Hey all,
I was just wondering if someone has ever decompiled settings.apk and modded it to look like stock (or in that case, the UI of every other Android manufacturer). I've heard really good things about the Note 3, but the only thing that keeps me back is the terrible tabbed settings. One can't even scroll side to side, it's so poorly designed.
Simply put, a way to set the classic style settings would make my day.
Related
So I am considering starting an AOSP project. The idea would be to stay away from replacing AOSP components and simply improving them. For instance, CM replaced the stock launcher with ADW. This project would not do things like that although we would make improvements on such apps. So with this in mind, what improvements is the community looking forward to most? For instance, there are UI improvements like the reboot selector CM built but there is also core improvements such as making the system more stable, etc. So basically, as an individual, what improvements to Android would you like to see the most if I was to start this project?
One of the things I miss that comes to mind is the ability to see what apps are open and ability to switch between them. A reference would be the Palm Pre. It shows everything open and can scroll through them....more like Windows 7 cascade option. All open, running apps viewable in windows that can be selected and closed by dragging. Considering we can multitask, this would be nice to have if it can be done.
One more thing that would be sweet is a modification to the Power Notification Widget which allowed another row of widgets so more than 6 can be utilized.
CCallahan said:
One of the things I miss that comes to mind is the ability to see what apps are open and ability to switch between them. A reference would be the Palm Pre. It shows everything open and can scroll through them....more like Windows 7 cascade option. All open, running apps viewable in windows that can be selected and closed by dragging. Considering we can multitask, this would be nice to have if it can be done.
One more thing that would be sweet is a modification to the Power Notification Widget which allowed another row of widgets so more than 6 can be utilized.
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Click to collapse
Hmm... Itching Thumb does a great job of Palm Pre style switching. Definitely better if built into the OS. I'll look into it.
Automatic SMS splitting in the stock Messaging app when the message is longer than 160chars.
CCallahan said:
One of the things I miss that comes to mind is the ability to see what apps are open and ability to switch between them. A reference would be the Palm Pre. It shows everything open and can scroll through them....more like Windows 7 cascade option. All open, running apps viewable in windows that can be selected and closed by dragging. Considering we can multitask, this would be nice to have if it can be done.
One more thing that would be sweet is a modification to the Power Notification Widget which allowed another row of widgets so more than 6 can be utilized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually like how Android takes care of it. The status bar/drawer shows active services (things that are actively running and doing something that may require attention) so it's easy to switch between those. Anything else that is running and isn't that important can be accessed by holding on the home key to bring up the recently used apps switcher. The apps switcher could definitely be more elegant but it's functional at least.
bjb_nyj101 said:
Automatic SMS splitting in the stock Messaging app when the message is longer than 160chars.
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Click to collapse
THIS will be one of the first things I work on. This has been on my to do list on Android even if I didn't want to do an entire AOSP project since it's just so damn annoying lol
Full hardware acceleration.
After switching between tablet and phablet UI's, trying to decide which one I liked better, I decided I want a hybrid of the phablet and the tablet UI (like a thablet?, this name stuff is getting ridiculous). I want one bar on the bottom of the screen with my nav buttons in the middle, and the status/quick setting on right, and the notifications on the left. Is there currently any way to do this?
I made an awesome MSPaint mock-up of what I'm talking about.
I don't know of any way to make these changes without writing your own custom ROM.
I really like the layout you are proposing. It's genius! It's a perfect combination of the classic Honeycomb interface and the new 4.1 phone-UI-on-tablet interface.
You should talk to a ROM developer about this layout.
Sent from my Nexus 10
There are a few things that really bug me about the Touchwiz software.
1) The ridiculous color scheme/non-standardization between pages. For instance, the new apk install menu is just horrid to look at, as well as certain pop-up confirmation buttons. Is there any easy way to change these so that they more reflect AOSP?
2) The messaging application and the widget that appears on the lock screen when you have a missed phone call/text message. I was wanting to use Dashclock widget on the homescreen to replicate this purpose, but no matter what, I can't find a way to disable that widget that always appears. Is there a way to remove it?
3) This sorta ties along with #2, but when you use a pattern on the lock screen, you can't use a stand alone widget, Samsung automatically takes over and uses it's own. I know it's possible to use pattern and a widget (I can do it on the GE Rom, and my Nexus 7), is there a way duplicate this process?
4) Is there a way to replace the TW messaging app with an AOSP messaging application?
5) The pull down notification bar, is there any way to make it look more like AOSP?
There are things that I love both about TW and AOSP, and unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a rom (in my opinion) that compliments both of the features that they consist of nicely. I don't have the knowledge (or the time at the moment with school coming up) to try and build my own rom that would enjoy the features that I would want. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this process. I would be forever grateful.
Hi,
I just received a brand new Kindle HD 8, and the device runs smoothly, and I also installed Google play store and got my favorite apps running. However, I wonder why Amazon makes the UI experience so bad for the customer compared to normal Android. My main concerns are the following, maybe you have some suggestions what I am doing wrong.
1.) Notifications - compared to standard Android, where you get a little white symbol for every app that notifies you in the notification bar directly, the kindle is only able to display a small number, indicating how many notifications there are, but you have to swipe to see which apps actually notify you. Very bad user experience, instead they display the name of your device (how stupid is that?). Could be easily implemented, I absolutely do not understand why.
2.) There is a search bar pane on the top of the homescreen which cannot be removed. Why not make it removable like a widget? You cannot even change the search engine this bar uses, it's always "Bing", regardless of what people select in the Silk Browser settings.
