Database Users

TouchWhiz 3: What do you think

So after having spent quite a bit of time browsing through all the stock touchwhiz apps, I have to say, for the most part I'm really enjoying TouchWhiz. The launcher can be replaced so even if it REALLY bugged me, it is an easy fix. The apps have really impressed me, though. The social integration is quite extensive.
I've gotta say my one beef with it is that there is really a lack of options I would expect in a non-standard app. If TouchWhiz apps had the extensive options seen in replacement apps like Handcent SMS, ADW.Launcher, I don't think I would have anything to complain about. It would be really nice to be able to disable certain tabs and options..
Anyways, what do you guys think? Do you like it overall or just assume get rid of it all? Which things do you love most about it and which do you hate?
I can honestly say that any custom roms without TouchWhiz will have to have something pretty amazing to draw me away from the stock rooted rom or another TouchWhiz based rom.

I agree completely. I am really enjoying touchwiz, but am missing some of the customization i have come to love with Android.
I am hopefull that future updates will address some of this.

So far I am really impressed with TouchWiz3. The contacts app should be ported over for everyone to use. I have the filters to only include contacts with phone numbers, having the ability to jump to a specific letter in the address book and sliding across a name to make a call.

Wish I could select a default calendar to post to instead of the phones My Calendar. I have to keep selecting my google calendar every time I create an appointment. It's a bit annoying.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I'm loving TouchWhiz. Being a long time CMmod and ADW launcher user and having tried the old TouchWhiz version w/ the obnoxious sidebar, I was ready for CM6 before even laying my hands on this phone. Now I seriously doubt I'll switch even when CM6 becomes available.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I have to disagree I'm not happy with TouchWiz and really wish I could get the AOSP contacts and calendar back that's all I really care about...
Calendar most importantly

I really like TouchWiz. I don't like the App Drawer though. I still prefer LauncherPro, so i'll be using that instead.

TouchWiz 3 is particularly ugly. Ugly colors, ugly icons. Just tacky as they come.
I would have returned the phone if it wasn't for LauncherPro.

I miss the flexibility of the vanilla Android 2.1. I've been using CM5 on my G1 prior to buying the Vibrant. Can't wait for CM6 for the Vibrant.

I so so on TW, I'm using LauncherPro at the moment but I wish I could use my samsung widgets

Could've been a 9.5 phone but some small but major annoyances
The touchwiz calendar app is nice, but you are unable to create a new event that defaults to you google calendar...its defaults to the phone's default calendar ("My Calendar"). Also, the default alarm time before an event is set to "none" and can't be changed to the typical 5,10,15..min before event. Why? How can this be useful...The beauty of android is in the cloud. I guess they are trying to appease to folks that don't use google services, but this is a damn Android, so im calling this a dumb and stupid decision. The same logic is somewhat applied when adding a new contact, but a pop up gives you a choice to save to sim, phone or google, so it is definitely better implemented in the add contact option, but I must ask...Who is buying this phone and saving contacts to the sim card? It's a damn Android!
The other issue which I initially didn't use much on my G1 (CM 5.08), but later fell in love with is custom ring tones for a specific caller. The only way to do this with the Samsung Vibrant is to actually save the contact on the phone vs with google. I just don't get this....once again This is an Android phone. Why did they create these additional profiles and not default them to the standard Android behavior. This is why fragmentation of the Android OS can be bad.
These are really my only major gripes after having the phone for less than a week, well besides that annoying shutdown tmobile jingle and the power/unlock button on the side...oh and I wish this phone had hdmi out. The video out is really a neat feature, but its not a good experience using the standard def audio/video out jack.
I know these may seem like minor annoyances, particulalry the calendar and custom ring tone, but getting the basics right is what I think counts the most. Leave well enough alone!
With all that said it is a great phone and once you go superamoled there is no going back.
I forgot to add that I running ADW and there is no way I could run this phone with that awful iphone look alike launcher. I'm also rooted and tethering (wired or wifi) does not seem to work.
I'm hoping Cyanogen works his magic with this device...it will be a beast!

I hate touch wiz and the fact that it looks like an iphone. Don't really like the icons and the accu weather click is hideous. I use beautiful widgets and adw for my launcher. I think adw us the best launcher because of it's ability to customize extensively.
Feeling Vibrant on xda-app

Anyone else having problems with ADW Launcher Notifications bar?
I've got "Hide Status Bar" unchecked and yet it just keeps disappearing, I tried with it checked and got the same result, it'll be there for a while and disappears, even when I pull down the notifications drawer it's still not there just a blank line of wallpaper at the top.
I've actually gone back to the TouchWiz becuase I can't reliably see my batter meter or signal strength.
Anyone get this?

