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htc have said they are developing the Sense UI for eclair, but in my opinion, there is nothing seriuosly wrong with the standard Android UI as it is,
why dont they release the Sense UI afterwards as as optional upgrade?
i think they are wasting their time, i buy HTC phones for the good hardware design and components, not for the UI, even on WM i used to turn off their enhancements to the WM UI.
does anyone else feel they are wasting their time?
edit: sorry about the slightly vague poll options
totally not on your side. sense ui is great, i like it much better than stock android. also not on your side concerning htc's improvments in general, sorry...
Love the Sense UI.
Gives it a polished feel. Onlt concern I have is over long term support for it as the device becomes last year's model. But by then, standard Android should be much more polished as well...
Zuber
Love the sense UI. Will not go back to Android UI.
Had a G1 running "vanilla" Android prior to my Hero, and I wouldn't want to go back to the standard interface. Sense UI all the way for me!
Regards,
Dave
I dont see a lot of people agreeing with you. SenseUI is fantastic. Can't wait to see what they do with Android 2.0
Sense is perhaps redundant in some ways, but also very much valuable in many places. The 7 home screens are way more spacious than the default 3. The unified contacts view allows me to get all I need to know about a contact from one place. The skinned apps are more finger-friendly and provide a more consistent user experience.
Overall, I think Sense adds great value to the Android platform, and sets the Hero apart from other Android phones. That's not to say vanilla Android is bad, but it's what it is: vanilla.
I think of Android as more of a bare minimum enabler as opposed to a full mobile OS. Yes indeed, it can be run as a full mobile OS, but the experience is minimal. However, it lays the framework for vendors to differentiate their products from the competition, while maintaining application cross-compatibility.
another problem i see in future is the android os fracturing in the same way linux has, ironically.
yes there is a vanilla feel to the standard android theme, but it runs fast and stable, unlike the sense ui which has already crashed at least once (yes, latest updates have been applied), this sort of thing was common with the WM skins that HTC developed.
for me, the main factor is stability not looks, as im not going to be spending my day looking at the screen. if its not stable enough to not go a day without crashing, then theres problems. moving to htc android from htc wm, i was hoping there would be more stability but not yet.
I kinda like good old vanilla, but sense does look really nice. Things I really like about sense is: contacts, browser, camera, album and calendar. These features are hard to let go of. The special widgets are not a real big deal.
warsng said:
another problem i see in future is the android os fracturing in the same way linux has, ironically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is always going to be an issue given that Android uses a non-copyleft open source licence. It is simultaneously both a good and bad thing!
yes there is a vanilla feel to the standard android theme, but it runs fast and stable, unlike the sense ui which has already crashed at least once (yes, latest updates have been applied), this sort of thing was common with the WM skins that HTC developed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not discounting your experience at all, but I came from a G1 running vanilla Android, and I've found that Hero/Sense is at least as stable as that.
for me, the main factor is stability not looks, as im not going to be spending my day looking at the screen. if its not stable enough to not go a day without crashing, then theres problems. moving to htc android from htc wm, i was hoping there would be more stability but not yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have problems with your Hero crashing daily, you definitely have problems. I seldom feel the need to reboot my Hero. Then again, whilst I use a Modaco ROM, I don't use Apps2SD, Swapper, or regularly kill tasks, and many of the problems I see on this site are likely related to those.
Regards,
Dave
Sense UI only means every nice thing Google does for Android has to go through HTC, which takes time. Also after 2.0 Android we will not get anything new to Hero from HTC, I can guarantee that. You will have to buy "Hero II".
Sense is a way for HTC to stamp their own branding on the phone. Its a differentiator amongst the coming wave of Android devices.
People have done this for years with WiMo and Symbian.
Its called marketing
I think HTC have done an amazing job with their GUI, as said above, it adds polish to an excellent OS.
Nothing worse IMHO than having a new handset that may look different hardware wise but just like everything else when you look at the screen. Which you do whenever you use it
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
warsng said:
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in my opinion, it's more functional and at least as stable. So, I don't see your problem!
Regards,
Dave
warsng said:
htc have said they are developing the Sense UI for eclair, but in my opinion, there is nothing seriuosly wrong with the standard Android UI as it is,
why dont they release the Sense UI afterwards as as optional upgrade?
i think they are wasting their time, i buy HTC phones for the good hardware design and components, not for the UI, even on WM i used to turn off their enhancements to the WM UI.
does anyone else feel they are wasting their time?
edit: sorry about the slightly vague poll options
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
definetly: NO. Sense UI is the best thing which happened to Android.
Pure Android just doesn't look professional UI wise. HTC was the first company who provided a great skin to android AND made it more functional also (HTC SENSE Contacts app is nearly perfect).
Yes pure Android might be faster, and HTc Touch FLO on Windows Mobile was SLOW. BUT HTC Sense on Android is really fast enough for me. especially after the update. And i can't live without all the great Sense Apps and widgets.
