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Android Technical --
Android Technical just published "Windows Phone Android", a windows phone metro UI launcher for android. The lite version is now in the Android Market.
Lite version include:
Pin to front page tiles
remove from front page
uninstall apps
dark and lite themes
4 accent colors (Blue, Green, Red and Orange)
limited messages (on message area at the top of the screen)
status bar with mobile signal, wifi, bluetooth, battery status etc.
informational tiles, animated screens, status messages and other features will be included in the regular versions.
At the end of the day, if you really want a Windows Phone, you should go get one. You can get one here from Microsoft.
Side Note: You may choose not to install it as a launcher (choose default home as launcher) and the application will act in stand alone manner.
Android Technical (@droidtechnical) - @lmaung - @kluesman
Demo video : http://www.youtube.com/androidtechnical#p/a/u/0/3yvIVfRdM1w
I will send out the APK link to those with screwed up ROMs. People update the market on your ROM first. It'll fix WPA not showing up as well a there may be other apps missing from your list....
Reserved
Dec 21, 2010:
Lite updated to 1.2.1
- NOTIFICATIONS ARE HERE!
- Swipe feature from full is now in Lite
- Better tile icon size changes
- MORE THEME COLORS!
- Less force closes
- Battery Code updated
- Cell Signal code updated
- Faster animations
- lots of back end changes
- Clock re-enabled
- Ads. Yeah it's a good way to keep us coding -- or get the regular version. Thanks you.
Regular update to 1.2
Dec 21, 2010:
Lite updated to 1.2
- NOTIFICATIONS ARE HERE!
- TILE NOTIFICATION
- STATUS BAR NOTIFICATION
- Better tile icon size changes
- MORE THEME COLORS!
- Less force closes
- Battery Code updated
- Cell Signal code updated
- Faster animations
- lots of back end changes
Dec 14, 2010:
Lite updated to 1.1.2
- Battery Status and Signal Status code updated to include a wider range of devices and hopefully less f.c. on a lot of devices.
Depending on feedback and outcome, same code will come thru (as well as a few extras) on regular version in the next few days.
Dec 10, 2010:
Lite: updated to 1.1.1
- Dreaded mdip (480x320) tile alignment issue. I don't have a test device anymore but as far as I can tell on the emulator (with the right settings), it looks fine. I am done fixing this issue now. Recommended resolution is 800x480. Recommended device is Nexus One.
Regular: updated to 1.1.1
- Dreaded mdip (480x320) tile alignment issue. I don't have a test device anymore but as far as I can tell on the emulator (with the right settings), it looks fine. I am done fixing this issue now. Recommended resolution is 800x480. Recommended device is Nexus One.
Lite: Updated to 1.1
- Swipe to flip between (1st and 2nd Screen from 1.0.1 regular is added)
- Battery Status is now added
- Alignment issue (last tiles on mdpi devices should be ok)
- First time will come with some preloaded icons on the first page (sick of that blank screen emails)
Regular: Updated to 1.1
- Full Swipe between (1st and 2nd Screen is updated - animated)
- Battery Status added
- Alignment issue (last tiles on mdpi devices should be ok)
- First time will come with some preloaded icons on the first page (sick of that blank screen emails)
- All future developments will continue on this version.
Dec 8, 2010:
Regular Updated to 1.0.1
- Swipe to slide added.
Dec 7, 2010:
Lite version updated to 1.0.1
- First and last tile misalignment is fixed
- Minor tweaks
Regular ($2.99) version 1.0 added to market
- same as lite version for now
- supports more than 12 apps on the main screen
Not too bad! Now i know it states for screen res of 480x800, and my eris's screen is smaller, but can you fix the tiles misalignment? It seems the first and last row shift to the left just the slightest. This is what i have been waiting for!
I love you android.
It look GREAT!! I hope that you won't leave your nice project!
i dont see any tiles.
just a black or white background and the arrow.
htc desire with miui 0.12.3.
castro65 said:
i dont see any tiles.
just a black or white background and the arrow.
htc desire with miui 0.12.3.
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you have to go on app list, then hold an app and add on screen
So far looks and works pretty good cant wait to check out the pro version! I really hope u stick with it
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Confirmed and working on the Tmobile HTC G2 2.2 stock. Now my phones screen looks like my wifes HD7. I cant wait to show her. LOL. I cant wait for the updates and pro version. Good work on this app.
There is a bug on the first tile issue. We'll look into it. We also noticed that we have issues with ldip (240x320) devices too. Thanks for the feedbacks so far.
