[Nickos-V]

Ok. Let's talk about the best build.prop for full Market.

With sdk1 firmware, rk2918 was using cramfs and could not use ChainFire3D (CF3D). So, back then I had put together a SGS2 build.prop.
See here:
http://www.slatedroi...post__p__259469

This build.prop would loop on A10 tablets because 1 line cannot be changed. Roman found out which and posted it somewhere. A10 firmware must check a field in its build.prop before booting into Android OS. But on i7, with sdk1 firmware, that SGS2 build.prop worked perfectly.

Now, for sdk2 we have ext3 file system. So, we can now use ChainFire3D to play games. That means, we could choose a different device to mimic.

Let's consider the pros and cons:
SGS2 build.prop - Mali-400 GPU
PROS
#1. We would get couple more games & apps.
#2. The games would mostly be compatible because would use OpenGL ES standard (ETC compression).
#3. Don't have to use CF3D.
CONS
#1. Only couple more programs would show up and still missing quite a lot
#2. ETC does not look that great on higher end 3D games

SGS1 or Galaxy Tab build.prop - PowerVR GPU
PROS
#1. Would get a very full Market
#2. Games would use texture compression method other than ETC and thus look much better
CONS
#1. Would have to use CF3D to play all or most of the 3D games

So really, seems best to go with SGS1 or other phone/tablet that has PowerVR chip and was very popular and well supported. That will give the most games in Market and use the better compression method for better looking 3D graphics.

I still have not tested out CF3D. I will have to check it out to see how well it works.


One other issue to make note of:
Our firmware is version 2.3.1 but some build.props are for newer versions. So, I may find 2.3.6 for SGS1. Now, this is not an issue if the program requires 2.3.1 or older, which seems to be the case for all (or most) of the apps I have seen in Market. But, for any program that wants 2.3.2 or better, it could cause instability or crashing problem.

Why use 2.3.6 build.prop and not find 2.3.1 version? Because, the newer build.props have better app support. I believe the tablet maker takes the original listings in 2.3.1 and moves them over to 2.3.6 and then updates the listings as time passes on. So, get a more accurate and bigger Market listing by choosing the newer build.props to mimic. Something to consider.

Most apps only require 2.1 or 2.2. Couple say vary by device and impossible to know what they do. Maybe they check for certain version of OS and enable those features? Keep in mind, my SGS2 was for 2.3.5 and i7 firmware was 2.3.1. I never had any problems from what I could tell but you just never know.

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 14 March 2012 - 12:47 AM

[Nickos-V]

bigstan, on 13 March 2012 - 09:31 PM, said:

I was wondering if You have time(I Imagine it is hard for you to test), you could just update the rom whith another build.prop with better market range, cause I am willing to switch to another launcher, like Launcher PRO for example to have full market, i would like to test it very much...

You can always save another build.prop over your existing one without re-flashing the device. You'd have to clear your Market though to reset to new device. I can make a SGS2 build.prop pretty quick but would get a fairly limited Market with it. ie, only somewhat better than rk29 build.prop.

A SGS1/Galaxy Tab/Droid2 one would give the fullest and best Market but I would have to find one first to mimic.

I have 3 launchers on my tablet right now. Rockchip3, ADW & Zeam. On reboot I get to choose which one to use. =)

I can do build.prop but for next 4 or 5 days I will be kinda busy too. Also, have to decide which one to go for. Maybe SGS1? Maybe 2.3.6? Later.


PS, what really concerns me is that rk2918 tablets show 270MB free RAM. I believe 256MB is allocated to on-board graphics card and I wanted to find a way to scale that down to 128MB which I think should be enough for 3D gaming. If kernel recompile, then that would suck. Will look into more in next 4-6 weeks and see what I can find out.

Forum post with screenshot of Zenithink C91 tablet showing 380MB total RAM:
http://www.slatedroi...post__p__327595

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 14 March 2012 - 01:36 AM

[bigstan]

Nickos-V, on 14 March 2012 - 01:06 AM, said:

A SGS1/Galaxy Tab/Droid2 one would give the fullest and best Market but I would have to find one first to mimic.

I can do build.prop but for next 4 or 5 days I will be kinda busy too. Also, have to decide which one to go for. Maybe SGS1? Maybe 2.3.6? Later.