Sorry for my self promotion, but i wrote exactly about this issue on my blog. I'm a longterm Windows Mobile user switching to android, thanks to HTC and HTC Sense. I think HTC Sense brought Android to the next level Usability and UI wise:
http://smartphoneblogging.com/2009/09/a-longterm-windows-mobile-user-switching-to-android-part-4-htc-sense-review/
jpalo said:
Sense UI only means every nice thing Google does for Android has to go through HTC, which takes time. Also after 2.0 Android we will not get anything new to Hero from HTC, I can guarantee that. You will have to buy "Hero II".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that maybe true. in this case you can always root your phone and get the further updates via xda devs...
still "not getting updates" for 3 years is not enough to let HTC Sense go. It provides just so much better usability. The folks at google can't provide such an experience up to now, and they never will because the whole concept of Android is: take the OS framework, and customize it to your liking, thats when companies like HTC come into play.
warsng said:
i have never understood why people are so concerned about the looks more than the functionality/stability. but then i've never understood much about human behaviour
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not about looks, it's about USABILITY and FUNCTIONALITY, not only one of them. And overall HTC Sense has both.
HTC adds even more to the mix like multitouch and the whole facebook, twitter, flickr integration. Yeah Android 2.0 provides this too now, but HTC will keep adding stuff which is missing in vanilla android.
i accept the point that this is about marketing, but its not like i would forget that this is a HTC phone if the interface did not remind me 24 hrs a day.
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
warsng said:
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each to their own of course, but to resent Sense being the default UI is probably a bit harsh when Sense is one of the key features that Hero is marketed with!
If you really want to use the default home screen, the easiest method would be to download "Home Switcher" from the Market (yes, I know it can be done manually, but this is easier!).
Regards,
Dave
warsng said:
i accept the point that this is about marketing, but its not like i would forget that this is a HTC phone if the interface did not remind me 24 hrs a day.
i also resent the fact that the default is to have the Sense UI on. it would be ok if there was a more of a choice. maybe i havent yet learnt how to turn it off properly, im a bit of a android noob , i confess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can switch to default Android home quite easily. Go to settings, mnage apps, findd touchFLO, reset it's default category. And press home button - you will be able to choose betwen 2 homes and set a default one again.
Hopefuly you will see how much worse the original home is - even sliding through homescreeens feels unpolished and not smooth. I use 1.6 on the Magic too and trust me, HTC is a savior for Android. Would not use Android at all without SenseUI.
Also, there is a myth that SenseUI stuff sit on top on original Android, like TouchFLO sits on top of WinMo. But that is not true. Since Android is open source, HTC just modify and manipulate it. HTC home is separate though, but it is based on Androids home and runs in the same level.
but, everyone loves Touchwiz.
At the onset of SGS release, a large portion of us, excluding me for sure, has harshly criticized the Samsung's iPhone-wannabe TouchWiz UI.
However, I have seen a trend lately. The TouchWiz UI has gained its popularity from other android device communities. For example, TouchWiz launcher has ported to Nexus One and HTC Desire .
What do you think? Love for SGS is emerging? :]
Remember, this is only for discussion sake, no need to flame. It's just an interesting finding for me.
I love it much much more than HTC's Sense because it is like iPhone. It's far more useable and functional this way. My sons and wife thought that it was a new iPhone. In fact, I think the body of the phone looks more iPhone than iPhone 4.
eaglesteve said:
I love it much much more than HTC's Sense because it is like iPhone. It's far more useable and functional this way. My sons and wife thought that it was a new iPhone. In fact, I think the body of the phone looks more iPhone than iPhone 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha Ha, well since the iphone 4 is broken and is about to have either a massive recall or suffer endless ridicule, the SGS might just be the "new" iphone
Personally I thought the widgets were annoying, too much clutter in them, like stocks and things that I didn't want, nor need.
The page-flips in the apps-listing was annoying, took me too long to go through it, and it made sorting a *****.
It's buggersome and slow, at least at the moment.
LauncherPro on the other hand, now there's a gem! Grey and sleek icons, sweet previews, and fast, even on the luggy SGS.
Morghus said:
Personally I thought the widgets were annoying, too much clutter in them, like stocks and things that I didn't want, nor need.
The page-flips in the apps-listing was annoying, took me too long to go through it, and it made sorting a *****.
It's buggersome and slow, at least at the moment.
LauncherPro on the other hand, now there's a gem! Grey and sleek icons, sweet previews, and fast, even on the luggy SGS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. I feel much the same. Launcher Pro makes a big visual difference.
TouchWiz looks nothing like the iPhone -- it's garish and tacky.
I've seen quite the contrary, in fact the first thing i did to my phone was to install HTC sense UI
accinfo said:
but, everyone loves Touchwiz.
At the onset of SGS release, a large portion of us, excluding me for sure, has harshly criticized the Samsung's iPhone-wannabe TouchWiz UI.
However, I have seen a trend lately. The TouchWiz UI has gained its popularity from other android device communities. For example, TouchWiz launcher has ported to Nexus One and HTC Desire .
