just re-enabled Open GL, because it seemed that some sites wouldn't display properly without it?
E.g. seemingly broadbandspeedchecker wouldn't display the dials without OpenGL? Anyway, I've left the UA string on Desktop for now. ![]() Apparently 3.1 has a faster browser so hopefully we won't need to bother with hacks once it's out (soon!). |
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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Quote:
Weird, I tried broadbandspeedchecker and it worked for me. I got 20mb down and 5mb up
Apparently 3.1 has a faster browser so hopefully we won't need to bother with hacks once it's out (soon!). ![]() The speedchecker thing could have been a coincidence I suppose? I'll give this Hacker keyboard a look. ![]() ETA: Yeah, I think that might be an improvement on the stock keyboard? Much more like a computer keyboard, and looks quite good as well.
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Just as an update, I no longer use any of the browsers on the Xoom. I found them a bit slow, although perfectly useable. It was annoying that is just wasn't as fast as my PC though.
So what I'm using now is my PC's browser! Have a look at Splashtop Remote HD. It does some cool stuff like you can play games via your PC on your Xoom (I was playing Civ 5 on it earlier just because I could!) and it allows for streaming of your audio and video files to your Xoom (and routes the audio to the Xoom rather than the host PC it's playing on) which is the main thing it has over Team Viewer. Playing movies or Youtube etc is flawless - I notice no frames skipping and audio is perfect. But anyway, the main reason I love it is the ability to use my PC's browser really easily. You can control Windows 7 briliiantly with this app, there's no trying to click on tiny buttons or anything as it scales it to Xoom really well. The browser runs exactly at the speed of my PC (of course as it's using it) but with NO lag so it's exactly like being in front of the computer. It's only 3 quid and is well worth the money. |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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Quote:
Just as an update, I no longer use any of the browsers on the Xoom. I found them a bit slow, although perfectly useable. It was annoying that is just wasn't as fast as my PC though.
So what I'm using now is my PC's browser! Have a look at Splashtop Remote HD. It does some cool stuff like you can play games via your PC on your Xoom (I was playing Civ 5 on it earlier just because I could!) and it allows for streaming of your audio and video files to your Xoom (and routes the audio to the Xoom rather than the host PC it's playing on) which is the main thing it has over Team Viewer. Playing movies or Youtube etc is flawless - I notice no frames skipping and audio is perfect. But anyway, the main reason I love it is the ability to use my PC's browser really easily. You can control Windows 7 briliiantly with this app, there's no trying to click on tiny buttons or anything as it scales it to Xoom really well. The browser runs exactly at the speed of my PC (of course as it's using it) but with NO lag so it's exactly like being in front of the computer. It's only 3 quid and is well worth the money. Is there any problems with resolution issues? What about desktop icons and gadgets on the W7 desktop. |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,480
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Quote:
I'd thought of trying Splashtop out before, but I was afraid it might mess up my Windows 7 desktop, what with the resolution of that being 1920x1080, and the Xoom being 1280x800.
Is there any problems with resolution issues? What about desktop icons and gadgets on the W7 desktop. |
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,989
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well, I've tried Splashtop, and it's very interesting, and I think I'll keep it because it might have it's uses, but it has serious issues on my system.
![]() a) Everything is very laggy on the tablet. Scolling is very slow, and any video is jerky. I tried recorded video, and also live TV from my TV card, and while the playback is smooth on the computer monitor, it is jerky on the tablet. This might be down to the fact that my computers are quite old Pentium 4 machines, and while they run Windows 7 smoothly, they may not have the oomph for streaming? b) In order to stream audio to the tablet you have to set the computer to output stereo. My computers are set for 4 channel audio, which doesn't produce any sound when connected to Splashtop, so I have to keep changing the audio properties. c) Windows Media Center will not play full screen. Other things will, but not WMC. When you try to set it to full screen you get an error message and the screen resolution messes up. d) when you disconnect from Splashtop, and the screen resolution returns to normal in Windows, the screen gadgets are often not displaying properly, requiring logging out and back in again. So all in all, it's interesting, might be useful to me under certain circumstances, but certainly not a perfect solution. |
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