Database Users

Lotsa questions. Opera/slowing down/voice gps/facebook?

Okay. I've had my T-Mobile TP2 since the day they released in NA. I did a little of messing around with cabs and themes back then, but then kinda left the scene. I'm back now, and have quite a few questions. If you could answer ANY of these, I'd be most grateful.
Is there a way to uninstall the crappy Opera that comes with the phone? The 10 beta is infinitely better.
Is there a way to change the bookmarks that are listed on the Launch Browser tab? Or did Windows just assume that every person likes Youtube, CNN, ESPN, and Facebook?
What is causing my phone to slow down so badly? When I first got it, it ran like the roadrunner, but now its chugging at everything. I delete my texts and photos on a constant basis and the device has over 100mb onboard memory left; most of my apps go to my SD card.
Is there a program as good as Google Maps that supports voice, turn-by-turn GPS other than Nav4All? [which I hated]
Is there any Facebook apps that are as good and CURRENT [where's my like button, clown?] as the Blackberry/iPhone apps? If not, what is the best one available?
Is there anyway to zoom on the Camera...? The T-Mobile Dash [HTC Excalibur] had several levels of zoom, and this seems to have none?
How do you get the weather to appear on your home page, similar to this link: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8783/screen06.png [doesn't have to be exactly like that, I just want it on the homepage.]

AlandisN said:
[*]Is there any Facebook apps that are as good and CURRENT [where's my like button, clown?] as the Blackberry/iPhone apps? If not, what is the best one available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the T-Mobile USA Touch Pro 2 as well and there's only one Facebook app I've seen and thats in the marketplace.
http://www.pocketpcfreeware.mobi/download-official-facebook-app.html
you can download this one from here if you don't have the marketplace.
http://www.pocketpcfreeware.mobi/download-facebook-mobile-by-smarttouch.html
and I don't know how this one works but it says that you don't need a data plan.

That facebook app is the one I had. It's absolutely awful. Thank you for letting me know they haven't gotten a new one yet though.

O ok. Yeah its not that good I don't like it either but I'd rather have that than nothing. I hope they update it.

[I'll have a go at a couple of them, but I think you should look at flashing with a custom ROM which will solve nearly all of the problems
What is causing my phone to slow down so badly? When I first got it, it ran like the roadrunner, but now its chugging at everything. I delete my texts and photos on a constant basis and the device has over 100mb onboard memory left; most of my apps go to my SD card.
That could be a part of your problem. Program access from the memory card is slow on my TP2
Is there a program as good as Google Maps that supports voice, turn-by-turn GPS other than Nav4All? [which I hated]
Tomtom works really well once tweaks listed at the top of this board are done
How do you get the weather to appear on your home page, similar to this link: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8783/screen06.png [doesn't have to be exactly like that, I just want it on the homepage.]
This is in the new versions of manilla 2.5 and some of the 2.1 versions. You will need to flash to use them, tho'
EDIT: Ark's Xperia panels have a nice facebook app, well its better than the MS one anyway! The panels work but my device slowed down too much with them loaded

stunno said:
[I'll have a go at a couple of them, but I think you should look at flashing with a custom ROM which will solve nearly all of the problems
What is causing my phone to slow down so badly? When I first got it, it ran like the roadrunner, but now its chugging at everything. I delete my texts and photos on a constant basis and the device has over 100mb onboard memory left; most of my apps go to my SD card.
That could be a part of your problem. Program access from the memory card is slow on my TP2
Is there a program as good as Google Maps that supports voice, turn-by-turn GPS other than Nav4All? [which I hated]
Tomtom works really well once tweaks listed at the top of this board are done
How do you get the weather to appear on your home page, similar to this link: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8783/screen06.png [doesn't have to be exactly like that, I just want it on the homepage.]
This is in the new versions of manilla 2.5 and some of the 2.1 versions. You will need to flash to use them, tho'
EDIT: Ark's Xperia panels have a nice facebook app, well its better than the MS one anyway! The panels work but my device slowed down too much with them loaded
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A. Is TomTom free?
B. How do I "flash w/a ROM?"
C. Thanks.

On the camera question, there is a zoom capability, while in camera mode, slide your finger on the zoom bar and you will see another on-screen zoom bar come up and the image should zoom in (depending which way you are sliding your finger). All of this is digital zoom though, but the feature is there.

New Android User Questions

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).