I think a lot of you are missing the fact that the Launcher is not "TouchWiz 3.0". The skin goes much deeper than just the launcher.
Copying contacts to the phone is also very easy. Export them and then Import them. They're on the phone now... not sure if this would work because they're still linked through Google, but they are on the phone now too so you could unlink them from Google.
If you want ugly just look at a stock Android phone. Ugly, tacky.. since when is black and blue tacky? The icon backgrounds in the app menu might not be to everyone's liking but it's still WAY Better than the stock app drawer with it's hideous background and yellow coloring throughout

I agree. I don't mind touchwiz at all. I'd like the option to switch to default Android look though. My main gripe with touchwiz is the calendar and the fact that the applications menu is a cheesy rip of the iPhone menu, come on Samsung. Also, I quite enjoy the AccuWeather clock.

jaxrunner said:
...I know these may seem like minor annoyances, particulalry the calendar and custom ring tone, but getting the basics right is what I think counts the most. Leave well enough alone!
With all that said it is a great phone and once you go superamoled there is no going back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm totally with you on the touchwiz calendar and contacts apps having some serious issues. Though I really like the color scheme, love the subtle grey in notifications, the black task-bar, and the blue menu headings, it looks clean to me.
Anyway, I have found a temporary solueion for the Calendar, for myself at least. Should work for anyone who's rooted.
Grab the Calendar.apk and CalendarProvider.apk from the thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6472313&postcount=674
then use a shell to backup TouchWizCalendar.apk/.odex and TouchWizCalendarProvider.apk/.odex
then remove all 4 files
and install the Calendar.apk and CalendarProvider.apk from the link
and grant permissions to let the new calendar & provider access your data when it asks.
I'm stoked because this brought back the default calendar widget too, which I was seriously missing
Add in the GenieWidget.apk from the nexus one here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=600959
And I'm one step closer to having all the default apps and widgets that I like =)
Now if only I can do the same with the Cyanogen Dialer, Alarm and contacts app... not sure I'm feeling that reckless tonight though, lol.
cheers!

I don't like it in general, but a few additions really ought to get disseminated to every ROM.
I'm using ADW launcher.
You can tell TW is glued on top. It doesn't feel integrated. It actually seems to hamper the nice Google integration I've had. It's great that Tmo wants to offer something, but not letting me change my voicemail number manually (but leaving it in there) is forcing it on me. Makes me bristle.
As far as changing ringtones, I haven't gotten that far. Working on rooting and getting my adb going with it (to get the calendar back to vanilla, frankly). I imagine aContacts might solve that. Thanks for pointing it out.
The blues would be fine (although I'm not a fan since it's much like WM 6.0), except they don't match very well. It almost looks like a corporate argument, or a cheap contracted graphic artist, or both, and someone worked on the WinMo 6 team. And much of the blue-tinted gray text fields don't go with the fully gray Android button color. I'm not a fan of trying to do browns & ambers as accent colors, as a slice of the wheel, fine, but I've tried, and it just doesn't work. Maybe it's the shiny black tube. It just looks 2006 to me.
I love the control bar in notifications. I was doing it with BarControl, then BarTender, but it's so, so much nicer now. Add a "Fastbright" or better yet, replace the silent with it, since I can do that with one of the two hardware keys. The "just took off my rose-colored glasses" tint could definitely go.
I do like the phone app. A lot. Especially in-call. It's clean. The BT took too long to connect if it wasn't enabled first, but I can see this being streamlined, which would be slick. The calculator & dialer ain't as pretty, but being old I like the big, no, HUGE numerals. I like the "0" long-press to vibrate (wish it were customizeable).
I love using a gesture to call or sms. The sideways stuff has been wasted "space" so far. I hate the redundancy of using a line that could show a contact and a space in the menu to add a contact. It's also weird not having a way to go from contacts to favorites. I was having trouble on the CM ROMs, so I guess it's just nice that it works without a bug, too.
I guess I like the updates tab in the contacts app, it's a great way to check what's up before making a call, but I've already got my methods, so if I really feel like I need to know, I'll check first. My guess is it won't take off, not like it is, but it got me thinkin' how nice it would be to pull all those social networking sites together and list them under a contact. Total agregation. So I suppose it's a step in the right direction.
I doubt it qualifies as TouchWiz, but I adore the camera app. That action shot mode could prove useful. And the continuous shooting while holding the "button" is excellent. I don't get the "beauty " mode. Didn't help. (Maybe it's only set up for darker skin as an obscure FU to HP.) What I don't love is that it won't post to Picasa or Facebook by default, a few other third party photo hosting places, but not either of the ones I use... since I got on board with Android. Huh. I smell something here.
Music app is nice & simple. I haven't looked, but I'm guessing it's pretty lightweight. It carries my biggest gripes about the interface, tho, the empty space above and below each line mean less data for me to see on each screen, and it's on a big black, ultra-shiny tube.

regarding the OP: you CAN change the volume of the tmo startuip & shutdown jingle by going to settings-->sound&display-->system volume
the one thing i noticed when i pick my own ringtones that are either in the internal sd OR external sd storage, is that if i set them, then mount sd card, then unmount, then my f**king ringtones and notifications all change back to the annoying as F**K default. !! i would LOVE to be able to mount JUST the external sd OR the internal sd ONE AT A TIME OR both IF i wanted to.
but no... someone at samsung or tmobile didnt think of this. too me a lot of the little things we as smartphone users really care about were entirely overshadowed by the concern for aesthetic beauty of touchwiz 3 by samsung. tmobile or someone needs to push and update that will edify the smartphone features as they should be...