Ok, understood, I think we could go for one of these (SGS1/Galaxy Tab/Droid2) and if possible, try to install rockchip launcher after...

you can take all the time you need to test, I am not in a hurry...and if there is something I can do, just tell me and I will be ready to help...

P.S: Maybe you have noticed that Wopad had already released the ICS upgrade for V7+, I was wondering if there is something we can do with this new firmware in order to improve our tablet, maybe a cyanogen mod? do you think it is possible? i've seen somewere in the web that one developper ported the Clockwork recovery mod to a Rk29 with just 3 fisic buttons as our I7...I will do some research...

keep up the great work!

[Nickos-V]

bigstan, on 14 March 2012 - 11:29 AM, said:

Ok, understood, I think we could go for one of these (SGS1/Galaxy Tab/Droid2) and if possible, try to install rockchip launcher after...

Ok. I should be able to get a SGS2 build.prop made fast too. I will look into making SGS1 or Droid2 build.prop to give us fuller market. This way users can choose to go with SGS2, SGS1/Droid2 or stay with rk29 build.prop. =)

Rockchip launcher has to be checking some field in build.prop just like A10 tablets were doing but cannot say for sure which one yet.

V7+ uses different chip. Vimicro VC882 chip. No good for us. Only good for other VC882 tablets.

You are better off because of your tablet. Lots of the 1st revision rk2918 tablets used Atheros for WiFi. They then switched to Realtek WiFi. ie, original K8GT & original N12 had Atheros. K8GTA, K8GTB, K8GT Deluxe & K8GT Luxury I believe use Realtek. N12R uses Realtek and the ones after that may too.

Just looking @ the newer K8GT Luxury
http://blog.slate4su...id-4-tablet-pc/
I can see that we have same touch screen & audio chip. You have Realtek network card so may have that in common too. Not sure about the power chip though. So, you have better shot @ firmware just working for you. For us, i7 users, we would have to compile a kernel module to insert into the firmware to get WiFi going. Something I may do in next 3 months.

Problem with 3rd party firmware is it tends to lack hardware drivers and so certain parts of the tablet are not working at all. ie, worse off unless you don't use the things that aren't working
http://androtab.info...enmod/rockchip/

Better to find rk2918 firmware from tablet that has 800x480 resolution and everything works except WiFi. Then compile WiFi kernel module to get network going. This is the simplest way and avoids any driver conflict from happening.

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 14 March 2012 - 06:21 PM

[Nickos-V]

Nickos-V, on 14 March 2012 - 01:06 AM, said:

Forum post with screenshot of Zenithink C91 tablet showing 380MB total RAM:
http://www.slatedroi...post__p__327595

I used command:

cat /proc/iomem

And was able to see how the RAM is allocated on the tablet.

6000 0000-720f ffff = System RAM = 289MB
7c00 0000-7fff ffff = gpu_mem = 64MB
1012 0000-1012 3fff = gpu_base = 16KB

So, I believe the on-board graphics is taking only 64MB of system RAM. There are lots of other devices listed and hard for me to tell what everything is.

Little disappointing though to see C91 lose 512-380=132MB and we (and other 512MB tablets?) lose 512-289=223MB. Which is extra 91MB. Will have to get a look @ iomem for C91 to see what is going on there.

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 14 March 2012 - 06:38 PM

[Nickos-V]

Ok. Have made couple of build.props that I was testing out. Will provide 2 of them tomorrow. The Nexus S which should give full market & SGS2 which should give fairly close to full market.

I did basic testing and simple searches with the build.props and this is what I found out:
rk29sdk (default)
gameloft - 389 results
droidhen - 128 results
glu mobile - 221 results

SGS
gameloft - 657 results
droidhen - 130 results
glu mobile - 213 results

Nexus S
gameloft - 657 results
droidhen - 130 results
glu mobile - 223 results

SGS II - Tegra2
gameloft - 635 results
droidhen - 130 results
glu mobile - 222 results

SGS II - Exynos
gameloft - 652 results
droidhen - 130 results
glu mobile - 222 results

Also, these build.props will work with Rockchip launcher though good idea to install 1 or 2 others as backup should anything go wrong. ie, Nemus, Zeam, ADW, etc.