[Q] multi-tasking question

hi, since I've been using honeycomb in my A500 and got to used the Xoom and Galaxy tab I noted that I can only have 5 apps on the multi-task buttom.
Is there a way that i can increase the number of apps on the multitasking buttom like Xoom and Glaxy Tab??

3.1 includes an update to show your last 18 apps in place of the 5 currently in 3.0

As far as I know, that button only shows recently opened apps, not running apps... but I too am looking forward to being able to see more.

To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.

WereCatf said:
To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bump. Needs a built in logical easy to use task manager that clearly shows what is running and offers options to close/disable said app.
Not really the way android works, I find keeping a copy of atk around on my rooted device helps a lot - remove the crap that you don't use, keep an eye on running tasks and free ram.

It would be nice if they would put in a little icon to indicate which apps are open in the recent app menu, maybe even on the app icons themselves on the home screen or whatever. I don't think it'd be that hard to implement.

lord_voldemort666 said:
It would be nice if they would put in a little icon to indicate which apps are open in the recent app menu, maybe even on the app icons themselves on the home screen or whatever. I don't think it'd be that hard to implement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even something as simple as a small green sphere -- with 1px or 2px black edge around it for clarity -- next to the running applications' icons would already help. You'd still have to jump through hoops to shut them down though if they don't offer such a menu option themselves.
All in all, Android is terribly confusing and definitely isn't all that end-user-friendly. Like for example, there is no kind of help menu in any of the built-in apps, only a select few 3rd party apps offer such, meaning that it's tough for a Jane the Newcomer to figure out what's what. Then the aforementioned multitasking mess. Not to mention the fact that Android Market is a total mess itself too; Google doesn't have any kind of a validation system in place so there's all kinds of scam apps and crapware there, and apps are not even always in the correct category either. Inconsistency on controls is also a hindrance as I think Google should create very specific guidelines for basic UI management and controls. And don't get me started on topics about how things are under the hood..

Jocis said:
hi, since I've been using honeycomb in my A500 and got to used the Xoom and Galaxy tab I noted that I can only have 5 apps on the multi-task buttom.
Is there a way that i can increase the number of apps on the multitasking buttom like Xoom and Glaxy Tab??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn the tablet to the portrait orientation and you will see 7 apps.

WereCatf said:
To be honest, the whole multitasking concept on Android is an utter mess; I can never know if the application I just used is still running in the background or not unless the application itself places an icon in the systray, and there is no quick, logical way of seeing all running applications and switching between them. If you want to see all the running ones you have to jump through several hoops, and the recently opened - list doesn't indicate which ones are still running and which ones aren't.
I really hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i thought. Google have some big mess in all their android devices.
I didn't knew if it was right to call the recently open item a multitasking because it was somehow confusing and I think I read in the android developer page for honeycomb explains that as multitasking.
I hate the store in Puerto Rico, I'm using market enabler to get some apps because I can't see a full market and even download some apps for country limitations. I don't even have the Tablet section

[Q] Multiple Home Screen "profiles"

Is it possible to create, save and switch between different sets of home screens and setting.
HTC Sense has "Scenes" that allows this, even my old Nokia E71 had two profiles that allowed for a completely different home screen and settings.
Is there anyway of doing this with the Nexus 4?
I would like to have a set of home screens and settings with the stuff I use at work, then be able to switch to another profile that has different home screens and settings for the road trips, and another for home.
I have seen apps that allow for all the settings to be switched, but have not had any luck with changing the home screen.

-BEGIN RANT-:crying:
Am I the only one that desires to customize my phone for completely different segments of my life and be able to switch between them with ease?
OK really, I need to learn to develop this stuff, because there are many basic tasks I thought would be standard issue by now on these little computers we carry with us, but not.
:angel:-END OD RANT-
So my Nexus 4 should be arriving today, so i guess I will start to play with it. I read about installing separate launchers and switching between them with Tasker.
Can more then one instance of a single app, like a launcher, be installed by changing something in some setting once I am rooted?
Any thought, ideas to give me another direction to search?
any good "learn everything there is to know about android development in one day" classes or books?

cjunk said:
-BEGIN RANT-:crying:
Am I the only one that desires to customize my phone for completely different segments of my life and be able to switch between them with ease?
OK really, I need to learn to develop this stuff, because there are many basic tasks I thought would be standard issue by now on these little computers we carry with us, but not.
:angel:-END OD RANT-
So my Nexus 4 should be arriving today, so i guess I will start to play with it. I read about installing separate launchers and switching between them with Tasker.
Can more then one instance of a single app, like a launcher, be installed by changing something in some setting once I am rooted?
Any thought, ideas to give me another direction to search?
any good "learn everything there is to know about android development in one day" classes or books?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most custom ROMs have profiles for just this. You can easily switch between them by pulling down the notification bar and clicking on a quick tile. I know for sure that carbon does this and assume most of the major releases will as well.
Carbonized and francofied N4

Chameleon Launcher allows this.

