Database Users

Gingerbread... What Is In Store For Us?

I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions on this.
1. Do you think Gingerbread will bring a complete interface overhaul? I'm talking animations, images, layouts, multi tasking, notifications, launcher & more
2. Do you think it'll be like sense, improving social network integration, tidying up a lot of images images and adding a bit more functionality to widgets etc?
3. Do you think it'll be like a skin, simply taking image files that exist throughout Android and making them look more modern?
If they do infact do (1), do you think we'll lose functionality of some applications? Will apps have to be designed or positioned differently on Gingerbread?
I'm very excited for this, especially after seeing a video of MeeGo OS running on a smart phone, it looked so fly. In my opinion Google is going to need big changes to compete with MeeGo's interface (Not saying MeeGo is gonna take out Android, just saying it looked really nice & polished compared to Android's current state).
Google did good work in 2.1 with the launcher, app draw, animated backgrounds etc. but the stock images, buttons etc look so old. I think it needs an overhaul!

Well apparently 3.0 is gonna give the whole UI and device a revamp of looks so i cant wait to see what they do, I hope they make android become as polished as ios and bring smoother scrolling in.
LevitateJay said:
I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions on this.
1. Do you think Gingerbread will bring a complete interface overhaul? I'm talking animations, images, layouts, multi tasking, notifications, launcher & more
2. Do you think it'll be like sense, improving social network integration, tidying up a lot of images images and adding a bit more functionality to widgets etc?
3. Do you think it'll be like a skin, simply taking image files that exist throughout Android and making them look more modern?
If they do infact do (1), do you think we'll lose functionality of some applications? Will apps have to be designed or positioned differently on Gingerbread?
I'm very excited for this, especially after seeing a video of MeeGo OS running on a smart phone, it looked so fly. In my opinion Google is going to need big changes to compete with MeeGo's interface (Not saying MeeGo is gonna take out Android, just saying it looked really nice & polished compared to Android's current state).
Google did good work in 2.1 with the launcher, app draw, animated backgrounds etc. but the stock images, buttons etc look so old. I think it needs an overhaul!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

msavic6 said:
...and bring smoother scrolling in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This... very much, this.
It's amazing to me that third-party launcher replacements offer perfectly smooth scrolling and the stock OS doesn't. I don't get it.

I also want a whole new camera interface with more control, and a built in note pad,to-do list, the basic functionality of a regular cell phone, better market support like the ability to block certain developers apps from appearing and higher quality apps as well as maybe a ui revamp in the market app. Also make more use of the gpu for graphcs. One last thing add a stock widget that displays time and weather and make it AMAZING.
Thats all i really want
OH and a better stock keyboard.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

My predictions.
- Hopefully a new Multitasking UI
- Improved or customizable notification bar( hasn't changed since 1.0)
- General graphic UI revamp.
A Google employee said of you look at the Nexus One gallery app,expect a similar vibe for the whole UI in Gingerbread.

Oh god, we're just two days into august, the speculation can't start now. Gingerbread was mentioned to be released at the end of the year, which probably means Q1 of 2011. That's quite a ways away!
Once you get this gingerbread speculation rolling, we'll never see the end of it, considering it's only august!

Forge94 said:
A Google employee said of you look at the Nexus One gallery app,expect a similar vibe for the whole UI in Gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like the sound of this although I can't think of how they would do this? I really wanna see a web os like multi tasking too

erikikaz said:
Oh god, we're just two days into august, the speculation can't start now. Gingerbread was mentioned to be released at the end of the year, which probably means Q1 of 2011. That's quite a ways away!
Once you get this gingerbread speculation rolling, we'll never see the end of it, considering it's only august!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speculation can never begin too early!
If anything, we're late.

I think they are gonna allow us to customize the UI as we see fit. All those Themes and UI's in the Nexus Forum will be able to be added to stock Android's without rooting.

