Android 4: Ice Cream Sandwich

Today Acer released this new version of Android for my A100 7" tablet. It's a nice release but it has some shortcomings. Previously, my tablet was running 3.2.1 and before that, 3.2.

Update: Thu 4/26: Problems with Flash in the browser have disappeared. Details below.

INSTALLATION

At first the installation failed. It downloaded and started the install, booted to the green Android and turning gears. Then a big "!" appeared and it froze. The tablet could still boot to 3.2.1, but the update did not install. No error message or indication why.

I had rooted and updated the /system/build.prop file, so I guessed that the installer was checksumming that file to see if it had changed. I replaced my custom build.prop file with the original (from a backup). Then the install ran without any problems.

GOOD STUFF

Email has search - a huge benefit. Also, messages used to occasionally get stuck in the outbox. So far this hasn't happened on ICS, but it's too early to tell.

The home screen supports app groups/folders. I liked this on iOS and it's nice to have it on Android. Now I have one home screen instead of 5.

Android settings are reorganized and there's a new setting for "font size", which adjusts the overall system font size. My 7" tablet at 1024x600 has high pixel density and the prior fonts were a bit too small. This setting affected the system and many of the apps, which made a nice improvement in usability.

The browser is faster and has more settings & controls. Browsing most sites is better & faster, but it got worse in a few areas - see below.

Cisco AnyConnect VPN runs without rooting - yay! Since I use my tablet at work, this one was huge for me.

Task killing is quick & simple: click on the system task list and horizontally swipe any app. This is super cool and useful.

Battery life seems to be better. This is the Achilles Heel of the A100 and it's nice to get some help in this department.

No new bloatware. One of the things I like about Acer is they don't pollute Android with useless skins and they keep bloatware to a minimum. This ICS release continues that tradition.

No need to root. I rooted my tabled on 3.2 & 3.2.1 for 4 reasons:

  • To run Cisco AnyConnect VPN

  • For faster video performance (turn on hardware acceleration all the time).

  • To reduce battery consumption when sleeping (deeper sleep mode in /system/build.prop).

  • To use TitaniumBackup - a really great backup utility for Android.

    • ICS covers 3 of the above 4 items, most users won't need to root. I might do it anyway, since I already paid for TitaniumBackup and really like it.

    Minor tweaks: ICS has a different system font typeface, display animations (screen fades, rotations, etc.) are always on.

    BAD STUFF

    Browser:

  • Quick Controls: this is a Google Labs setting that saves screen space by replacing tabs with a pop-up menu. In 3.2 it worked consistently, in 4.X it works only intermittently. The tabs keep coming back even though I have them turned off.

  • Volume control: this is a real nitpick. Previously, the volume would go to zero, then the next click down would turn off vibrate. It was symmetric: the first click up would turn on vibrate but volume is still zero. In ICS, the last click downward does both - it goes to zero AND also turns off vibrate. Then the first click up turns on vibrate but leaves volume at zero. This is slightly annoying.

  • Flash: performance and reliability are terrible compared to 3.2. I have version 11.1.115.7, which says it is the latest for ICS. It's virtually unusable: hangs the entire browser, fails to display content, etc.

    • When Flash acts up, I see a new symptom I've never seen before. Normally the HDMI out is a full screen mirror - what you see on the tablet screen is exactly what you see on the big screen. But when Flash acts up, one screen might freeze while the other is still playing video. Is this specific to Flash, or is it a bug in the ICS video driver for the A100? I don't know.

    I tried Chrome & Dolphin to see if Flash would work better. Chrome didn't support Flash, so I uninstalled it. Dolphin did and it worked OK. Then I went back to the Android browser and it also worked OK. Last night I watched a full episode on ABC.com in Flash using the Android browser and HDMI for video & sound to the big screen. The whole thing ran fine with none of the errors I encountered the previous day.

    I wonder why it was so buggy the first 24 hours. The same thing happened when I upgraded from 3.2 to 3.2.1. Could it be the upgrade wipes the browser's cache space and it is buggy until it reallocates it? Whatever it is, it works reliably now.

    SUMMARY

    For most of what I do, ICS is a nice upgrade. However, the poor Flash reliability and HDMI output bug is a killer because I use my tablet and HDMI output to watch TV shows. Hopefully, Acer will fix the driver and Adobe will fix Flash.