Good find
s0niqu3 said:
Anyway, I have found a temporary solueion for the Calendar, for myself at least. Should work for anyone who's rooted.
Grab the Calendar.apk and CalendarProvider.apk from the thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6472313&postcount=674
then use a shell to backup TouchWizCalendar.apk/.odex and TouchWizCalendarProvider.apk/.odex
then remove all 4 files
and install the Calendar.apk and CalendarProvider.apk from the link
and grant permissions to let the new calendar & provider access your data when it asks.
I'm stoked because this brought back the default calendar widget too, which I was seriously missing
Add in the GenieWidget.apk from the nexus one here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=600959
And I'm one step closer to having all the default apps and widgets that I like =)
Now if only I can do the same with the Cyanogen Dialer, Alarm and contacts app... not sure I'm feeling that reckless tonight though, lol.
cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may just try this...Thanks

[Discussion] Sense Builds vs. Non-Sense Builds

I'm actively experimenting with newer builds everytime they come out. But I can't help to experience some sort of slow-/sluggyness with Sense builds?
It also seems that the Sense builds aren't that highly customizable as non-sense builds are? I might be just not that much of a sense-fan (however I really liked it under WinMo), but since I see lots of phones, in the screenshot topic, running sense builds, I was wondering if I might do something wrong ()?
Sense over non-Sense:
[+] Nice HTC Widgets
[+] Nice Clock/looks
non-Sense over Sense:
[+] Highly Customizable (especially with ADW.Launcher)
[+] Seems faster (to me that is, subjective of course!)

SENSE FTW!
i've tried non-sense (not nonsense though, just personal preference) builds b4, but i couldn't get pass the plain contacts which can't really link from here to there.
the HTC People seamlessly links your contacts to emails and facebook and twitter and whatsapp accounts, and the ability to view the facebook albums using HTC gallery as though the pictures were in the phone.
Plus the decently nice weather widgets, friends stream widget, and the multilanguage supported keyboard with handwriting tools for Chinese input, etc etc.
I vote for Sense because it makes Sense!

I'm pro sense, because of its contact manager and dialer.

I don't like sense builds. But non-sense builds freezes will kill me..

I've came across some weird crashes with Sense builds. Sometimes SetCPU would crash, or even Sense would crash and reboot.
I also like the fact that in non-Sense builds it is possible to change the DPI, probably also possible in Sense builds but I haven't found out how yet..

I cant use sense builds. Id prefer them but every single one I have tried has a screwed up contacts directory. Every contact is duplicated about 6 times.
Saying that I do love the non sense and the amount I can customize it. There are things I like and dislike about both

Below are my conclusions regarding sense vs non sense
Disadvantages of Sense are
[+] Have a nice looking of "Sense"
[-] Camera only 3M,if there's 5M,it usually have camera premature
[-] Unreliable connection and most of all PPP based
Disadvateges of Non Sense (CM Based) are
[+] Stable connection of data,usually use RMNET
[+] Good camera (dont have premature flash)
[-] G-Sensor dont working very well,sometime freeze
[-] Cant use automatic backlight because light Sensor not working well

non-sense builds!
i started using android with sense-builds. after some times i got tired of switching from one screen to another, so i reduced ist to only 4, 3 and so on.
now i'm on a non sense build with adw-launcher. i can use more shortcuts, use other apps and have all i want in 3 screens.
adw-launcher is awesome, very stable and gives you so much possibilities!!

Well I'm for sense i guess, used both and come to the conclusion that I bought the HTC HD2 for the look of the GUI, and i can't draw myself away from it, its pretty customisable and the build I'm currently using it brilliant, no lag, no sod, superb!

I love the sense widgits and UI and such, but I absolutely hate the Sense dialer and contacts setup. I much prefer AOPS or Wysie's contacts and dialer setup, and if I could figure out how to get them working in Sense, I would totally have the best of both worlds.

