Android: Fine, Then Gimme the Features Without Root

With the Droid X coming out tomorrow, there’s quite a bit of attention being drawn to the fact that the fancy new Android phone is using the same encrypted bootloader as the Motorola Milestone, rendering it very difficult to crack. According to this post at androidpolice.com, the bootloader is using a “proprietary encrypted private key scheme” which pretty much requires any ROM you’re going to install has been blessed by Motorola.

This is totally lame.

I bought into the Android platform because it stands for openness and freedom. And really, they do a pretty darned good job at it still. But the fact is that there are some things that I’ve come to take for granted on my Droid because some hacker has enabled them.

My reasons for rooting are:

• I can theme my phone UI
• I can uninstall apps I don’t want (like Amazon MP3. WTF!)
• I can turn off the LEDs behind the 4 main buttons under the screen (Seriously? I need root for this?)
• I can overclock (even though I don’t really do it since FroYo)
• I can tether (I basically never do this — no need.)

Why won’t the phone makers let me do these things?? The only one that could damage anyone on their end is tethering since the carriers actually want extra money for the feature. So restrict it!

I suppose one could cause damage by overclocking and stressing the phone too much… So add some kind of hardware indicator so it would be known if the phone was ever overclocked, and void the warranty if it was! They already do this for water damage!

I was happy not rooting for a long time, so (stock) Android does a good job of not making me feel restricted. I wholeheartedly agree with those who say the phones should all be unlocked and capable of installing custom ROMs like the developer-oriented Nexus One, but the realistic side of me is just asking for a little more flexibility in the stock offering. Why the heck not allow me to do some of these things to my phone??

JRummy’s FroYo Kangerade Rocks My Droid

For nine days now, I’ve had the pleasure of running the leaked Nexus One build of the highly-anticipated FroYo (2.2) release of Android in the form of the Cyan-themed version of JRummy’s FroYo Kangerade v1.0 (FRF57). I guess with a little modification, Cyanogen (whose rom Kangerade is based on) and JRummy can adapt a binary Nexus One build for the Droid. Kangerade v1.1 has since been released, and he is now beta-testing the next version, which will be built from the source code that Google just released through their AOSP (FRF83).

It’s excellent. Apart from the handful of nice-to-have features, FroYo’s new ability to run entirely with the JIT compiler means a real-world speed boost of 4-5 times, they say. It’s really quite a lot smoother all around: general transitions and effects, switching between apps, etc… It pretty much feels like a hardware upgrade to me. And if I’m not mistaken, I’m getting better battery life with FroYo, too!

I must say, I am very pleased with how well android is doing. Especially in the last few months, I’ve seen tons of sweet apps and mods, and hackers like Cyanogen and JRummy just keep pushing the limits.

And what’s funny is that even though there are some better-spec’d phones coming out now (Incredible, Evo 4G, Droid X), they all seem to have their flaws (weak battery, flimsy build, failing screen, *no keyboard?!*). I’m not even jealous of another phone yet!

Droid FTW!

Notion Ink Adam Tablet Update

I’m very happy to hear that the recent news of the Notion Ink Adam Android tablet being delayed (again) until November was not, in fact true. While we don’t have an actual release date, it’s implied that we may see it come to market within a couple months.

I’m very excited at the idea of having the same Android OS I enjoy on my phone on a tablet device. This is mainly because I think it will replace a laptop for couch computer use. I like having a different ergonomic experience at home, after using a traditional PC for so many hours at work. Actually, I already use the Droid for a lot of things, but the small screen is not best suited for a lot of reading.

I think reading is going to be something this tablet will suit best. Check out this video comparison of the Pixel Qi display (that the Notion Ink Adam will use) vs an iPad.

One of the main reasons I’m so psyched about a tablet like this vs an iPad is the fact that it is a computer by definition. Yes, one can run Android, Ubuntu Linux or Chrome OS on it, but I’m thinking more fundamental. For ages, we have had these machines we call computers. One could write some code and run their own programs on them, or procure said programs from a third party…… The fact that Apple wants to have so many ridiculous restrictions turns me off in a huge way. I prefer the freedom to use my hardware as I see fit.

Anyway, check out CrunchGear’s post for latest on the Notion Ink Adam.

