First impressions of motox by previous S3/note2 owner - Moto X General

I've been interested in the Motox ever since I saw the touchless control (we are getting closer and closer to the star trek computer).
My 3 year experience with Android has been 99% Samsung. Today I went into Rogers to see how the Motox feels in the hand and they had a working display unit. And I have to say, although I'm not that impressed with the physical feel of the phone. The responsiveness is amazing. I can't believe there are no jitters or Jerkiness or lag when swiping between home pages. And a true indicator of the speed of this phone is the app drawer when transitioning between apps and widgets I every Samsung device there's a stutter when doing this. Not so on the Motox.
I did the mange to open any apps because I was in a rush.
Very impressed I'm looking for a used one. But not any are up for sale.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

Check swappa.com, I just bought one from there
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I too came from an s3 and spent the vast majority of my time on android with Samsung. This phone is, simply, amazing in comparison to my old s3... The s3 doesn't even compare to the moto x.
Moto X rocking 4.4

Same, made the switch to a dev edition and never looked back.
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

I'm glad t to see these posts. I'm an S3 user currently, but plan on leaving Sprint for Verizon in the next week or so and this is the phone I've been thinking of getting. Thanks for helping me make up my mind :beer:
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

So I ended up buying a slightly used Motox and I'm so glad. Some of my first impressions:
Cons
*no Control panel in the notification shade
*I liked the settings key on my S3, very handy. why do we need the all apps key.
*No Physical home key. Although I am getting use to the onscreen buttons.
*Wireless charging. I got use to this on my S3. I don't know why manufactures aren't including this.
*No letters in the contacts, when I open the contacts app on the S3 it had the letters on the right so you can quickly scroll to the name you want.
*Can't delete or add home screens. What the heck?
*I don't like the Carrier name in the notification shade
*Gallery app, not as good as the Samsung app. In the Samsung app you could drag and drop pictures into other folders (very useful)
Pros
*Smoothness
*touches control
*Transitions between app drawer and widgets is fantastic no lag
*Opening up the play store and pressing the menu, also no lag. Samsung should take notes.
*scrolling Smoothness is unreal.
*Speed of the device, everything opens up so much faster and with no lag, compared to my galaxy S3. This phone really proves you don't need high specs to run smooth. Just less bloat (touchwiz)
Notes
Screen size. Would have been better as a 4.8" screen. I don't care much about 720 vs 1080. But a slightly bigger screen would have been nice
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app

Jamolah said:
So I ended up buying a slightly used Motox and I'm so glad. Some of my first impressions:
Cons
*no Control panel in the notification shade
*I liked the settings key on my S3, very handy. why do we need the all apps key.
*No Physical home key. Although I am getting use to the onscreen buttons.
*Wireless charging. I got use to this on my S3. I don't know why manufactures aren't including this.
*No letters in the contacts, when I open the contacts app on the S3 it had the letters on the right so you can quickly scroll to the name you want.
*Can't delete or add home screens. What the heck?
*I don't like the Carrier name in the notification shade
*Gallery app, not as good as the Samsung app. In the Samsung app you could drag and drop pictures into other folders (very useful)
Pros
*Smoothness
*touches control
*Transitions between app drawer and widgets is fantastic no lag
*Opening up the play store and pressing the menu, also no lag. Samsung should take notes.
*scrolling Smoothness is unreal.
*Speed of the device, everything opens up so much faster and with no lag, compared to my galaxy S3. This phone really proves you don't need high specs to run smooth. Just less bloat (touchwiz)
Notes
Screen size. Would have been better as a 4.8" screen. I don't care much about 720 vs 1080. But a slightly bigger screen would have been nice
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are controls in the shade. Either pull down with two fingers or hit the icon in top right hand corner when shade is pulled down. There are tour toggles. As you use the phone more or have things on ie bluetooth it adds to the shade.
As for settings key I'm not sure what you're talking about. Maybe the menu button?
Although not idea, you can download a third party launcher. That will allow you to change amount of home screens. 4.4 will have this baked in though.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Another thing you might not have realized but in contacts, if you scroll your finger down the right hand side, letters pop up and move quickly through your contacts.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

icon123 said:
Another thing you might not have realized but in contacts, if you scroll your finger down the right hand side, letters pop up and move quickly through your contacts.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow...learned something new today.

