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HTC HERO ECLAIR 2.1
written by MysteryHero
After the success of HTC Hero's debut, it is time that we are all getting ready to update our beloved device. HTC Hero will become one of the very first Android phones to power the new 2.1 Android firmware. HTC Hero has truely made it's debut unique through proudly presenting the features such as the new Sense UI from HTC, but you may be wondering what has actually changed in this new firmware update? So let's begin and take a exclusive preview on the upcoming features.
This post will be updated regulary and you can even re-post this article with my authors credit.
Futhurmore if you wished to contact me, please PM me via XDA-Developers Original topic at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5080445#post5080445
Please note that all this information is gathered from the Lox v1.4 rom which can be found at HTCpedia, information may change while the article develops.
Bluetooth submited by habibas
You may now send files to other phones but this is restricted to the type of file your media is.
Browser
The browser hasn't been updated alot, but there has been a few tweaks that make it easier to use. Firstly the navigation tab above is now attached to the top instead of overlaying the top page. This has solved the annoying google problem where you would not be able to select the navigation links under the overlay for example, On Google's homepage you couldn't select the mail/news/images link until the page fully loaded.
Another minor UI change is featured in the loading bar, the input url box will now feature a sparkling green bar which will fill up as the page loads, this has removed the thin green loading bar below the screen in 1.5.
One final change which will effect the HTC browser is that the Google search in landscape mode will now function correctly. That's right folks! no more bouncing keyboard.
It seems the Flash has been improved, don't hold my word on it but it seems like it's running Flash 10? The lite version before didn't let me load Imeem's flash player but it seems like it's running like a charm now, Youtube desktop version also worked. Maybe not at it's best but it works.
Google Navigation
Googles GPS has finally arrived onto HTC HERO. You will ofcourse need to hack the application if you're from United Kingdom (Which works with Lox 1.4) You need to install the Voice data/ Nav Launcher and ofcourse the Maps 3685 (?) build? (I opted for non-rotted apk)
Home
The highly rumoured Landscape Rosie has been introduced, you can now rotate your Hero sideways. The clock, application short cuts will be left intact, and usable. Although phone panel on the right is not finished, the icons aren't properly positioned, but this should be fixed by HTC in a more recent build.
You can now pinch zoom the home screen and be welcomed by an overview of the seven different states. You can tap a screen to quickly change state which may come handy if you don't want to slide through multiple states.
Icons
New icons are presented in the Application menu:
Google Talk
Youtube
Maps
Market
Call History
Calculator
(HTC icons seems to be unchanged)
Loading
While the device loads, there is now a new spinning spindle. It looks alot better even if it is a small touch but makes it very nice.
Market
Updated to the new market, you can now see top paid, top free or all. It's more organised and the usability has improved overall. Expect to see a more friendly version of Googles Market.
Settings
The new settings menu have been organised into more precised catergories. This change was seen on the Droid and will be in 2.1. You can navigate through the settings easier and will be able to select some new options.
Sync
RRS Reader is inbuilt and you can read RRS feeds without installing any applications. You can also sync to Flickr and Google. HTC has also newly added sync options for Plurk, Exchange Active sync and Htc Facebook (Revised?).
Text-To-Speech
Text-to-Speech added, Google Navigation anyone? Yepp Text-to-speech is the library that is used with Google Navigation. You can now type text and it'll speak it out. You can also change/install new languages.
Weather Animation
Weather Animation makes a return in this new firmware. The removed feature in the revised 1.5 rom disappointed alot of users but it's now made it's return. The animation effect is basically a home screen effect inwhich when you greeted with weather animations occuring on your home screen which occurs if it's raining/snowing/lightning etc. Eye candy.
Notification Bar
There is a new icon for SD card, this will be shown once a memory card is inserted/loading/removed.
(Recent) The background of the Notification pull down is transparent, you can see through the overlay.
Messages
The Messages application has now been slightly updated, the text is larger. Although the people application isn't correctly working for me, I'm unsure wither it's actually for the better or worse since the text was completely fine before. Let's hope the final smooth build will fix some of the small problems introduced in this update.
