CM9 (ICS) Alpha 0 is out

[DeadVim]

Just installed Alpha0 today, gotta say I'm loving it. Everything is super smooth and a lot nicer than gingerbread (because it's actually made for tablets). The only problem I've had so far is instant reboot when I try to close some apps, one being Dolphin Browser Mini, which I use all the time. It only happens when I exit via the Menu button press > exit button though, so it's all good, I can just avoid that. Other than that issue it's extremely stable considering it's not even alpha 1 yet.

Edit: My wifi on the tablet acually did cut out once today like it did a lot in cm7, but it defiantly is a HUGE improvement over cm7 WiFi. That alone is reason enough to use this instead of cm7 on a daily basis for me.

Cool, I was reading Dolphin had some issues with this build.

The fact that they have released the source should mean the fixes arrive a bit quicker too.

 

[cgk]

There is already one patch to fix the charger issue and some UI force-closes.

 

[cgk]

Wow... even with the issues it currently has I really really like this...

 

[Sparty73]

No Hardware Accelerated Graphics, No Microphone, No Camera, No Worries

Just to clarify, I believe that hardware acceleration is currently working in terms of the GPU. Hardware acceleration for video is for sure broken for now, however.

This means only some lower res video will work. No HD video on YouTube, and I've also tested streaming video on ESPN and know that it does not work either.

 

[crutzulee]

Of course I bit and installed 15 mins after I posted that I would hold off and see how others faired.

Installation was uneventful via acme2. GAPPS was an issue (finally installed via cwm) . Aside from some strange wifi issues ( not able to send receive /data even though wifi showed connected and lit up blue), it has been relatively solid.
Have not fiddled with titanium backup as all my apps were carried over. Video playback has been on par with XRONIFIED 3.5 when I use software decoding ( I don't play HD on my tablet) . ADW launcher took some time to setup but is now the way I like it.
I got to work today and it picked up wifi without issue �( huge for me) . There's a Leaf game tonight so I am hoping that video streaming will work better for me through the NHL app than someone reported through the ESPN site.
Changing LCD density screwed up my thumb keyboard so 160 will do for me. I would however, like to find a way to get rid of the status bar when in an app. It's a minor annoyance when watching a video. At the least I'd like to move it to the top where I won't accidentally bring up notifications while typing.

Otherwise, this release seems to be quite solid. These devs are nothing short of amazing and their decision to share their work means that this community can look forward to an explosion of choices in the not to distant future.

 

[cgk]

I did a complete clean wipe and have no issues at all in any areas.

 

[leebtyler]

mine has bricked and wont turn on at all, any ideas?

 

[leebtyler]

never mind sorted that out. so do i boot into webos to transfer the files via usb? and i presum if in installing ontop of CM7 i type the novacom command but using aceminstaller2 instead of the old one

 

[leebtyler]

aha seems to have worked like a treat i was missing out the > on the novacom command, this is super exciting, well done guys!!

 

[leebtyler]

how do i put it into USB mode in CM9? i attached the usb cable but get no notification or indication that its connected other than charging.

 

[cgk]

how do i put it into USB mode in CM9? i attached the usb cable but get no notification or indication that its connected other than charging.

I am wondering the same thing, on some sites people are claiming that usb mode was removed from ICS? really?

 

[cgk]

ah... from rootzwiki:

go to setting/storage and tap the menu icon in the upper righthand corner of the screen, tap USB computer connection and put a check in the box Media device(MTP).

 

[leebtyler]

been using it for the las 45mins and its pretty damn good i have to say!!
wifi is WAAY more stable than CM7 (after patch install) ive not dropped signal yet, although i had to reboot to get it to work after the intial install.
super fast proper tabbed browsing is brilliant!! facebook looks great in proper mode and not adroid mode, cant get APN Widgets to function on twitter yet tho, will keep working on that one.

will be sending some donations to the team, this is a brilliant mod! shame BBCiplayer isnt working yet, but i can always boot to webOS to watch that in bed, no biggie at the moment.

definately worth a punt if you have CM7, took me less than 5 mins to install, just moved over all the files i had from the CM7 install and copied over the new ACMEinstaller2 file and boom off it went.

 

[P_Yiddy]

Out of interest you should be able to get iplayer to work in ICS by a) installing flash from the marketplace and b) use the stock ICS browser and select 'Request Desktop Site' from the menu options.

EDIT - Just did another test of this and am getting audio but no video so might not work after all

 

[crutzulee]

Update - streaming video via the NHL app does not work ....

Wifi has been rock solid at work all day today.

 

[DeadVim]

Just to clarify, I believe that hardware acceleration is currently working in terms of the GPU. Hardware acceleration for video is for sure broken for now, however.

This means only some lower res video will work. No HD video on YouTube, and I've also tested streaming video on ESPN and know that it does not work either.

Quite right, thanks for the clarification.

I think I'll give the install a whirl tonight, the reports are good.

Out of interest you should be able to get iplayer to work in ICS by a) installing flash from the marketplace and b) use the stock ICS browser and select 'Request Desktop Site' from the menu options.

EDIT - Just did another test of this and am getting audio but no video so might not work after all

iPlayer will be cool when it works, I use it a lot with a VPN, quality programming by the Beeb as usual.

 

[qfnol31]

Has anyone had lots of problems with apps randomly dying when opening? It happens frequently for me, though honestly it hasn't been to big a deal so far.

 

[qfnol31]

Restarted and now it's working again. I wonder if I had messed something up...

 

[Jman1313]

Well, I did the update to CM9, and I really like ICS...its the first version of Android that actually feels like a polished and pretty OS. A few bugs, but overall a good build.

One thing that I did notice is that battery life is atrocious. I'm on pace for 5 hours total, just web browsing. (Dropped 7% in 23 minutes) I noticed it last night too...I played with it for an hour or two after installing and I was at 53% when I went to bed.

Anyone else having terrible battery life? I'm not concerned...it is a super early alpha build, after all, but I just wanted to see if it was this build or just my Touchpad.

 

[P_Yiddy]

Yeah.....same battery issues here. Much worse than CM7.

Hopefully will be improved in later releases.