2
prissysox said:
There are controls in the shade. Either pull down with two fingers or hit the icon in top right hand corner when shade is pulled down. There are tour toggles. As you use the phone more or have things on ie bluetooth it adds to the shade.
As for settings key I'm not sure what you're talking about. Maybe the menu button?
Although not idea, you can download a third party launcher. That will allow you to change amount of home screens. 4.4 will have this baked in though.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know you can pull it down with two fingers but a lot of times I am in the car using it with 1 hand and with Samsung (touchwiz) it was one swipe down gave you access to common controls
Yes that's what I meant a menu button. It's a lot handier than the all apps button, no?!
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app

Jamolah said:
2
Yes I know you can pull it down with two fingers but a lot of times I am in the car using it with 1 hand and with Samsung (touchwiz) it was one swipe down gave you access to common controls
Yes that's what I meant a menu button. It's a lot handier than the all apps button, no?!
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Nova Launcher Prime and set a swipe up gesture to bring up the control panel.

Jamolah said:
2
Yes I know you can pull it down with two fingers but a lot of times I am in the car using it with 1 hand and with Samsung (touchwiz) it was one swipe down gave you access to common controls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you have the notification shade pulled down, tap the top right corner of the screen.

One other pet peeve with the motox is volume control. With touchwiz when you press the volume buttons you get a little settings icon which you can press to adjust different volumes(media, ringer, alarms) it was very handy. Wish the X had that. It's a little thing, but very useful.
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app

Jamolah said:
One other pet peeve with the motox is volume control. With touchwiz when you press the volume buttons you get a little settings icon which you can press to adjust different volumes(media, ringer, alarms) it was very handy. Wish the X had that. It's a little thing, but very useful.
Sent from my XT1058 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you root and download xposed you can enable it.
Sent from my XT1060 using xda app-developers app

bd1212 said:
If you root and download xposed you can enable it.
Sent from my XT1060 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, what's Xposed?

The menu button has been obsolete for a while now. Apps will have a menu button showing, or one will show up on the on navigation bar. I will not buy a phone with physical buttons anymore.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

T-Keith said:
The menu button has been obsolete for a while now. Apps will have a menu button showing, or one will show up on the on navigation bar. I will not buy a phone with physical buttons anymore.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easier to press anything on the lower half of the screen with 1 hand than at the very top corners. To me, the settings button is not obsolete for 1 hand use that doesn't require stretching or shifting my hand around.

Currently have an HTC one been looking at Moto x and LG g2
Moto obviously has the best radios in the biz and that's the main factor for moto x
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I'm coming from an S3 aswell and I have to say that the menu button was indeed very handy. It's easier than having to find the icon that takes different places in each app, also saves screen space.
2. The physical/sensitive buttons are a lot better than the virtual ones. Although I'm getting used to it, the physical ones do never takes screen space. Some apps don't handle the virtual buttons very well. Also, it was easier when the phone was at the table or somewhere and I could just press the home button to check battery level and the time. With Moto X I need to grab it and press the power button.
3. I have some favorites in the contacts list and the scroll doens't seem to show over them, I have to scroll down a little till the numbers and then only after I can use the right side scroll through letters. Very annoying.
4. I took like 100 photos with the camera and some I couldn't even recognize the people in it. The focus is very slow, and the quality is terrible.
5. I live in Brazil and the touchless control/google now is useless here. It's only useful to check weather and search the web, as the other commands are not available in portuguese.
Beside those, and the touchless control not being available, and the camera, the Moto X is much nicer than the S3. It's impressively fast and smooth; the sound (in my opinion) is much better, without trembles; the hardware seems much more well finished; the battery is impressively better, with the Moto X I could get a day and 5 hours and on the S3 I could barely get 22 hours; it seems to charge a lot faster aswell;
And that's it! For future people coming from S3, if you don't care for the camera that much, move on to Moto X and will be a good upgrade. I do miss the S3 camera where it was only point and shot, and 90% of the time it was a great picture. With Moto X I get to shoot 10 to get 1 good to use. But that's it, the rest is great.

