Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

A question for all the Android experts here -- can you give me an idea what devices are available that support Android 4.4 (Kitkat), and (if possible) feature an IR port?

I've just discovered that 4.4 now has native support for IR emitters, and I'd like to try porting my remote control software over to it. I'm trying to get up to speed on the current Android world (it's been at least a year since I took a good look at it), but I was hoping someone out there could give me an idea where to begin looking for a machine to start hacking on. :)

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Off the top of my head the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and HTC One both sport an IR blaster.

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Nexus 5/7/10 (no IR tho, at least for the 5 & 7)

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Hmm. Ok, so I guess I'm probably looking at either the high-end Samsung or HTC offerings, or (going without an actual IR port) the much less expensive Nexus.

So, I've been looking at the various reviews of the One and the Galaxy, trying to tell if there's a significant difference between them. But man, there's a lot of opinions flying around. :) I'm guessing that either of the high-end machines would be a fine development device, right? Would there be any significant difference between the two of them? Thanks!

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Either of them will do the job, but I would probably go with the HTC One simply because of the build quality. Its solid metal rather then the plastic of samsungs :p

Also, even better for development, both the S4 and the One have google play editions available without the horrid touchwiz or not too bad sense 5. You also get the software updates before the standard edition phones.

HTC one play edition:
https://play.google.com/store/device...ils?id=htc_one
S4 play edition:
https://play.google.com/store/device...sung_galaxy_s4

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Thanks! I looked at the links, but noticed that both of the Google Play devices are listed as running Android 4.2. Do you know if they can be upgraded to 4.4? (That seems to be the first version of Android that has direct support for IR.)

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

I think all GPe devices are on KitKat already.

I would get a regular SGS4 or H1 over their GPe counterparts simply because of price and availability. You can flash them if the same software that's on the GPe devices.

The SGS5 and H2/M8 also have what you need but cost more. Just wondering if you could get a IR Blaster that connects straight to microUSB then develop on that? Or maybe an IR Blaster, connected to USB-OTG, then to the phone... maybe that could work?

But if those are not available options get the SGS4 it's better than the H1 and even the SGS5 (too big). Its also much cheaper than the M8 and the SGS5, and available now. Also there's much more people using the S4 than the H1, M8, and S5 combined. It'll take at least 6 months until that fact changes.

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Cool, that's kind of what I was hoping. (I'm really just looking for the least expensive way to get a test device...)

That would kind of defeat the purpose. :) The big deal for me is that, with 4.4, I can (in theory) now get Pierogi onto Android devices by just tweaking the UI a bit -- at least, that's the sales pitch for "Qt for Android". I don't think I'm really in a position to partner with a hardware manufacturer (or even try to sell dongles myself); while that would be interesting to consider, it seems like an awful lot of work to pull off. But if it's just software, I can do that. :)

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

Forgot to say about flashing, although a GPe would probably get the update a bit before a normal device. :p
I would still go with a H1 because of samsungs build quality. Having felt both, I still stand by the opinion that the samsung feels cheap in the hand.

Re: Devices supporting Android Kitkat?
 

With the IR Blaster you misunderstood. I meant you could get a dongle that's already out there for sale, Eg China. Even if it's not plug 'n play (microUSB) there's bound to be one that is USB, and so you could connect to it via a USB-OTG cable.

Bear in mind I don't know exactly the purpose of your ddevelopment.

Surely the H1 M8 feels much better than the H1. So get that instead. But you should know Samsung's build quality is top notch, whereas HTC still has issues. For instance, the HTC One suffered a problem with Wifi issues... affected quite a lot of users. When pressed the top right corner it would squeak and the Wifi worked again.

Build materials =/= Build quality.

I see some of the more advanced users getting a Galaxy S/NOTE over a HTC or iPhone and modding both the software and hardware (replaceable housings, mettalic vinyls, etc etc).