While I was fascinated about the idea of a new UI for WM, the introduction of PointUI was a bit of a damp squib. The story of PointUI is like the story of the emperors clothes: its far from perfect but nobody wants to speak out against the overwhelming hype.There are a few things about the interface that irritate me. Hope fully the updates will take care of this:
1. You cant close any programs from within the UI,only minimise. You get to see running programs after looking through many menus only to find that you have to exit/minimise the UI to really close the program.
2. No app shortcuts. The first screenshots of the UI gave the impression that you could access shortcuts via pages which could be accessed through a simple left or right sliding motion. The current setup puts it just below a properly configured HTC Home with 6 tabs. Whats the point of seeing two versions of the time and the calendar?
3. Screen locking is ridiculous. In this day and age of slide to unlock programs with dpad unlocking and additional information displayed,it seems the prog prioritised being different rather than being practical, especially with the apparent lack of a clock.
Then again, I could be wrong....
hmm
i think PointUI are just in its early stages, however i do agreen with some of your points. We just need to give the developers some time. they have started off with a great base.
they have a fix for the first problem you listed
check the pointui forums for it
its still in beta..so i'm still awaiting how the final product will be
im sure they'll be making some major improvements and additions to it
Vukile said:
1. You cant close any programs from within the UI,only minimise. You get to see running programs after looking through many menus only to find that you have to exit/minimise the UI to really close the program.
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press title of the running program ... you get to the same screen as going through the running programs.
but with the rest i agree its very inefficent to start a program ... efficent handling has to be priored ... not just eyecandy. so i don't use it anymore...
if you are in a program tap where the start button used to be top left and you will get the option to force close.
I also find it better when changing the setting object navigation to slide navigation for getting to my apps.
however
One must admit that it does have an amazing UI. i feel is much better than the iphone UI
# 3 is also addressed by allowing 3rd party screen lock progs like S2U2. Their latest official build 1.01b enables this. I applaud their efforts. Not because its free. Not just cuz its new. But because it is pretty well thought out and performs more smoothly than any other shell app out there, esp w.r.t. animations and transitions.
I second that. I have good expectations for it.
jomo25 said:
# 3 is also addressed by allowing 3rd party screen lock progs like S2U2. Their latest official build 1.01b enables this. I applaud their efforts. Not because its free. Not just cuz its new. But because it is pretty well thought out and performs more smoothly than any other shell app out there, esp w.r.t. animations and transitions.
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If you like PointUI,then youll love SPB Shell. My main problem with this UI is that I can get better efficiency with HTC Home and a couple MortButtons shortcuts. I can access anything faster with that combination than with PointUI. Its not a revolution,its a fancy skin.
Does anyone else find the scrolling to be annoying? How it's inversed and extremely painful to scroll through large content?
chunga168 said:
Does anyone else find the scrolling to be annoying? How it's inversed and extremely painful to scroll through large content?
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Its supposed to be like that. Like you are grabbing the page and flicking it. Have you tried "flicking" its fun.
In fact, I don't like ftouchflo because it doesn't seem to allow me to flick like I want to.
Things I don't like about PointUI:
1) clocks, calendars all don't need to be on seperate screens. Would be nice to have a home screen that shows time/date/appoints/etc and the be able to flick over to application.
2) Not integrated (same problem I have with the cube). Along with the cube, its useful getting to stuff, but when you actually open the program it usually requires a stylus.
Thins I like about PointUI:
1) Smooth scrolling and animations. Honestly its amazing.
Vukile said:
1. You cant close any programs from within the UI,only minimise. You get to see running programs after looking through many menus only to find that you have to exit/minimise the UI to really close the program.
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Try the new patch on the point UI forum posted by the devolepers 2 test, it has the x buttom insted of the - minimise buttom and it closes the programmes ....
