Building a Vanilla Android AOSP ICS Rom on Windows 7 64-bit

Please note that this is a guide to how to setup an environment to create your own ROM, and to build a test AOSP ICS Rom that will work on an emulator. While it is possible to do all this in 32-bit Win 7, you will find it much (!) easier in 64-bit Win 7. The intention is to allow all the folks who have said they'd like to work on a ROM to get their feet wet. If you complete all the steps in this guide you will have a Vanilla ICS Rom that works in the Android Emulator. You would still need to modify the kernel for the CPU your particular device uses and add the special radio and other drivers before porting to your device.

Of course you can skip step 4 if you are willing to either dual-boot Ubuntu, or go into Ubuntu full time. However I figure a lot of folks on here are still on Windows for one reason or another.

1) Make sure that the ROM for your Windows 7 computer is set to allow Virtualization. If you have a Core i7 this will be the default. Otherwise you will need to make sure to set it manually through the Setup that should come up before BOOT.

2) Download VirtualBox 4.1.8
DL Link here for VB:
http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.1.8/VirtualBox-4.1.8-75467-Win.exe

DL Link here for VB Extensions (necessary for USB, shared folders, etc):
http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.1.8/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.1.8-75467.vbox-extpack

3) Download Ubuntu 11.04 64-bit
DL Link here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download
Make sure (!) to select the 64-bit version before clicking download

4) Install VirtualBox and Ubuntu:
Install and Setup Guide:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/130922-linux-install-windows-7-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox.html
(Note that some of the images from this guide are from an earlier version of Ubuntu)

I personally recommend that as long as you have at least a Quad Core that you give your VB machine Two Cores and Two Gigs of RAM. For the HD size of your Virtual HD remember that the Android Source Code is almost 16 Gigs. For speed and other purposes I suggest creating a fixed size 80 Gig (or larger) Virtual HD. While this can be on an external drive, if you have room on an internal drive that will also improve performance.

5) Install the Toolchain (Android Build Environment):
http://mjanja.co.ke/2011/11/building-android-4-0-on-ubuntu-11-10/

The first three steps will take between 1-2 hours. Step 4 will take an hour or so as well. Step 5 takes multiple hours due to the size of the Android repo source library. Plan accordingly :-)

Hope this helps!

Or perhaps an 11.6 inch tablet would be better

Not sure how I missed this announcement the first time, but evidently Samsung is expected to release an almost 12 inch tablet in February (coincidence?). Pardon me while I drool... and while I consider whether the larger screen significantly alters my plans from just a bit earlier today.

Still... almost 12 inches.... :-)

Writing About Tablets Because it's Soothing...

Some days I regret reading Reddit. Not for the content so much as some of the reminders of what else is going on. However I have no desire to get into those discussions. Nor do I want to talk about SOPA or related issues right now. After all, I have to go into work tomorrow regardless :-)

Instead, a possibly more useful note - why I am reconsidering my 10" tablet purchase. My plan was to get the Streak first (which for the most part is proving to have been a good idea), and then get a Transformer Prime in February. However, as I've been "messing with" several things this weekend, I'm starting to think I might be better off with an iPad 3 depending on when those come out. The reality is that the Streak handles most things I want fairly well (and some things exceptionally well). There are a few things where I'm finding I miss a larger screen, and those particular things tend to have better software options on iOS than on Android.

First off, there is reading my FB, Twitter, and 500px items. On iOS there is Flipboard for the first two, and the 500px client for iPad for the third. On Android you are essentially looking at Currents, and it doesn't handle any of these particularly well even on a larger screen. Then there is reading. If it's a text page stored in a format where the reader can be "reflowed", then the Streak works as well as a larger screen. And has the advantage that it is in my pocket if I'm just looking to read a few pages while I'm waiting on something. But if it's an image file (such as scanned Manga) or a PDF, then the bigger screen is a major plus. On iOS you are looking at GoodReader and ComicGlass for this. On Android you actually have several options for the PDF, but for the full page reader you are probably looking at PerfectViewer. PV works ok on a big screen, but on a smaller screen it's a bit inconvenient.