Blueman101 said:
I think they are gonna allow us to customize the UI as we see fit. All those Themes and UI's in the Nexus Forum will be able to be added to stock Android's without rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neat idea, although I think they'll still need a very nice & tidy stock version/overhaul to go with this as a lot of people will review the stock interface, rather than how you can customise it & many will never bother changing it too I imagine! (I don't understand those sort of people )

I think most of this UI overhaul is pure speculation based on the fact that google hired Palm webOS Designer Matias Duarte. He cannot possibly bring so much change in the few months he has been at google. But I will keep my hopes high that they can give a more smoother UI experience (where android phones/netbooks with additional graphics chip can take advantage of its hardware).
A strong and capable google official Theme Maker app (like metamorph) can bring alot of enthusiasm behind it. Would be tough though with so many unique android devices out there, how can they accommodate them all? :S

mythamp said:
I think most of this UI overhaul is pure speculation based on the fact that google hired Palm webOS Designer Matias Duarte. He cannot possibly bring so much change in the few months he has been at google. But I will keep my hopes high that they can give a more smoother UI experience (where android phones/netbooks with additional graphics chip can take advantage of its hardware).
A strong and capable google official Theme Maker app (like metamorph) can bring alot of enthusiasm behind it. Would be tough though with so many unique android devices out there, how can they accommodate them all? :S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree. i also believe that many people speculate that Duarte will bring in many UI changes, but as you said we are talking about 3 months which isn't enough time for a person manage to change the whole look of an OS.
i would be happy if google could at least get their act together with the homescreen which is still laggy as hell and the app drawer which has laggy zoom animations on froyo.
Having all those great benchmarks is cool and sometimes froyo is really fast, but especially the homescreen is a huge letdown.
And the homescreen is the place which you will see most of the time...

Shahpur.Azizpour said:
i agree. i also believe that many people speculate that Duarte will bring in many UI changes, but as you said we are talking about 3 months which isn't enough time for a person manage to change the whole look of an OS.
i would be happy if google could at least get their act together with the homescreen which is still laggy as hell and the app drawer which has laggy zoom animations on froyo.
Having all those great benchmarks is cool and sometimes froyo is really fast, but especially the homescreen is a huge letdown.
And the homescreen is the place which you will see most of the time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's laggy with you i suggest you return your device and get a new one... because this problem doesn't exist on the 3 nexus ones i've used.

I didn't realise he only had 3 months to work with it... :/
Although I imagine he has quite a team working with him to get a lot done in whatever time they have!

I'm running stock Froyo and I don't notice any lag in the homescreen and the app drawer. I installed Launcherpro before and I didn't notice any difference in scrolling. Both stock homescreen and Launcherpro homescreen have smooth scrolling.
Maybe someone can direct me with a video that can show me what a laggy scrolling is like.

yeah i dont get the laggy scrolling either, but then again i use launcher pro for so long now. i'm getting really sick of people comparing choppy scrolling, i want to make a video showing otherwise!! i'll admit certain UI lists do get choppy. but most are not so.

oh and doesnt anybody listen to android podcasts? last week android guys podcast leaked a little rumor that gingerbread was all about tablets, heard from someone directly involved. make of that what you will.

im personally against making the UI look more like iOS... i like the direction that windows 7 mobile is headed with the simplistic 2 tone menus and choice of text over icons.. things like pretty scrolling and fancy animated icons add more bloat

nobody said anything about making the UI look like an iphone, it was said to make the UI be AS POLISHED as the ios is.
norazi said:
im personally against making the UI look more like iOS... i like the direction that windows 7 mobile is headed with the simplistic 2 tone menus and choice of text over icons.. things like pretty scrolling and fancy animated icons add more bloat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Gingerbread will make Android look like the Gallery app. If you watch the Google I/O videos on YouTube you see that a new music app is being used which has the UI of the current Gallery app.
So when they were showing off FroYo back at the conference, they already had some work done for Gingerbread.

What is wrong with HTC Sense?

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.

TouchWiz > Vanilla Android

Okay, the title is not totally true - but I had to name this post something to get your attention.
The point of this post is to inquire about why so many people hate on TouchWiz. I sold my Vibrant and moved to Nexus S for a various of reasons but I find myself missing quite a few aspects of TouchWiz.
For example, how Samsung put the bluetooth/GPS/silence/WiFi buttons in the pull down menu - brilliant use of otherwise empty space. How on the dialpad you could easily call someone without having to access contacts by simply typing their name. How the SMS app had great alternating text/color chat (yes I know handsent app, etc. but I am talking about stock). (And of course, I like TouchWiz launcher over Vanilla launcher but that is more of a personal preference than a superior feature.)
I am sure there are advantages Vanilla has over TouchWiz but after using both I hardly see why TouchWiz gets so much hate.
Okay I am back to trolling Nexus S forums.