The SGS & Nexus S use the same Samsung chip. Only difference is Google Nexus S should get full market listing. For SGS II, the Exynos chip version seems to have a slight edge over the Tegra2 one. Also, most games for the Exynos chip should run without use of CF3D. Same can't be said for Nexus S, SGS and SGS II(Tegra2) phones.

Searching Market, I could see that some Gameloft games are not in there to start with. Like Avatar & Spider-Man, etc. I have no idea why Gameloft never submitted these and couple of others to Google. Find this to be kinda disappointing.
https://play.google.com/store
http://en.gameloft.c...roid-games/top/

[Nickos-V]

Ok. Here are the 2 build.props I promised.

1. Copy them to /system. ie, use ES Explorer with root access, root enabled & system writable
2. Rename old build.prop to build.prop.orig
3. Rename one of the two new ones to build.prop
4. Go into Applications. Force stop Google Play Store. Clear cache & leave data alone. Force stop Google Services Framework. Clear data.
5. Reboot tablet & enjoy.

The Nexus S build.prop should give full market but will require CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for some of the 3D games.
The SGS2 build.prop gives pretty full market and games should be compatible with our tablet's GPU. Should only need CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for very few games.

Please make sure to backup your apps & data and install another 1 or 2 launchers before changing out your build.prop file. Risk is minimal but better safe than sorry!!!

Edit: Fixed Nexus S build.prop and re-uploaded it. Should now work properly with Market.=)

PLEASE NOTE, attached files are for GB (2.3.x) OS. They are meant for RK2918 tablets. They may work on other ARM chips but may need to change 1 or 2 lines or else will end up with semi-brick tablet.

Attached File(s)

•  build.prop.sgs2.txt (2.63K)
  Number of downloads: 479
•  build.prop.nexus_s.txt (2.64K)
  Number of downloads: 417

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 03 July 2012 - 02:03 PM

[Jules888]

Nickos-V, on 18 March 2012 - 06:42 PM, said:

Ok. Here are the 2 build.props I promised.

1. Copy them to /system. ie, use ES Explorer with root access, root enabled & system writable
2. Rename old build.prop to build.prop.orig
3. Rename one of the two new ones to build.prop
4. Go into Applications. Force stop Google Play Store. Clear cache & leave data alone. Force stop Google Services Framework. Clear data.
5. Reboot tablet & enjoy.

The Nexus S build.prop should give full market but will require CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for some of the 3D games.
The SGS2 build.prop gives pretty full market and games should be compatible with our tablet's GPU. Should only need CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for very few games.

Please make sure to backup your apps & data and install another 1 or 2 launchers before changing out your build.prop file. Risk is minimal but better safe than sorry!!!

Edit: Fixed Nexus S build.prop and re-uploaded it. Should now work properly with Market.=)
Later,

I came to this forum after watching a great YouTube instruction on how to open up market to more apps, he suggested searching for build.props. what I'd like to confirm is if you can change the lines of text in the build.prop to either of the new ones no matter what Pad/tablet you are using, as long as it is running on 2.2 v2.1:#3925?

Sorry if the question seems dumb, but I am quite new to this.

[Nickos-V]

Jules888, on 19 March 2012 - 01:02 AM, said:

Sorry if the question seems dumb, but I am quite new to this.

Hi Jules,

No question is dumb for newcomers. We all have to start somewhere to learn.

Different build.props give better Market results. Only way to tell is by doing searches for software or looking for apps that are missing from your Market.

Usually, the Chinese tablets have so-so Market results. To get the best, we change the build.prop file to mimic/spoof another device, either phone or tablet and usually one made for US market.

The build.props I provide were for devices that use Android 2.3.4 & 2.3.5. These should still work on our tablets, which comes with 2.3.1 firmware. In theory, they could also work for other tablets with older 2.2 firmware but not so well with 2.1. Of course, they may work unmodified but best to go through the build.prop and change it to be similar to build.prop in your device. ie, tchip settings are for Rockchip tablets. Other tablets will have specific fields for theirs.