Looking Gr8 thank you I have been try to achieve this look all month!! please keep us posted with updates looking forward to donate version!
on my vibrant 2.2 loading the full list of apps as well as pinning to start is just too slow. Is this only on mine?
Works amazingly. Nice and fast on 2.1 fascinate. Thank you so so much. Can't wait for pro version
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I'm loving this launcher, and I've been looking forward to someone doing this. I've tried the light version and anticipating the pro versions, but I was just wondering (if you haven't already thought about it yet) are you going to make it able for the user to chose it's own tiles to represent an app. For example, I don't use android messenger, I use handcent. So when I pinned Handcent to the quick start it has the blue icon and it's called Handcent, and I would want it to be a live tile and just call messaging.
Just bringing this to your attention, looking forward to the pro version. Keep it up.
jamez243 said:
on my vibrant 2.2 loading the full list of apps as well as pinning to start is just too slow. Is this only on mine?
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I think you are the second person with vibrant that is telling us that it is slow. We tested on devices that we have. Nexus One, T-Mo Comet, and LG Optimus T. I will see what I can do. Even on the Comet (528mhz) it is working so... something might be wrong with your phone but I would love to see it in person to see the actual speed differences.
are you going to make it able for the user to chose it's own tiles to represent an app. For example, I don't use android messenger, I use handcent. So when I pinned Handcent to the quick start it has the blue icon and it's called Handcent, and I would want it to be a live tile and just call messaging.
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Our thoughts are to keep the light simple and plain (thus lite and free). More of a demo version if you want to think of it that way. We will have the regular version with some user enabled features and pro with our own live tiles and hubs and such (eg, new contacts screens, new music player etc). Nothing is fully set in stone yet. Just wanted to see how people will like the idea. Considering it took 2 people to code this in about 30 hours each, it's not bad. But we do android rapid prototyping and deployment for a living though.
Is there supposed to be a battery indicator in the status bar? I don't have one. And signal doesn't really respond there. Also I have to swipe up or down to see anything other than the time. Which I think is kinda cool actually. Just wondering if that's normal. Thanks, and fantastic work.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Very cool...I like it...! Running it on a HTC HD2 with a Desire ROM and it runs great!
lucas.scott said:
Is there supposed to be a battery indicator in the status bar? I don't have one. And signal doesn't really respond there. Also I have to swipe up or down to see anything other than the time. Which I think is kinda cool actually. Just wondering if that's normal. Thanks, and fantastic work.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
That is normal. Just the way WP7 does that status bar. It is missing battery indicator. We will put it up with the next update. The status bar comes down for 8 sec on real WP7. Ours does the exact same thing (sans animation)
Really good. Works very good on my galaxy s! Waiting for the pro version! I'll offer you more than a coffe!
Pretty slick! Can't wait to see some new features. It'd be nice to use custom icons, say if we use another app for our dialer or messenger, or even for completely different apps! Custom colours would be nice, too.
Found a bug though, if you open the settings and exit it, and go back, there are some weird glitches, you'll see. (this is if you're not using it as a launcher)
EDIT: A page for widgets would be awesome if you could work that out, or at least a way to quickly change settings(wifi, gps, etc)
EDIT2: A way to move tiles around would be good.
Samsung is great. They may be slow to update, but when they update, they do it right. People complained that it took so long for the update, but they do a lot more than other companies. Samsung creates the absolute best tablet experience since they now take note of stock android and only built upon it rather than change it (Sense 3.0, MotoBlur, TouchWiz 3.0)
Quick Apps:
Multiple quick apps open at once are now supported and the apps themselves are much improved. Having access to calendar and calculator are very handy. You can check email without exiting or minimizing a game and the task manager has quite the pretty facelift.
Music App:
Not only is it Samsung's best music app yet, I think it provides a better tablet music experience than any other music app out there (that I've tried). Google Music is close, but I love the quick app/mini app.
-SoundAlive enhancements are great, allowing you to simply improve the clarity and bass of a song without touching an EQ. EQs are nice, but you always have to sacrifice something (add bass and treble, lose mids)
-Customizeable navigation. Never seach with Year, Composer, Genre, etc? Disable them.
-Quick App. Quick access to playlist, volume, and navigation in any app. No need to minimize or quit.
-Scrollable Widget. Full playlist access right from the homesecreen.
-One negative is the no social features such as last.fm, facebook sharing, or the like...I don't care about those features anyway...I don't even know what scrobbling is.
App Drawer:
-Can finally organize apps by name. Or customize it as before.
-Built-in function to Hide Apps. Samsung finally allowing us to hide their own bloatware.