Not a big fan of the iphone-esque square icons so I use launcherpro, but otherwise, it's great.

I like TW and ADW.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

TW + launcher pro is >>>> all
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Also there is great syncing between contacts in MMS app as well.
I type the company name of some contact and name appears in messaging app.

DarkAgent said:
Okay, the title is not totally true - but I had to name this post something to get your attention.
The point of this post is to inquire about why so many people hate on TouchWiz. I sold my Vibrant and moved to Nexus S for a various of reasons but I find myself missing quite a few aspects of TouchWiz.
For example, how Samsung put the bluetooth/GPS/silence/WiFi buttons in the pull down menu - brilliant use of otherwise empty space. How on the dialpad you could easily call someone without having to access contacts by simply typing their name. How the SMS app had great alternating text/color chat (yes I know handsent app, etc. but I am talking about stock). (And of course, I like TouchWiz launcher over Vanilla launcher but that is more of a personal preference than a superior feature.)
I am sure there are advantages Vanilla has over TouchWiz but after using both I hardly see why TouchWiz gets so much hate.
Okay I am back to trolling Nexus S forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vanilla has no advantages. Touchwiz just adds extra features and functions on top of Vanilla. I personally dont like the launcher and running Launcher Pro Plus with Gingerbread theme. The people that say TW is not good, simply are too stupid to understand what Touchwiz is
Its hard to go back to Vannilla.........

I like the notification toggles and the full codec support (which isn't really TW, just Samsung). I hate the dialer / contacts changes, really miss old-school CM-modified contacts/dialer app. Launcher & messaging just don't matter one way or another because they're so easily replaced by superior apps.

Saiboogu said:
I like the notification toggles and the full codec support (which isn't really TW, just Samsung). I hate the dialer / contacts changes, really miss old-school CM-modified contacts/dialer app. Launcher & messaging just don't matter one way or another because they're so easily replaced by superior apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually prefer TW dialer vs stock.
Sense is another overlay. even better then Touchwiz. I heard MotoBlur sucks.

Yeah the only thing I hate about Twiz is the launcher. The other enhancements are great.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

TouchWiz is good. It's just ill-optimized.
Stock Android does not look good.

N8ter said:
TouchWiz is good. It's just ill-optimized.
Stock Android does not look good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gingerbread changes all that Vanilla android (pre 2.3) in my opinion looks fine. I prefer features than it looking pretty.

The launcher is the only part i dont like.
Everything else is awsome, I looked it over sense because sense feels heavy.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

zephiK said:
Gingerbread changes all that Vanilla android (pre 2.3) in my opinion looks fine. I prefer features than it looking pretty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TouchWiz adds features to Android. It doesn't take anything away, so that part of you statement (the last sentence) makes zero (0) sense. Some things like Mobile AP were huge advances over what Stock Android had to offer, not to mention the fact that Stock Android Widgets are simply terrible as well (which is part of HTC Sense's allure - it has Awesome widgets), as well as its Social Network integration.
I think you should think of these things more as a consumer than a tinkerer. They do outnumber "us" and they have expectations and requirements that the minority takes for granted.
Also, Gingerbread doesn't change anything. You can go use a Nexus S and see. It changes very little. A few cosmetic changes, and that's it.
You can buy a better keyboard on FroYo or Eclair no problem (or use Skype).
The UI overhauls were pushed back to Honeycomb, and I don't have much faith in Google - who have historically proved they are inept when to comes to UI design. I think they did buy a company that does this kind of work, so maybe they'll suprise me.
Doubt I'll be on Android by the time that's released, though, unless they change the way the phones are updated.

I like the Tw extra features, the look of it not so much. I use it with launcher pro which just gives a your own look, I didn't know how I would like it coming from MT3G LE. But I gotta say that's one of the features holding me back from buying the nexus s.
Vibrant

