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I was searching around over in sprintmogul.net and i came to this forum that had a link to this home plugin it looks really cool but costs money i was wondering if anyone could rip it? or something?. here is the forum link http://www.sprintmogul.net/Default.aspx?tabid=54&ptid=370&threadid=3241&forumtype=posts
and here is the link directly to the plugin http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/?en
thats mobile shell. its not a today plug in but a whole new interface. i didnt like it b/c it screwed up something with my ability to tap the screen. was all messed up. it was a cool setup, but didnt DO anything i didnt already have
Its a great program, the strange thing is my battery lasts about 60% longer.. yes 60%. I guess HTC home was a real battery hog.
ilogik said:
Its a great program, the strange thing is my battery lasts about 60% longer.. yes 60%. I guess HTC home was a real battery hog.
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Click to collapse
ha! i thought i was trippin out about that but it is confirmed here.i use this and pocket plus however i am a noob so my opinion may not matter much
spb home 2.0 - blah blah blah
I have given the new spb home 2.0 plugin a shot. It is very nice. But, because it is not editable (yet) it should take a seat in the back. My two cents.
Nice but expensive
I really like the spbmobile but the cost is prohibitive. {the online discount is $40 and it's still 50 bucks!)
I will continue to use the freeware available here and other places until the cost comes down more.
$29.95 is the price I'm seeing...?
Yeah, it's $30 for me too. Where are you seeing that price tag??
I love MS2. I've gotten rid of a bunch of other plugins since installing this. The only problem I have with it is the no voicemail icon kills me.
ilogik said:
Its a great program, the strange thing is my battery lasts about 60% longer.. yes 60%. I guess HTC home was a real battery hog.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Mobile shell 2.0 and liked many of its features but just the opposite on the battery life
It sucked mine down twice as fast
I am using Mobile Shell 2. 0 and i absolutley love it.. I can make it through the entire day on one battery charge, with active sync directly to my exchange server about 5 times per day.. the interface is extremely customizable and you can create your own menus, display, etc... it has a terrific sliding cube interface, which reacts just like an iPhone.. everyone i show mine to instantly starts to drool..
i'd recommend you pick this up. it's well worth the money.
How did you get the cube interface? Are you using the Beta still?
Something is draining my battery, I can't put my hands on it. At first, I thought it was SPB mobile shell, but others are reporting that they are having battery issues without MS2
The program is great. It does not mess up your screen tapping abilities. The finger gestures are very quick and easy to do.
I liked Mobile Shell 2.0, had it on my device a couple of days. It looked sleek but my device is sluggish. Not sure if Mobile Shell was the cause but I didn't like it at all.
1999TL said:
How did you get the cube interface? Are you using the Beta still?
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Click to collapse
I am not using the Beta.. full blown version 2.. you can download it here. http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/download.html?en
The cube interface isn't actualy part of the Today screen, rather, you have a separate menu called 'SPB Menu', which i made as my right selectable hot key. this takes you to the screen where your SPB 'Home', Programs', 'Internet', and other layouts are.. and it's within these menus, is the cube layout.
you can assign as many things as you'd like, for example, in the 'Programs' menu.. then when you open it, you simply swipe the screen to the left, to scroll through the pages.. you can have the programs listed on a grid view, or a list view.. as well as you can assign the motion of how the cubes slide (transition effects -- folding, sweeping, etc.. )
you can then make the 'Mobile Shell' part of your Today page, and it will then display just those icons, which when clicked, will take to those menus..
check out the web link for them. view the screenshots.. it's awesome..
When i started using this and saw how vastly customizable it is, i uninstalled HTC Home right away..
I can't speak to the battery drain. I am on 80% life right now. and it's 5:02 pm.. turned my phone on this morning at 7:30am..
some light internet browing while in the john, and periodic email checks with exchange, and some texting with the wife.. still going strong..
using EVDO network, and WiFi and Bluetooth turned OFF.
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/download.html?en
nvm I misread
Theres new one has anyone tried it?
After looking at it on spb's website this shell looked like a good deal, but it's not what it seems to be as displayed on the site. As stated above, to have the "now" screen up, you have to map it to a button (or make it so it comes up everytime the phone wakes up. Personally, I don't like this. I'd rather have the "now" screen as the base screen and get to other places on my ppc from there. Is this possible?
I've only been playing with it for twenty minutes or so and I've had no luck finding anything yet. Probably doesn't help I've been writing papers for finals all night and my contacts are friggin dry. Meh, it's a livin.
**Edit**
Yeah, I'm an r-tard. I got version 1.6 something...guess I'll have to go back and find 2.0...................