A bigger concern, however, is that if you look at sales and development for at least the next year you are likely going to see as many things only on iOS as you are on Android. So if I want to make sure I can keep up with the latest apps, there is a strong incentive to have a device in each camp.

What I am thinking at this point is that there is a decent chance that Apple will also follow the iPhone model and keep a low end iPad 2 available at a very good price. I could easily see them decide to keep the iPad 2 16GB WiFi only around, and offer it for $249-$299 once the iPad 3 is announced. That would allow them to more easily compete with the Kindle Fire and the Nook for that end of the audience - and would make it a lot easier for ME to justify getting another tablet in the first place.

In any case, that's what I'm thinking about at this point. Feel free to drop a line or leave a comment if you want to discuss it :-)

Evidently they mean it when they say faster than Home Broadband

Having had my share of ups and downs with Clear, and AT&T, and other companies, I guess I just thought the sign up in the T-Mobile store was marketing spin. Specifically they had a couple signs that claimed their 4G service was "Faster than Home Broadband".

My Clear service on a good day is 6M down and 1M up. Not bad. My cable service was somewhat faster down, and about the same up. After seeing what AT&T's 3G service rates claimed to be versus what they actually were, I was pretty cynical about any marketing related to speed.

So when I hit SpeedTest this morning my jaw just about hit the floor. My results:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1640720799.png

In case you can't follow the link that's 13M down and 2.5M up. I ran it a couple different times today, and I'm getting pretty consistent results. It's just eyeopening to think how much of an upgrade I just made when all I was expecting was about the same speed. I will be keeping an eye on it to see if this is a Saturday special, but I have to say I am impressed to see a claim backed up with facts like this.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Less people think that HP has a corner on this after their Touchpad debacle, let me give you an example I have a little more personal experience with, from a company that's an easy drive from my house.

Here's the deal. Let's say there was a 7 inch Honeycomb 3.2 Android tablet with a Tegra 2 dual-core processor, an 8 hour battery, front and rear cameras, GPS, built in 4G, wifi (including tethering), and as a photographer one of the most interesting features of all - a full sized SD card slot (not micro). Now, lets further state that this tablet retails for $250. Not $250 on a two-year contract, but $250 straight.

I suspect that there are a handful of you that have already figured out what I'm describing, but I also suspect there's a much larger number of you wondering where you could buy one of these. In fact, it is still possible to find these, although the manufacturer just this week announced they were discontinuing it.

I'm speaking of the Dell Streak 7. If any of you had heard about this tablet before, it was probably when it was first introduced and T-Mobile's 4G network was shaky, and it ran Froyo. Even then, many of it's features SHOULD have made it one of the most popular tablets out there. After all, look at all the excitement there was over the Nook Color which had much poorer features.

Instead, Dell had no idea how to market it, and after putting enough time to truly get the system polished to a point where it could easily compete and win, decided to cut their losses. Having had one for a couple of days now, I have to say it is possibly the best investment I've made in the last several months. It is successfully replacing my iPad, my PHS-300 4g/wifi router, and my cell phone. So I now have almost all the same capabilities I did before (a couple less in one sense, several more in another), and I've lightened my load. Being able to use a Fat32 SD Card is HUGE for my photography as I can pull the card out of my camera, and preview images instantly. None of the uploading and converting I had to do with an iPad. And the 4G coverage on T-mobile beats my Sprint/Clearwire/Virgin Mobile hands down.

Given that I was a developer for the Amiga 1000, I suspect I shouldn't be surprised at finding a diamond that isn't in the rough so much as buried in the bargain bin. But I will tell you that if you are thinking of a tablet this "holiday" season, you may want to see if you can still grab one of these while the getting is good!