-Continuous looping. Swiping doesn't force you to enter the Widgets panel.
-App drawer allows application uninstalling.
-Instant Play Store access from the menu, like stock.
Other Apps and Features:
-Browser has built in desktop page request feature, page saving for offline viewing, network printing, instant homescreen shortcut creation, incognito mode, color modes, inverse mode for night reading, text scaling, search engine chooser, and sharing features. Holy crap.
-Beautiful Accuweather widget, but only truly compatible with TouchWiz
-S Planner is a calendar and task list app, which could be as good as Google Calendar, but it still bolstered by the quick app.
-Built-in Photo and Video Editors (I know this isn't new, but it's still nice)
-Find My Mobile. Remotely track, lock, or wipe your tablet.
-Automatic power saving features below a battery threshold.
-Tilt to move apps/widgets from one homescreen page to another.
Visual Changes:
-Google Search and App Drawer bar is less intrusive and more concise.
-Quick Launch buttons now have more varied icons.
-Black status bar without having to mod...nice.
-Reskinned clock, notification window, and notification toggles. Green...ehh.
-Added "Restart" to the Power Menu.
Performance Changes:
-The choppiness has been reduced quite a bit, though it's inconsistent. You can have every quick app open and the performance will not get worse. This is WAYYY too big a deal to so many people. I know it sullies the experience of buttery smoothness like the iPad, but unless you spend all day transitioning home screens, it doesn't diminish functionality. PocketNow even went as far as to say that the lag often renders the tablet unusable, which is preposterous, and went on to say that the tablet is a 3.5/5 rather than a 4.5/5 because of it. Other than home screen transitions and additions, the performance is top-notch, and a custom launcher can be used to smooth it out completely. However, you will lose some of the features listed above (though other launchers have most of them anyway).
-I am getting much better WiFi reception. I haven't seen whether the Bluetooth breaks up/slows down the WiFi connection anymore...if someone would like to check/confirm that for me, it would be much appreciated.
With all the the features that Samsung throws in (that allow you to opt out or hide), I would pick the Tab 7.7 over the Excite 7.7 any day. With the ICS update, this tablet is truly the best small tablet on the market today, IMO. Considering the S-AMOLED Plus screen, the incredible battery life, the top-notch performance, the expandable storage capacity, and all of the features listed above, if you are unhappy with this tablet, you are impossible to please and shouldn't be allowed money to purchase tablets.
I know some of the features above are in 3.2, but I can't remember which exactly. All I know for sure is that the Excite doesn't have all of these.....but it does have a USB port...hmm..
Dont mind do a video on animation for our ics tablet? I wanna compare on jb hee
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda premium
Agreed, samsung have done a great job here on the 7.7. ICS upgrade is so good, no real need for custom rom, touchwiz phone app and music are better than pure ics offerings. Also wifi tether works so well I ditched my home internet connection and wireless accespoint..
I run cm9/aokp on my galaxy 10.1v as the stock android is 3.2 and a 3rd party ics is a major improvement so have experience of both stock and custom roms.
This will probably my most difficult adaptation: The lack of a clock always on screen, and two less important but still very high priority issues, having a view on open apps (preferably Metro too) and notifications - I still wonder what they were thinking, leaving out a notification center of some sorts. So, would it be possible to have a taskbar with such functionality always running in the Metro interface? Whether newly coded or just an adaptation of the present taskbar in the desktop environment? It probably is a question with high hopes, but worth the shot..
Hello,
I'm using Slimkat 4.4.4.8269 since its release. It has a neat feature called the custom tiles which is the feature that keeps me on that rom because I was unable to find a similar function in another ROM.
The Slimroms custom tiles basically lets you set unlimited "custom" tiles in the quicksettings which you can set with apps, os functions or whatever. They take a second action for a long press and they can cycle through multiple apps on that one tiles.
This is basically a quickstarter for apps. The thing that makes this marvelous is actually that opening an app doesn't get that app into the foreground, that statusbar stays in the foreground such that I can open a second and third, etc. app through very few taps.
An example what I use this for: My worst but not rare case here:
Navigation+speedcam warner+mozilla stumbler(wifi and cell existance to gps mapper)+openwlanmap.org (wifi to gps mapper)+openbmap.org (wifi and cell to gps mapper).
The best approach is to use a directory on the homescreen, if my launcher supported it. This way i don't have to search in the app drawer.
So I would open the directory, start app 1, press home screen, start app 2 and so on.
Until i started the 5 apps, I have done (swipes and presses+ app-open-taps combined) 15 actions.