*Found it, and it ROCKS.
As far as looks go, it's not very customizable; but I love how it functions. There's no real way to set it to the today screen, but like was stated above, you can set it to a soft button and it will stay up as long as you don't close it out. I'm pretty happy with it over all. It's pretty sweet.
There are a few that have created some nice themes.
There is s new version of MS2 out, 2.1.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=389106
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=380103
So far, mostly a positive experience switching from my HTC Advantage. As expected, the capacitive thing will take a few days/weeks to adjust to, but I've found that a light touch does wonders.
Thanks to the xda-people & searching, I've found solutions to many problems I had (like tcpmp crashing till I got the correct cab). A do have a small list I'm looking for help on that I have not found a solution for.
(if I missed it in searching, sorry - please send me a link!)
- Automatic Phone profiles. I used to use SPB's Phone Suite, which isn't compatible with 6.5. I tried Phoneweaver last night and it worked very well - but is crashing all over the place today. Just sent them an email. Is anyone using an automatic volume adjuster with no problems?
- Speaking of crashing, getting the &*@%& battery lid off is a problem. Probably needs to work in a bit, but I can't do it without a mini-flat screwdrive, and I already put one scrach into the back of the case They just couldn't put it someone more accessible?
- Mentioned in another thread, but I can't seem to find any software that remaps any of the buttons (especially volume buttons). I've read that Voldpad & AEButtons work for other people, but nothing working here yet.
- My other big crashing problems seems centered around contacts. Adding them to my favorites is causing lock-ups about half the time, but when I reboot the changes took. Editing a contact (say adding a ring-tone) is also locking up the phone when I save/go back.
- Synching: probably related to contacts above. 1st synch works well. Afterwords, it is getting hung on contacts as well. If I delete the partnership is synch ok again the first time.
I think that's my big ones for now. I'm only 1 day in, and yesterday was pretty busy so I hope to have more time today to do some installs & play more.
Thanks for any help!!
Phil
PS - I didn't install any Freecell or Sudoku yet. I'm used to VGA. Anyone have a recommendation on ones that work very well with the HD2 (I didn't even google this yet, but thought I'd ask)
polstein said:
So far, mostly a positive experience switching from my HTC Advantage. As expected, the capacitive thing will take a few days/weeks to adjust to, but I've found that a light touch does wonders.
Thanks to the xda-people & searching, I've found solutions to many problems I had (like tcpmp crashing till I got the correct cab). A do have a small list I'm looking for help on that I have not found a solution for.
(if I missed it in searching, sorry - please send me a link!)
- Automatic Phone profiles. I used to use SPB's Phone Suite, which isn't compatible with 6.5. I tried Phoneweaver last night and it worked very well - but is crashing all over the place today. Just sent them an email. Is anyone using an automatic volume adjuster with no problems?
- Speaking of crashing, getting the &*@%& battery lid off is a problem. Probably needs to work in a bit, but I can't do it without a mini-flat screwdrive, and I already put one scrach into the back of the case They just couldn't put it someone more accessible?
- Mentioned in another thread, but I can't seem to find any software that remaps any of the buttons (especially volume buttons). I've read that Voldpad & AEButtons work for other people, but nothing working here yet.
- My other big crashing problems seems centered around contacts. Adding them to my favorites is causing lock-ups about half the time, but when I reboot the changes took. Editing a contact (say adding a ring-tone) is also locking up the phone when I save/go back.
- Synching: probably related to contacts above. 1st synch works well. Afterwords, it is getting hung on contacts as well. If I delete the partnership is synch ok again the first time.
I think that's my big ones for now. I'm only 1 day in, and yesterday was pretty busy so I hope to have more time today to do some installs & play more.
Thanks for any help!!
Phil
PS - I didn't install any Freecell or Sudoku yet. I'm used to VGA. Anyone have a recommendation on ones that work very well with the HD2 (I didn't even google this yet, but thought I'd ask)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hated the battery cover, until I found an easy way of lifting it up without tools.
use your right hand, and place your index finger to leverage the phone (face down) at the bottom of the phone near your buttons. (make sure you grip the back of the phone too just in case it tends to fly off)
use your left hand and have the thumb push up against the battery cover on the side with the indent in it. you should be able to lift your battery cover off without problems.
after 1-2 tries, it should be easier to lift off. I like the security knowing that it's not going to fall off, but it's really tight to get off at 1st.
Sounds similar to the video I saw on youtube. Time permitting, I plan on opening & closing the lid many times today (using screwdriver if needed) to loosen it up so I can take it off when needed.