What do you think? Love for SGS is emerging? :]
Remember, this is only for discussion sake, no need to flame. It's just an interesting finding for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AllGamer said:
I've seen quite the contrary, in fact the first thing i did to my phone was to install HTC sense UI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I wanted an iPhone look and feel I would have bought the iPhone 3gs, but I want something new, interesting, and completely original. Touchwiz is not that and the htc sense is. In addition the stock Android 2.2 is extremely powerful and very user friendly. I really wish the hardware developers started learning that all they need to do to the phone is customize the OS to work the best on the phone. Do not add any UI flavors, because the customer will do that. The android system was designed so that the customer can customize their phone. Yes the touchwiz is pretty cool, but that is not why I would buy the phone.
ritkit said:
If I wanted an iPhone look and feel I would have bought the iPhone 3gs, but I want something new, interesting, and completely original. Touchwiz is not that and the htc sense is. In addition the stock Android 2.2 is extremely powerful and very user friendly. I really wish the hardware developers started learning that all they need to do to the phone is customize the OS to work the best on the phone. Do not add any UI flavors, because the customer will do that. The android system was designed so that the customer can customize their phone. Yes the touchwiz is pretty cool, but that is not why I would buy the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you that manufacturers should not be adding any UI "enhancements."
I feel that TouchWiz is really ugly (colors, icons) and Sense is just tacky (the curved "dock" at the bottom). We should be able to go to the Market to get any UI customization we need.
I am hoping Google will just ban integrated "enhancements" on Android 3.0.
I hate Sense, if I could have TouchFlo 3D on Android that would be good.
TouchWiz is shameless iPhone rip-off but I prefer it over stock and Sense.
I really like touchwiz.. It's straightforward, very consequent and the widgets look not grey/boring like sense on my Hero. Only thing what's missing, is exchange widget. Also i like the fact that touchwiz is not drifting too far from stock android.
I must say that i'm not constantly comparing it to the iPhone and have an unbiased view of the shell.. And in that view: I like it!!
us1111 said:
I really like touchwiz.. It's straightforward, very consequent and the widgets look not grey/boring like sense on my Hero. Only thing what's missing, is exchange widget. Also i like the fact that touchwiz is not drifting too far from stock android.
I must say that i'm not constantly comparing it to the iPhone and have an unbiased view of the shell.. And in that view: I like it!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a nice UI enhancement, but it like trying to put a Ferrari body on a truck frame. Just does not work very well enough.
I have seen the video demo of Wiz3 earlier and I still have to say.. the UI is gay.
because of 2 main reasons:
1. no vertical scrolling of apps
2. no cool gadgets on home screen
if samsung ever fixes this, then the UI would be the best one out there.
emclondon said:
I have seen the video demo of Wiz3 earlier and I still have to say.. the UI is gay.
because of 2 main reasons:
1. no vertical scrolling of apps
2. no cool gadgets on home screen
if samsung ever fixes this, then the UI would be the best one out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I hate vertical scrolling. Love the way it's done in Samsung.
err.. well, its matter of user preference. I say samsung must include settings for UI where one can change the orientation to cater users with different preferences.
I personally "hate" the list view. been seeing list view ever since i was a kid, why do i need it in a smart phone?
i like some of its features but dont like that if set up a certain way it mimics ios. overall win though, just needs some optimization.
emclondon said:
1. no vertical scrolling of
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong
In the app drawer, press menu and select list view
though I can understand somewhat the similarity between touchwiz UI and IPhone UI, the similarity are so minor and stopped at the side scrolling applications.
If something works then it works, no point in avoiding it for the sake of being original. You could as well call iphone for copying palm device for the shape of their phone and windows mobile for the dail pad.
I would like to get some peoples ideas on what is wrong with HTC sense. I see a lot of people on here don't like it, but what is the reasoning behind it? I'm using a rooted evo with Fresh ROM, and I had a hero before it also running Fresh ROM. I personally love the sense interface, and when I see a plain jane phone like a friends Intercept with just 3 screens, or boring vanilla phones, it's like sense is soo much better. So what are some advantages that you guys don't use sense? Just would like some insight.
I personally love the sense UI. It does have glitches, but so does every other one. I like the seven screens... that is a big reason I love it, not to mention the weather and clock widget. I have tried different phones and don't like them...but that is just my preference!
I use ADW launcher which is more of a stock Android feel. Sense has a lot of great features but its not customizable enough with a launcher like ADW you can change almost any settning. Example my launcher has 5x5 apps and so does all of my screens have 5x5 apps. With Sense you have a wasted "+" key on the bottom right which I dont like who really uses that key.
1. I'm a designer/digital creative in the real world. I like to consider myself as having pretty good design sense and education, most people think so too. That said, HTC was so ugly and badly designed that I wanted to return my EVO until CM was finally released. The graphic design work is amateur at best and is simply a bad random mashup of Android and iOS elements. Although stock Android is simple (which I think is a good thing), the graphics are not badly made. I could go on to specifics but you can search my posting history because I've mentioned it a lot. I even was in the process of making a redesigned theme of HTC Sense and still get PMs to finish even to this day.
2. It's slow. Scrolling through a long contact list is laggy in Sense and isn't in stock Android. I could repeat that line for just about every Sense included app. On top of that there's a lot of Sense processes that eat RAM and processing power.
3. It's probably badly made. It's slow but what else is wrong? Who's idea was it to stick and sync insane amounts of XML into my Gmail contacts to store data? That's freaking stupid and so amateur. Remember how HTC peeps failed to authorize because they used a known depreciating method? Makes me wonder what other dumb decisions they implemented. Of course I didn't stick around to find out.