Related

Swiping?

I pretty much have fallen in love with swiping on my gs4. Now on my note 8, it's a little mixed. I use SwiftKey and have the paid for version on my gs4.been thinking about getting the paid for version on my note. But my main complaint is having to swipe clear across the pad in landscape. Wish there was a setting too make it less wide. Maybe as wide as it is on the gs4 would be perfect. It would speed up my swiping. I don't do that two thumb typing any more. Any one know of an alternate solution?
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4
kcttocs said:
I pretty much have fallen in love with swiping on my gs4. Now on my note 8, it's a little mixed. I use SwiftKey and have the paid for version on my gs4.been thinking about getting the paid for version on my note. But my main complaint is having to swipe clear across the pad in landscape. Wish there was a setting too make it less wide. Maybe as wide as it is on the gs4 would be perfect. It would speed up my swiping. I don't do that two thumb typing any more. Any one know of an alternate solution?
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Swype:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nuance.swype.dtc
There you can choose between small and screenwide keyboard mode.
LomDiV said:
I'm using Swype:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nuance.swype.dtc
There you can choose between small and screenwide keyboard mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I might just have to switch now. Love how I can make it smaller and move the key pad to the left or the right. Genius! Now to get used to the new layout, At least until they maybe do something similar to swiftkey which I am just too familiar with.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4
Wow
It is COOOOLLLLL
kcttocs said:
I pretty much have fallen in love with swiping on my gs4. Now on my note 8, it's a little mixed. I use SwiftKey and have the paid for version on my gs4.been thinking about getting the paid for version on my note. But my main complaint is having to swipe clear across the pad in landscape. Wish there was a setting too make it less wide. Maybe as wide as it is on the gs4 would be perfect. It would speed up my swiping. I don't do that two thumb typing any more. Any one know of an alternate solution?
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean something like this:
Sent from my GT-N5100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
There's an easy fix to this. Long press the second button from left in the bottom row of the default keyboard. There, select the keyboard icon with a cross overlaid on it. The keyboard immediately shrinks to about Note 2's size, and can also be moved anywhere on the screen. Swiping is extremely easy in this mode.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4
I have been a long-time fan of Swype, especially since I got the S-pen. You can fly!
But today I tried every swiping keyboard I could find in the Play store, and the Google Keyboard is more accurate than any of the others, by a long shot. It is also rather plain and boring. Hopefully they'll add more features soon, like symbols & numbers on long-press.
I'm giving it a try as my primary keyboard for a while.