Does it matter which is better? We as HD2 users have the liberty of choosing between many different builds and that is what makes it the best phone ever.
For the record, I use both.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

sense with no sense
I´m also experiencing overall slowdown when using sense, particularly in desktop swipeing. But on the other hand sense brings good keyboard, dialer, sync and widgets.
So I decided to go the "Darkstone"-way - using sense ROM with LauncherPro as desktop UI. SenseUI does not even load which saves up good memory.
My experience with that combination is very good.....

psykick5 said:
Does it matter which is better? We as HD2 users have the liberty of choosing between many different builds and that is what makes it the best phone ever.
For the record, I use both.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it doesn't matter at all. I just wanted to discuss the pros and cons of both UIs. It's nice to have a discussion about it, so people can read up and have a decent overview of the differences between the two type of builds.

WoutH said:
Nope, it doesn't matter at all. I just wanted to discuss the pros and cons of both UIs. It's nice to have a discussion about it, so people can read up and have a decent overview of the differences between the two type of builds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I enjoy having both hand generally use the one that gives better battery life.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I started out with non-sense builds, but I find the sense ones to be a little more stable (They're the ones where the compass works well and freezes are minimal). I don't really like the Sense UI though so I run ADW on top of it.

SpacemanGep said:
I started out with non-sense builds, but I find the sense ones to be a little more stable (They're the ones where the compass works well and freezes are minimal). I don't really like the Sense UI though so I run ADW on top of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't like the Sense, why did you buy the HD2? That was the main selling point of this phone when released, the ease of use and beauty that sense provided!
But I do agree with you that sense builds are a little more stable and freeze free when it comes to the build I'm using, I can honestly say hand on heart, for two weeks now I've had 0 freezes!!

burpingboy said:
SENSE FTW!
i've tried non-sense (not nonsense though, just personal preference) builds b4, but i couldn't get pass the plain contacts which can't really link from here to there.
the HTC People seamlessly links your contacts to emails and facebook and twitter and whatsapp accounts, and the ability to view the facebook albums using HTC gallery as though the pictures were in the phone.
Plus the decently nice weather widgets, friends stream widget, and the multilanguage supported keyboard with handwriting tools for Chinese input, etc etc.
I vote for Sense because it makes Sense!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything you stated is incorrect right down to the weather widget.
I know you didn't do it on purpose but I have never seen a more blatantly wrong series of statements.
I use HyperDroid (Non-sense) and my contacts are linked to Facebook/Twitter etc, etc.
I actually have and use the same weather widget as sense BUT I can change my weather icons and it does more than just show me the weather.
Freinds streaming is certainly available also... I use the facebook widget. I dont know about chinese characters but i dont need them either. However there are other languages that are supported.
To each his/her own... but at least lets have the real info.
Cheers.

I'm using cyanogen builds hyperdroid1.6 and bangsters1.5. I have tried a lot of builds and cyanogen stuck out over sence aesthetically and was more stable. I did enjoy sence dialler until I discovered dialler one in the bangsters build. I'm not giving up on sence once a good one rolls out that can please my demands as good or better than cyanogen or stock froyo it will have a home on my SD
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

jmmmmm said:
Everything you stated is incorrect right down to the weather widget.
I know you didn't do it on purpose but I have never seen a more blatantly wrong series of statements.
I use HyperDroid (Non-sense) and my contacts are linked to Facebook/Twitter etc, etc.
I actually have and use the same weather widget as sense BUT I can change my weather icons and it does more than just show me the weather.
Freinds streaming is certainly available also... I use the facebook widget. I dont know about chinese characters but i dont need them either. However there are other languages that are supported.
To each his/her own... but at least lets have the real info.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, after reading your post, and experiencing unresolvable errors with com.htc.bgp force close due to HTC Facebook syncing, i've decided to give non-sense another try. This time it's bangster 1.5, still downloading.
Cheers!

seems like this has been dormant for quite some time...
After using bangsters 1.5 for like 2 weeks, i've decided to switch back to M-deejay's evo sense 1.8 revolution with the latest Hastarin 7.6 kernel to try again.
Some of my findings:
Sense wins in terms of:
Facebook link to contacts:-
Sense: manual linking is alot more simple and user-friendly
Non-Sense: have to rename contacts to be exactly same as facebook, otherwise manual linking is possible but very tedious: contacts, settings, edit contacts, join, find facebook contact, confirm, back, back, back, and if any mistakes, have to separate and re-join.
Dialer:-
Sense: predictive t9 + phone no. dialer showing facebook display pictures fine
Non-Sense: default phone dialer no predictive t9, but shows facebook pics; Dialer One with predictive t9, but no predictive phone no., and facebook display pictures does not show
Default email app
While there are dedicated email apps for Gmail and Yahoo Mail, the default email app on Non-Sense builds is really restrictive, you cannot move mails between folders, you can't even retrieve your mails that you accidentally deleted but still in the trash folder. But these could be solved by 3rd party apps like K9.
but Non-Sense wins in terms of:
Customizability:-
Non-Sense: Best part of Non-Sense is its customizability. From changing LCD density, and choosing one out of so many launchers, customizing the themes and looks of your phone, no. of rows and columns, smooth transition from portrait to landscape, setting soft buttons, shortcuts, folders, drawers, etc.
Sense: somehow most of the sense widgets (weather, email, sms, friendstream, news) are oversized, takes up a full page, and cannot customize the size.
Alot of other things like camera 5mp, overclocking, battery, screen freezes, sods, etc are dependent on roms, builds and kernels, so i won't use those as a comparison between sense and non-sense.
Both are good in their own way, and i'm just glad that i'm using a HD2 which allows me to experience the best of both worlds!