----
In other news, I'm not using a screen-protector (yet) - need to read the thread on the protectors. I'm not too worried about scratches, but the fingerprint on the screen is worse then I thought it would be.
I'm carrying around a small microfiber now. Might have to find a small one in a sleeve or something to carry permanently. I have glasses, so I probably should have one handy anyway.
---
Next, a minor problem with Resco Pocket Player that I just read a solution to, but thought I'd post it for anyone else - you can't click on the screen to change settings in options. To get around it, bring up a keyboard with arrows & use those and enter keys instead.
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Finally - on the Sense Photo & Music tabs - is there an easy way I'm missing to specify and/or limit directories to look at? For now, I disabled both tabs in favor of Resco Photo Manager & Conduits Pocket Player. I did read about a hack to make Resco Photo work in sense, but haven't tried it yet.
polstein said:
They just couldn't put it someone more accessible?
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Click to collapse
Thats got to be one of the best typos' I've seen, I'd rather not shove my HD2 in someone though!
I'm currently reading on the Tmobile US forums about the problems with Messaging causing problems (although I've only seen it with Contacts so far). But I don't use email messaging much, just SMS (don't know if it's the same subsystem).
Anyway, going to try the suggestions of switching from HTC messaging to standing messaging (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=556614) and see that is my contacts/synch problem. I wanted to post it in case any lurkers have a similar problem. Will try to post later if this helps.
yes sense messaging causes lots of freezes if you get lots of texts saved and having swype enabled agravates the problem.
ive had no issues anywhere else or with contacts
polstein said:
Sounds similar to the video I saw on youtube. Time permitting, I plan on opening & closing the lid many times today (using screwdriver if needed) to loosen it up so I can take it off when needed.
----
In other news, I'm not using a screen-protector (yet) - need to read the thread on the protectors. I'm not too worried about scratches, but the fingerprint on the screen is worse then I thought it would be.
I'm carrying around a small microfiber now. Might have to find a small one in a sleeve or something to carry permanently. I have glasses, so I probably should have one handy anyway.
---
Next, a minor problem with Resco Pocket Player that I just read a solution to, but thought I'd post it for anyone else - you can't click on the screen to change settings in options. To get around it, bring up a keyboard with arrows & use those and enter keys instead.
--------
Finally - on the Sense Photo & Music tabs - is there an easy way I'm missing to specify and/or limit directories to look at? For now, I disabled both tabs in favor of Resco Photo Manager & Conduits Pocket Player. I did read about a hack to make Resco Photo work in sense, but haven't tried it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for your last point: At least on the Photo tab, you can specify the Folder shown up: Open up HTC Album and go to the folder you want. Then hit Menu and select as Favorite. Then this folder will only be shown in Photo tab.
Just saw this: http://pocketnow.com/software-1/bug-hd2s-sense-may-freeze-with-contact-favorites
Sure enough, one of my favorites (ie, my wife) has a lot of notes & doesn't have the xml stuff. Will try the fix tomorrow.
auto speaker?
anyone else having their speaker turn on automatically during a phone call
That is one I'm not having, HectikDroid.
I did reply to another thread about calls that went straight to voice mail.
Still not connecting to weather serivce either (yet another thread with little replies).
Actually, most frustrating part is trying to find out if others are having similar problems or it's it me (either bad phone or accidental messed up setting or the like).
Glad to see pocketnow posting about the big contact problem I had.
Speakerphone turns on if you lay the phone down on it's face....
Say whaaat!
Babyexp said:
Speakerphone turns on if you lay the phone down on it's face....
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Click to collapse
Oh Snap!!! Thanks dude.....I was lying down when it kept doing it, I had no idea it had that feature, i thought only the TP2 had that, but thanks
I got my Omnia 2 back in March. I am a very beginning user, meaning I do not know how to use roms and cooking and registry editors etc... I was hoping I could get a step by step guide to changing my theme. (if that is what it is called) I would like it to be more intuitive, like the iphone or android. I am also uncomfortable using a registry editor, I do not know what I am doing.
I have been able (with this board and others help) to unlock the GPS, and how to tether the phone to my laptop without using verizon's software.
My main problems:
-the phone is slow, I think because the 10 apps I have installed are all on my device and not in my storage, I have tried to remedy that by installing directly to my storage, but it often doesn't work.
-sometimes after a phone call it shuts down or goes black and I have to take out the battery to turn it back on
-I also can't see the screen in sunlight
-my email isn't being sent out from my hotmail account
I have searched for solutions to these problems, but to no avail. (at least for beginners like me)
Verizon Wireless Samsung Omnia 2 S:i920
Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
What other information is needed?