@ Vukile: Don't count me in the camp of people who need to have access to "everything in as few clicks as possible". I'd rather have a simple to understand, clean, uncluttered interface, even if it takes a few extra gestures/taps to do it. Very frequently used stuff should be quick, and less frequent, further away. While I understand how some want to have every function within one screen, I'd prefer otherwise. So, I actually like the promise of this more than SPB Shell...But to each his/her own.
@ Chunga168: I also intuitively prefer the iPhone/PocketCM type scrolling, however, the method they have implemented is actually better for long lists. If you have to "iPhone flick" to the bottom of a long list, it could take a while. Being able to have it scroll while holding is actually faster for some. It's a case of preferences IMO, so I hope (and expect) they will implement both and make it optional.
I dont know...ive been trying everything from spb products to all kind of invented cubes...but i guess i will stay longer with pointui because IMO its so interacitve and fast...but a hiccup here and there is normal...but the developer is going to take all of our [email protected] to improve...
Well I've really enjoyed Pointui. It's good that there are developers taking a good look at the Windows Mobile UI, although to be fair HTC themselves have been working on obvious improvements, and Lg might be worth keeping an eye on.
Pointui.Home is beautifully animated, looks good and feels good to use, the developer team seem pretty dedicated, and it has the potential to be an amazing phone interface.
However that is my niggle, see to me, my Artemis is not a phone with a PDA attached, but a PDA with a phone attached, and for all it's graphical loveliness Pointui.Home actually makes using my PDA more complicated. I enjoyed Spb Mobile Shell, it's NOW screens were great, and it's version of finger friendliness with big chunky thumbable buttons worked well. Funnily enough the reason I stopped using it was because it was bloated and buggy, and I wanted to give HTC Home a good run for it's money.
But to me Aesthetics are important, it's nice to use a good looking interface, and Pointui seems to be top for that, but I'm already tempted to remove it, and even tempted to forgive Spb's faults.
Fantastic and I cant wait for some updates, but I really don't like it forcing the left soft button into its own home button!!
daverage said:
Fantastic and I cant wait for some updates, but I really don't like it forcing the left soft button into its own home button!!
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I agree, it should at least give you the option of choosing what you put on the soft keys. It sits on the top bar anyway, why map it? Only seasoned users of PDAs will appreciate the need for simplicity before aesthetic,much in the same direction that Android is headed. Try this exercise for example : uninstall a program using the PointUI and then try it the old fashioned way. The old way is quicker.
does the calendar on the main screen suppose to highlight the days with appointments,etc.? If not, then the calendar is not very useful, and there should be an option to turn it off. Same thing with the analog clock.
A better app launcher is definitely needed. I have suggested in other posts having an icon based launcher a la iPhone when you press the botton down arrow button on the screen, or at least on the main scrolling screen, give us about 4 user definable icons for apps...or have BOTH.
PointUI has a pretty nice interface but is really not that time efficient.
Has anyone tried to remove this program?... Its a headache! I had to find various reg entries and delete them to fully remove it
daverage said:
Fantastic and I cant wait for some updates, but I really don't like it forcing the left soft button into its own home button!!
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that is something you can easily change
Related
I hated my phone. I think that MS doesn’t know how to make a phone feel like a phone. That's my opinion and you know what they say about opinions... Anyway, thanks to the work of some fantastic programmers, I have gotten my phone to where it feels a little nicer. On to what I did.
I wanted to tackle making the phone prettier to use. I don’t like how the today screen background doesn't act as the background of the phone app. I think that's stupid. For fixing this, I downloaded a few dialer skins from Zombienexus. (http://www.zombienexus.net/portal/GH_ShowArticle.asp?HID=35&CATID=1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12) I'm not sure who this person is, but his dialer replacement is fantastic. I chose the "Springwood_BlackBars" theme. It's a dim picture taken of a rain forest. Looks really nice. Nice and professional. This took care of my today screen and my phone dialer. Now, both have a good (great) background.
