In my previous post, 'How close?', I did say the android was almost ported. It only missed an onscreen keyboard. Not much later, there were images with a working keyboard. Sean McNeal released them in the normal location.
So the android is fully working?
No, we are past the 'alfa' stage. Everything is supposed to work, because all code has landed. Though it doesn't guaranty everything to work. Sean, Bricode and many more (like the freelancer Panicking) are actively solving the remaining issues. So bear with us, while we are heading for a fully working android on the Neo FreeRunner.
Well how far are we?
Koolu started to release beta's of the Android with a lot of functionality a while ago. They did come mostly with an interval of 2 weeks, but that's not a rule.
- beta 1: 15 January
- beta 2: 20 January
- beta 3: 4 February
Please define 'a lot of functionality' for beta3.
- Messaging: I will have to disappoint you directly by telling you messaging isn't really stable at the moment. Sending messages was a total fail, because each time you enter a new message, the gsm modem will fail. The only remedy to get the gsm modem again to work is removing the message and restart. So sending messages doesn't work. Also receiving messages doesn't work.
- Calling: Calling to the Freerunner works good and receiving a call to the Freerunner is working good (If you know you need the open the onscreen keyboard and push the right button to answer the call). Only one problem, I still have an 'Echo' on both sides of the line.
- Wifi: Wifi is working good for me. I can enable wireless, scan the wireless networks in the area and connect to one (Even if it has WPA2 security). The only downside: my gsm modem doesn't work anymore after connecting to a Wifi network.
- Bluetooth: I can enable bluetooth and making myself visible, but actively pairing 2 devices didn't work for my. I couldn't hit the Ok button after inserting the pass of the other GSM.
- GPS: Working splendid. It starts when necessary. it stops when necessary. And it did get a fix within 3 minutes on my FreeRunner.
So we can call the android beta3 release not yet fully functional ready, but maybe the next release will contain a working messaging system. And from that moment, We could say the Android has the same working features as the other FreeRunner distributions. Huray!
How to get the images?
You can find the images here. A guide for installing the images and making your Freerunner ready for the Android can be found here.