Thank you so much for your help! I will gladly donate to a developers project if I can get some support. (so I don't have to go buy a new phone!)
I've tried answering some of you questions below. hope it helps.
erieboatergal said:
I got my Omnia 2 back in March. I am a very beginning user, meaning I do not know how to use roms and cooking and registry editors etc... I was hoping I could get a step by step guide to changing my theme. (if that is what it is called) I would like it to be more intuitive, like the iphone or android. I am also uncomfortable using a registry editor, I do not know what I am doing.
I have been able (with this board and others help) to unlock the GPS, and how to tether the phone to my laptop without using verizon's software.
My main problems:
-the phone is slow, I think because the 10 apps I have installed are all on my device and not in my storage, I have tried to remedy that by installing directly to my storage, but it often doesn't work.
Try the task manager to close any programs running in the background. That usually slows mine down.
-sometimes after a phone call it shuts down or goes black and I have to take out the battery to turn it back on
Mine too. Join the club. Not a big deal as it will get your phone running faster again!
-I also can't see the screen in sunlight
Have you gone into your settings and adjusted your backlight settings? Might help.
-my email isn't being sent out from my hotmail account
Go into your options in your hotmail account on the phone and you should be able to set up hotmail to be pushed immediately to your phone. you might have yours set to manual.
I have searched for solutions to these problems, but to no avail. (at least for beginners like me)
Verizon Wireless Samsung Omnia 2 S:i920
Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
What other information is needed?
Thank you so much for your help! I will gladly donate to a developers project if I can get some support. (so I don't have to go buy a new phone!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your suggestions
I have the setting to shut down programs when I press the x in the corner, so no programs are running.
Yours shuts down too? I think it is ridiculous! You pay $200 some dollars for a phone and have to take the battery out b/c it freezes? It is getting pretty annoying, especially when I have to make back to back phone calls or am trying to get a couple things done.
I was able to adjust the lightness settings, so the screen is bright all the time instead of being dull. I haven't had a chance to test it in sunlight yet. (It's been raining here, and I work in an office)
I do have my email pushed to my phone, but I just can't send anything out. I tried adjusting the settings, and even deleted the email account and then added it again. I'm not sure what else to do.
Again, I really appreciate you trying to help. I didn't think that getting a smart phone would require so much work and research to get it to act like I want it, which is nice easy push button intuitive. Instead, everything is so complicated!
Pushing the X button doesn't necessarily shut down the program, it may simply minimize it. That's why I suggested using the task manager to ensure that all programs are properly closed. I would have thought that windows would have figured out task management by now, but that's why they have the task manager built in. The phone will lock up only when it runs low on main memory which is likely due to too many programs running in the background. With a regular check of my running programs I find that my phone may lock up only once a week at worst.
regarding your Hotmail, do you have the box "send immediatley" checked? Otherwise you need to tap send/receive to send.
As for the screen brightness, I find mine hard to see in direct sunlight but it's mainly due to the shiny screen protector that's on my screen
The phone is a bit daunting to start off with and I have run WM2003, WM5, WM6, WM6.1 and now this Samsung with WM6.5. be patient as this phone can do alot and the best part is, if you invest the time into it, you can customize your phone to the way you like it, not some arbitrary user interface like some of the others. BTW.... stop reading about flashing the ROM and editing the registry for now. Just play with your settings and the settings of each program to get them working the way you want them to. If you are going to start cooking, I'd like chocolate chip cookies please!
AND back it up before you go too far so that if you screw it up badly, you have a back up to go back to.
.
I will start using the task manager from now on.
I do have the send immediately box checked.
I'm trying to be patient lol, but i gotta have it now! Like I said before I have had the phone since March, but have been unable to do a lot of customizing. I am not sure about downloading themes, b/c I don't understand what a lot of them are.
Is there a place just to download themes?
Downloading themes means that you are changing the user interface of the phone iteself. first you need to decide which User interface program you want to use, download and install the trial, then search for a theme you like and download and install that as well. Guess what.... more customizing! Are you not happy with the Samsung Today interface that comes with the phone? or are you looking for a completely different experience?
Themes are like wall paper for the user interface program.... eye candy. Every user interface is about showing you pertinent information at a glance on the screen without the need to go digging into apps for that info. different user interfaces will also require differing levels of customization based upon which programs you have already loaded onto you phone and how you want the user interface (UI) to interact with those programs. This level of customization can be easy or hard depending upon the UI, so be prepared for more playing around. Add different themes which will then require more customizing as a theme is esssentially a customization of the UI. Differing UIs will also chane how you access programs, how you can group shortcuts to your liking, and the general experience of interacting with your phone.