Next up. I hate my contacts. I can't mash a letter corresponding to my contact's last name with my finger. My fingers are too fat. I don't like using the stylus for doing this because phones don’t' require stylus.... enter Contact Manager v0.10 (http://www.pocketcm.com). The guy that created this is freaking awesome. It's a contact app that pulls from your list of contacts and puts them into a list that makes them easy to select with a finger. If you drag your finger down, the list will spring down and continue scrolling with this elastic effect. If you drag your finger down one side of the screen or the other, a little tab will pop up following your finger from top to bottom with each letter of the alphabet in it starting with "a" at the top and "Z" at the bottom. Where you stop is where the list scrolls to, nice animation and all.
Now, this contacts manager is kind of plain looking off the bat. But, the creator gives you an ini file to customize. After thoroughly tweaking the ini, I now have my today screen background (the springwood) as the background behind my contacts. Though, in words this may not sound like much, but in practice, the phone is freaking sweet now. the only other thing I did, was use a softkey tweak (http://www.pocketpctweaks.com/pocketpc_tweaks/change_softkey_buttons.html) so that my contacts softkey invokes the new contactmanager app.
I wish I had screen shots of what my phone looks like. Showing it to friends has convinced them that wm5 phones CAN look like ... phones.
I'd love to see somebody "can" all three of these things together. I think a program that allows you to set the background for all three places would be very nice... What's best, all of the pieces I used are free (but, be sure and donate, these guys really out did themselves with this stuff).
Hope this helps somebody else make their phone a little more friendly.
Jason
NOTE: Contacts manager is a little funky when in landscape mode. It works, but display is a bit "off" and "tabs" no longer work. (but, who uses their phone in Landscape mode?)
Link to contact manager shows page not found. can you post fixed? Sounds interesting.
Sorry about that:
Links updated
armedmetallica said:
Link to contact manager shows page not found. can you post fixed? Sounds interesting.
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hey Contact Manager v0.10 is made by one of our members @ xda developers, check out updates in the development and hacking forum.
Did'nt even know that. THat's cool... Great job Tene: ... here's link to that thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=314048&highlight=contactsmanager
A new user interface idea. I have created this new user interface though i have no coding skills i do have the the skills of ideas...hope u guys make it come to alive i will add more images on how it shud work and..the graphics behind it.
Desiflare999 said:
A new user interface idea. I have created this new user interface though i have no coding skills i do have the the skills of ideas...hope u guys make it come to alive i will add more images on how it shud work and..the graphics behind it.
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That looks like it could be accomplished with Wisbar Advance Desktop. At least I think you could get real close.
well..im talkin about a whole new ball game, meaning for example: the arrow on the bottom can be pressed and drawn up by your finger to display things like programs running or etc. its lyk using one of the cube roll type, and while the arrow is being pulled up other menus such as the one on the right will automatically go right and the clock menu will go left to make space for the Arrow screen. The arrow screen will also be lyk a notification screen, lets say a new call came, the arrow screen will automatically go up to display an incoming screen but this time it will be transparent. The left menu will work like this: Lets say the music icon is chosen, the icon will light up and that menu only the box will move left and while its moving to the left the other menus that was with will move to the right, and the clock menu will move to the left, the arrow menu will go down. and it will expand to take over the entire screen to display the music player. The orb will roll to the right. and to exit music all the user gotta do is scroll their finger from left to right the opposite direction it came from.
Desiflare999 said:
well..im talkin about a whole new ball game, meaning for example: the arrow on the bottom can be pressed and drawn up by your finger to display things like programs running or etc. its lyk using one of the cube roll type, and while the arrow is being pulled up other menus such as the one on the left will automatically go left and the clock menu will go right to make space for the Arrow screen. The arrow screen will also be lyk a notification screen, lets say a new call came, the arrow screen will automatically go up to display an incoming screen but this time it will be transparent.
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That would be hot!!
so you've just invented..WisbarAadvancedDesktop NG.
nothin said:
so you've just invented..WisbarAadvancedDesktop NG.