Tablet UI

Is there a way to get the tablet UI on the 2013 Nexus 7 yet????
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Gadzooks1123 said:
Is there a way to get the tablet UI on the 2013 Nexus 7 yet????
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install the Paranoid Android ROM.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
How about a way on stock ROM? Just a mod or tweak or something?
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Gadzooks1123 said:
How about a way on stock ROM? Just a mod or tweak or something?
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2418867
Gadzooks1123 said:
Is there a way to get the tablet UI on the 2013 Nexus 7 yet????
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus 7 comes with a tablet UI, unless you are talking about the old UI from HoneyComb that was depreciated a while ago. I don't understand why people are still hung up on legacy layouts.
"It's very clear what Google is doing - keeping users' attention on two general parts of the homescreen UI. The search / voice / notification area, and the app drawer / nav button area. Just like a modern Android phone. It makes sense - the experience across all [stock-ish] devices is now extremely consistent."
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...just-like-a-giant-phones-and-thats-fantastic/
rmkilc said:
The Nexus 7 comes with a tablet UI, unless you are talking about the old UI from HoneyComb that was depreciated a while ago. I don't understand why people are still hung up on legacy layouts.
"It's very clear what Google is doing - keeping users' attention on two general parts of the homescreen UI. The search / voice / notification area, and the app drawer / nav button area. Just like a modern Android phone. It makes sense - the experience across all [stock-ish] devices is now extremely consistent."
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...just-like-a-giant-phones-and-thats-fantastic/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except that that is simply not the case.
On phones the navigation buttons never leave the short side of the screen leaving them easily accessible with your right thumb while in landscape. On tablets the nav bar is terrible with the buttons spread out across the bottom while holding your device in landscape. The centred buttons are barely reachable on a 7" tablet like this. On 10" devices unless you are some kind of mutant, bred to be a piano virtuoso, good luck getting your thumbs where they need to go while cradling the tablet in 2 hands. Similarly the top-of-screen based notification pull down is simply not an ergonomic solution to something that you will be doing thousands of times with your device. Again this is not so bad on a device of this size, but is seriously ridiculous on large tablets.
It is all well and good for Google to say that they want users to have the same user experience across all devices, but they do not deliver on that. Given no other option, I would far rather use this tablet in full phone mode, with navigation buttons that never leave the short edge of the screen, than use the new "Tablet UI". I have actually clicked the DPI up to 340 and find the phone UI much easier to use than the default one, with the obvious exception of the full screen notification shade (which just looks ugly on this device). At least though, this configuration would be more condusive to one handed landscape navigation.
So, for me, I am going to keep using the old tablet UI as long as Google leaves the code in there for me to use and hope that they come to their senses one day over at the AOSP and realize that they've actually taken a step backwards in terms of user friendliness.
No need for nay-sayers to jump in when someone asks for a customized user experience. That's the beauty of Android! It isn't a one size fits all, apple-corer OS. The only limit is your imagination, and how much time you want to spend learning and tweaking. I say tweak on, young man, tweak on!
rmkilc said:
The Nexus 7 comes with a tablet UI, unless you are talking about the old UI from HoneyComb that was depreciated a while ago. I don't understand why people are still hung up on legacy layouts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's functional. The notification area is always visible even when apps are running full screen.
I can see the clock. I can see if the downloading is finished. I can see if a new email has come in.
The new Mod for tablet UI is working nicely.
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/tablet-ui-mod-for-the-2013-nexus-7-on-stock-rooted-jss15q/
The ipad has a tablet ui too and its really useful. Less pressing on the back button when navigating thru the settings ap
Sent from my MT27i using xda app-developers app
csrow said:
Because it's functional. The notification area is always visible even when apps are running full screen.
I can see the clock. I can see if the downloading is finished. I can see if a new email has come in.
The new Mod for tablet UI is working nicely.
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/tablet-ui-mod-for-the-2013-nexus-7-on-stock-rooted-jss15q/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new UI is much better looking, to be fair. And the notification area on the old one felt a bit rushed - for example, if a notification came in, it hijacked the entire notification area so you couldn't get to other notifications until it was gone - or at least, that's what I thought until I figured out that (for whatever reason), notifications could be cancelled by pressing somewhere else on the navbar (in other words, that 'feature' was a nuisance and user unfriendly in many ways).
I had plenty of moments where I went to get an email by opening the notification drawer when something else suddenly notified me and I ended up somewhere I didn't want to be like Appy Geek instead.
Also, the fact that it was a tap to open instead of at least a swipe upwards made no sense at all.
I get that you power users are happy to have to practice using your technology like it's some sort of art form, but please save the rest of us the bother.
Kookas said:
The new UI is much better looking, to be fair. And the notification area on the old one felt a bit rushed - for example, if a notification came in, it hijacked the entire notification area so you couldn't get to other notifications until it was gone - or at least, that's what I thought until I figured out that (for whatever reason), notifications could be cancelled by pressing somewhere else on the navbar (in other words, that 'feature' was a nuisance and user unfriendly in many ways).
I had plenty of moments where I went to get an email by opening the notification drawer when something else suddenly notified me and I ended up somewhere I didn't want to be like Appy Geek instead.
Also, the fact that it was a tap to open instead of at least a swipe upwards made no sense at all.
I get that you power users are happy to have to practice using your technology like it's some sort of art form, but please save the rest of us the bother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, it was a very inconsistent experience. Also, trying to get expandable notifications to work properly with gestures was a pain.
That's what's great about Android on a Nexus device. You get to choose what you like and everyone will be happy.
No one option is better than another. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean someone else should not be using it.
The OP simply wanted to know if it was possible to use Table UI on the N7 v2 and everyone is on a full blown discussion of who prefers what.
Here is the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45084692
Sent from my Nexus 4
I recommend trying out LMT (better than the pie control in paranoid/CM). I find it much better than having this blasted button bar using space all the time)
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Apex launcher has a tablet ui setting. For the most part is seems stock just bring the app icons to the bottom in landscape mode along with the app drawer in the upper right corner.