Windows Mobile is definitely NOT a iphone experience, where how you interact is dictated by the manufacturer. Your phone allows for a huge amount of customizing to make your phone a truly unique experience.
As for your Hotmail acct, I'm not sure what else could be going on with it as it's really simple to set up and it sounds like you got it nailed. Is it connecting at all?
Another idea on your hotmail acct... have you tried sending yourself a test e-mail at work or at home? I know with mine there is never anything in my sent items on my phone and it might make you think nothing got sent.
Just an idea.....
i edited the power settings, so my screen is bright all the time and now i can sort of see it in the sun
erieboatergal said:
i edited the power settings, so my screen is bright all the time and now i can sort of see it in the sun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd suggest to set it to "Auto"... that way it will be at 100% brightness in direct sunlight while keeping the backlight lower when it's not needed, resulting in a lower battery drain
Hi everyone. I just purchased my Droid X last week, and I'm having some migrating pains coming from Windows Mobile 6.5 (HTC Touch Pro 2, Mighty ROM) over to Android. I'm wondering if the fine folks here at XDA can help me ease into the Android OS a little easier.
Here are the things I miss most about WinMo, maybe you can tell me some viable alternatives.
1) The Dialer. - Skip the next 3 paragraphs if you're familiar with HTC Sense on WinMo.
The dialer absolutely sucks compared to the TP2. Having to click different tabs juts annoys me. In the TP2, the dialer and recent calls were displayed in a single window, so if I wanted to dial Steve, I had 2 ways of doing it.
The first way was to dial 7(S), 8(T). The phone would recognize I am spelling out Steve, and list everyone who fits the ST criteria sorted by most recently called. The more I spelled out his name, the narrower the results got.
The second method was to dial his number. Pretend Steve's number is (123) 456-7890. If I dialed 123, it would sort all contacts with numbers who matched the area code, and it would narrow the results as I typed more of his phone number.
I really hate having to tap between Contacts (there is a contacts soft button next to the dialer anyway), I would just click that if I wanted to from the beginning.
Are there any dialers out there closer to the HTC Dialer?
2) Contacts.
There has to be a better contact manager. Not being able to quickly tap a letter to get to contacts is really dumb.
3) Ninja Applications.
Why do I keep seeing applications running that I never started when I load Advance Task Killer. It's really annoying when I load up an App, and go to close it, and see Skype and CityID running when I never launched either of them. I'm almost afraid to set up AIM on my phone at this point.
4) GPS.
If I keep my GPS on, my battery gets killed. With my TP2, it would only use the GPS when it needed it, so for weather updates, and Google Maps, otherwise it stayed off (or was in a suspend state). I turned the GPS on my first day and had 0 battery by around 2 (left the house at 8). Is there any way to set the GPS to only be used, as needed?
5) APPLICATIONS EVERYWHERE.
Is there anyway to sort these into folders? Also, is there anyway to add an X to the application so I can close it when I'm done with it rather than having to launch an App just to close the App I just used?
I really liked the Sense way of doing it, where I had an X in the Application, and a drop down on the home screen that would list the open Apps so I could close them 1 at a time.
6) MotoBlur.
Ugh, I really hate this UI. Has anyone had any experience with SenseX?
7) Custom Roms.
I've seen a handful of Custom ROMs, and I'm planning on putting one on when I have some time next week. I need a good way to backup contacts, after I just spent an hour linking everyone, but I'd like to know if there is a decent Apples to Apples comparison of the ROMs. They don't seem to be outlines as detailed as I'm used to.
On this topic, are there any problems setting up things like MMS once you install a Custom ROM? It was a nightmare on the TP2, but those ROMs were also made for multiple carriers, which isn't a problem with this phone, so I imagine it shouldn't be an issue.
----------------------------------
Thank you for taking the time to read this wall of text.
Other than the 7 things listed, I love the phone. Finding MortPlayer for Droid made my day. I'm looking forward to unlocking it's true potential, and I hope my list isn't a bunch of things I'm just going to have to adjust to.
Thank you again, have a great day.
EDIT:
Also, it's really annoying that every time I connect my phone to my PC, it launches a Verizon web site. Is there anyway to disable this?
Ok... I will take a stab at this.
FIRST, You DO NOT have to settle for the apps that come preinstalled on your phone! Just had to clear that up... Ok, here we go:
Check an app called "Dialer One" and see if that fits your needs... I haven't used it in a while... but heard it still a great replacement for the stock dialer.