Favorite underrated app

I realize this has been done 5,619 times before, but its something that is everchanging (like the android market)
Im always on the lookout for new apps. Theres probably a lot of great stuff out there that alot of people probably havnt heard about because they havnt really been discovered yet, or word of mouth just never circulated.
Im starting this thread with the intention of us sharing our favorite apps in hopes that we will find some new stuff based on what other users have used. I'll break it up into genre and we can list more than one in each category if you have one. List your primary app for each genre, and put a * next to any app you feel is great but a lot of people may not know about, and put an explanation and what you feel makes it good. Ill start with what I have:
Home Replacement/Launcher:
Primary - LauncherPro
Others - ADWLauncher
Sweeter Home*: Not available on Android market, but is a great project for an user who is OCD and wants to customize every little detail about their home screens. www.sweeterhome.com
Music Player:
Primary - Meridian Hermit*: Great U.I., allows for tag editing, good looking widgets in multiple sizes
Others - MixZing*: Very good looking U.I., tag editing, equalizer, lock screen player, fantastic widgets...some features are only available in the pro version which unfortunately costs $6
TuneWiki
Keyboard
Primary - Swype
Others - Better Keyboard
Facebook
Primary - Bloo 1.5*: I believe this is hands-down the best fbook app for android. The UI is a little weak but it makes up for it with direct notifications for EVERYTHING an you can choose how often to check for notifications, and version 1.5 has a perfectly functional facebook chat feature (unfortunately 1.5 is not available on the market, but 1.4.4 is)
Texting
Primary - Handcent
Others - ChompSMS
Browser
Primary - Dolphin Browser HD
Twitter
Primary - TweetCaster*: Excellent UI and scrollable widget
Task Killers
Primary - Process Manager*: Dont think its available on the market anymore, but has a GREAT widget that I use
Others - Autostarts
AutoKiller (Root required)
RSS/Podcasts
Primary - DoggCatcher*: The only reason this is my primary is because it has a GREAT podcast player and allows for downloading content, UI is a little shoddy
Others - BlueRSS*: Friendly UI, scrollable widget
Organization
Desktop Visualizer
Folder Organizer
File Explorer
Linda File Manager

Music Player: Winamp
Keyboard: SwiftKey
Twitter (Or statuses in general): TweetDeck
.. Maybe you could include a link to the app via AppBrain or something to make it easier for users to learn more about the app? And Task Killers aren't needed, if I was OP i would remove that but hey its whatever. I don't condone using task killers since they make your phone perform worse.

iheartradio: used to be crappy. Now with latest update I get all my talk radio on my Vibrant.

Tune in radio
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I followed your general format
Home Replacement/Launcher:
Primary - LauncherPro Plus
Others - AOSP Home: I use Bionix Fusion. It came with AOSP Home over
ADW Launcher: I don't use it... Not sure why I have it
SlideScreen: It's pretty cool to use sometimes... If I ever design an Android device for Business Power users, I'd definitely have a contract with these guys for the default home screen (it would be changeable in settings, of course.)
Music Player:
Primary - MixZing: mostly for what you said.
Others - Winamp: Because it's freaking WinAmp! I couldn't resist the "nostalgia" from 8 years ago lol
Keyboard
Primary - Swype
Facebook/Twitter
Primary - TweetDeck*: After the addition of Widgets, TweetDeck became nearly perfect for me. Now if only I could turn all notifications off at once...
Texting
I use Stock MMS (Not TouchWiz, I mean AOSP MMS)
Browser
Primary - Firefox: Because it's Firefox
Others - Dolphin Browser (Regular)
Skyfire: They're both pretty quick and easy to use, but I like Firefox more
Task Killers
Google told me not to use Task Killers
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html
RSS/Podcasts
Primary - iTunes and my iDevice*: Because it's perfect for it... most podcasts are designed for use with iTunes, it's just so easy.
Others - Listen*: Because Google made it?
File Explorer
Root Explorer

Home Replacement/Launcher:
Primary - LauncherPro Plus
Music Player:
Primary - CM6
Keyboard:
Primary - Multi-Touch
Facebook:
Primary - Stock
Texting:
Primary - Stock
Browser:
Primary - Opera
Twitter:
Primary - Stock
Task Killer:
Primary - Stock
Recovery:
Primary - ClockworkMod
Wow.. I use allot of stock things

Just a few things to add:
1) Quickdesk -- awesome secondary homescreen that you can reach with LP on search.
2) Smart Keyboard Pro -- I just keep coming back to it. LP for alt characters, a domain button, and arrow keys. S'nice!
3) Screen Timeout Widget -- Lets you set three different screen timeout settings and toggle between them.
4) Audio Manager -- All your volume controls in one interface.