The Active Crossover

In trying to better understand just what makes an active crossover so much better than a passive one, I came across a page all about crossovers at The Well Tempered Computer which says,

An active crossover gets its input from the pre-amp and sends the signal to multiple outputs, each connected to a power amp.
Each power amp drives only one driver.
As the passive crossover is removed out of the power circuit, the amp has now full control over the driver (damping).

In the case of the DSP in the JH-3A, though, the crossover is implemented in the digital domain and not after any amplification. This also means that we will be able to reprogram the device with updated crossover software and implement custom EQ’s if we so choose.

But I digress!

Edit: I’m being told on the forum that one of the main, new contributors to the sound quality of the JH-3A is the fact that here, the phase and time are tweaked to be perfect in each custom pair. This means that the sound from each of the drivers arrive to your eardrums at exactly the right time so as to reproduce precisely the intended waveform. This is allegedly not possible with a passive crossover. I’m led to believe that this, along with the true definition of an “active crossover” above, add up to the jaw-dropping sound I heard at CanJam.

DACport USB DAC/amp from CEntrance

Another really device I got to hear at CanJam is the DACport from CEntrance. I was happy to hear there is no hiss or noise that I could hear through my JH13 even though computers often carry noise to the listener over USB connections with devices like this. And this is something that I’m pretty sensitive to… I like perfect silence between notes and songs.

I used my JH13′s because I usually find I can tell sonic differences between amps easier with these very sensitive and revealing monitors, and I was really quite impressed. The DACport really delivered some impressively detailed and authoritative sound. I would say it’s a very good mate with these and similar IEMs as well as for all but the most demanding of headphones.

Since its only input is USB (it even relies on the USB power) you won’t get to really go portable with it unless you use some kind of ultra-mobile PC with it. It’s probably more meant to be used stationary… We’ll call it a transportable, even though it’s portable sized.

They want $399 for it, which seems reasonable to me.

JHAudio’s New JH-3A IEM System

The most impressive thing I heard at CanJam I think would have to be the new JH-3A system from JHAudio. It’s a system because the JH-3A consists of a chassis containing a DAC/amp and an IEM — buyer chooses either the JH13 or the JH16. What makes this such a revolutionary, first-of-its kind device is the fact that the crossovers that feed certain frequency ranges to one of the 3  (low, mid, and high) registers are no longer passive ones built into the IEM shells themselves, but are active ones that reside within the chassis. This allows the DSP to dynamically reassign certain ranges of the frequency spectrum to different drivers as the music plays, which apparently is lifting a very significant bottleneck that passive crossovers impose. Correction: While the crossover points can be tweaked in the software, they are apparently NOT changing as the music plays as I assumed from the word “active”. See The Active Crossover for a better idea.

When I put the demo pair of foam-fitted JH16′s in my ears (each of the 4-5 times I did) I was simply floored. I mean I’m already used to the superb performance of the JH13, but the sound from this system was nothing short of breathtaking. The detail was some of the most impressive I’ve ever heard; the soundstage was truly beautiful — and not just for and IEM. The sound was wonderfully clear as crystal, in a very good way. It was analytical and euphonic at the same time. The bass knob lets me choose how much bass I want to hear. (Jerry says it can be made to sound essentially just like the JH13 this way.) The DAC/amp is portable with 20 hours of battery life… It’s… exactly what I was looking for.

I got to spend some time with Jerry Harvey, chatting about the system. Since the system wasn’t quite production-ready, the demo included some sort of development box underneath the unit and a netbook that was using some emulation software to allow us to manipulate the volume and bass sliders that will ultimately be controlled via the physical controls on the front panel. They were feeding the JH-3A box with an iPad via an analog line-out dock.

The unit has a 24bit/192kbps capable DAC and a 3-channel amp. Each of the three amps is dedicated to each of the 3 registers of sound in the IEM. In the case of the JH16, we have 2 drivers for the high end, 2 drivers for the mid range, and 4 drivers for the bass. That bass control I mentioned is now able to act not as an EQ as such controls typically do, but actually manipulate the level of the bass amp discretely, entirely independent (literally and audibly) from the rest. The rear of the device will have a mini-USB input, and the front has a minijack input that will accept a digital coax signal, or an analog one. Since the device is manipulating the amp levels all in realtime to pull off the active crossover, the signal must always be digital before the amps. So consequently, even an analog input must be converted to digital inside the device before becoming analog again for your ears. So, a fancy DAC will not help us at all here — we’ll always rely on the D to A abilities of the device. Thankfully, they seem to be very good.