Bottom line is this: HTC is incapable of making a quality mobile OS on their own. If they could they would. I can pretty much guarantee you that. But they can't because they are not as talented as Google, it's as simple as that. The only reason they love Android so much, and they do, is because it's the next best thing. They can take all their amateur hour coding/design work, stick it into open source Android, and then call it HTC Sense with Google.
You can get the 7 screens with a lot of launchers. I use Launcher Pro plus. It also gives me just about any dock and dock Icon I want... 15 apps on a dock that scrolls + Tons of weather/clock skins from beautiful widgets and sense gets facerolled.
Not only that, AOSP like Cyanogen is just much more smooth, more fast that sense. I never was a fan of vanilla and it took a little bit to get used to Cyanogen.. but after a little bit, I can't go back to sense. I tried and they just aren't near as smooth.
When you first flash CM it is pretty ugly so I throw one of the great themes on top of it and makes things MUCH better.
My biggest complaint about sense is how much ram it eats up.
i don't think there is anything wrong with sense and i have no issues with it. With 2.2/2.3 and 3.0 its need and other custom skins could fade, but make no mistake sense was instrumental in bringing android to the masses. regardless of how you feel about it that was the most important thing. besides, for a hardware company, its not to bad astecically in my opinion either, my two cents. The more important factor is that its android based
xlGmanlx said:
i don't think there is anything wrong with sense and i have no issues with it. With 2.2/2.3 and 3.0 its need and other custom skins could fade, but make no mistake sense was instrumental in bringing android to the masses. regardless of how you feel about it that was the most important thing. besides, for a hardware company, its not to bad astecically in my opinion either, my two cents. The more important factor is that its android based
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense was instrumental to bring Android to the masses? Huh? In what way? I'd say that Motorola's Droid campaign was more instrumental (at least in the US), and that was stock initially and near stock even with the blur crap.
HTC Sense is HTC's way of pretending to have invented their own OS. Pretty soon HTC Sense will be so modified that it'll be hard to tell that it's running on top of Android - especially once you realize how much lower the quality is.
Sense is my favorite because of the widgets. I have not found widgets that replace the FriendStream/Calendar widgets... (that look exactly the same or are the same size and show the same information)
The evo was the first phone touted for its interface and software that was on par with the iPhone and in some cases winning side by side comparisons. The droid for sure brought awareness but the evo took it to the next step. There were issues with the initial motoblur that sense didn't have. As the more we get into android the need for sense like overlays I think will subside
Award Tour said:
Sense was instrumental to bring Android to the masses? Huh? In what way? I'd say that Motorola's Droid campaign was more instrumental (at least in the US), and that was stock initially and near stock even with the blur crap.
HTC Sense is HTC's way of pretending to have invented their own OS. Pretty soon HTC Sense will be so modified that it'll be hard to tell that it's running on top of Android - especially once you realize how much lower the quality is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Top 5 Reasons why people DON'T like Sense:
5: Very "Busy" interface with too much to look at
4: Takes up WAY too much internal memory
3: Way too much bloatware running in the background and too many files associated with Sense
2: No smoothness to it, very jerky, very laggy
1: Very SLOW as far as overall performance, quadrant numbers, and overall feel.
There's just way too much going on with sense. A lot of bloatware and useless crap!
Personally, I enjoy the stripped down look and feel of AOSP, letting Android run the way it's supposed to without any third party interference.
Vipermuscle83 said:
Top 5 Reasons why people DON'T like Sense:
5: Very "Busy" interface with too much to look at
4: Takes up WAY too much internal memory
3: Way too much bloatware running in the background and too many files associated with Sense
2: No smoothness to it, very jerky, very laggy
1: Very SLOW as far as overall performance, quadrant numbers, and overall feel.
There's just way too much going on with sense. A lot of bloatware and useless crap!
Personally, I enjoy the stripped down look and feel of AOSP, letting Android run the way it's supposed to without any third party interference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense is nice, I love the widgets it offers. I just dont like the dock really, and I agree with all five above and
6. Im just used to the vanilla feel from my g1 days.
Again, people care way too much about the aesthetics when it comes to the positives and negatives about the Sense UI. With as much customization as Android allows us, it's almost silly to say that a particular UI sucks because it doesn't look good; if users don't like the looks, they have every opportunity in the world to change that.
Given that the paint job on top of Sense UI is dynamic, I think most of the gripes are pretty invalid. Instead, let's talk about how seamless FriendStream is... or how Smart Dialer is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread... or how the Facebook integration is the best on any platform this side of the sun? These all count for something, and these all represent the true Sense we should be discussing. If people don't like the mechanics, that's fine. I think you're wrong, and the above mentioned features work great on my phone. But if you don't like how it LOOKS... just change it.
Great point man, especially if you are rooted
sobis1dm said:
Again, people care way too much about the aesthetics when it comes to the positives and negatives about the Sense UI. With as much customization as Android allows us, it's almost silly to say that a particular UI sucks because it doesn't look good; if users don't like the looks, they have every opportunity in the world to change that.