Using custom tiles as slimkat offers it in the status bar I swipe to open the quick settings and then open my apps, 1 swipe+5 taps=6 actions.
This is for me much faster and allows me to pay much less attention to my phone while starting what I want.
However, I would like to update to Lollipop or M, anyways, go with CM most likely but that feature isn't there. I found out that the GravityBox with the xposed framework offers some kind of similar features but it only features 2 custom apps, currently I have a bit more than 20 in my status bar.
I could use "Tasker" for this approach as well, but actually that configuration is rather weird and static to one action/app (condition) which I first have to fulfill. That approach fails if one of the apps is already started and I only want to start one app especially if that meets Taskers condition. I end up using the app drawer and search for my app.
This post pretty much covers the configuration and outcome of the custom tile in Slimroms in two pictures:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development/rom-slimkat-hammerhead-stable-5-0-t2511512/post51495728#post51495728
Have you seen any other ROM with decent updates (that seems to be only CM for the hlte at the point of writing) or way to accomplish something similar? It doesn't need to be in the statusbar, even though that is quite easy to access.
Parts of my post I took from my post to a CM feature request at JIRA:
https://jira.cyanogenmod.org/browse/CYAN-2227?jql=text%20~%20%22custom%20tiles%22
Thanks in advance!
Try Layers, http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/themes-apps/systemui-overlays-5-0-t3025183
Thanks for the reply. I think layers is some sort of theming app overlaying the normal icons with other colors. This is something new to me and interesting, but not what I wanted in this thread.
I found something that goes a bit in that direction: Hangars. It displays some appbar in the notification area. Upon opening an app the area disappears and I would have to open the notification area again. Still better than the homelauncher and its folders.
Something I tested previously going into the same direction is the PIE control as well as some sidelaunchers like omnirom and such. Still the custom tiles allow a faster operation.
If anyone is interested in those, you could vote for this as well:
https://jira.cyanogenmod.org/browse/CYAN-2227, It enclosed this feature.
From time to time I changed to CM or something like it, but return very quickly to my custom quick tiles as they are irreplacible and other roms waste time and I can hardly operate them blindly like slimkat.
Just heads up, Google finally may have thought those tiles to be useful and they were added in Marshmallow. You can only go there using the System UI tuner (google for it, if you don't know what it is. You'll need another app to configure those nicely, like custom quick settings. Due a bug you can't add more than 18 tiles in total, but if you like it and don't need more go ahead. Right now I have 40+ and they're in color.
So far I can't think of changing from the lovely slimkat.
Just wanted to add my 2 cents on the DP2 of Android P.
So far my favorite thing is how fluid it is and how nice the animations are (it's more fluid than Oreo in every way -- animations, scrolling, opening apps, switching windows, etc.) . The animations are especially nice when using the Pixel launcher. You lose certain animations when using 3rd party launchers. I've always used third party launchers since 2011 because stock ones never have the features I want but The Pixel launcher on Android P is pretty dang cool. I still miss options like no widget padding, icon packs, icon and folder resizing, gestures, custom desktop and app drawer spaces, but even losing all that is worth it with how amazing Android P runs with the Pixel launcher.
My battery life was terrible the first 2 days and I was considering going back to Oreo but it seems to have settle down now. I still feel I was getting slightly better battery life on Oreo but I can't say for sure. I know others have said they are getting better battery life on P but so far that hasn't been my experience.
I haven't run into any major bugs and have only experienced a couple minor issues like brief freezing (1-2 seconds and has only happened a few times), and had recent apps freeze up twice but hitting the home button fixes it. I know some have reported a lot of apps crashing but I don't use many apps and haven't had any issues there.
For me it's a DD. Wi-Fi Tethering, calling, texting, bluetooth, and GPS all work with no issues.
I'm not a fan of some of the new UI changes but overall it definitely seems like a good step up from Oreo. I can't wait to see how it develops over the next 6 months.
Nice write up! Agree this P is getting better and better!
I know Facebook isn't the best app in the world, and I'm a beta tester for the official app. I cannot get it to install for the life of me. Very odd errors.. keeps throwing error 504
jbarcus81 said:
I know Facebook isn't the best app in the world, and I'm a beta tester for the official app. I cannot get it to install for the life of me. Very odd errors.. keeps throwing error 504
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I don't personally use facebook but I just checked it out because of your post and it installed fine. I also logged in and scrolled through it a bit and it worked fine. Not sure why it's giving you issues :/
imucarmen said:
I don't personally use facebook but I just checked it out because of your post and it installed fine. I also logged in and scrolled through it a bit and it worked fine. Not sure why it's giving you issues :/
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Click to collapse
Could be an issue with the beta... I never thought much about it.
