Firmware and OS

[SolAndroid]

Hi there,

Could someone tell me the difference between firmware and OS for Android. I've recently got confuessed becuase i thought it was the same?

I was looking to change my supplier of Android Tablets and I was going to purchase

a Android 2.1 (which is what i want) but the firmware is 1.6.

What is the lowest firmware I should buy?

Also, i'm a bit out of date with the chipset, is there a particular chipset I should stay away from?

 

[Bilgediver]

I personally look for android 2.2 but the absolute lowest id go is android 2.1.

Firmware for these tablets IS the operating system.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Android Tablet Forum App

 

[OffWorld]

Firmware = Rom = OS = Embedded Operating System = Embedded Firmware (all describe the same thing)

Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" is the current version, needs high-end hardware.

Android 2.2 "Froyo" is also very new, needs somewhat higher-end hardware (especially for Flash). Very few of these cheap tablets ship with 2.2, most can't even be upgraded to it yet, if at all.

Android 2.1 "Eclair" is quite common on the low-end tablets. I wouldn't buy a tablet with anything lower than 2.1, and preferably one with an upgrade path to 2.2.

Most of these cheap tablets have little if any support, and if the manufacturer doesn't supply firmware updates you're usually stuck with whatever version shipped on them. YOU CANNOT UPGRADE ANDROID LIKE A DESKTOP COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM!

Avoid the older Rockchip CPUs, they can only run old versions of Android.

 

[gurgle]

Firmware = Rom = OS = Embedded Operating System = Embedded Firmware (all describe the same thing)

Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" is the current version, needs high-end hardware.

.

Gingerbread is current??!?!? Sorry OffWorld, where have you seen it applied and delivered. Only things I am seeing are still in dev. IMHO-Froyo is current. (For about another week or two).

But you are spot on on everything else. I could not emphasize it more myself.
AND.....
The other thing to answer which is usually asked There are three types of Memory Chips on your Tablet
OS RAM- This is the 256 Mb which is loaded from the ROM
ROM- ROM which is where the Firmware is loaded from. This is where the Apps may be stored as well. but is still separate from the....
STORAGE Memory-This is the 2-16Gb on the Motherboard and also what every you can put in the Memory slot. This is to store your Books,Music, Vids and Apps if you have loaded the Apps2SD.apk
More people have complaints about ROM storage limits when they get low storage memory

But you knew this already OffWorld

 

[OffWorld]

Gingerbread is technically the current released version, since the SDK and Open Android source code are publicly available. But, no, I have yet to see it applied and delivered. In that respect Froyo would be the most currently implemented version.