If you check the apps in Google's Play Store.
https://play.google.com/store
You will see that most of them say for Android 2.1 or 2.2. As long as your tablet has 2.2 firmware, then most of the apps should work.

ie,
REQUIRES ANDROID:
2.1 and up

But some others I cannot be sure how well they will work because they say:
REQUIRES ANDROID:
Varies with device

Might check Android version and enable certain features. May use different version for tablets that have 2.x, 3.x and 4.x. Very unlikely they would have certain version for 2.3.1 & another for 2.3.5 but never know. These apps will require testing to see what happens and if they still properly work.

Quote

as long as it is running on 2.2 v2.1:#3925

Maybe you meant 2.3 v2.1? A 2.3.4 build.prop will work on *any* 2.3.x firmware though best when the firmware & build.prop #s match up because most compatible.

ie, i7 uses 2.3.1 firmware;
for best software compatibility: any 2.3.1 build.prop from a popular phone/tablet will do
for fullest and most accurate Market: the latest 2.3.x build.prop from a popular phone/table will do

Apps are downloaded according to the firmware version listed in your build.prop and the phone/tablet ID.

PS, sometimes you will see "incompatible device" in Play Store. Using better build.prop gets around this issue and lets you download the app which could work on your tablet.

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 19 March 2012 - 11:08 AM

[bigstan]

Nickos-V, on 18 March 2012 - 06:42 PM, said:

Ok. Here are the 2 build.props I promised.

The Nexus S build.prop should give full market but will require CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for some of the 3D games.
The SGS2 build.prop gives pretty full market and games should be compatible with our tablet's GPU. Should only need CF3D w/PowerVR plugin for very few games.

Hey Nickos,

sorry for the long absence, I've been busy getting married

Great work with the build.props ... I tested both and they are working good with rock launcher ...

Thank's to You man now I really have full market, its strange how this device have "power unexplored"

You have been doing an excellent job sir, and if there is some way i can help you, just let me know...

I was wondering if we could work togheter to try to port a Cyanogen Mod or even a custom ICS rom, I could make a donation to start. I think we could atract other modders by putting the prize in a 'contest' ... kinda like 'who builds the first working rom gets the prize...

Maybe i am just trippin, but I am still convinced that a device like this should be able to run ICS or I am wrong?


Kudos

[Nickos-V]

Quote

sorry for the long absence, I've been busy getting married

No worries. I thought you were too busy playing all the games off Market to write a post.

Congrats on getting married. Make sure to spend more time with the wife and less with your tablet gaming!!!

Yes, both build.props should work. I use the Nexus S one myself and works great from what I can tell.

Lots of tablets out there have limited market. Market compatibility is based on device and not ARM chip. Someone (tablet maker?) must add apps as compatible for these tablets but too lazy to do it for every app out there.

ICS should run on this tablet but GB 2.3 is going to run better on single core tablet. ICS is going to have more eye candy and complex code meaning it will take more resources, CPU + RAM to work. Also, these tablets only have 270MB RAM available because the rest is taken by devices in the tablet. On top of that, most of the apps out there were made for 2.1/2.2 to work on phones. So, sticking with 2.3 means we get the best app compatibility too.

I am going to stick with 2.3 for now. I am very happy running 2.3 sdk2.1. I was thinking of fixing the camera but I do not use it. Very little motivation to fix it. I just want to enjoy using the tablet.

For ICS, I will buy another tablet in 2013. It will have:
#1 dual core CPU
#2 hopefully with dual (or quad) core GPU
#3 7" 1024x600 (16:9) or 8" 1024x768 (4:3); much better for reading text on these tablets
#4 8 or 16 GB storage
#5 1 GB RAM

Also, probably with IPS screen & HDMI too.

Right now thinking of Google Nexus tablet or maybe one with Rockchip RK30xx but others may come out too.

As for Cyanogen Mod:
I am pretty sure that official firmwares will work better. To do an open-source version of OS is harder.
#1 Have to get boot loader & kernel sources from Rockchip
#2 Then, some of the drivers are missing. So, you have certain things not working. GPU driver is usually closed sourced and impossible to get.

Without boot loader & kernel source plus driver source, either from Linux or company, no way to make a fully working and super version of the OS. On top of that, I see tablet makers that have the source and they still have hard time coming out with good firmware release. If it was easy, it wouldn't take them so long???

I likely won't be doing anything more for this tablet. It now runs and looks great with 2.3 sdk2.1!!! I will use it and then switch to something better in 8-18 months time.