I beta test FB as well, and had issues trying to get the app to install too. I have it installed on my s9+, but couldn't get that one to update, so I found the apk for the version that's on the s9+, and it was able to install on the Pixel 2xl DP2. This leads me to believe it's the FB app itself, and not the phone.
Moostafa29 said:
I beta test FB as well, and had issues trying to get the app to install too. I have it installed on my s9+, but couldn't get that one to update, so I found the apk for the version that's on the s9+, and it was able to install on the Pixel 2xl DP2. This leads me to believe it's the FB app itself, and not the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect! Now to hunt down the latest beta APK .. looks like 172.0.0.51.93 is the latest version.
I went back to Oreo the same day I flashed P DP2. This was the same day DP2 was released. I don't remember every detail but here are the things that made me go back:
- A handful of apps would simply not work/open. I forgot which ones they were.
- I don't like the way the Quick Settings look.
- I don't like it that the Quick Settings wont open a quick detailed view and instead just open the settings app. Seems minor, but is a step-back if you ask me.
- QS icons in landscape mode are out of place.
EDIT: - Accessing the settings app via notification drawer now requires you to pull down the drawer completely. That's because the gear icon becomes only visible/accessible when it's fully expanded, while in previous Android versions, like O, the gear icon was visible even on a collapsed notification drawer.
I reeeeally love the new sound controls!
very ugly LTE icon
Literally the only thing I don't like is that the gesture bar is still eating up screen space like the nav bar did and WTF on the LTE font/icon. There is no reason to not expand displayed content all the way to the edge of the display and have the pill hover over the content. Also I see no reason for the back button. If swiping in one direction takes you back to the last used app, make swiping the other direction the back button inside an app. Other than that, I much prefer the roundness of the UI seeing the the display corners of my Pixel 2XL are rounded. It just looks more cohesive. I was a huge fan of Flux Ui, so P taking on that styling cue is another plus to me. Also the animations are much better. I haven't tested a full day of usage for screen on time yet without my phone touching a charger at some point, but the fact that I'm consistently getting a 1 to 2 percentage battery drop overnight is already better than any android version I've been on.
nitrous² said:
I went back to Oreo the same day I flashed P DP2. This was the same day DP2 was released. I don't remember every detail but here are the things that made me go back:
- A handful of apps would simply not work/open. I forgot which ones they were.
- I don't like the way the Quick Settings look.
- I don't like it that the Quick Settings wont open a quick detailed view and instead just open the settings app. Seems minor, but is a step-back if you ask me.
- QS icons in landscape mode are out of place.
EDIT: - Accessing the settings app via notification drawer now requires you to pull down the drawer completely. That's because the gear icon becomes only visible/accessible when it's fully expanded, while in previous Android versions, like O, the gear icon was visible even on a collapsed notification drawer.
I reeeeally love the new sound controls!
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Click to collapse
I agree on all your points but for me the fluidity and animations more than make up for it. Hopefully some of those things you mentioned get addressed. I definitely do not like the new QS style.
darkoj2007 said:
very ugly LTE icon
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Click to collapse
Agreed. That's is one of the new ui changes I'm not a fan of at all. It looks like it belongs on a phone from 6 years ago. Perhaps they did for people who are far sighted but it would be nice to have the option to use the old little LTE and 3g icons.
AndrasLOHF said:
Literally the only thing I don't like is that the gesture bar is still eating up screen space like the nav bar did and WTF on the LTE font/icon. There is no reason to not expand displayed content all the way to the edge of the display and have the pill hover over the content. Also I see no reason for the back button. If swiping in one direction takes you back to the last used app, make swiping the other direction the back button inside an app. Other than that, I much prefer the roundness of the UI seeing the the display corners of my Pixel 2XL are rounded. It just looks more cohesive. I was a huge fan of Flux Ui, so P taking on that styling cue is another plus to me. Also the animations are much better. I haven't tested a full day of usage for screen on time yet without my phone touching a charger at some point, but the fact that I'm consistently getting a 1 to 2 percentage battery drop overnight is already better than any android version I've been on.
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The gesture bar needs some refinement. I hate the back button as well. They need to at least make it have rounded corners and solid to match the rest of the ui. The sharp corners and hollow look really doesn't match and looks awful.
LTE and 3G icons are awful.
For some reason my battery just isn't performing as well on P as it did on Oreo. Especially the AOD -- it chews my battery up. It still easily get through the day with plenty of juice to spare and I work at home and always have a charger handy so it's not a problem.