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lolz..i used photoshop
In order to truly make this a reality, you'd have to use native C code. I mean, wisbar, and flash can do it, but at the expense of a lot of system resources. If no one takes it up, maybe I'll put aside some time to code it, especially if you give me more motivation by rolling out some more screenshots of your ideas .
thundershadow14 said:
In order to truly make this a reality, you'd have to use native C code. I mean, wisbar, and flash can do it, but at the expense of a lot of system resources. If no one takes it up, maybe I'll put aside some time to code it, especially if you give me more motivation by rolling out some more screenshots of your ideas .
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yes I will post up more images but sad thing is I don't have much experience in creating flash images but I will post images. Well thundershadow I would be glad to assist u in this project because I seen wat u can do lolz I seen ur pocketmelody and extremely impressed keep up the good work
If you post up enough images, I can give it a whirl. No promises at all, cuz I'm pretty committed to PocketMelody. But I've been dieing for a new interface that is independent of wisbar and flash, and it is my opinion that user interfaces aren't generally so dazzling that flash is a MUST use application. Most of the animations etc are simple yet effective. And the strength of their looks is in good CLEAN LOOKING static graphics (which I'm no good at making).
So, what I'm saying is, if your ideas inspire , I'll set aside some time, but again, no promises.
help
Even if i'm not so god in programming, i'd be proud to help you, whatever te way I could help
(maybe as beta tester)
don't hesitate to ask !!!
i've post some of my ideas in the Elf's forum
here's some preview
another idea i called "colour"
more samples here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=349583&page=5
it looks to cartoon like.
The above ideas can be 90% completed with pre-existing software.
Wisbar Advanced Desktop and possibly Mortscript to help with some of the multiple dock hiding/showing. A new version might exist that lets you slide/fade in and out docks...that'll make everything visually more appealing. Once you get to that point all you need to do is create a today plug-in to show you the current running programs as icons. The today plug-in will need to have an option to create height and width settings so that it'll be perfect in a slide in dock controlled by the up arrow.
The main thing that will be missing from your idea is the touch-style movement. The up arrow will be something you click on instead of the desired finger slide.
SeanFromSoCal said:
Wisbar Advanced Desktop and possibly Mortscript to help with some of the multiple dock hiding/showing. A new version might exist that lets you slide/fade in and out docks...that'll make everything visually more appealing. Once you get to that point all you need to do is create a today plug-in to show you the current running programs as icons. The today plug-in will need to have an option to create height and width settings so that it'll be perfect in a slide in dock controlled by the up arrow.
The main thing that will be missing from your idea is the touch-style movement. The up arrow will be something you click on instead of the desired finger slide.
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Granted, but if you really want to make it usable to a wider range of devices, you can't beat coding it natively. I've used WA/WAD on my Wizard, and after a while it gets too slow.
Lol dat looks hot
Trigger9407 said:
Lol dat looks hot
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Buy WAD2.
The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.
http://pointui.com/Home.aspx
Its free and looks pretty cool... gonna install it when i get home (no cables here) if anyone has a play before the end of the day i'd appreciate opinions before i do the deed myself!
mark
Well, i gave it a try yesterday on my WM5 wizard.
Its overall look and feel is really quite impressive. All the animations are unbelivably smooth, even without any overclocking. The app is finger-friendly, but i dislike list scrolling method they used - it's not like the one in fTouchflo, or iContact, where you scroll the list as if it was a physical object and moves in sync with the finger sweeping the screen, but instead the list moves in the direction of the sweep: if you put your finger on the screen and move it down a bit, the list will start scrolling down at constant speed. if you move finger farther down, it will accelerate and again keep constant speed if finger is still. if you move finger up, it will slow down, move it u even farther, ant the list will reverse direction and scroll up. It's not very intuitive, not to mention that it's really hard to use to precisely scroll long lists. If they changed this one thing, the overall fell of the program would improve significantly.