And speaking of restrictions, because the IEMs are without crossovers themselves, they rely exclusively on the box, and the box relies exclusively on the IEMs. In fact, the box is digitally tuned specifically for the IEM shells. No two people will get the same IEM or box.

In the end, this system sounded just too damn good to pass up. I plunked down the plastic and am eagerly awaiting some quality time with Jerry’s new innovation.

More info can be found on this Head-Fi thread.

CanJam 2010

So I just got back from CanJam, the annual international Head-Fi meet, and I can say that I had a really great time. It was my first CanJam, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but there were plenty of high profile vendors and Head-Fi members represented.

I got to hear a bunch of stuff I’d heard before and a bunch of stuff I haven’t heard before. The Woo Audio room (pictured) featured a number of impressive tube and electrostatic setups… I also checked out the offerings from HeadRoom, Westone, HiFiMan, Shure, RudiStor, CEntrance, Sensaphonics, and others, but there are a couple that particularly impressed me.

After hearing from others how impressive the LCD-2 is, I headed over to the Audez’e booth. (It’s pronounced like odyssey but with a “z” sound instead of an “s” one.) The planar magnetic driver in the LCD-2 gives it an uncanny ability to react to transients faster than most headphones, so the detail is really, really impressive. Also, I didn’t find it lacking in any part of the frequency range. It’s a bit heavy (for the magnets, Alex said) and it does clamp pretty well, but I found the pads to make for pretty good comfort otherwise. They’re quite efficient, and really did sound impressive.

A funny moment was when I asked Alex Rosson, Co-Founder of the company if he was the dnb head behind the collection of drum ‘n bass I found on the iPad that was sourcing the system. When he said he was and I mentioned that I was a dnb dj myself, he mentioned that Reid Speed is his wife! Haha… I dig Reid Speed and thought her Resonance mix from 2002 was excellent. What a coincidence that I meet her husband at CanJam representing a headphone company. :)

The other company is one that I already had a special affinity for… Their new product really impressed me more than anything else at CanJam. More on that shortly…

So I’m very glad I made it out to this year’s event, and send my sincere thanks out to the coordinators, vendors, members, and of course Jude for making it a reality!

ATH-ESW10JPN vs JH13 Pro

Someone on Head-Fi asked me to compare the ESW10JPN to the JH13, so I decided to just share my thoughts with a wider audience.

The ESW10JPN, with its rich, wood cups, is a beautiful headphone. It is very light and has a grip on the head that is just right. The supraaural design does fatigue the ears eventually, but it takes a lot longer than I thought it would before I purchased. This is in part due to swivel of the cups and how I can position them to put the pressure on different parts of the ears and head throughout a session. I also like how they are easy to put on and off, and are comfortable to wear around the neck.

When I first tried the pair of my friend’s, I was very struck with the “energy” in the mids and highs. It is a very detailed headphone with a presentation that is very pleasing for many genres. There is great, well-textured bass, but it is not the centerpiece of this sound signature. Acoustic instruments — like the shimmer of strings — sound very vivid and enjoyable. The isolation isn’t great, so I wouldn’t want to use them some place noisy. I’m glad I got a pair of these limited edition headphones before the 1500 were gobbled up. I still really enjoy them.

The JH13, by contrast, is an IEM. They have great isolation. (Though, interestingly, it’s not quite as good as foam tips on universal fit IEMs.) They have a perfectly formed, custom fit for your ear canals, so their uniform pressure throughout your ear easily lets them “disappear”. Compared to the ease of taking the ESW10JPN on and off, a custom IEM like the JH13 is a bit more work. Once you get the hang of it, inserting and removing the JH13 is pretty fast and easy, though (only a couple seconds) but it is a bit more abrasive. And I always wipe earwax and debris from the tips before inserting. With the right fit (JHA has a great track record) and well-adjusted ears (only a few days to a week or so for new wearers) I think the JH13′s are incredibly comfortable. I can wear them for many hours without issue.