N8ter said:
TouchWiz adds features to Android. It doesn't take anything away, so that part of you statement (the last sentence) makes zero (0) sense. Some things like Mobile AP were huge advances over what Stock Android had to offer, not to mention the fact that Stock Android Widgets are simply terrible as well (which is part of HTC Sense's allure - it has Awesome widgets), as well as its Social Network integration.
I think you should think of these things more as a consumer than a tinkerer. They do outnumber "us" and they have expectations and requirements that the minority takes for granted.
Also, Gingerbread doesn't change anything. You can go use a Nexus S and see. It changes very little. A few cosmetic changes, and that's it.
You can buy a better keyboard on FroYo or Eclair no problem (or use Skype).
The UI overhauls were pushed back to Honeycomb, and I don't have much faith in Google - who have historically proved they are inept when to comes to UI design. I think they did buy a company that does this kind of work, so maybe they'll suprise me.
Doubt I'll be on Android by the time that's released, though, unless they change the way the phones are updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google also hired one of the guys who was in charge of WebOS UI design so I think they may have something stellar with Honeycomb.
Back on topic, all the things I hate about TouchWiz are easily replaced by Launcher Pro Plus.
The other TouchWiz additions are pretty functional and add a lot of value.

N8ter said:
TouchWiz adds features to Android. It doesn't take anything away, so that part of you statement (the last sentence) makes zero (0) sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a diehard CM fan form the G1 days, so TW was a bit of culture shock to me. Even ignoring the visual changes, and swapping out the launcher, I was cursing the dialer everytime I went to switch from dialer to contacts, or try to check how long ago I called someone.
N8ter said:
not to mention the fact that Stock Android Widgets are simply terrible as well (which is part of HTC Sense's allure - it has Awesome widgets),
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock widgets are functional. Sleek and functional too. Maybe not flashy, but they work. TW widgets? Ugh, don't get me started on that bit of bloat. LauncherPro widgets have them both beat though - better functionality than stock, better look than TW.
N8ter said:
I think you should think of these things more as a consumer than a tinkerer. They do outnumber "us" and they have expectations and requirements that the minority takes for granted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why all I ask is they keep the changes modular. Leave stock launcher in, they have more than enough room to spare. Keep core functionality like the dialer standard across the board. Nothing to stop them from doing some "People" app or something like that to house the dialer changes.
The one thing I'll give Samsung, from a power user point of view - notification bar toggles were brilliant. Other than that, I cringe when I boot a new ROM and see stock TWlauncher, or just about every time I fire up the dialer.

Samsung's stock widgets are terrible compared to Moto and HTC's. Even SE and LG has better widgets.
The TW Launcher looks decent but it was rushed together to look like iOS and not much beyond that.
A widget slashed down to 4x1 or 4x2 (Daily Briefing with Just Calendar)taking up an entire home screen is not Sleek or Functional. No Mail, SMS/MMS, Calendar, Media Player widget. Not to mention they all look terrible, especially the Title Bars and bevels around most of them.
TouchWiz gives you less at a glance than Sense and the Droid X UI (which isn't really MotoBlur), so I tend to waste more time finding information on my Vibrant than I did on my HTC device.
If the market was full of good widgets, I guess I wouldn't have this particular problem.
Most of the other changes attributed to TouchWiz aren't necessarily linked to TouchWiz (or rather, can be implemented without being dependent on it).
Media Codecs can be added to Stock Android. DLNA, MobileAP, etc. can all be added to Stock Android.
Also, the inability to edit the shortcuts at the bottom of the screen coupled with the inability to set a decent home screen makes TouchWiz a PITA to use. You're basically forced to used 7 home screens unless you want to have a very odd Home Page setup with uneven scrolling to get from screen to screen.
Another thing I noticed is that icon placement seems to be different than other launchers. GMail unread count is played perfectly in Sense, but in TouchWiz the icon is set way lower than everything else. Motorola implemented unread counts into their Launcher, and I hope everyone else does the same (for Messaging, Email, Gmail, etc.).

Kubernetes said:
Yeah the only thing I hate about Twiz is the launcher. The other enhancements are great.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/Twerd.
-bZj

Motoblur, is it any good?

Anyone with both Motoblur experience care to give their opinions, maybe a pro / con thing. It's the only aspect that has me a bit concerned as I am loving Sense right now.

I'm interested in this as well. TouchWiz was criticized by many people before I got my Captivate, but it turned out not to be that bad.

opensourcefan said:
Anyone with both Motoblur experience care to give their opinions, maybe a pro / con thing. It's the only aspect that has me a bit concerned as I am loving Sense right now.
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I have limited experience with Motoblur on the Dext but it's pretty good. Not as pretty as SenseUI on your Desire Z but I'm sure the new version on the Atrix will be improved.