Searching for a better Contact Manager is on my To-Do list.. hope someone comes in and help out a little more with that one
Don't worry about the "ninja" apps TOO much. Android Froyo has an amazing task manager and even though you SEE the apps as "running applications", they are not really RUNNING. They are more like... in a queue.. so they are ready for whenever you come back to them....but you still have to watch what the apps are doing. Some do not play nicely and hog memory. I'll link a good post here in a minute explaining that a little better.
There is a widget that can help you out here.. it's called "Power Control" put that bad boy on your homescreen and the option to turn on/off wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc is at your fingertips (for even more controls... check out "Extended Controls" in the market. It cost like $1 and some change)
I'm... not really following this one. For one.. you CAN use folders on your homescreen and put whatever your heart desires in them.. and label it accordingly. I'm not sure what you mean by the "X" in the app
SenseX?? What is that?? Anyway.. as you will find out soon, 99% of the Droid X community despise MotoBlur!! You can use a different Home Launcher and not use Blur. Two of the major Home Launcher replacements are Adw.launcher & LauncherPro... which one is better is a whole different story. They are both great and only YOU can choose which one is best. There many threads comparing them and they run neck to neck mostly. I'm on LauncherPro personally
Custom Roms?? Eh.. I personally do my own developments and theming on my phone and do not use them... there not really all what they cracked up to be because whatever they have on them... I can do myself. So I'm not much of an help on that one... Somebody else maybe will chime in.
P.S-To fix the Verizon thing, go to the "M" in the taskbar at the bottom of your screen by the clock on your PC and right click it.. there should be an option saying to tell it to NOT send you to the Verizon site when you connect your phone. I don't know the EXACT wording of the option menu.. I'm on a mac
Thank you for your reply.
I will check out the Dialer. Thank you very much.
Darn!
A friend of mine told me that, but it's hard for me to not be a bit OCD about background Applications. I've been a Windows user most of my life, and coming from WinMo, background apps really kill performance.
More than anything, my issue is with things like Skype loading when I do not want to be signed in. I want auto-login when I launch the Application, but I don't want the application loading when it feels like it, and me getting a random IM or call from someone when I didn't even tell it to log in.
It also bothers me that Amazon MP3, something I've never even loaded, has turned itself on. It makes me feel like I don't have control over my phone.
I do have a widget that lets me turn these things on and off, I was just hoping for a way to set it up so that the GPS is "pinged" and only used as needed, and turned back off. My TP2 did this, and was a great battery saver. Having to turn the GPS on and off just to get a weather update based on location is a bit annoying.
I didn't mean on the home-screen, I meant in the application list. So when I hit the application list, I can sort them by "Games", "Google", etc.
For the "X", what I mean is in reference to closing an App. In WinMo, the top right of the screen had an X, and if I touched that X, the app would close. Now, once I exit the App, I need to use an application killer to close said App.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=764840
Looks like Sense for the Droid X. In Beta now, so I'm waiting for a stable release.
Really, it's just to get rid of bloatware and take advantage of some performance optimizations that have been made.
A couple of other things that have come up.
I need a better keyboard. One with arrows so I can navigate text. Touching isn't precise enough, and I don't have a stylus with this phone. Today I voiced a text message, and I went to correct an error, but I couldn't get the curse to go in the exact spot I needed it to go into. My old OSK had arrow soft-keys I could tap to navigate with.
Also, I notice when I pull my phone out of the leather pouch I have, when I hit the power button it comes up in landscape, and the accelerometer doesn't pick up on the turn. I need to turn the screen off and turn it back on.
Finally, I'm having extender issues, but I think I need to call VZW for that. When leaving my house, I can't reconnect to Data without a power-cycle.
Thank you for the reply.
my .02
3. Break yourself from the taskiller need. If you have programs allways running that you dont need, ie skype or city id. Root and delete those SOB's. you can look around and there are plenty of articles of why not to use them. Android is a linux based os. Linux is far supirior to Win in memeory management. You dont need task killers.
4. if your gps is turned on its not always running. It only runs when needed. Is by chance your wifi on? that will run all the time by searching for access points. if not you might have maps running, make sure to always back out of maps and not just hit home. That way it closes and doesnt just run in background. (actually goes for most apps)
5 organization- you cant sort the app drawer, you can hide apps (just the icons) using launcher pro, not sure if ADW has that option. Useing folders or the app "app manager" is your best bet
extra. swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
I came from winmo- so I know all about your "X" pains. But I say forget about a task killer or even killing tasks (except maybe maps and navigation). I did a little reading about pros and cons and decided to try the "no task killer" approach. I haven't had any problems. the task killer is a pain anyways. you can kill apps all day long and there are a bunch of them that are just going to repopulate themselves in like 5 minutes. I just said, "fegetaboutit". My phone runs great.
if you open the dialer and are on the contacts tab just long press the menu button (the physical button) and your keyboard will pop up. start typing and contacts will appear.