3.) Just a minor issue, but in the German localisation, in settings menu, if you are looking for the Blutooth settings, you have to navigate to Settings -> WLAN
But please, Amazon: why are you doing that? Why not allow the user to customize the UI to their needs? This way, it feels like a solid hardware at a reasonable price, which is intentionally limited by a bad UI experience, which really is a shame What do you think?
Agree with you. But you have to remember Amazon is trying to control their environment like Apple does. Easier to maintain. Also I'm sure they are markerting to the average users, not really focused on XDA users I am waiting for root access and ability to flash custom roms on it...
Jackie78 said:
Hi,
I just received a brand new Kindle HD 8, and the device runs smoothly, and I also installed Google play store and got my favorite apps running. However, I wonder why Amazon makes the UI experience so bad for the customer compared to normal Android. My main concerns are the following, maybe you have some suggestions what I am doing wrong.
1.) Notifications - compared to standard Android, where you get a little white symbol for every app that notifies you in the notification bar directly, the kindle is only able to display a small number, indicating how many notifications there are, but you have to swipe to see which apps actually notify you. Very bad user experience, instead they display the name of your device (how stupid is that?). Could be easily implemented, I absolutely do not understand why.
2.) There is a search bar pane on the top of the homescreen which cannot be removed. Why not make it removable like a widget? You cannot even change the search engine this bar uses, it's always "Bing", regardless of what people select in the Silk Browser settings.
3.) Just a minor issue, but in the German localisation, in settings menu, if you are looking for the Blutooth settings, you have to navigate to Settings -> WLAN
But please, Amazon: why are you doing that? Why not allow the user to customize the UI to their needs? This way, it feels like a solid hardware at a reasonable price, which is intentionally limited by a bad UI experience, which really is a shame What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So who likes the app drawer being gone or adding it back in the settings? I was trying as is but I'm feeling closterphobic with the big disarray mess of icons all over the home screens. Who else is not digging the app drawer not being there?
The Always on screen doesn't come with very many options or customizations as the GS7. I'm feeling the pain for that.
It's always overwhelming getting settled into a new phone. The other issue i ran into was all my apps didn't sync on their own from google like they normally do. I had to use the LG Smart Switch app to transfer from the GS7 to the G6. That caused a panic i though i would have to manually install each app like the old android days.
It freaked me out going from my 6P to the G6 because everything was different and not what I was used to. After a day or two I settled in.
And yes... App drawer was a must for me
I'm app drawerless still. It sounds like you have a lot more apps. Mine fits on one page and bordering on needing a second. I manually installed because I didn't need everything I had installed my S5.
Not using AOD because I don't need to be aware of everything that happens on my phone. I imagine it's meant to take the place of a notification LED though.
I selected the app drawer. I about had a fit trying to figure out how to add more homescreens. It took me 5 mins to figure it out. I found out how in the help file. You have to pinch and squeeze the screen to zoom out the homescreens to move them or add more. It seems like i had this type of behavior with my HTC One M7 if i remember correct. I'm 38 yrs old and in the last few years I noticed it takes me longer to get used to different phones or computer software. years ago i was always trying new things and not freaking out about it. Now if feels like the end of the world going to a different phone.
another gripe.... The emoticons are a funky shape same as my Nexus 7. They're not round normal faces like on the GS7. Any fixing that? I tried Swiftkey for the N7 but it didn't change them. I am enjoying the sound recorder. It looks professional. Even has a Vu Meter like real sound equipment!!!! I recorded the bird sounds outside. I have to play it back on the computer and see how it sounds. Hopefully better then the GS7. I like recording bird sounds often but don't have the money for dedicated sound recorders. Another gripe is when doing selfies it shows a mirror image so the picture is backwards. I went in the settings and fixed it to save the picture the right way but the live view still shows a mirror image. I couldn't see no way around it. I'm not used to that. No wonder why there's so many backward selfies on FB. I wondered why so many people had backwards selfies that weren't looking into a mirror.
Launcher: use Nova. infinitely customizable. LG's launcher sucks.
Emoji: use Textra. You can pick any emoji set you want.
thedrizzle said:
Launcher: use Nova. infinitely customizable. LG's launcher sucks.
Emoji: use Textra. You can pick any emoji set you want.
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Click to collapse
I do have nova just not on this phone. One think i like about the built in themes though is it themes the colors on the GUI ie the message windows, settings, dialer etc. If i use a theme from LG in conjuction with nova would that give me a themed look for the GUI windows?
Is Textra a separate messaging app or just emoji's?
Thanks.
An update on the sound recorder. I am playing the sound recording of the birds back on the computer with Audacity and am amazed. I adjusted the gain about the same as i did on the RecForge 2 on the GS7. With the recordings form the GS7 i still have to boost it in Audacity and still don't get anywhere because of background noise. But this, I don't need to boost the sound anymore and it sounds great. I think the sound is louder then the noise floor/ background noise or something. More sensitive mic? Still need to record more bird sounds and listen more but so far sounds good.
railfan-eric said:
I do have nova just not on this phone. One think i like about the built in themes though is it themes the colors on the GUI ie the message windows, settings, dialer etc. If i use a theme from LG in conjuction with nova would that give me a themed look for the GUI windows?
Is Textra a separate messaging app or just emoji's?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run nova along with black theme and yes it uses the black for the over lay in settings, dialer, etc. But you can still use whatever nova them you'd like for icons just use ez hime swither to swap back to lg theme selector.