Beside that UI is clean and well designed, gives you quick access to start menu, settings (control panel, wifi, BT, GSM module, sound volume), tasks, calendar, appointments and clock, it also has some customizable menus for accessing frequently used software.
The downside is that it replaces your Today screen, so you won't be able to use your favorite Today plugins.
Overall, it's worth a try, especially for a user who just wants a phone with a simple, yet really good-looking interface. More advanced users who like to be able to customize everything might find this a bit limiting.
Overall, the program really has huge potential, and let's not forget that it's just the first public version. It will certainly improve over time. I'd recommend giving it a try, just be aware that there are some uninstallation issues read the tread on pointUI forums for more info, or if you have something like SPB backup or other software that does FULL device backup, use it and if something goes wrong, simply HR the device.
By the way:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=355961&page=5
Given it a try, and was impressed by the smooth flowing interactive menu's. But I find its quicker and easier to use SPB Shell (yes it looks basic in comparison but its straight forward and easily customised) and have therefore unistalled the software. However do not be put off by my comments, give it a go.
tange.
prior to my phone breaking (http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=284 solutions on a postcard please) i used this UI for a few days and throught it was pretty cool. theres deffo a learning curve as some of the apps are located in strange places but overall i was very happy with it.
Impressive, but very bad support for non-English OS.
Give it time. Its a brand new and revolutionary program and those guys are doin it all in their free time so you got to give them time.
I'm running this on my wizard, Tried it and I liked it enough that I won't leave it alone.
Runs fast on my wizard, thumb approved, things are organized a little funny but after a day of using it everything is cool, I haven't looked yet but I would like to custom the 4 icons that lauch programs and some things are linked incorrectly but overall i'm impressed with the program out of box and I hope development keeps up.
i just wanted to ask
does the weather application on PointUI cost... if so.. .does any1 no how much
thanks in advance
weather is free
i think they get their weather info from yahoo/weather channel, free
PontUI
Been using this for 3 days now and I love it. This and pocketCM with a the pontUI skin is amazing. Also the Iphone a like skin works well.
The main screen is great with the middle ribbon allowing really smooth action to access Analogue clock, digital clock, Calender, Tasks, Local weather and appointments.
Main screen top contains from left to right; Lock, signal meter Carrier info, Volume, Battery and Cog (settings).
You can lock the device on lock icon, hit the signal icon and the screen flip animates to show all connections settings (Flight mode, phone status wifi things like that) Hit the Speaker Icaon and you can adjust phone and speaker volumes as well as mute. hit the battery icon (which show bat level) and you can see battery life and go to power settings and backlight settings (well I can't but hey it's a beta) Hit the Cog and too many settings to list but among them is update feature so you can get the latest version straight to your device, you can also exit PontUI Home from here.
You have four icon down the bottom of the main screen which are, left to right; phone icon for call history list, tap it then swipe right on a name to call or sms them. Envelope icon press this to go to your email account (can choose which one through new registry string) next is SMS icon tap it to go to standard SMS app. Then last is the WM Icon, tap to go to windows media player (can choose which one through new registry string).
There is also a bar with an arrow down the bottom which you tap this then gives you four options; New, from which you can create new Email, SMS, MMS, Appointment, task, document or spreadsheet.
Favourites which shows all apps in the start menu folder. Applications which allows to to smoothly scroll through all installed apps and Currently running which does what it says on the tin.
As this App evolves i'm sure these menus will become nicely configurable.
I 'm really loving this App and it's only BETA. I'm running HTC Trinity (orange M700) and it's just sooo smooth. I tried Freestyl, which is good and I've been following, but when I tried this, I was blown away.
It's kind of nice to have an App that seems to integerate well with the phone rather than being a kind of clucky overlay that you can tell isn't meant to be there.
I urge you all to try it and see what you think.
Cheers all.
