Google Mailed It In with the Xoom's JB Update

[oldblue910]

I've been running the leaked VZW Xoom JRO03H ROM that they still haven't released. As far as I can tell, this ROM is identical to the WiFi-only ROM except that it has 3/4G enabled. The ROM is rock solid, runs great, it's fast, etc...but I can't help but feel that Google totally mailed it in with this ROM, at least from an visual standponit.

1. Why would they leave the ICS boot animation in place? I get that the stock Jelly Bean boot animation is the multi-colored X representing the Nexus branding, which obviously wouldn't fit for the Xoom (even though it's a Nexus in all but name). That said, there was a cool alternate boot animation that shipped on the JFN53N build on the Nexus 7 tablets given away at I/O 2012. They could have easily used that and it would have fit fine for the Xoom since it made no reference visually to the Nexus branding whatsoever.

2. They didn't provide the stock Jelly Bean wallpapers found on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Nexus 7. Instead they just left the ICS wallpapers in place and changed the default one from the rainbow colored design to the green leaf design. Would it have really been that hard to just put the stock JB wallpapers into the launcher APK?

3. The lack of the Sound Search widget. What would possess them to leave that out? Again, if they can include it on the Nexus S (which is older than the Xoom), why can't they include it on the Xoom? The Nexus 7 even ships with a version of the widget that is resizable. Again, this is two files in the /system folder. Is it really that difficult?

4. Tapping the "clear all notifications" simply erases them from view instead of having them disappear using the little swanky animation that the other devices have.

I realize that all of these issues I bring up are visual, nit-picky things. I also realize that these issues can all be overcome manually. My only point here is that there was seemingly no reason to overlook these things other than Google just not giving a $h1+. Yeah, the Xoom is over 18 months old now, but there is still no 10" Google-Experience tablet to replace it yet. That means it's still Google's reference device for showcasing Android in full tablet configuration. Have some pride, guys. Geez.

Rant over.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

 

[Winesnob]

Well stated. I have the same thoughts on the WiFi Xoom JB update. I did however find the .apk for the sound search widget, installed (not rooted) and it works just fine. If I can locate the file I'll post it. Aside from that, yeah, they kind of missed the mark on this one but it did transform the Xoom into a slick new device. Very impressed with the responsiveness added by JB on an aging device.

Sent from my Xoom using xda premium

 

[oldblue910]

Well stated. I have the same thoughts on the WiFi Xoom JB update. I did however find the .apk for the sound search widget, installed (not rooted) and it works just fine. If I can locate the file I'll post it. Aside from that, yeah, they kind of missed the mark on this one but it did transform the Xoom into a slick new device. Very impressed with the responsiveness added by JB on an aging device.

Sent from my Xoom using xda premium

Agreed. In terms of pure performance, no one could argue that JB has made the Xoom as fast and smooth as it has ever been.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Trooper Thorn]

Maybe somewhat off topic...

But I noticed oldblue's reference to the JB update for the 3/4G Xoom...is there an .RUU for that somewhere? I don't really want to root my MZ600 3G Xoom, but I would like the JB update. Is that a viable option here? Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I didn't realize there was a leaked build for it.

 

[oldblue910]

But I noticed oldblue's reference to the JB update for the 3/4G Xoom...is there an .RUU for that somewhere? I don't really want to root my MZ600 3G Xoom, but I would like the JB update. Is that a viable option here? Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I didn't realize there was a leaked build for it.

Unfortunately there isn't. The leak is a nandroid backup that was created using an old, outdated recovery. You'd have to unlock your bootloader.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tumpy]

But I noticed oldblue's reference to the JB update for the 3/4G Xoom...is there an .RUU for that somewhere? I don't really want to root my MZ600 3G Xoom, but I would like the JB update. Is that a viable option here? Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I didn't realize there was a leaked build for it.