Given that the paint job on top of Sense UI is dynamic, I think most of the gripes are pretty invalid. Instead, let's talk about how seamless FriendStream is... or how Smart Dialer is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread... or how the Facebook integration is the best on any platform this side of the sun? These all count for something, and these all represent the true Sense we should be discussing. If people don't like the mechanics, that's fine. I think you're wrong, and the above mentioned features work great on my phone. But if you don't like how it LOOKS... just change it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree too, its just the look of it really I dont like, so I use ADW to get that vanilla look. The Facebook integration is the best feature I like.
Vipermuscle83 said:
Top 5 Reasons why people DON'T like Sense:
5: Very "Busy" interface with too much to look at
4: Takes up WAY too much internal memory
3: Way too much bloatware running in the background and too many files associated with Sense
2: No smoothness to it, very jerky, very laggy
1: Very SLOW as far as overall performance, quadrant numbers, and overall feel.
There's just way too much going on with sense. A lot of bloatware and useless crap!
Personally, I enjoy the stripped down look and feel of AOSP, letting Android run the way it's supposed to without any third party interference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically he went over the top complaints about Sense... the only thing that Sense has over stock Android is that HTC compiled the 4g code for capable phones and unfortunately it's still not available on vanilla roms. That would be THE ONLY plus to Sense but only for it's connection ability nd not its overall functionality...
Hey,
Believe me I can understand what there IS to like about Sense for those who like using its unique features. I'm simply stating what those who don't like Sense, such as myself, find irritating about the UI. It's really just a personal preference when it comes to Sense. Some people really concentrate on shear performance while others focus on functionality and features. I was coming from a rooted Nexus One with CM5 on it and running OH SO FAST and couldn't stand the difference with Sense UI running over Android. To me, AOSP had everything that was important to me and allowed me to access it and maintain it with a heck of a lot more responsiveness and eye-popping performance so I just wanted to keep that trend going with my EVO.
derekwilkinson said:
Sense is my favorite because of the widgets. I have not found widgets that replace the FriendStream/Calendar widgets... (that look exactly the same or are the same size and show the same information)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Launcher Pro Plus has the stock Android feel, and if you buy the paid version you get widgets that are very much like the Sense widgets. Best of both worlds.
Personally I don't use it, because I don't have the need for those widgets. If I did, though, I'd buy it in a heartbeat because AOSP outperforms Sense by a wide margin.
I agree... Friendstream means nothing to me except more battery drain. I do LOVE the sense facebook integration and the sense copy-n-paste...and a few sense widgets.
But its not worth the drop in overall performance for me to use it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I like sense. I also like AOSP. It depends on my mood I suppose. I like the widgets that sense offers, and I must say, using Myn's RLS 4, I experience nothing but extraordinary performance. Whatever he did in his RoM, it is faar smoother than when I was stock. Smooth, fast, and it looks waaay better than stock. Plus, you can customize the rosie buttons to launch mostly whatever app you want. I honestly don't even remember what an unthemed stock evo looks like. Either way, I think it's a personal preference. Try out all launchers and ROMS, see what tickles your fancy.
......and people are right, Moto Blur is a cluster****.
I am not too tech savvy, but not a dummy either.
Suggestions and tips on rooting would be great.
Meanwhile, I will keep digging around this site, I am sure the answers are somewhere here, but there is so much info......
Try "gladroot"
JRSOne said:
......and people are right, Moto Blur is a cluster****.
I am not too tech savvy, but not a dummy either.
Suggestions and tips on rooting would be great.
Meanwhile, I will keep digging around this site, I am sure the answers are somewhere here, but there is so much info......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just rooted my atrix last night with "gladroot". http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12540398
Before you root, install Motorola driver first. Nobody didn't mention about it until later and it took me for a while to troubleshoot. As long as you read and follow the instructions, it's not difficult.
http://briefmobile.com/motorola-atrix-4g-root
JRSOne said:
I am not too tech savvy, but not a dummy either.
Suggestions and tips on rooting would be great.
Meanwhile, I will keep digging around this site, I am sure the answers are somewhere here, but there is so much info......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't have to dig far!
Rooting for dummies is on the 1st floor! LOL
Thanks a lot, very nice.
3GS -> Atrix
JRSOne said:
......and people are right, Moto Blur is a cluster****.
I am not too tech savvy, but not a dummy either.
Suggestions and tips on rooting would be great.
Meanwhile, I will keep digging around this site, I am sure the answers are somewhere here, but there is so much info......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just made the same switch last week (3GS -> Atrix). Agree that MotoBlur sux and it's also been painful syncing contacts and calendar from my work's Outlook (going through Google isn't an option)
One reason I made the switch was for the less restrictive Android OS. However if you're on version 1.57, it looks like you have to take a few steps backwards to get ahead (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12540398). Looks like I'll have to set aside some time to play...
JRSOne said:
......and people are right, Moto Blur is a cluster****.
I am not too tech savvy, but not a dummy either.
Suggestions and tips on rooting would be great.