Wallpapers
You can now select Wallpapers from your Home Gallery which includes all the original wallpapers in the default Android Gallery + the ones you add. You can also choose the Rosie wallpapers which have been left intact.
One feature that seemed amissed was the missing option of choosing a Rosie wallpaper for your lock screen, well good news! You can now select a Rosie wallpaper with a few simple clicks.
Widgets
There seems to be a new option to get more HTC widgets in the widget panel. This could be updates to the current widgets in the future or new skins (clock) or brand new widgets like the power control.
There is a new power control widget that can be added to your home screen. This widget is basically a quick switch for turning on/off the following: WiFi, Bluetooth, Mobile, Sync. You can also switch different brightness levels through the last button. (Dimmest, Normal, Brightest)
Untouched submited by JBNAquatics
Music Application
Calender
Slightly Modified submited by JBNAquatics
The call settings now have a "Silent" and a "Speaker" button that you can press directly like the Sprint Hero
Gmail appearance has been slightly modified but there are no new features
Camera and Camcorder has a slightly new appearance modification to match Donuts, but no new features
Rings extended (app) finally works on this ROM
You can now choose to link which accounts you want (Google, Facebook, or both)
Ask a Question!
Ask a question if you are interested in a certain feature or function above. Ask anything! (Related to the Subject Topic)
Last updated @ 08:02 PM 6th December 2009
when will it be available for download?
blitz89 said:
when will it be available for download?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Lox ROM is already available, in fact you can download it at HTCpedia, but be warned as the ROM is not complete and it's not a final build. A more recent rom has been leaked by Kingklick but is only available for G1/Magic 32B.
Here is the link to Lox Rom 1.4: http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1417
Will the newer rom leave me with less usable memory on the device?
Pete
you forgot to mention the bluetooth has been enabled to send and recive files
but the type of the files are limited to the media only that's disappointing
Can you please explain what you mean by this??
"
Weather Animation
* Weather Animation makes a return in this new firmware. The removed feature in the revised 1.5 rom disappointed alot of users but it's now made it's return. The animation effect is basically a home screen effect inwhich when you greeted with weather animations occuring on your home screen which occurs if it's raining/snowing/lightning etc. Eye candy.
"
Is there now weather animation under the clock?? Or do you mean there is animation when you are using the weather application?
Thanks
NewYorkLaw said:
Will the newer rom leave me with less usable memory on the device?
Pete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I believe I only had around 100mb when I first upgraded the firmware. However this might change as this is not the final build.
habibas said:
you forgot to mention the bluetooth has been enabled to send and recive files
but the type of the files are limited to the media only that's disappointing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will add that, thank you
bunt83 said:
Can you please explain what you mean by this??
"
Weather Animation
* Weather Animation makes a return in this new firmware. The removed feature in the revised 1.5 rom disappointed alot of users but it's now made it's return. The animation effect is basically a home screen effect inwhich when you greeted with weather animations occuring on your home screen which occurs if it's raining/snowing/lightning etc. Eye candy.
"
Is there now weather animation under the clock?? Or do you mean there is animation when you are using the weather application?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just fired up my nandroid build and saw that the widget on the home screen can reproduce the same weather animation, therefore I think it's just an option to switch the animations on and off. However, the clock widget isn't really working, therefore there still could be hope.
The Bluetooth and Browser sections are somewhat mixed.
Alright here's what I've gathered from the posts on HTCPedia and from my own user experiences:
-Rings extended (app) finally works on this ROM
-You can now choose to link which accounts you want (Google, Facebook, or both)
-Music player is left untouched
-Camera and camcorder are left untouched (they do not have the "new" 1.6 Donut look)
-Calendar is also left untouched
-Gmail has a different look to it but virtually untouched
-The call settings now have a "Silent" and a "Speaker" button that you can press directly like the Sprint Hero
WPA2 Enterprise
Are WPA2-Enterprise Certificates supported in 2.1? I am wondering, because it was already built into 1.5, but when hitting the button "add certificate" it wouldn't work (Settings > Wireless > WLAN > Advanced > Security Certificates). This was obviously a bug. Does this work now, or was it removed?