Thanks for the suggestions.
ingenious247 said:
Chameleon Launcher allows this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to, but it seems to be not very reliable at the moment from what I read. It is also a big change from the standard android feel I like.
I still might give it a try though, I like that they are trying something different. Looks almost like a windows/android warp
Cuzz1369 said:
Most custom ROMs have profiles for just this. You can easily switch between them by pulling down the notification bar and clicking on a quick tile. I know for sure that carbon does this and assume most of the major releases will as well.
Carbonized and francofied N4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen roms and launchers that promote their "profiles" feature, but all them do not seem to go as far as allowing me to save a whole set of home screen configurations, then change from one set to the other with ease. They seem to be just a collection of settings like volumes, sounds, radios on/off and such.
I will look into carbon to see if it can indeed do this.
I find it hard to actually find a detailed listing of what different roms can do. most of the info is just how to install, bugs and more technical development stuff.
My new baby was sitting all bundled up on the table when I got home today. I haven't even had a chance to turn her on yet. still admiring the curves

cjunk said:
Thanks for the suggestions.
It seems to, but it seems to be not very reliable at the moment from what I read. It is also a big change from the standard android feel I like.
I still might give it a try though, I like that they are trying something different. Looks almost like a windows/android warp
I have seen roms and launchers that promote their "profiles" feature, but all them do not seem to go as far as allowing me to save a whole set of home screen configurations, then change from one set to the other with ease. They seem to be just a collection of settings like volumes, sounds, radios on/off and such.
I will look into carbon to see if it can indeed do this.
I find it hard to actually find a detailed listing of what different roms can do. most of the info is just how to install, bugs and more technical development stuff.
My new baby was sitting all bundled up on the table when I got home today. I haven't even had a chance to turn her on yet. still admiring the curves
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you'll be happ. Best phone I've ever had. And you are right about the profiles being mostly setting. Carbon is like that too. The only work around I can think of is a launcher. I use nova it is rock solid. You can back up the configuration and restore in less than a minute.
Carbonized and francofied N4

Original home screen

Hi there.
Anybody find solution how to fast switch between running apps? It is annoying every time open up home screen and lunch apps again.
This is one of the thing why I'm planning to re flush my device to Android 5.1 or M.
Thank you for any ideas.

I'd like to find a way to do that too. Would love to replace that twitch menu with a recents menu. Preferably with a force close option.

JohnHenryIron said:
I'd like to find a way to do that too. Would love to replace that twitch menu with a recents menu. Preferably with a force close option.
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Click to collapse
I can't believe that so lazy people over here.
Any way , i found solution Smart+Taskbar+2+(V2)_2.3.0
Its OK at least resolved some discomfort .
good luck

@Zavulon61 I think you misunderstand. It's not laziness, it's efficiency. When you have multiple programs running and need to keep switching back & forth it really gets time consuming. For instance, editing a config file for an emulator in a file explorer then opening the emulator to test the new settings. Especially when the apps are sideloaded and do not show up on the home screen. Some apps even require a force close to reload the changes made.
As for the app you mentioned, I googled it and it seems to only be shortcuts to programs you select, not a list of recent apps.

There is no way to get recent apps as of android 5.0 as Google removed that ability. They had to to get the improvements in, but I digress. I personally use Glovebox on the left, and swapps on the right, with a mouse of course, and it's not as good as it should be on full android, but it's much much better. I'd suggest giving it a shot.

kdb424 said:
There is no way to get recent apps as of android 5.0 as Google removed that ability. They had to to get the improvements in, but I digress. I personally use Glovebox on the left, and swapps on the right, with a mouse of course, and it's not as good as it should be on full android, but it's much much better. I'd suggest giving it a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for new idea . I tried Glovebox . I like it. Now it is my lifesaver . Thank you again!!!