I like "Zeam Launcher". There is a thread here on XDA. I have Launcher Pro+ -but actually liked Zeam so much I use it. Just different preferences though.
that's all i got for now.
Thank you for your replies.
I will try to be a bit less OCD regarding my tasks. I did kill a couple of services of applications that kept starting, like Skype.
I'll check out those launchers and see if I like them better.
Any good stock widgets?
EDIT:
So I just tried to check my location on Google Maps with GPS turned off, and it says I need to turn it on.
How do I set it up to use the GPS as needed?
I leave location services on (GPS)
My theory is that applications will only enable GPS when they need them, so if you have a application running that wants GPS, it will use it.
The GPS icon appears in the notification bar when I'm using something that is using GPS, so I assume its only actually on when this icon is present. Leave it on in settings just makes is available.
Any widget or application that has a setting for manual location (Weather, IMDB) I use it, and disable GPS location, to keep GPS from running all of the time.
To exit an app you are using, either hit the back button or the home button.
If you are worried about "ninja" apps using cpu and memory, you can try a minfree adjustment application such as AutoKiller Memory Optimizer. It fine tunes android's inner memory manager to be a bit more aggressive in closing applications.
I use another Rom (rubiX, link in sig) that already has minfree adjusted (according to the author) and it does help in keeping the X smooth. It also removes all (well most) of Blur and default installed apps as well, so you start with a very clean X.
The default home screen (blur) is crap. I would also suggest replacing it with LauncherPro or ADW
For removing the pre-installed applications. Follow this guide
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/d...ta-3-ways-super-easy-safe-safe-easy-free.html
Some apps in /system/app/ are not named what they are
(IE. mynet.apk = 3g Hotspot)
For a keyboard anywhere, you can hold the menu button, and it will pop up.
Swype is really a few keyboards. Swype from the icon to the SYM button, it will give you the edit panel (arrows, home, end, copy, paste, etc...) press the ABC button to go back.
Swype from the icon to the f key, it will turn into a number pad. Press the ABC button to go back to the normal keyboard.
Run the tutorial on Swype too, it will give you some very nice pointers on it's use. I used Swype on windows mobile and I found out a few things about Swype I never knew.
Also, as for touching where your cursor is in a text field, if you press and hold, and magnifying bubble will pop up. This makes moving the cursor easier
Did you find a dialer yet? I saw these posted and thought about this thread...
http://www.appbrain.com/app/kz.mek.DialerOne
http://www.appbrain.com/app/acontacts/kz.mek.aContacts
Haven't had a chance to try them yet.
bad4u6669 said:
.... swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG. thanks. been loving swype but that has been driving me nuts. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for the replies.
One of the things I liked about my TP2, is I could leave location services on, and it used very little battery.
I guess Weather Bug just SUCKS battery out like crazy. I turned on the GPS last night for something, and decided to see how well it did with battery today. It turns out that some grocery shopping app I wanted to try was sucking my GPS dry (no idea why)... yet another "ninja app" that just started up because it felt like it (this kind of **** really makes me , programs should only start up when I tell them to, not when a component of my phone turns on).
I live in an apartment that has really bad signal (I actually have a Network Extender), so that might be my GPS constantly trying to update when I'm at home killing my battery.
WeatherBug is set to update every hour, so I'm going to see what happens tomorrow with the GPS turned on. It would be nice if I could just set it and forget it, not need to turn it off every time I come home.
Thank you for the contact program, I might check it out. I've been pretty content since I got DialerOne and found out I can get the keyboard up by holding the options.
I tried LauncherPro, and I LOVED it at first, and my phones performance was fantastic!
Then I found out it charges me to resize widgets... WTF is that crap?
I'm going to try some other launchers and see what happens. I'm getting the hang of it, but I still do not like things starting up on their own. Regardless of memory management, my phone should not just decide to boot up programs on it's own.
the phone only does what the app or the user tells it to do. If theirs an app that you don't like, delete it.
And complaining that launcher pro charges for every thing it offers is ridiculous. Every thing it offers for free already ( 7 home screens, 10 rows and columns, unreal speed improvement, etc. ) then to get the extras its less than most people throw away on a daily basis. Where as this three dollars its money that pays off on a daily basis
Adw and lp should be paid apps from the start for all they offer.
