Gingerbread on the Droid X, whats new

[gafly]

I also heard that the power button works. I'm not using .588 so I cannot confirm.

...just tried it. Power button does not work. Only the volume keys.

 

[Ignat64]

One pleasant surprise I've noticed is that the stock music player no longer plays album tracks in alphabetical order. The songs on your albums are now played in the proper order.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

Recovery changed in GB... instead of the search key you have to hold down both volume buttons at the same time.

It took me a minute or two to figure that one out too. I just started trying different combinations.

 

[DustL82]

So I bit the bullet and wiped my phone to fix the sync icon issue. However, now I am finding that some apps are not installing because they claim to not be compatible. Anyone else seeing this issue with certain apps? First one I have seen the issue with is Men's Health Workouts. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.menhealth.workouts&feature=search_result

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

This happened to me on the first leak - the button changed I think it's now the volume down button instead of search. I think the power button is "select" now too on the recovery menu instead of the camera button (likely to accommodate the Droid X 2 which has no camera button)

Overall, I think they've drastically improved Blur.

You are correct. It is actually both the up and down volume button. Or at least that is what I had to do in order to get into recovery.

 

[g1toevo678]

A few things I noticed.

1. The "dots" to jump between screens is now gone. Is the only way to go from one screen to another by scrolling through all the screens?

2. The physical buttons don't seem to light up at various times...didn't play around with it enough to exactly under what conditions but did notice this.

3. This one is hard to explain in words. As an example, go to "settings" then say "about phone". Scroll all the way down til the screen can't scroll any further. Once there, continue to scroll on the screen. You will see a shading coming down from the top of the screen. This happens not only on the settings-about phone screen but used that as a simple example. Can someone who understood what I am saying try it and see if they get this as well?

I sbf'd back after playing with it for a bit last night but curious if others who've installed the ota leak are seeing similar issues.

I did run quadrant. For what it's worth, before update I was getting around 1450. On gb, I got around 1650 first time, around 1850 second time. The phone does seem much snappier when opening dialer, app tray, etc.

Overall, the UI doesn't seem as "stylized" (eg. picture plus widget is more a basic rectangle)

 

[slycen]

I know the scrolling effect you are referring to. I is present in the earlier leaked GB I am using. It basically is just there to show you that you have reached the end of the list and that the phone isn't just stuck on the last image. I think its kinda a nice effect. Odd that its only in settings for you. I see it in my browser and almost all lists.

 

[Funkybluemonkey3]

Its this official?

So is this an official version even tho I installed manually without root? Also, has anyone noticed any difference with Swype? I'm not sure what number the last version was.

 

[ottscay]

I removed all root-requiring apps and unrooted, installed without wiping the phone, and everything was fine except the damned syncing icon that has been noted. I also seemed to have poorer battery life, although otherwise everything was snappy and awesome.

After a factory reset tonight (and a couple hours adding on 144 apps and generally getting things back to how they belong) I can say that I love this update. I didn't use the leaked version, so I can't compare, but Gingerbread is FAST. I also really like the new blur. Honestly, I would have stuck with it except that I can't live without the widgets that LPP provides (I could probably make do with another calendar widget, but I love the single column scrolling people widget, and none of the market ones work with the stock launcher).

Happily LPP also screams for me on gingerbread. I was honestly envious of the snappy performance on my wife's Incredible, but no more - The Droid X with Gingerbread (even with a custom launcher) easily matches and even surpasses the response of the HTC phones. Well done Motorola.

There seems to be a new version of Swipe on there, as there is no longer a button to insert smilies - now you have to press the menu button to do so. I have to say I find this obnoxious since they left the damned microphone button (I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally hit that stupid thing when trying to hit the period button). I really can't understand why anyone wants the mic button inside swipe - if you use voice commands you can get yourself into a text message that way, how freakin' often do you guys start typing a SMS and then switch to voice dictation??? Anyways, the new swype seems nice otherwise except for the egregiously placed mic button.

One thing that I'm not a fan of is how the new theme with light colored menus impacts Gmail. Elsewhere the scheme looks nice enough, but in Gmail both "read" and "unread" messages are very light to the point that I find it difficult to tell one from another, and there don't appear to be any settings in the Gmail app that will let me alter the coloration. This is a real usability issue and should be fixed.

Otherwise, the new functionality of the notification bar is fantastic (as is the appearance), I love the new blue theme in the stock SMS app and I like the new look of the dialer. Battery life seems much better since I did the wipe, although it'll take a couple days to really know.

This seems like a really stable release, and it's easily the fastest my phone has been. Honestly, this is the happiest I've been with my phone since I bought it on launch day. And I've generally not had too many complaints, but it's just a fantastic device now.