Twitter - tuoiteur (however he spells it)
Widgets - beautiful widgets 1x1 weather
File manager-root explorer
Game-flick kick
Share files-dropbox & awesome drop.
Find your phone- lookout & latitude
Music- tunein radio (amazing)

Since the topic of underated was mentioned.
I really dig Timeriffic because I set it up to adjust my volumes through out the day, which for me is very inportant becasue nothing is more annoying than having the volume loud as heck at work and quite at home when you need it loud.

Some apps I didn't see posted (or missed) that I use. Trying to list non-mainstream. Have over 200 installed right now. Add/remove several a day. Love finding that new cool app!
Utilities
Tasker - Wow, is all I can say... Can automate anything if you can figure it out.
GScript - Great for organizing scripts and running them when you need to.
SU File Manager & Terminal - Another file manager with built in terminal. Good alternative.
ConnectBot - Great terminal/SSH client. I admin my Linux servers with this.
RealCalc - Flexible alternate simple scientific calculator.
Video/Audio
Act 1 Video Player - Later versions are pretty complete.
PicSay Pro - Great photo editor for the phone.
SoundHound Pro - Figure out what a song is by humming or singing.
Amdroid - Connects to my Ampache server.
GStrings - Guitar Tuner

Thread moved to General.

Sorry this might not be the place for this question, but is thre a way to get appsharing on my Vibrant.My buddy has the EVO and has that app when he tried to send it to me i was unable to install any thoughts?

A thread about APPS... is moved from the APP SECTION?
Okay...

Home Replacement/Launcher:
Primary - LauncherPro Plus down to 4 screen. 3 filled. 1 just whenever I want to see the wallpaper lol
Others - I honestly liked the standard android one back on the g1 when I didnt need a dock
Music Player:
Primary - Pandora
Others - Winamp
Keyboard
Primary - smart keyboard pro
Facebook/Twitter
None
Texting
Primary- standard touchwiz. only dislike is cropped long messages
Browser
Primary - Standard
Others - Dolphin Browser not bad, but a few quirks i didnt like
Task Killers
None
RSS/Podcasts
None
File Explorer
Astro

I'm going to add that SoundHound is certainly not talked about enough, that app is so much better than shazam (now that I've tried it).

[Q] Help choosing a ROM

Hi Chaps,
I'm getting pretty fed up with crashes, performance and low space on my Orange Hero w/2.1, as well as still being miffed by Orange screwing up everything with their tinkering of 2.1, sooooo, I'm going to flash.
But, I need some help, 'cause I think I'm just getting too old for all this tinkering lark and I'm reading up on a lot of ROMS and just can't choose - I'm reading, but nothing is sinking in!
So, I like Sense, or at least I think I do. What I actually like is contacts / Facebook integration, 7 pages of home screen and the HTC weather clock and the weather animations when I unlock the phone. I like the threaded SMS.
I DON'T LIKE: Orange screwing up the speed dial widget, running out of space, the fact that the default camera apps photos have gone 'stripey' since 2.1, (other cam apps are fine). A lot of complete hangs and force closes, including lately, something.htc.bgp force closing several times a day.
I use GPS a lot (CoPilot, Cardio Trainer, Latitude, Maps) and listen to music. The std music player is average and slow, but has some good features (headphone out pause, album art, lock screen control).
So, a lot of requests there, but I think it boils down to me needing: performance, apps2SD and reliability, and compatibility with a wide range of apps. Root not essential, since I run all the apps I need to, but I guess it comes part and parcel with flashing a new ROM. I have already installed and rooted with universal Androot.
Any help for me?
Thanks,
Rich.

Hi there
If sense is a must, look at rcmix. 2.1 with sense.
If You would like to experiment a bit You can try some of the 2.2roms, ie floyo, villain 1.6 to name a few. But it is hard to find a good dialer, and Facebook integration is on much lower level than sense roms. They should be quicker, so depends on You hope this helps
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App

I'm not sure if Sense is a must actually... what does it give me? The 'skinned' buttons across the bottom of the screen i suppose (phone, apps and add), but there ae other apps that do this aren't there? (Launchers?). What else does sense actually do that I might miss if I don't have it?
Is Rcmix running android 2.1 as it's version number suggests? Is there nothing with 2.2 yet? I see Rcmix does appstoSD, and I think after the phone just running right, space is my next biggest issue, so I suppose it could keep me happy.