Logicalstep
loving it
What i think they can improve are:
1 make the hardware buttons to work, now i can't take a picture, record any sound, or change the volume with the h-buttons.
2 a contacts app will be nice and as well a favorite contacts like the htc home
3 a way to close app on the currently running menu
4 a little bigger back button or more to the left cause when i try to pres the back button with the tumb i usually had to try 2 or 3 times couse is really near to the border.
finaly a way to select favorite app that don’t depend of the start menu
don’t get me wrong i think that app is amazing but this 5 thing will make it perfect to me
I am loving Pointui!
Hello!
I am looking for a launcher. I don't want a panel, I don't want a today screen plugin - I want a regular program exe so that I can remap my x-panel button for quick access... Ideally it would be very customizable, look good, use next to no space or ram, cost nothing, and cook me pie. Mmmmm... pie...
Anyway, that is just idealism... bare essentials - I want a screen of icons, shortcuts to programs that I choose. It should be something along the lines of smaberg's action screen, only not using the power button and giving me the choice of what to put on it.
Anything like that out there?
Oh, and on a side note, great forums, really saved my bacon when the phones came with the dreadful Swedish all over them.
i use this :
http://www.fantasticbytes.com/products/launchmanager
not free though but i think there's a pie-making function in there somewhere ...
Hey thanks, that seems to do the trick! No pies though... but other than that, it works great.
Someone needs to develop a new home screen manager. One that instead of just moving left to right moves up and down as well. This way screens are always just one flick away instead of 2 or more depending on where you are at. It would be like a cube where the main homescreen is in the middle and the other 4 screens would each be in a direction (up, down, left, right). Moving from one of those screens in a direction (up, down, left, right) would result like moving from the home screen. So more than just a cube. A little more complex. I'll develop it if someone can help me along. Just an idea i had when looking at the linear movement of the ui.
Unfortunately I don't have any of the required skills or time to match even 1% of the ability of the Android development community but I'd definitely second this request. A very unique idea and I really like it.
BTW, a big thanks to the devel community. Without you guys fulfilling my gadget whore needs, I'd be buying a new device every week!
This is cool..maybe even an option in the notification bar to switch screens while in an app? Like the Linux desktop cube?
Sent from my Floyo Tazz using XDA App
Rather than write something from scratch, maybe you could try to contribute this as an option in ADW.Launcher?
This has already been done before on a certain rom. I remember it being ported to the vogue android. I cant remember the phone it was ported from though. Blur or something.
Gde home had exactly this feature
~ The Nameless Creator
Actually there were a few Windows CE based home mangers that had this feature. I also would love to have this. I asked a while back and got no response as to if there is anthing out there that did this.
wouldnt it be kinda hard to keep track of which screen is in which direction? like it seems orientation would feel very complex. but maybe not, i dunno
SLOflatlander said:
wouldnt it be kinda hard to keep track of which screen is in which direction? like it seems orientation would feel very complex. but maybe not, i dunno
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I could see something like dots on the edge of the screen kinda like how launcher pro does it.
SLOflatlander said:
wouldnt it be kinda hard to keep track of which screen is in which direction? like it seems orientation would feel very complex. but maybe not, i dunno
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Wait'll you see the home screen replacer I'm building based on a tesseract.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesseract
You just need to turn your head sideways to keep track of what face you're on.
Who doesn't want 24 home screens?
For a 4 or 5 way slide/cube desktop, look at Dx Top. It has not been updated for a while but is stable and can use themes built for many of the other desktop replacements.
I have been running it over many ROMs and it works on all so far. Was a little funny with the app drawer on SkyRaider, it kept rebuilding the icons for some reason, that might have been due to installing too many icon packs.
Thanks for the support on this guys and the answers. i'm going to do some research and see what can be done/ported or if needed then created. Just trying to do like most people and think outside the box. Its what makes android 1000x better than the iphone/ipod scene. They are so restricted. i mean come on. 1 button. But keeping on topic, i really appreciate no flaming on the topic.