 

[DustL82]

A few things I noticed.
I sbf'd back after playing with it for a bit last night but curious if others who've installed the ota leak are seeing similar issues.

Do you have to SBF back to get any future OTA updates? Where were you able to get the required files? Thanks for the help.

 

[ottscay]

Do you have to SBF back to get any future OTA updates? Where were you able to get the required files? Thanks for the help.

We don't know yet. If the initial rollout of this OTA goes well it may be the final one that is pushed to everyone, in which case you won't have to do anything. If they find problems then there might be a newer version, in which case it's possible you'd have to sbf back to get it (or maybe not...they can't leave the test group high and dry).

 

[HES]

Is the original poster asking what's new on the droid x after installing the leaked gingerbread rom?

Or is he asking what is newer on the 2nd gingerbread rom leak that was reported on androidcentral yesterday versus the original leak from about a month ago?

Actually the former. I had not played with the leaked rom and havent been able to keep up on the board as much as I have wanted to. I did try the search function but I did not find a satisfying answer.

 

[anon(19758)]

There seems to be a new version of Swipe on there, as there is no longer a button to insert smilies - now you have to press the menu button to do so.

BOO! I liked having that button.

I have to say I find this obnoxious since they left the damned microphone button (I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally hit that stupid thing when trying to hit the period button).

If you swipe (or swype?) from the period to the space bar, it types a period and a space. This works for several different punctuation marks (, ! ? and " off the top of my head) and I think you can go space to hyphen to space and get " - " (without quotes) but I may have just made that a word. Fun facts!

I really can't understand why anyone wants the mic button inside swipe - if you use voice commands you can get yourself into a text message that way, how freakin' often do you guys start typing a SMS and then switch to voice dictation???

If I'm in the car or at my desk, I usually start a message with handcent, and then use voice dictation for the contact name and the message body. In the car, it's better than having to type. In the office... I'm just lazy =P

 

[mkkh10]

Is this a Verizon update? I haven't gotten it?

 

[rednival]

Is this a Verizon update? I haven't gotten it?

Yes and no. An over the air update got out to some people. Whether this was intentional or accidental is unknown. Instructions have been posted online as to how you can download and apply this update manually. The nice thing is it doesn't require root access because you are basically applying an over the air update manually, so it is a quasi-official release.

 

[French]

I removed all root-requiring apps and unrooted, installed without wiping the phone, and everything was fine except the damned syncing icon that has been noted. I also seemed to have poorer battery life, although otherwise everything was snappy and awesome.

After a factory reset tonight (and a couple hours adding on 144 apps and generally getting things back to how they belong) I can say that I love this update. I didn't use the leaked version, so I can't compare, but Gingerbread is FAST. I also really like the new blur. Honestly, I would have stuck with it except that I can't live without the widgets that LPP provides (I could probably make do with another calendar widget, but I love the single column scrolling people widget, and none of the market ones work with the stock launcher).

Happily LPP also screams for me on gingerbread. I was honestly envious of the snappy performance on my wife's Incredible, but no more - The Droid X with Gingerbread (even with a custom launcher) easily matches and even surpasses the response of the HTC phones. Well done Motorola.

There seems to be a new version of Swipe on there, as there is no longer a button to insert smilies - now you have to press the menu button to do so. I have to say I find this obnoxious since they left the damned microphone button (I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally hit that stupid thing when trying to hit the period button). I really can't understand why anyone wants the mic button inside swipe - if you use voice commands you can get yourself into a text message that way, how freakin' often do you guys start typing a SMS and then switch to voice dictation??? Anyways, the new swype seems nice otherwise except for the egregiously placed mic button.

One thing that I'm not a fan of is how the new theme with light colored menus impacts Gmail. Elsewhere the scheme looks nice enough, but in Gmail both "read" and "unread" messages are very light to the point that I find it difficult to tell one from another, and there don't appear to be any settings in the Gmail app that will let me alter the coloration. This is a real usability issue and should be fixed.

Otherwise, the new functionality of the notification bar is fantastic (as is the appearance), I love the new blue theme in the stock SMS app and I like the new look of the dialer. Battery life seems much better since I did the wipe, although it'll take a couple days to really know.

This seems like a really stable release, and it's easily the fastest my phone has been. Honestly, this is the happiest I've been with my phone since I bought it on launch day. And I've generally not had too many complaints, but it's just a fantastic device now.

I could have written this post except for the swype stuff since I don't use it and the original battery life comment. Mine seems to have improved but I had to do a wipe like you to get rid of that syncing icon...it lasted 7 hours of SOLID use in an area with a weak signal (downloading apps, setting stuff up, etc.). But it's too early to tell for sure.

As far as calendar widgets go...take a look at Jorte calendar. It's a great app and has a TON of widget options. I love it. And it's free.

While the reception bars are always subjective, I have noticed an increase in bars. Don't know for sure that means an increase in reception, but my phone does appear to be holding a better solid 3G signal while at work which is where my signal is very weak.

I'm a bit concerned about wifi connectivity at home. I had been noticing prior to this update that my wifi signal would seemingly drop, although the phone would appear as if the signal was intact and working as expected. But the issue was clear when opening a web page I could tell immediately it had no data signal (page wouldn't open and would error out). Some have reported using airplane mode to turn off and on to fix it. I've been able to fix it by turning wifi on and off...but bottom line is I shouldn't have to do that. Anyway, it still exists in Gingerbread and in fact I'm a bit concerned it's worse. I had gone into advanced settings and set up wifi to "never turn off" and that fixed it on froyo but Gingerbread wifi dropped on me at least 3 times last night. Yesterday I was setting everything up, etc. and I did do some reboots but there was a LOT going on with the phone, so I rebooted the router last night and actually turned the phone off overnight. I'm hopeful today I'll see better reliability with my wifi at home.

I also have a question...does anyone know why the 3G icon changes colors from blue to white (the wifi actually does this, too).

Overall I'm super impressed with how snappy my phone is now...LOVE it. And to think I had a Fascinate that STILL has no froyo...I called VZW to complain about the lack of updates and they offered me a refurbished Droid X. Never been happier with a phone. So glad I took the refurb.

One last comment (sorry...I'm long winded)...I've noticed blank grey areas on some screens...usually menus and always at the bottom. I think it's a Gingerbread hiccup but wondered if anyone else had seen them. These are solid grey areas, not the "end of menu" pop up shadow that was referenced earlier in this thread.

 

[Tifoso]

new links up for ROOTED .588 realease.


DroidX Gingerbread 2.3.3(4.5.588) Install Patch with Root

 

[aim4squirrels#AC]

I'm a bit concerned about wifi connectivity at home. I had been noticing prior to this update that my wifi signal would seemingly drop, although the phone would appear as if the signal was intact and working as expected. But the issue was clear when opening a web page I could tell immediately it had no data signal (page wouldn't open and would error out). Some have reported using airplane mode to turn off and on to fix it. I've been able to fix it by turning wifi on and off...but bottom line is I shouldn't have to do that. Anyway, it still exists in Gingerbread and in fact I'm a bit concerned it's worse. I had gone into advanced settings and set up wifi to "never turn off" and that fixed it on froyo but Gingerbread wifi dropped on me at least 3 times last night. Yesterday I was setting everything up, etc. and I did do some reboots but there was a LOT going on with the phone, so I rebooted the router last night and actually turned the phone off overnight. I'm hopeful today I'll see better reliability with my wifi at home.

I can tell you this, to shed a bit of light and back up what others have said:

I used to have an old WEP security gateway from AT&T until a storm blew it up last week. I never once lost WIFI connectivity on my unrooted Froyo, unless I moved out of range. Moving back in range, it picked right back up with out a hitch. It seemed to switch to 3G pretty flawlessly as well, but with the obvious freeze that is associated with polling to a new data service provider.

Upgraded to Uverse and got a new gateway with WPA2 security, and it does occasionally drop with the .588 GB leak. Using the on/off WIFI widgit seems to correct the issue. Others have stated that WPA2 and possibly even WPA security protocols may be causing an intermittent loss of connectivity. I have also had a couple of issues with losing WIFI connectivity and the 3G switchover not happening to "pick up the slack". The pages on the browser error out. Turning off WIFI, and pushing the power button to dim the screen and then pushing it again to bring it back on seems to refresh the 3G connection.

 

[jerseyboy357]

Just throwing my two cents in here. Please, please follow the instructions for this update to a T. No shortcuts, sideways, skippy doo dah ways. Exactly as its said. You wont have any issues. I went the proper route and it worked awesome-ly. Good luck.

 

[bendcarpenter3]

Yes and no. An over the air update got out to some people. Whether this was intentional or accidental is unknown. Instructions have been posted online as to how you can download and apply this update manually. The nice thing is it doesn't require root access because you are basically applying an over the air update manually, so it is a quasi-official release.

I've downloaded the update.zip file, and haven't been able to apply it manually... I've gotten to the <!> screen w/ the anroid guy. When I first arrive at this screen it says in yellow letters "E: Can't open /cache/recovery/command" not sure what this means.

I've tried wipe data/factory reset but even after a complete wipe the phone does not allow me to update... HELP!!!!!