I extremely agree with you. You have just, like, took this out of my head and put it on the forums!
Except, for me, the most important thing is the facebook integration. Doesn't the actual Facebook app provide that outside of sense?
something.htc.bgp is the location service, I think. After that crashing, foursquare stops working properly. I can't live like this.

With the Facebook intergration, I just like the way my contacts show pics from Facebook, and I get the status updates from the contacts too.

I think I'm gonna try Cyanogen. It's the most popular, I don't think much can go wrong. Still, I'm massively scared, haha!

I agree RCMix along wit kimera2.1 are great choices wit flykernal 11c or bfs. Had both and rarely had issues. Biggest losses from not having sense is the weather clock and a decent dialer if u plan to try a 2.2 rom

This might seem biased, but if you try following the instructions from this thread you will end up with a very nice, speedy hero setup. It even has info in there of a very fast, usable dialler app, as well as an app to sync your facebook contact pics.
LauncherPro Plus has a Facebook stream widget built-in, and you can either use BeautifulWidgets or FancyWidget for the clock.
Should all be in the post! (Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it looks, and its a lot to read, but might be worth it for you).
Zeb

Well, I got Cyanogen Mod, and so far I'm very happy with it. Definitely will try out the widgets from above

Me too... went for Zebwen's suggestion above (Thanks!) and pretty happy with it. Took a bit of customisation to get it nice, but now I know how easy it is to flash, I'll probably try a few.
Am I right in thinking I can do as many Nandroid backups as I want, and later on, restore to any previous, full setup, including Apps and data?

Verified my own question on Nand backups.
I had a problem yesterday with the camera force closing... is this a known issue? Reboot seems to have cured it so far, but despite the rest of the ROM being fine, the camera does seem a bit 'iffy'. Exposure wouldn't adjust when using it with barcode scanner the other day.

[Q] Phone Setup Suggestions

Everyone should be getting their phone in the next few days. I am coming from iOS so I am not 100% sure about all of androids apps and features. I have spent a lot of time in the last month learning as much as I could about switching over but I would like to get some opinions from everyone. I hope this will also help any other novice users get the most out of the note 3.
1. Are you going to use a launcher .. if so which one? why?
2. What apps will make using the note more enjoyable/easier?
3. What apps can I wow people with a demo of?
4. Any other general app recommendations?
5. What general settings should I initially use? or disable?
6. Anything I missed for a first time android user?

1) NEXT Launcher 3D
2) NEXT Launcher 3D
3) NEXT Launcher 3D's "Swing with Scroll" feature

Impuls3101 said:
Everyone should be getting their phone in the next few days. I am coming from iOS so I am not 100% sure about all of androids apps and features. I have spent a lot of time in the last month learning as much as I could about switching over but I would like to get some opinions from everyone. I hope this will also help any other novice users get the most out of the note 3.
1. Are you going to use a launcher .. if so which one? why?
2. What apps will make using the note more enjoyable/easier?
3. What apps can I wow people with a demo of?
4. Any other general app recommendations?
5. What general settings should I initially use? or disable?
6. Anything I missed for a first time android user?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome aboard! Here's the first thing you'll have to deal with: Size. The Note 3 (I have a Note 2) will seem huge and you may get buyer's remorse. Most of us do. It wears off in a couple of days, though and then you'll wonder how you dealt with such a small phone.
1. I use Apex launcher. Why do I use a launcher? Because I like to change the number of rows/columns from the standard setting. I also like to eliminate the Google search bar. And, I like using gestures to go to apps. I use swipe-up for Google Now and swipe-down for notification shade. Why do I use Apex instead of others? No particular reason but it seemed to have the most available features for a free version at the time. I have since paid for it.
2, There are a bazillion apps. But, coming from the iPhone I would first experiment with keyboard replacements. Why? Because you can and the iphone users can't. Try Swype or Swiftkey. Swiftkey is amazing at guessing what your next word will be. Most of all, get used to swiping instead of typing. Once you get good at it it's MUCH faster than typing. Then show that off to your iPhone buddies and say, "Take that!"
3. If you really want to dazzle people with your new phone find a high def YouTube video (the Vevo ones are good). Playing a beautiful video on a large screen has some really powerful WOW! factor.
4. Some apps I use a lot:
Color Note - A great note and checklist app that syncs via the cloud.
Chrome Beta
Flixter for getting movie times and watching trailers
Gas Buddy to find cheap gasoline
Amazon App store. A free app every day. You have to side load it, it's not in the Play Store.
Droid of the Day - A new app suggestion every day
Timely - One of the most beautiful alarm clock apps. It also syncs with all your devices
The usual apps: Netflix, Pandora, Watch ESPN, HBO Go, Dropbox, et al.
5. I turn off Auto display brightness. I leave my Note 2 at full brightness all the time. The battery can handle this just fine.
I leave GPS, Wifi, and NFC on all the time.
Make sure you setup Google+ to automatically upload your photos
6. Don't go too crazy downloading apps. You may find your battery suddenly draining too fast. If you don't like or use an app delete it immediately so it won't eat battery.
Good luck and have fun.