Later,

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 01 April 2012 - 06:39 PM

[bigstan]

Nickos-V, on 01 April 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

No worries. I thought you were too busy playing all the games off Market to write a post.

Congrats on getting married. Make sure to spend more time with the wife and less with your tablet gaming!!!,

Hi,

I'm a gamer, but I also study and work, so I dont spend that much time playing at all...

thanks for the advices and for all the support...

I will be around here...

[ORiN]

I am thinking that ICS may be quite an overkill for Wopad i7 since the CPU is single core and we only got 512MB of RAM. How about an upgrade to a latter version of Gingerbread 2.3 instead?

[Nickos-V]

ORiN, on 10 April 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

I am thinking that ICS may be quite an overkill for Wopad i7 since the CPU is single core and we only got 512MB of RAM. How about an upgrade to a latter version of Gingerbread 2.3 instead?

Do you mean upgrade to 2.3.7?

Right now I just took Cube firmware, removed Chinese apps, added in some other apps, tweaked build.prop, expanded app storage space, etc., Just some minor changes to improve the look, feel and performance of firmware.

Tablet makers seem to have moved on from RK2918 tablets and support seems to have stopped, ie, no new firmwares, for these "older" tablets. I have not seen any new releases.

As for 2.3.7 release for RK2918. Could be possible with access to Rockchip kernel and uboot source. Though would not get access to Mali 400 driver since closed source.

[bigstan]

Nickos-V, on 10 April 2012 - 11:55 PM, said:

Do you mean upgrade to 2.3.7?

Right now I just took Cube firmware, removed Chinese apps, added in some other apps, tweaked build.prop, expanded app storage space, etc., Just some minor changes to improve the look, feel and performance of firmware.

wich version of Cube firmware you are using?


Could you tell me if the game temple run, works on your tablet? no luck here... since I have the I7 clone I have seen this (installs but force close) in few games like (GTAIII and FIFA 2012) although Pro Evolution 2012 runs smoth...

[Nickos-V]

bigstan, on 18 April 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

wich version of Cube firmware you are using?


Could you tell me if the game temple run, works on your tablet? no luck here... since I have the I7 clone I have seen this (installs but force close) in few games like (GTAIII and FIFA 2012) although Pro Evolution 2012 runs smoth...

Very sure it is 1.06. The latest out there. I tried going to Cube's site but either down or gone. Will try again in a day or two.

Couple of games crash for me too. Temple Run is one of them. Either RAM or GPU issue. Too hard to try fixing the issue. I recall this happening on some games with stock firmware too. I tried looking in logcat but saw nothing in there. Did not register the game crash.

Better off to buy another tablet. Especially for better gaming. Right now I am waiting for 8726MX tablets though I may consider RK3066 tablets depending on price and availability. Both of these use Mali400 GPU and should be better supported and integrated since that is ARM's own GPU.
http://www.slatedroi...oming-out-soon/

Vivante's GC800 has been disappointing. It scores low on GLBenchmark.
http://www.glbenchma...lpro21&base=gpu

Also, it is hit and miss with the games with about 75-85% working. The others not.

PS, if this is GPU driver issue then newer firmware may fix. If RAM issue, then newer firmware or V6 Supercharger may help.
http://forum.xda-dev...ad.php?t=991276
But, no one is giving out newer firmware for the "older" tablets. Once new products come out they drop support for the old ones pretty quick.

PPS, A10 is better ARM chip for gaming but best to do major upgrade to 8726MX/RK3066 rather than smaller upgrade to A10.

This post has been edited by Nickos-V: 18 April 2012 - 08:18 PM

[novelo]

I just bought an Yarvik TAB264, it has a RK2918

Do this props work in all tablets with that processor?
Can I try them without any problem?

Thanks a bunch!

[Nickos-V]

novelo, on 22 August 2012 - 05:49 AM, said:

I just bought an Yarvik TAB264, it has a RK2918

Do this props work in all tablets with that processor?
Can I try them without any problem?

Thanks a bunch!

These build.props should work without any problems on *any* RK2918 tablet. Keep in mind they are for Android 2.3. *Only use if your tablet is using Android 2.3 firmware.*

Your firmware must be rooted to replace the build.prop. Also, good idea to know how to flash the tablet in very rare case that it does not boot up.