You have 3 options, write your own program, use the stock launcher, find a free one.
-end rant
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I usually leave my location setting on "Use Wireless Networks" and don't bother with GPS other than for maps and navigation. Works fine for all of my other apps that need a location (e.g., weather).
There are apps out there that can turn GPS on and off automatically when you run a particular app, such as Tasker (which can do a whole host of things, but that is one one of them). Tasker is a paid app, but there might be something free out there that does something similar.
Also, I agree with the previous poster re: Launcher Pro. It's really a fantastic home launcher and well worth a few bucks to support the developer. The LP Plus widgets are also a lot better than any of the Blur widgets.
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
EtherBoo said:
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to look into RockPlayer. That's the only one I found so far that decodes ALMOST anything on the spot.
The "Ninja Applications" are running because Android is a true multi tasking OS.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I hope necromancy isn't frowned upon on this board, so my apologies if it is.
I found a new problem because I had the nerve to attempt to update a contact photo after Facebook had saved it's picture to it.
This is especially frustrating because I'm going to want to override a lot of these photos very soon.
Apparently, updating the photo updates the Google Contact photo, but the phone only displays the Facebook photo. This is a bug confirmed by Moto that will be fixed in a future update.
This leaves me with 2 options.
De-Sync FB, which I'm not thrilled about only because I like getting the most recent status update prior to receiving a call, and There is a lot of info that FB fills in for me.
Copy down all the FB info, and fill it in manually. With Google Contacts not being the best contact manager (I'm very OCD about uniformity in the way things are formatted), I really don't want to do this.
So I figure I need a new contact manager. I tried AContacts, and it crashed every time I tried to edit a contact.
I would love something like the HTC one that comes with WinMo, or maybe even the iPhone one.
I would be willing to pay for this.
P.S.
I'm now rooted and running a custom ROM (zapX I think it's called). I'm loving my phone much more now. My battery life has skyrocketed, and my performance is amazing now. Very iPhone smooth (one thing I was always jealous of, and I hate the iPhone).
I've successfully rooter my Nook Simple Touch and explored all of its files and databases that I can find. But I cannot locate the setting to change that will update the frequency at which the screen saver changes images.
My goal is to have a folder of image files that change every 30 seconds or so. Unfortunately, the stock screen saver's change timer is much longer than that.
As a workaround, I set the screen saver activation time to 500 hours and installed Perfect Viewer to run its slideshow function, but this is less than ideal. I'd rather just do it the right way.
Does anyone know where this setting is located?
Thanks!
Reaperducer said:
I've successfully rooter my Nook Simple Touch and explored all of its files and databases that I can find. But I cannot locate the setting to change that will update the frequency at which the screen saver changes images.
My goal is to have a folder of image files that change every 30 seconds or so. Unfortunately, the stock screen saver's change timer is much longer than that.
As a workaround, I set the screen saver activation time to 500 hours and installed Perfect Viewer to run its slideshow function, but this is less than ideal. I'd rather just do it the right way.
Does anyone know where this setting is located?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would seem to be a poor decision as far as battery life is concerned. Are you sure you really want to do that?
nmyshkin said:
That would seem to be a poor decision as far as battery life is concerned. Are you sure you really want to do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is not a concern in my application.
Reaperducer said:
Battery life is not a concern in my application.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I have to admit I didn't even know this happened. It's been a long time since I used a folder of images for a screensaver. What I seem to recall from that time was the images changing each time the NST went to sleep, but not during sleep.
Let me take a look. I guess one possible approach would be to consult a logcat after an image change and see if there are clues there.
I've come up empty on a search through the various B&N app databases and settings files.
Just to see this actually happen, I changed my screensaver from a static book cover image to one of the packages of images I installed years back. That was nearly 24 hours ago and there is still no change, which is what my memory told me to expect. So without an automatic change, there is nothing to look at in the logcat.
Are you sure your images actually change by themselves during the standby/sleep process? I know they change when you wake up the device and then let it fall asleep again.
You've already tried the slideshow idea or I would suggest that, but did you know there is a built-in slideshow (probably associated with the demo mode)? I don't know what the parameters of that are or whether you could replace the images with your own without breaking it.
Maybe a better question to help me understand what you'd like to do is: will the NST be used for something other than the slideshow display (either running in the background or running on demand when the device is awakened)? If all you want is the slideshow then any number of apps (like the PerfectViewer you mention) would work. Maybe something simple if you just need the slideshow. But if you really are using the device for other things and just want the sleep screen to change periodically, that's either got to be supported in the settings in an accessible way (which I'm doubtful about) or it has to be a custom alteration of the OS.