Impuls3101 said:
1. Are you going to use a launcher .. if so which one? why?
?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova Prime because it is better than TW in every way.

Ok I will answer some of my own questions from using the device the last 10 or so hours I hope this helps someone else. Please add suggestions because I am still getting used to everything.
1. Nova launcher seems to be easier to use because it takes all ur tw settings and imports them. It makes it easy to switch between the two. I like the tw weather widget better though
2. -I still need to find a good email client that syncs the few accounts that I have together. I haven't looked into this yet.
-Equalizer is a really good app to put more bass or customize the sound of your music.
-Adblock plus is really nice to have while browsing the internet .. I always hated that I couldn't use it on the iphone.
-The adapt sound settings helped make my headphones sound a little better. I use an aux in on my car so it kind of sucks that they don't have profiles for different sources.
3. -Next Launcher is really nice to show people but I don't know if I could use it everyday and its 3x the price of other launchers.
-Real Racing 3 is a nice demo game but good old angry birds star wars 2 probably looks the best and it has a note 3 achievement
-slow mo camera is really nice but anything less than 1/2 speed and the image starts to look very grainy .. 4k really has a wow factor even on the 1080p screen.
4. Sketchbook for Galaxy is a lot of fun to draw in with the s-pen.
5. -I followed this guide for disabling some of the bloatware: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2478448
-I also disabled most of the air hover features because they are nice for demoing the device to someone but I probably won't use them. Plus I wear glasses and it doesn't seem to detect my eyes very well.
-People are reporting poor wifi and one of the settings suggested is to turn off network auto connect.. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2472779 .. I experienced the problem but reset my router and it seems fine now.. not sure if its a software glitch or what.
6. -Here is a useful guide on how to transfer your contacts : http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/transfer-iphone-contact-to-android/
-The only thing I am missing from iOS are the nice lock screen notifications. If anyone has a suggestion please let me know

Impuls3101 said:
Everyone should be getting their phone in the next few days. I am coming from iOS so I am not 100% sure about all of androids apps and features. I have spent a lot of time in the last month learning as much as I could about switching over but I would like to get some opinions from everyone. I hope this will also help any other novice users get the most out of the note 3.
1. Are you going to use a launcher .. if so which one? why?
2. What apps will make using the note more enjoyable/easier?
3. What apps can I wow people with a demo of?
4. Any other general app recommendations?
5. What general settings should I initially use? or disable?
6. Anything I missed for a first time android user?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I have been using Nova for a while on my Galaxy Nexus, and use it on my N3 now too. It's not too bloated, allows custom number of icons per row/column, gestures, and resize all widgets. I used to use Apex, and that was really good too, but I switched a while ago to Nova because there was some feature Apex didn't have, though honestly I don't remember what now, and they may very well have added it.
2. SketchBook Mobile by Autodesk (makers of AutoCAD and Inventor, among many other engineering-oriented programs) is kind of cool, it's a sketch program that you can do a lot with, and works well with the stylus. Not the most useful app, per se, but a fun "proof of concept" if you will, and it's free. I believe there's more options than the built in equivalent, though I haven't used either a ton yet.
3. Any high def media will look awesome. Show them Netflix streaming, or as someone else said, HD Youtube, or any other HD video. Even pictures taken with the camera look great, simply because of the huge high res screen. Pictures taken with the phone probably would look even better on the screen than ones taken with another phone with a better camera but worse screen, because it's still small enough to cover up minor imperfections, but big and crisp enough to really look amazing.
4. For a music player, I like PowerAmp. It's got a really good equalizer, and a ton of settings to play with. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the interface, but it's not awful. You can also customize the widget as much as you want, in terms of colors, fonts, transparency, buttons, size, what's displayed, etc.
I also use UberSync for Facebook, which lets you use sync HD pictures from facebook as contact photos. You can also import birthdays into your calendar, if you want, and some other info from people's profiles. You can choose what resolution to use, how often to sync, and only use wi-fi if you want.
5. I turned off all of the Smart features and that kind of thing. I don't want to control my phone with my eyes or hand gestures, I want to use it with my hands or S Pen. Of course that's fully a matter of preference. Also I noticed that the setting to alert you if you walk away without putting the S Pen back in is disabled by default, so I enabled that. I still worry I'm going to lose it sometime, but that's just because I'm forgetful.

Impuls3101 said:
-Adblock plus is really nice to have while browsing the internet .. I always hated that I couldn't use it on the iphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you using Adblock without root??

jmorton10 said:
How are you using Adblock without root??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Firefox with the adblock plugin and its working great. Firefox now flies on this phone.:good: