There hasn’t been much to report until now. Users have stopped posting their reviews. Their main occupation is screaming for root access. The new Google restriction on how SD card storage works is something they all want to get around with a patch [Google Translate].
1) The big news. MIUI is released for it [Google Translate].
Next-day update: STOP! This isn’t for the 3GS. It’s for the Rockchip 3188-based Retina-class Mini 3!
Sorry for the confusion! I will have an updated post [see this post] showing a tour of it and AnTuTu on the Mini 3 later today.
Oddly, only PadHz is reporting that. I can’t even find a post announcing it at the 5Fans forum. The last I read, it was still in beta testing and not to be a wide release to the general public. Anyway, for those outside of China, here is the direct link to the Baidu download [Google Translate; which tends to fail and displays the Baidu TOS in Chinese]. It’s a 495.29MB download. Next-day update: STOP! This isn’t for the 3GS. It’s for the Rockchip 3188-based Retina-class Mini 3!
It’s no coincidence this is done on the day Xiaomi announced their MiPad.
2) Five pushed out update 1.0.8 which wasn’t completed [Google Translate]. Note that poster Fifth Miracle is a staff member of Five. Five issued the emergency update 1.0.9, which included these fixes [Google Translate]:
1 iQiyi video player does not play the video with sound video synchronization.
2 Sleep holster not properly wake up the screen problem.
3 left channel headphone opposite problem.
4 parts of the machine occasionally gravity sensor failure problem.
5 Increase OTA automatically push updates alerts, less than 50% of electricity to connect the charger to upgrade.
Better translation:
1 Chinese video player iQiyi now has sound and video synchronization.
2 The smart cover now wakes up the screen.
3 Left channel now works properly in earphone jack.
4 The Gravity Sensor now works with all apps.
5 Alerts will be pushed for Over The Air updates with a warning that AC power should be used for installation if less than 50% of battery remains.
That’s a perfect example of why I won’t buy early. I don’t want something fast. I want something that Just Works.
And by the way, an Update will fail if the microSD card is not in its slot (with, I suppose, X-amount of free storage space). Such a failure looks like this in Chinese:
Update 1.0.9 doesn’t fix everything but it seems to make a difference that can be noticed in terms of fluidity [Google Translate]. It seems to me that Five still has a lot of work to do to make the 3GS more than just a “Wow! It’s so fast!” experience. It still seems to be a large paid-for beta test.
3) Root access is claimed to have been achieved and the evidence looks convincing [Google Translate].
Modified Desktop (possibly Nova Launcher):
Superuser access:
Boost in AnTuTu score:
Unfortunately, this modified ROM has not been made generally available. Yet. It’s based on update 1.0.7 which probably explains why it’s not out. I think the rooting community might want Five to fix more bugs before releasing something to the public. Plus, this root was done in Taiwan, so I’m not sure if there’s any rivalry between them and the Mainland.
As for the iFive Mini 3GS itself, it still seems to be a good machine but I’m not sure I can recommend people buy it. It still seems to be a large beta test and the SD card storage restriction is something that I think will drive most Android users mad very quickly. If a modified ROM with root access is made generally available, then it’d be a safer buy.
In the meantime, we can look forward to Edward Weinert getting his hands on it sometime next week [Google Translate].
Previously here:
iFive Mini 3GS Gets A Review
Five Technology Teases A White iFive Mini 3GS
Video: iFive Mini 3GS User Demo
iFive Mini 3GS: More User Reports
iFive Mini 3GS: First User Report
iFive Mini 3GS In Hands Of Users
iFive Mini 3GS To Use MIUI
iFive Mini 3GS Promo Video
iFive Mini 3GS: Sales Date, Photos
iFive Mini 3GS On Sale At Tmall
3G-Enabled Retina-Class iFive Mini 3GS
Retina-Class iFive Mini 3 With Octa-Core MediaTek 6592
MediaTek iFive Mini 3?
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