what about the rumours that eclair will support 262k colors, and enhance the onscreen colors of the hero from 65k to 262k. can anybody confirm that?
i can't imagine this happening, but still wanted to ask
JBNAquatics said:
Alright here's what I've gathered from the posts on HTCPedia and from my own user experiences:
-Rings extended (app) finally works on this ROM
-You can now choose to link which accounts you want (Google, Facebook, or both)
-Music player is left untouched
-Camera and camcorder are left untouched (they do not have the "new" 1.6 Donut look)
-Calendar is also left untouched
-Gmail has a different look to it but virtually untouched
-The call settings now have a "Silent" and a "Speaker" button that you can press directly like the Sprint Hero
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be adding your newly found experiences!
discostu105 said:
Are WPA2-Enterprise Certificates supported in 2.1? I am wondering, because it was already built into 1.5, but when hitting the button "add certificate" it wouldn't work (Settings > Wireless > WLAN > Advanced > Security Certificates). This was obviously a bug. Does this work now, or was it removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have removed this, or re-located it to somewhere else. I've tried finding it but no luck
Shahpur.Azizpour said:
what about the rumours that eclair will support 262k colors, and enhance the onscreen colors of the hero from 65k to 262k. can anybody confirm that?
i can't imagine this happening, but still wanted to ask
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought this was aimed specifically at XPERIA 10, but I've really not noticed other than the menu may seem a bit crisper than before.
Have they managed to fix the alarm in this buld?
There was a bug on the current build that stops the alarm from working correctly. You turn it on and the alarm goes off but it doesn't make a sound at all, or nothing happens when it is supposed to go off.
Official rom
Anyone have any information about when the official room with Android 2.1 wil be released?
naruc said:
Anyone have any information about when the official room with Android 2.1 wil be released?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, my pet wombat said it would be by wed this week.
habibas said:
you forgot to mention the bluetooth has been enabled to send and recive files
but the type of the files are limited to the media only that's disappointing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any idea which files? I asume jpegs and mp3s would be fine? Although perhaps I shouldnt assume anything!
The one thing I would like to see is the HTC slide to answer when receiving a call that was present on the Touch Diamond - slide left to answer slide right to reject!
Hi guys,
little offtopic question of you don't mind..
Can someone PM me what the normal price is for HTC Hero?
I'm using Kaiser and before Herald. but will switch
Thanks...
will htc hero eclair update provide the option to switch to standard android apps.
in example i think the default android calendar looks much much better than the htc sense calendar since htcs version has no week view and no timelines on monthview.
Is this possible? Or did htc at least add timelines to their calendar app?
I want rubber-band effect on all scrollable pages, e.g. settings.
another question:
will the 2.1 update swipe the old device again, like the first HTC Hero update did?
So this means setting up the phone completely from scratch again? Or is this an update which will keep the current settings/apps and so on...im afraid this is not the case
Hi Folks
Just wondered if anyone has any suggestions for full size widgets for the hero?
Basically my home screen has clock,weather widget and a couple of other freqently used widgets.Swipe to the left and I have a full page of 16 other widgets.Swipe to the left again and i have a full size music player.Last swipe to the left and i have the full size bookmarks widget. If I swipe right from my homescreen then I have my camera album and thats it! The next two pages are empty
Now i for some reason dont like it I dont like to see the unused space but i'm struggling to find anything to put in them. I dont use twitter and not bothered about the footprints widget.
I have had a search on the net for something but as of yet been unsuccsesfull.
Anybody have any suggestions? Dont matter if its a novelty kind of widget or whatever....I'll give it a look!
Thanks in advance
Gaz
I too currently have an empty page
Mainly due to the fact bookmarks widget is not working on latest build of VillainRom.
Can't think of anything to place on that page at all.
The more widgets then generally the slower the UI and faster the battery drains. If you don't desperately need something there I would leave it blank.
cyberkid2002 said:
The more widgets then generally the slower the UI and faster the battery drains. If you don't desperately need something there I would leave it blank.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this just because there is more on the screen graphically or do the widgets themselves slow it down? I was under the impression that the widgets are only shortcuts to the programs and so obviously use no memory untill launched!?