I have three rom that i load on my 3G xooom, when there is anything new coming out for xoom wifi only i use my 604 wifi backup, when a yankeeys game is on and the wife is looking at the tv i will load my Verizon 3g jb so i can use timewarner app to see the yankeeys game, my daily rom is CM10.. i never lock my bootloader it is a waste of time doing so you can still get all update with it unlock only my cm10 rom is rooted..

 

[Spogatz]

I agree. I am on my JB Xoom right now.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

 

[DsturbD]

yeah i agree too, i feel with all the hype about JB there would have been some cosmetic changes to set it apart. to be honest it seems more liken upgrade for ICS than a new version. they named all the 3.x releases honeycomb, maybe all the 4.x ones should be ICS, then name the 5.x series JB

 

[oldblue910]

I've been running the leaked VZW Xoom JRO03H ROM that they still haven't released. As far as I can tell, this ROM is identical to the WiFi-only ROM except that it has 3/4G enabled. The ROM is rock solid, runs great, it's fast, etc...but I can't help but feel that Google totally mailed it in with this ROM, at least from an visual standponit.

1. Why would they leave the ICS boot animation in place? I get that the stock Jelly Bean boot animation is the multi-colored X representing the Nexus branding, which obviously wouldn't fit for the Xoom (even though it's a Nexus in all but name). That said, there was a cool alternate boot animation that shipped on the JFN53N build on the Nexus 7 tablets given away at I/O 2012. They could have easily used that and it would have fit fine for the Xoom since it made no reference visually to the Nexus branding whatsoever.

2. They didn't provide the stock Jelly Bean wallpapers found on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and Nexus 7. Instead they just left the ICS wallpapers in place and changed the default one from the rainbow colored design to the green leaf design. Would it have really been that hard to just put the stock JB wallpapers into the launcher APK?

3. The lack of the Sound Search widget. What would possess them to leave that out? Again, if they can include it on the Nexus S (which is older than the Xoom), why can't they include it on the Xoom? The Nexus 7 even ships with a version of the widget that is resizable. Again, this is two files in the /system folder. Is it really that difficult?

4. Tapping the "clear all notifications" simply erases them from view instead of having them disappear using the little swanky animation that the other devices have.

I realize that all of these issues I bring up are visual, nit-picky things. I also realize that these issues can all be overcome manually. My only point here is that there was seemingly no reason to overlook these things other than Google just not giving a $h1+. Yeah, the Xoom is over 18 months old now, but there is still no 10" Google-Experience tablet to replace it yet. That means it's still Google's reference device for showcasing Android in full tablet configuration. Have some pride, guys. Geez.

Rant over.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

So now that Verizon, Google, and Motorola finally managed to get 4.1.2 out the door for the CDMA/LTE variants, I went back and revisited this thread. I still stand behind this post 100%. With that said, however, it was nice to see that #3 is no longer an issue since it's now available in the Play Store.

Because the original post was written when 4.1.1 was still current, I now have a fifth bullet point to add, which is specific to 4.1.2...

5. In Android 4.1.2, Google added the ability to expand notifications with one finger instead of requiring a two-finger pinch-to-zoom gesture like 4.1.1 did. That feature made it to the Nexus S, Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus but was left out of the Xoom builds. Go figure.

In retrospect, the Xoom really only got Jelly Bean because the Nexus 10 wasn't ready yet. The Android team knew that they were completely overhauling the 10" tablet interface and scrapping the Honeycomb-style interface altogether. This made Android 4.1 on the Xoom nothing but a stopgap to hold them over until the N10, and by extension the new interface in Android 4.2, was ready. For that reason, it's no wonder that Google put so little effort into making Android 4.1 a polished experience on the Xoom.

While it may be lacking visually and functionally compared to other devices that got the update, one thing is still for certain...Jelly Bean made the Xoom run as fast and smooth as it ever did and that's an excellent note on which to end support for such a great device.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 8.0 using Tapatalk 4