The sound is simply incredible. The JH13 is still the best headphone I have and at least among the best I’ve ever heard. It must be those 6 custom spec drivers working side-by-side that give me such a detailed, immersive view into the recording with soundstage that is simply astonishing for an IEM. Historically, it seems that a full-size headphone is needed for this type soundstage, but the detail of the JH13 seems to compensate for their “shortcoming” that they bypass the outer ear and send the sound directly into your eardrums. The first thing a new JH13 owner seems to notice is how HUGE the sound seems to be. The JH13 has some of the best extension on the top and bottom ends of any headphone. The sound signature sides on ruthlessly neutral, but with a bit of a bump in the sub-bass for low end impact that I really enjoy. The bass is massive and detailed, but it never oversteps its bounds like it does when I switch to the UE11.

When I compare the sound of the two head-to-head, there is simply no doubt that the JH13 is the clear winner. Not only does this IEM have a very neutral response curve that doesn’t really favor any genre over another, but it maintains a euphonic sound with anything I throw at it! The isolation assures that you’re starting with a quiet background, and the music is just so clear and beautiful. At the end of the day, I’m apt to say that while the ESW10JPN excels at its strong points and can be a very enjoyable can for many things (particularly jazz and acoustic music) the JH13 just seems to perform perfectly in so many ways.

Both headphones sound great right from an MP3 player’s headphone output, but they also improve with a good amp. The JH13 scales extremely well with better equipment as it seems to sap up and really deliver on exactly what it is fed.

I love my ESW10 very much… I just love my JH13 more. :)

I also started a thread on Head-Fi with this review.

I’m Still Here (& Engaged!)

Hello again, Internet! It’s been a while since the last update, so I thought I’d drop in and act like I still have a blog. First and foremost, I need to mention something I’m ecstatic about.

On the beautiful palindrome Saturday of 01/02/2010, I proposed to Julie, my girlfriend of four years. Since she accepted, I now must get used to calling her my fiancé!

We’re planning on having the big day in September of 2011, so we have plenty of time to figure out exactly what we want. But wow — I’m now finding just how complicated all this planning is. :)

Yay for Julie and me! Thanks, everyone, for the kind wishes.

My Favorite Android Apps

So I’ve owned the Motorola Droid for just over a month now, and I’m just loving it. Yes, the phone isn’t without its shortcomings, but many of them are getting fixed via software updates. I don’t really want to post another review since there are a bunch of good ones already, but rather list my very favorite apps.

• ConnectBot is an truly excellent ssh client with plenty of features — including easy ssh tunnel managing!
• Dolphin is a good replacement web browser with lots of fancy features.
• NewsRob is the best way I’ve found to read RSS. It syncs with Google Reader (like NetNewsWire on my Mac!) and offers a very comfortable way to navigate and read the news.
• Google Voice, if you can get an invite, is amazing: free phone calls / texts in and out, visual voicemail, vm transcriptions, call recording…
• Google Listen is a really great podcast downloader/player.
• HandyCalc is a very powerful calculator with graphing, algebra, and unit conversion features.
• Google Sky Map turns your phone into a guide to the sky. By reading from the accelerometer and compass sensors in the phone, this app shows what should be seen in the sky when looking in the phone’s oriented direction.
• Pandora, Last.fm, StreamFurious, and Jamendo are all great apps for streaming music down to your phone. Amdroid lets me connect to my Ampache instance on the server back home and stream anything from my collection.
• Qik lets me stream (and archive) live video from my phone.
• SwiFTP starts up a simple ftp daemon that I can connect to from my PC to manage files on the SD card. This is more convenient than plugging it in.
• Mythmote lets me remote control my MythTV DVR software on the TV.
• SqueezeDroid lets me remote control my SqueezeBox.
• TransDroid lets me remote control my torrents running on the server.
• Seesmic is a nicer Twitter client than Twidroid, I think. Maybe not as many features, but it’s clean, totally free, and includes bit.ly API support.
• Meebo IM is my favorite IM application of the bunch. It supports all the major networks.
• MixZing is a great improvement over the native media player, though I haven’t been playing local media much on my Droid. I wouldn’t really want to use my Droid as my primary media player. While the built-in speaker is quite good, the headphone output is not the best from a portable.

The Android user base is currently growing by leaps and bounds with the release of the Droid and other exciting new phones. It seems like every day there’s a great new app and several updates to existing apps. I’m very much enjoying being a part of it!