Meanwhile, I will keep digging around this site, I am sure the answers are somewhere here, but there is so much info......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get adw launcher and use titanium backup to freeze blur. Fixes that problem right up. On the other hand, try running gingerblur which has a clean UI and runs quite smooth. It also removes a ton of other bloatware on the phone. Everything except adw launcher requires root of course.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I don't understand why ppl say "blur sucks"....I like BLUR, it's very useful with all that widgets to have all your Social Networks quickly in one hand.
emandt said:
I don't understand why ppl say "blur sucks"....I like BLUR, it's very useful with all that widgets to have all your Social Networks quickly in one hand.
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Blur USED to suck, past tense. It doesn't suck too badly anymore. And I can't see why a new user would say it sucks when they have no experience. This is just a blind statement.
I'm very picky with my launchers and if I could tweak Blur to look better and purge a few things I don't use, it actually wouldn't be very bad at all. But I like that with the other launchers I can personally tweak them precisely to my preference.
bongd said:
Blur USED to suck, past tense. It doesn't suck too badly anymore. And I can't see why a new user would say it sucks when they have no experience. This is just a blind statement.
I'm very picky with my launchers and if I could tweak Blur to look better and purge a few things I don't use, it actually wouldn't be very bad at all. But I like that with the other launchers I can personally tweak them precisely to my preference.
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BLUR sucks.
Exchange 2003 notifications are broken.
Unified Inbox doesn't include GMail. (that's a hurr durr right there)
Duplicate functionality of what already exists (Social Networking, Accounts, Corporate Sync)
I don't mind the homescreen/launcher.
My biggest complaint with blur is simply the lag when switching home screens and bringing up the full list of apps. And that you can't change anything on the dock. And the widgets are ugly. Oh wait...that's pretty much everything that blur does I hate...
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I am saying it sucks because I am comparing it to my iphone. I can't express how much cleaner, simplier and user friendly the 3GS is compared to blur.
I certainly hope that other Android phones are not this bad.
If I can't find a better OS that works for me, I will simply get an iphone 4. I guess I was spoiled.
JRSOne said:
I am saying it sucks because I am comparing it to my iphone. I can't express how much cleaner, simplier and user friendly the 3GS is compared to blur.
I certainly hope that other Android phones are not this bad.
If I can't find a better OS that works for me, I will simply get an iphone 4. I guess I was spoiled.
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You mean the interface that is the exact same for everyone? The iPhone was made to be simpler. It's so everyone can use it. If you like being coddled by Apple, return the Atrix and get your i4.
It's up to you. WebOS is rising, WP7, BBOS (not as popular). Your pick, dude. Like I said, the iOS devices are made so that even a monkey could pick one up and work it like a pro.
If you're not going to take the time to tweak your device to your liking, go with iOS.
JRSOne said:
I am saying it sucks because I am comparing it to my iphone. I can't express how much cleaner, simplier and user friendly the 3GS is compared to blur.
I certainly hope that other Android phones are not this bad.
If I can't find a better OS that works for me, I will simply get an iphone 4. I guess I was spoiled.
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Yep. The other androids are not that bad. The original froyo has a cleaner and faster approach than motoblur. Motoblur by far is the worst UI-skin you can possibly have.
peacekeeper05 said:
Yep. The other androids are not that bad. The original froyo has a cleaner and faster approach than motoblur. Motoblur by far is the worst UI-skin you can possibly have.
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Have you ever tried TouchWiz? the iPhone wanna-be? Sense is decent, but Blur is one of the closest manufacture's skins to Vanilla Android.
Also, your opinion on Blur is your own. Many people love and use Blur, and many people do not. Just because you say it's the worst, does not make it so.
I advise you to try out all the other different interfaces, and tell me Blur is the complete and total worst you have ever tried.
What about the newer blur on the droid x?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
PixoNova said:
Have you ever tried TouchWiz? the iPhone wanna-be? Sense is decent, but Blur is one of the closest manufacture's skins to Vanilla Android.
Also, your opinion on Blur is your own. Many people love and use Blur, and many people do not. Just because you say it's the worst, does not make it so.
I advise you to try out all the other different interfaces, and tell me Blur is the complete and total worst you have ever tried.
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Lol. It was obviously an opinion. I did not in any way said im representing the whole android community duh.
I have tried touchwiz, sense and the LG UI already. And of course i've also tried the original android stock UI.
I kinda want to know what people doesn't like on motoblur. The panels? You can empty all of them and end up with 7 panels on witch you can put whatever icons, shorcuts, widgets (and so on) you like. I'm coming from sense but I can customize the motoblur to look just as good. Don't feel like using launcher pro and already uninstalled regina 3D and adw. I woulg probably give a spb a try if they would have a trial.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
JRSOne said:
I am saying it sucks because I am comparing it to my iphone. I can't express how much cleaner, simplier and user friendly the 3GS is compared to blur.
I certainly hope that other Android phones are not this bad.
If I can't find a better OS that works for me, I will simply get an iphone 4. I guess I was spoiled.
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Click to collapse
I'm also coming from an iPhone, and here are some things I think are superior on the Atrix (and Android) to the iPhone (and iOS):
1. Non-intrusive notifications! I hated how on the iPhone, notifications pop up as dialogs that have to be closed. Sometimes you're doing something important, and you get a text message which pops up right in the middle of the screen. Irritating! I like how you can slide down the top bar when you want and it shows you your notifications.
