How to choice her : Heavily tweaked UI of andriod tablet

Author:

springisnotlate
One of the most celebrated aspects of the Android OS is that its source code is open for developers to tweak to their whim. For big guns like Motorola or Samsung, this allows for unique customizations and differentiating user interface tweaks.

The downside is that the more a manufacturer customizes the Android OS, the more work they make for themselves when the next version of Android inevitably pops up and becomes the new standard.

When I look at the highly customized Android tablet interface used on the Maylong M-150 (shown here) two things strike me. First, they made a mess of the interface: placing a Home button in the corner that deserves to be a tactile button, placing volume buttons in the top bar in spite of the redundant volume rocker switch on the side, and generally turning all the tasteful Android OS icons into something ugly.

Now with the new release of iPad2, the tablets market become more and more exciting, HTC along with every other android tablet manufacturer seems to be looking at a spring release timeframe, and with the new HTC Flyer, the tablet featured in the above was announced earlier today to be exclusive to sprint as the 4G service provider. The WiFi only version on the other hand will be exclusive to Bestbuy, and unlike Xoom, let\'s hope it will not require a month service with Sprint to purchase.

There\'s a chart comparing detailed Specs of new Samsung galaxy tabs to iPad2
The second thing I notice is that all of this customization, along with the product\'s budget price and the off-brand manufacturer, means that any hope for a user receiving an over-the-air update to the OS is gone. Why would Maylong go to the trouble?

Remember, people don\'t just buy Android tablet devices (or iOS ones) for their features--they buy them for their potential. The Maylong M-150 and others like it, are essentially dead-ends.

Arguably, with a little ingenuity, you could root the device and force an update onto it, but you never really know what kind of tricks a manufacturer had to go to originally to get Android running on the hardware to begin with. With hardware this cheap, there\'s a good chance the manufacturer cut some corners that may become all too clear when you attempt to upgrade on your own.