Gaz
Gazaman said:
Is this just because there is more on the screen graphically or do the widgets themselves slow it down? I was under the impression that the widgets are only shortcuts to the programs and so obviously use no memory untill launched!?
Gaz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since widgets are "active" shortcuts they are executed the moment you go to the screen they are on. how would it display weather or news when it is a "dead" shortcut?
kendong2 said:
since widgets are "active" shortcuts they are executed the moment you go to the screen they are on. how would it display weather or news when it is a "dead" shortcut?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The weather widget that i use is the one on the clock so not an independant widget. I just assumed that this one was opened when i first chose this clock and just stays open.
Please go easy on me here as im still getting to grips with the whole 'mechanics' of the phone.
So all widgets that i have on my phone scene are active? Most (if not all) are just executable programs like google maps,google sky maps,shazam,flixter,meebo etc and as far as i'm aware dont require to be constantly updated via internet connection(unless opened).
Why would these be active?
If they are constantly active then why would people use task killers? It seems pointless if they are always active anyway!
Like i said,I'm sorry if this is all a bit basic but would be nice to now how it all works as i have actually noticed my phone seems quite slow lately and for some reason notifications on the top notification bar aren't disspearing when i have read my messages etc.
Maybe i have too many active widgets?!?
Thanks
Gaz
you have to make a difference between a widget and a shortcut to an app. the clock is a clock widget with integrated weather support. it is triggered if you go to the screen it is on and by time change (to display the correct time for example). as it has the weather feature it can also activate the background weather service.
a shortcut is the same thing as those on your windows desktop. it is nothing else than a link to the app, and doesn't do anything until you click on it.
check the way you add a shortcut and a widget, after pressing the + sign you have to choose which one you want to add.
It is a gray area as to what a widget is and not all widgets are active. The weather one is active. So is the one I use to give me London Tube status - as others have said they update as soon as you switch to the window (in fact I thought they did it in the background all the time, but i may well be wrong on that).
On the other hand the widget that switches BT or wifi or GPS on or off are not active unless you touch them then they do what is required (switch it on or off) and then become inactive. In reality they are a little mini-programme in their own right, but they are still called widgets.
Shortcuts are not the same as widgets - all they do is open a programme when touched - so Google maps etc are not widgets they are shortcuts.
I have filled all of my screens - any space left after the widgets is now filled with shortcuts to programmes I use most often. Doesn't appear to slow down the phone at all.
so, got my sprint tp2 running 6.5. i disabled sense and tf3d bc i want the simplicity of using the Easy Today Launcher (places whatever shortcuts I want on the today screen with no other fancy things going on).
in keeping with the simple theme, also installed Daniel Herieira? (sp) LockDevice (a simple lock slider which creates a clean screen with my wallpaper, the lock slider and a digital clock with the date).
since she boots at about 110 ram..before leaking down thru the day, Id like to NOT install any of the home screen custom ROM's that i believe all require to have the memory hog sense enabled.
all i want is a simple analog clock that i can either enable as a plug in in various skins/locations for my Today screen, or better yet, to replace the digital clock on my lock screen. looked everywhere, cant figure it out. does anyone have any suggestions?? am i posting in the wrong place? thanks in advance
Hi every one , I'm new to WM7 . please tell me if you can custom the layout or the look of the home screen by using launchers like in android and also if there is widgets .
Thanks in advance
machhho said:
Hi every one , I'm new to WM7 . please tell me if you can custom the layout or the look of the home screen by using launchers like in android and also if there is widgets .
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, first this is WP7, WM is no longer supported by MS.
Secondly, the Metro UI is far better than any widget/launcher combo and you can customize the UI the way you want, plus being part of the OS is far better than any app combo. Short answer: no, but you can customize the tiles.
Thirdly, this has already been posted and discussed in several threads already, you can use the search button
A place to create text dividers in your start screen
zoubda.fr/livetilesgenerator
After choosing your background tile and foreground color of text and typing in what you want, just click ... in lower right and scroll down to pin to start and then you can arrange your home screen however you want with apps in categories.
