The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking about?!?!")

DrDoppio

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Awesome idea, this glossary!

+1 for .odex and deodexed, several users asked for those and they're still not in.

+100 for making an Android app with this dictionary.
 

ajonesma

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

I agree, we need odin in the dictionary. especially for those that have never used a Samsung Android device before.
 

Johnly

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

That dictionary should be open sourced:cool:
 

xvolk418

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

When I first got into Android, I did not understand the term Nandroid. It might be specifically for n00bs, but it would be good to define.
 

goelz83

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Did I overlook the entry for the Galaxy S III? It has been out for almost a week already.

Users might not see anything related to the GSIII on the homepage, check the dictionary (obviously finding nothing), and then go back to iMore.com.

I'm just looking out for wandering sheep.
 

TBolt

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Please add RUU to the dictionary.
 

natehoy

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Nice glossary!

A few adjustments and additions:

A-GPS: Assisted GPS. Basically a standard GPS setup but with the ability to use the location of nearby cell towers and/or WiFi hotspots to narrow down the initial search for satellites, significantly reducing the time it takes to get a location fix.

JB / Jelly Bean needs to be added.

Nexus 7 needs to be added.

I'd add "ICS" in parenthesis after the definition of Ice Cream Sandwich so someone searching for it would at least find it.

Similarly, I see HOX used frequently as shorthand presumably for the HTC One X, might be useful to have that in parenthesis somewhere close by.

Typo found in the definition of PenTile (contreversy -> controversy).

I'd also add another vote for a separate list of phones versus terms. Put them on the same page for easy searching, but in a separate section. That way, a newbie who wants to quickly learn all the terms doesn't have to wade through a list of phones. Just my opinion.
 

oneseeker

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Don't see "deodexed" which is something I actually came to the dictionary to discover.

This is a great idea, BTW. Looking forward to an updated version which includes all the suggestions from the comments.

Thanks!
 

oneseeker

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

Me again,

How about zipalign and the various kernel terminology like governors and I/O schedulers.
 

tekeek

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Re: The Android Dictionary (aka "What the hell are they talking a

HBOOT
usage – 1. HBOOT is most commonly known to the Android phone community as the first stage before the phone goes through its boot cycle. In a boot control scenario, the HBOOT provides an avenue of choice between functions up to and including a standard boot. Other choices may be things such as recovery branch, or factory reset.
2. HBOOT also serves as a gatekeeper for software updates to the device. The HBOOT commonly uses encryption technology that will check to see if the package being written is "signed." This function is often referred to as "locked." In any event, the HBOOT is a critical component. Without it, a device simply will not work.
Pasted from <http://wikibin.org/articles/hboot.html>
3. HTC's proprietary version of a bootloader. It has a few bells in it not found in many other android bootloaders such as the ability to auto-flash zip files from the sd card if they are specifically named to to a particular string recognized only by that version of hboot. Kind of a cool "get out of jail" feature, but it comes with a price...a security flag referred to as s-on.
Pasted from <http://androidforums.com/rezound-all-things-root/568278-confused-htc-terminology.html>

synonyms – bootloader

S-Off/S-On
usage – 1. S-Off/S-On means that the NAND portion of the device is unlocked and can be written to. The default setting for HTC’s devices is S-ON, which means that neither can you access certain areas of the system nor can you guarantee a permanent root. Furthermore, signature check for firmware images is also ensured by the S-ON flag.
Pasted from <http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/what-is-s-off-how-to-gain-it-on-htc-android-phones-with-unrevoked-forever/>
2. HTC's proprietary
3. S-Off disables the security check that runs on a normal, s-on scenario. That check is looking for an official signature on any files that would be loaded through the bootloader. s-off bypasses that check so it's both more dangerous (because most any file can be rammed through by the end user) but it also allows much more flexibility that can be used for positive root means like loading unsigned custom recoveries, boot img's, radios and other hboot versions. Radios/HBOOT versions may be leaked or extracted from an officially signed file (still viewed as not legit by the security flag) so they can be loaded individually without loading the entire update. This sort of thing can come in handy for rooted users who want to update the nuts and bolts of their phone while staying on custom roms the whole time. So in a nutshell, being S-Off can be compared to a fully unlocked bootloader on some other Android devices.
 
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meyerweb#CB

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Seems like AC really lost interest in this. Someone pointed out Nadroid was missing 2 years ago, and as recently as 5 months ago, and it's still missing.

Have you chosen deliberately to leave out terms related to rooting? If so, you can hardly call this "A to Z," as it's far from complete. It would be nice if someone from AC responded here and explained why so many terms are missing.
 

power5

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I just got my first android today. Started with a very cheap Craig 741e and have to say I only got through the "A" section before closing the page. Its just a list of phones more than anything. If I dont know what acronym I am looking for its useless. Though most of the time I guess I will be going to the dictionary to find what something means. I was just going through the noob stuff to try to learn before going any deeper. This was one of the stickies so I thought I would start in it. Not a great idea unless I am looking to browse mostly phone names.
 

Shannon Johnson4

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I was looking for the default file manager. I'm not sure if the definition will help though.
I don't know how to use / control the file manager that was pre-installed on my android tablet. Can you help? Either with the definition or how to use the file manager period.Settings, files, what to erase etc.. Thankss!
 

TBolt

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I was looking for the default file manager. I'm not sure if the definition will help though.
I don't know how to use / control the file manager that was pre-installed on my android tablet. Can you help? Either with the definition or how to use the file manager period.Settings, files, what to erase etc.. Thankss!

You're better off asking in one of the forums for tablets here at AC. There may even be a forum specifically for your tablet.
 

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