Good news about Android phone supports digital audio output

Dear all, we just receive an email from our user, he confirm that Galaxy S2 can output digital audio output. I think it is a very good news for audiophile who own an Android phone ( maybe it should support OTG/USB host function),
 
We will design a new Mini USB to Macro USB cable with L type connector so it can be easy installed in Galaxy S2 and our E7/E17.  Also I think it will be a good place to ask if someone can help us to test it when we have the sample
 
cable. we will send free cable to you , of course, you must have one Android phone which seems to be support OTB/USB host function, an E7 or E17, and have the knowledge to install some special firmware to your Android phone.
 
below is the content of the mail. 
 
"Hi guys. I have confirmed that I can stream digital audio from a Samsung Galaxy S2(and other smart phones) to my FIIO E7 by using the a Cyanogenmod nightly released version of Gingerbread!

The only problem is that there isn't a very convenient cabling solution. No one makes a mini usb male to a micro usb male cable.

I can do it by using this cable.
http://www.gohastings.com/product/ELECTRONICS/Flexicord-Cable-USB-A-Male-to-Micro-USB-5-Pin-1-ft./sku/286424943.uts?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shoppingsite&utm_campaign=electronics&CAWELAID=1187237537,

In combination with this adapter.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&q=mini+to+typ+a+female&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1024&bih=638&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=18308430724946069383&sa=X&ei=p8N_T6bUJbTKiQKnjq3uAg&ved=0CH4Q8wIwAA

But the end result is bulky mess in my pocket. There are hundreds and thousands of people who want to use your products with there android devices, I know because I've read through many forums.

Is it possible for you guys to either make, or have a proper cable made to sell on your website? Something very short and with L shaped connecters?

It seems to me that this product would be very popular and it would further increase the sales of your other devices. You should do yourself s and the rest of non Iphone community a favor by making this product available."

it`s very good news , one of the best news in this 3 months

Would you also consider doing, or make it compatible with the latest batch of Nokia Belle devices too? Starting from the N8, they have always supported USB OTG from the get go. It's one of their selling features, if highly unused.

I can provide some background information about the reason for this.
 
The reason why this would work lies in a combination of two things:
 
1. Galaxy SII i9100 (International variant) has USB Host capability, which relies both on driver and hardware level support.
2. Cyanogenmod 7/9 (which is available on i9100) provide the needed usbaudio.c driver in Kernel, along with other things, to allow generic USB sound cards to be recognized by Android.
 
Sufficiently short USB OTG cable can be found as we speak, at the length of around 6-7cm. 
 
It is important to know that not all Android devices have the USB Host capability, which is what enables a user to connect USB peripherals to their devices if they so wish. Without this ability, your device cannot use any USB DAC, or any USB peripheral.
 
Currently, a few devices support USB Audio right ought of the box. Archos tablet G9 is one such examples.
 
There is a link here http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24614 to the page for the petitioning of adding USB Audio driver support to all Android devices. Please join the petition!
 
 

@panzerfan, do you think other custom rom based on cyanogenmod will support too? because i think CM is created mainly for developer only 

Quote:

panzerfan said:

I can provide some background information about the reason for this.
 
The reason why this would work lies in a combination of two things:
 
1. Galaxy SII i9100 (International variant) has USB Host capability, which relies both on driver and hardware level support.
2. Cyanogenmod 7/9 (which is available on i9100) provide the needed usbaudio.c driver in Kernel, along with other things, to allow generic USB sound cards to be recognized by Android.
 
Sufficiently short USB OTG cable can be found as we speak, at the length of around 6-7cm. 
 
It is important to know that not all Android devices have the USB Host capability, which is what enables a user to connect USB peripherals to their devices if they so wish. Without this ability, your device cannot use any USB DAC, or any USB peripheral.
 
Currently, a few devices support USB Audio right ought of the box. Archos tablet G9 is one such examples.
 
There is a link here http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24614 to the page for the petitioning of adding USB Audio driver support to all Android devices. Please join the petition!
 
 

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for this very useful information. I believe that there will more and more android phone support USB host/OTG function.
 

Quote:

a_tumiwa said:

@panzerfan, do you think other custom rom based on cyanogenmod will support too? because i think CM is created mainly for developer only 

Click to expand...

 
Custom roms should work, so long as the kernel used are based off of Cyanogenmod kernels. It is a bit of a shame that we don't have universal support on a kernel level, even in ICS for this. I know of only Archos as a vendor with out-of-the box device support for such a thing.
 
I really hope that the gate to hi-fi on Android can be let open for all Android devices... many generic USB Audio devices, from USB speakers, car audio to DAC, will become easily assessable for all Android users, making the selection of audio sources much, much more diverse.

This is great news! I really hope this takes off. I don't have a SGS2 though, only an HTC Desire HD. Maybe someone with the same phone can test to see if it works? 

Nice! That's really good news. It will be nice if someone can send a Fiio DAC to the developer of the USB Host (OTG) for the Galaxy S and Nexus S, so he can work on the support in the driver. I still hope for out-of-the-box support in the new android phones like the upcoming Galaxy S3 but for now the above is pretty good news. Also, I can test on several android phones the new cable when it's ready.

Quote:

kova4a said:

Nice! That's really good news. It will be nice if someone can send a Fiio DAC to the developer of the USB Host (OTG) for the Galaxy S and Nexus S, so he can work on the support in the driver. I still hope for out-of-the-box support in the new android phones like the upcoming Galaxy S3 but for now the above is pretty good news. Also, I can test on several android phones the new cable when it's ready.

Click to expand...

We did send our E7 to one developer, but I don't think the original firmware will includes, but I think it will not be a problem in the future because iPhone can support digital music output but it is too expensive to develop it not to talk about the MFi licence which we had applied from 2008 but still in processing.
 
I don't think we can get the licence. Anyway, I think and believe Android will be an good option. 

I don't have a Galaxy SII but I do have a Nokia N8 if you would like to test the cable on other USB2go devices.

If you'd like to know if this works for android tablets, I could try my HP Touchpad with CyanogenMod9

Kojaku

This sounds great Ive been wanting to try and get my e7 to work with my S2. just have to add this mod to my phone, don't think it would be too hard since my phone is already rooted.

Guys, one of the requirements for this is USB OTG, this does not mean all USB OTG devices will work with it...
If you are interested in trying out if it works, simply get a USB OTG adapter (can be gotten via dealextreme at 2 for $2) and I believe most people will have a usb to micro usb cable lying around...
I expect spending an extra dollar is better than expecting to get a free product just to see if your device has this functionality (which it probably does not)
 
Some have reported it working with a Nook Color and some other devices, but that's about it as far as I know...
For a list for supposedly working devices, look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23461551&postcount=29
 
This functionality is based in the kernel.
Until Google adds this functionality into stock firmwares, it rests in the hands of kernel developers.
 
It is a relatively low priority issue, so don't expect to see it soon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Mini-B-5-Pin-male-to-Micro-5pin-male-Adapter-cable-/270803395745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0d23e4a1
MIcro USB-TO Mini USB cable. I bought it from this seller in ebay. You can trust him.