I actually find Sense to be the worst. I'd prefer Motorola realize that nobody actually likes Motoblur, but they seem quite adamant to keeping it. It looks like Motoblur on the Atrix and the Bionic will look significantly different from either variation of Motoblur we've seen on phones so far.

I've not used Motoblur either but from what I have read and seen(in video) about it was that its really slow
but the Atrix running with the 1Gb of RAM and Dual-Core processor and from what I've seen on the videos it looks pretty fast.
Also what people don't like is the "crapware" you will get on it that you won't be able to remove and some other UI tweaks that may or may not be of use for your needs that you may or may not find annoying.

It looks like MotoBlur, especially the more recent versions, is much less obtrusive that most other custom UIs. They don't muck about too much with the core apps, and most of the UI is actually just a bunch of widgets that can be turned off if you want. If the launcher really bothers you, you can always replace it with one of the many available options in the Market.
I absolutely HATED Sense when I had it because of the cartoonish UI and how much the core apps get changed (for the worse). But MotoBlur seems to be much more manageable.

stoli412 said:
It looks like MotoBlur, especially the more recent versions, is much less obtrusive that most other custom UIs. They don't muck about too much with the core apps, and most of the UI is actually just a bunch of widgets that can be turned off if you want. If the launcher really bothers you, you can always replace it with one of the many available options in the Market.
I absolutely HATED Sense when I had it because of the cartoonish UI and how much the core apps get changed (for the worse). But MotoBlur seems to be much more manageable.
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That's always been my impression as well. If Blur can be turned off (by using a different launcher, and they don't mess with core apps), then who the hell cares? Sense is immersed. It's just over looked because HTC phones are pretty easy to flash.

I have used the Moto Blur interface on a few different devices now. I can say that it is not horrible in terms of functionality. But it looks ugly and unfinished, and due to lack of polish looks like something that belongs on a child's phone.
That being said, it's nothing that a different launcher cannot fix. Motorola didn't really mess with the app interfaces too much, save for contacts and the phone dialer, it's mostly the home screen and launch bar they changed. I always used launcher pro and this took away the "ugliness".
I also like some of the moto blur features such as the phone locator (cannot remember exactly what they call it atm.)
If they have not polished how moto blur looks on the atrix, I will be using a different launcher for sure.

I have a Captivate and my boss has a DroidX. Whenever I have to use his phone to help him out, I really dont like Blur.
But i'm not an everyday user of it, so maybe its something that you can get used to, or just load launcher pro.

I like Sense and thank goodness because it is full integrated. If Blur is deeply integrated I sure hope it's good. Motorola's website doesn't really go deep enough but I guess right now it's all speculation.

i have yet to use a moto phone with it .. only messed with a few friends phones .. didnt care for it to much ... once the phone is released tho because of the specs i am seriously considering getting it ... if you can replace it with a different, then i will do just that.

I used the bravo found motor blur to be interesting and liked it.

MotoBlur in the past has been horrible because the hardware couldn't support all the shiny graphics. With the atrix, it flies, and is pretty cool. I'll probably still use launcher pro (which i suggest to anyone that doesn't like the skinned themes), mostly to just use as little ram as possible. MotoBlur is great if your a social network fiend, or really have to stay connected all the time.

link12245 said:
MotoBlur in the past has been horrible because the hardware couldn't support all the shiny graphics. With the atrix, it flies, and is pretty cool. I'll probably still use launcher pro (which i suggest to anyone that doesn't like the skinned themes), mostly to just use as little ram as possible. MotoBlur is great if your a social network fiend, or really have to stay connected all the time.
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What I love about Motoblur is that you don't have to have all those widgets if you don't want to, and you don't have to add all your social network accounts if you don't want to. Everything is optional more or less. And beyond those optional add-ons, they do relatively little tweaking to the underlying OS. This is in contrast to Sense which is there whether you want it or not, and makes major changes to the UI and functionality.
I'll probably end up using Launcher Pro as well. However you can still use the Motoblur widgets on LP if you want, which is a nice advantage. There are still some issues with resizing Motoblur widgets in LP, but hopefully the developer will get those taken care of soon.

The only complaint about Blur that I've heard is that it is a resource hog. It gives you push notifications for all your social networking needs. I think the Atrix is where we'll see Blur not be a hindrance. Plus, if you don't like it, wait for a vanilla Rom and flash it. The Atrix is going to be a winner either way!

Switched from iPhone 3GS to Atrix....

......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......
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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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