2. Notification LED. It's great to be able to tell that you have messages or a missed call without having to turn on the screen.
3. Four hardware buttons instead of just one. After you've used the phone awhile, you'll realize how useful a back button and a menu button can be. You have to switch back to home less than you do with an iPhone. Also, hold down your home button and shortcuts to your last 8 used apps will appear.
4. Every application must advertise what features of your phone it has access to in the Manage Applications settings pages. So if an app can read and write to your contact data, it says so in the settings. On the iPhone, you have to rely on Apple to make sure all apps are doing what they're supposed to. Worse, if you get apps from Cydia, well then you're completely on your own.
5. You have 15 minutes to get a refund if you buy something from the Android Market. That's a pretty short time if you have to download a big application, but better that than no refunds at all.
6. Having the option to use an external micro-SD card is pretty nice.
7. Unlike the iPhone, the home screen and the app drawer are two separate things. It's nice to have widgets to customize your home screens.
8. For obvious reasons, Android versions of Google applications tend to have more features on Android than on the iPhone. For example, Maps has that cool 3D compass view, instead of the regular "up is North" top-down view. It also has a Street View add-on which is pretty neat and works quite well.
9. GPS seems faster and more precise on my Atrix than on my iPhone (and my friend's iPhone 4). I've heard others say the opposite with respect to the iPhone 4, so maybe it depends on where in the world you are.
10. For Bell users (ATT users have to pay I think?), Mobile wifi hotspot works great. I've tried tethering my Macbook Pro to the phone via wifi, and it works really well.
11. There's a basic data counter built in, which shows you how much data you're using, and by which apps.
12. There's a pretty decent Battery Manager built in, which shows very clearly what percentage of your used battery was used by each phone function, or application.
13. It comes with Swype as an alternate input system to the virtual keyboard, but you're free to install other 3rd party input methods if you like (there are quite a few).
Well, I don't know if I missed anything, but for the most part, these are the things that impressed me the most after using the Atrix for a couple weeks. I'm very happy I moved to the Atrix, but that's not to say that I hate the iPhone. I still like it, it has a very polished feel and the best screen in the business. And after all, it was the breakthrough smart phone when it first came out. There are just a few things that I think they really need to improve (notifications!).
slimslim said:
I kinda want to know what people doesn't like on motoblur.
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I liked some of the features of Motoblur, like having the Manage Applications settings right in the menu of your homescreens. Very useful. Some of the widgets are nice too. My major complaint is that Motoblur is so choppy when scrolling around! That's unacceptable for a high-end phone, in my opinion.
PixoNova said:
the iOS devices are made so that even a monkey could pick one up and work it like a pro.
If you're not going to take the time to tweak your device to your liking, go with iOS.
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Click to collapse
+1 this is the reason why people think that iphone its a ladies phone. its easy to use, no customizable and very locked device, like you say XD even a monkey can work on it like a pro
And why does like every other ROM for this phone (along with certain other phones) have it? Is it purely a graphical thing, does it increase performance, or what? I've generally used plain/unthemed ROMs (like CM Nightly) and then customize them the way I like (keeping them as minimal/lightweight as possible), but I'm considering switching.
Also, does it generally scale with LCD density changes? I can't use a rotary-style unlocker when I lower the LCD density, for example, because it looks messed up as a result.
Not another of these posts.
It's a point of personal preference.
One of the biggest reasons I use sense is the integration with with various apps.
I also like the looks of the sense camera
THe dialer is also pretty big for me. I can punch in the numbers based on where the alphabets are on and it deduces who I want to call. say I want to call john, I punch in 5646 and it looks up contacts that contains 5646 or the letters that correspond to the alphabet. So 5646 will also pull up everyone named john as well...
apart from that, i also like the looks of it as well.
Search bud
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
Sorry, didn't think that this question would have been asked before, especially the LCD density part - which, speaking of, anybody know if it would work with a screen density of, say, 140? Most people seem to stay at 190 or above, so searching for the answer hasn't been too successful for me.
LOL one thing is for sure it DON'T speed up phones.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
xsteven77x said:
LOL one thing is for sure it DON'T speed up phones.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
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but it does still run smooth.
It's kinda obvious it wont make things run faster when you're adding another layer you know...
mputtr said:
but it does still run smooth.
It's kinda obvious it wont make things run faster when you're adding another layer you know...
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Click to collapse
Lockscreen, dialer, camera, HTC Sense Sync, contact linking, widgets, the ability to do a search before post a repetitive thread...
Sense usually doesn't get along too well with LCD Density changes especially with the default Rosie launcher. Sense is great though, looks nice and well integrated with the apps.
As said, personal preference. I'm using Cyanogenmod now, but beyond it's appearance*, Sense covers for a lot of Android's functional deficiencies. For example, the above-mentioned T9 dialer is essential and I can't believe Android doesn't have it built in. The camera app is WAY better than the stock one. I believe you can copy selections WITHIN text messages, which is nice - in fact Sense had the Gingerbread-style text-selection functionality before Gingerbread. The clock app is also much better (and there's no use of Clockopia, which is possibly the worst font ever made by man or beast).