Please have a look at my new app Now Cards for Zooper. I've used tsasker integration to make some of the widgets more unique - there's auto updating news widgets (more feeds will be made on request) and one which shows you your latest text message.
They're alongside calendar, weather, clock, etc. widgets. Take a look and make sure you read the description before you download. If you've got any problems, just post and let me know.
EDIT: The free version now contains a facebook widget too! (post 10 for pictures). This will stay as 4x1, but this, alongside a 4x2 and 4x3 will be coming to the paid version in the next few days
Paid version - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.est1994.zwskin.nowcards
Free version - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.est1994.zwskin.nowcards
Very cool idea, few questions.
Is this a "Google Now" replacement?
Its almost identical to "Goolge now" , whats the advantages of using Zooper and Tasker?
Could you add other buttons and functionality to the cards aswell?
- like say the incoming text card, can you add a reply button? that would pop up a reply text box etc?
- Or a card that has the ability to show current sound volumes? or the ability to change them from card?
- If you could add other app info like facebook (probably insane to get configured) it would be an awesome "Launcher" type of app etc.
Are you allowed to post links to paid apps on xda? Cant remember the rules (Current)
other than those, looking great! good luck.
Thanks for the support! Its kind of intended as a Now replacement, I love having Google now built into the Google launcher, but can't deal without any customizations, son its really intended for people with similar ideas.
Using Tasker gives a lot more options in terms of what can be displayed! Many things from the internet and almost any stat from your device can be displayed oince you combine the two - tasked is a lot more powerful than Zooper.
Unfortunately some if what what you're asking is still a little out of range. Things which involve interaction such as volume sliders or a functional reply box are not do-able from my app, however, you could create your own tasked scene and launch it as an OnTap action on the widget. I'd love to bundle this with the app my pself but I've found that Tasked scenes do not translate well across changes in screen size. I could definitely add one for current volumes though if you wanted? And anything else you might like? I will look into Facebook tomorrow, but its late here so I need some sleep!
And I'm not sure about posting paid links, I meant to double check the rules before posting but totally forgot! I didn't hear anything last time I did it though so fingers crossed
EDIT: I couldn't resist having a quick look - Facebook notifications can (and will) be made as a widget, but actual feeds cannot
These look great! But I am unclear as to when these show onscreen...are they always on widgets or just popup when info arrives? Thanks
They are all always on. Everything always has information to display! Are you asking more specifically about the Tasker widgets? If so, tasker collects information every 2 hours by default, with each collection gaining 5-7 stories (depending on provider). Only one story is 'given' to Zooper at a time, with the displayed story changing every 30 minutes.
I hope that answers your question?
I know this may not be exactly what you had in mind, but here's a Facebook widget I knocked up. There's also a 4x2, but that's just a shorter version of the large one. What do you think?
butler0607 said:
I know this may not be exactly what you had in mind, but here's a Facebook widget I knocked up. There's also a 4x2, but that's just a shorter version of the large one. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks great. Upon pressing it. Takes you right to Facebook?
To me flip book is annoying. But . I'm looking for a "sense" type of home page. You ever seen HTC sense home pages? If you could make the boxes a transparent black etc. Lol I love the Google now aspect, but their new material colors are... Not what I like. Lol but that's a great start. Smaller font perhaps.
Thanks for the feedback I thought about smaller fonts, but I wanted it wall to be readable at a glance and to follow Google as much as possible, but yes, clicking on the FB widget could take you straight to Facebook, but I've left all the shortcuts blank so you can pick where you want it to take you, possibly the notifications page directly?
If you send some HTC sense pics, maybe I'll think about making some wpof their widgets at some point too?
I decided to do a free version of this too - its got all the 4x1 widgets, but with none of the tasker integration or 4x2 widgets, so you can still get a good effect. Follow the link to grab it! Lasker
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.est1994.zwskin.nowcardsfree
Here's the new facebook widget, submitted to the free version already and coming to the paid version soon!