Newer versions allow you to launch apps from the lockscreen, which is nice.
Of course, it's pretty heavy, and all the deep twitter/facebook integration is pretty useless if you're not a big social networker.
*I find Android to be a horribly ugly operating system, but Sense isn't really much better imo. I theme every ROM before I flash it
useful, get everything u need at ease, bunch of widgets to choose from
see everything u want at glance (time, date, weather ...)
great camera
helpful lockscreen
....
professional look
telling everyone that I AM USING AN HTC phone
arich said:
Lockscreen, dialer, camera, HTC Sense Sync, contact linking, widgets, the ability to do a search before post a repetitive thread...
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you're quoting the wrong person.
I'm not the OP
I used to love the look of AOSP roms like CM and others, but I left that for MIUI.
I have used Sense for a bit but couldn't get into it. Roms like CM are made to be light and quick with little optimization. Roms like Sense and MIUI are meant to be heavily optimized, not as quick, but run smoothly non the less. As others stated, it's all about preference.
Sense is just "quietly brilliant" IMO
RyNkA said:
Sense is just "quietly brilliant" IMO
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Lol obviously that is the joke of the day!
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
RyNkA said:
Sense is just "quietly brilliant" IMO
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That always makes me laugh. Because HTC Sense is the loudest, most useless waste of space stacked with gobs of chrome UI I've ever used.
martonikaj said:
That always makes me laugh. Because HTC Sense is the loudest, most useless waste of space stacked with gobs of chrome UI I've ever used.
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To each their own. I can talk smack about anything but its better kept tom myself rather than sounding like an elitist
Sent from my Desire Z via XDA App
mputtr said:
To each their own. I can talk smack about anything but its better kept tom myself rather than sounding like an elitist
Sent from my Desire Z via XDA App
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You either love it or hate it that's just the way it is with sense. I personally don't like it, but it is nice to know if I ever really get bored I can try it out and try to like it lol.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
mputtr said:
To each their own. I can talk smack about anything but its better kept tom myself rather than sounding like an elitist
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Click to collapse
I feel a hint of cynicism... I'm not an elitist because I think that Sense is bloated. And I know I'm not alone in this thought. I'm not saying Sense is bad per se, I'm just explaining how I see it. You can talk trash about stock android if you want, but I don't think you'll get too much support on that front. I don't hate on Sense exclusively by the way, I'm not a big fan of any skins. It's not that I'm opposed to the idea of the skin, its just that no company has made a good one yet.
ptesmoke said:
You either love it or hate it that's just the way it is with sense. I personally don't like it, but it is nice to know if I ever really get bored I can try it out and try to like it lol.
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Agreed, lots of people are loyal to Sense. That's the idea, HTC wants it to be a consistent experience people get attached to, and they've spent a lot of time and money to create it.
I have a nandroid of a Sense ROM on my G2 right now. I switch to it now and then, but I go back to my normal ROM within the day. It is quite polarizing.
martonikaj said:
I feel a hint of cynicism... I'm not an elitist because I think that Sense is bloated. And I know I'm not alone in this thought. I'm not saying Sense is bad per se, I'm just explaining how I see it. You can talk trash about stock android if you want, but I don't think you'll get too much support on that front. I don't hate on Sense exclusively by the way, I'm not a big fan of any skins. It's not that I'm opposed to the idea of the skin, its just that no company has made a good one yet.
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Yeah, you got the cynicism. I said I can talk trash about anything else but just because I can does not mean I hate it or I think it's bad so don't start putting words in my mouth.
But your previous comment was as helpful as me saying "omglol touchwiz blows monkey chunks lolz!!!! Oneoneelventyone"
Sense may seem bloated to you, but no other company has come to an integration with other apps as htc has yet and still look good doing it.
Sent from my Desire Z via XDA App
mputtr said:
Yeah, you got the cynicism. I said I can talk trash about anything else but just because I can does not mean I hate it or I think it's bad so don't start putting words in my mouth.
But your previous comment was as helpful as me saying "omglol touchwiz blows monkey chunks lolz!!!! Oneoneelventyone"
Sense may seem bloated to you, but no other company has come to an integration with other apps as htc has yet and still look good doing it.
Sent from my Desire Z via XDA App
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Click to collapse
I pretty clearly expressed how I felt about the UI concepts that HTC has created (bloated, useless, too much chrome).
Everything you're saying to defend it is just as subjective as anything I can say about how bad I think it is. UI concepts are not universally accepted. Just because someone likes it doesn't mean everyone does. You may think that they've done a good job with app integration, but I really see no usefulness in Sense, and it really doesn't 'look good doing it' (which is my first point.).
I think its pretty clearly put that most Android skins are pretty polarizing, you either like it or you don't. And this polarization will obviously be strong with a very customized and long-going skin like Sense.
I just don't understand why your word is better than mine because you like Sense and I don't. You've given no more examples of how great it is than I have given of how I don't like it (although I have given a few). So really, I think you need to settle down. I said that Sense UI is bloated and full of useless crap, and you said it isn't. What an argument.