Opinions on Aviate

So instead of hijacking the other Aviate thread that is mainly for being wanting to try it I decided to start this one. How does everyone feel about Aviate? How many are still using it? Any cool/nice features that some may not know about? Lets hear what you all think!
What I've learned from aviate is that apparently I'm a control freak. It's very hard for me to let the launcher make decisions for me. That being said, the idea is pretty amazing. I can see why there is so much excitement surrounding it.
Sent from my VS980 4G
I feel the same way. It's almost like being whipped by a significant other, it tells you what to like whether you do or not but yet you can't seem to pull yourself away. I'm intrigued.
It's restrictive and boring to me. I'm passing on it personally. I don't understand the hype. Android is about having options and being open, not closed lol.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda premium
WizeGuyDezignz said:
It's restrictive and boring to me. I'm passing on it personally. I don't understand the hype. Android is about having options and being open, not closed lol.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the argument here would be that this is an option that wouldn't be available on other platforms because of Android being so open.
Sent from my VS980 4G
I lean more towards stock because I can control it more, but Aviate is pretty nice so far (after 1 day). I think I like it more than Themer themes because of the way Aviate organizes apps. Aviate is fairly customizable, with a dark and light theme. You can sort apps however you please, granted it will be in the bins that Aviate provides for you.
I haven't really used the Spaces feature much. I've just been forcing it to play by my rules. It seems like it suits minimalists like me, but I'll give it a few more days.
I run it on my G2 that I use for work (Yes, I have two G2's. I know I know lol), and I gotta say it really does help me there. I would like it to be more customizable though, and be able to set more specifically which screen should open when.
Having fast access to my meetings while I'm in the office is great. Getting the GPS with all my team-mates locations on when I'm out would be great, along with our collected GPS-tags. Then a more entertainment-oriented screen when I'm at home.
In short, I like the concept, but I would like to be able to change what content it presents more.
I like it. It's clean, quick, I don't worry about all the customization I've been obsessing over.
The current places, apparently from foursquare is entertaining.
If you want to change it you don't get it.
I love the cleanliness. One feature I would like is to turn the collections off And have home and apps. Even get rid of the letters etc so it's a bit more like launcher 7.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
It's very pretty - after messing around with it for about 15-20 minutes, i have the following short wishlist:
1) Would love to have the ability to set the homescreen photo to rotate.. but I guess I could do that with a widget.
2) I'd also love to see custom icon packs on this, would give it a much cleaner look.
Overall, I'm just not feeling the lack of customization. I've been using Action Launcher Pro for months now (HIGHLY recommend it), and this seems so stripped down in comparison.
Good idea but...
It looks nice, it's fluid and I like the idea of different workspaces depending on where you are and what you are doing.
But I stopped using it for a few reasons:
It keeps thinkin that I am at a bar because the office is located right above one. And at home, it thinks that I am at the library in the next building.
It left aligns all my icons which makes it difficult for me to reach them as I am right handed like 66% of the population.
I miss the double-tap functionality to turn off the phone.
Gnarfsan said:
[*]I miss the double-tap functionality to turn off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To turn the phone off you double tap on the notification bar. This was almost a deal breaker for me as well until I saw someone mention this is the other thread.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
Lockett said:
To turn the phone off you double tap on the notification bar. This was almost a deal breaker for me as well until I saw someone mention this is the other thread.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easier for me to re-place the phone in my hand to push the power button than to reach the notification bar
But thanks for the tip. It's good to know in any case!
I seemed to have more battery drain with aviate. Pretty nice launcher though. Wish it was more customizable
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk 2

TouchWiz 4.3 on a Tablet is a Screw Job

How do I know? I just played with the 4.4 skin at best buy on the Pro models. They seemed to have fixed nearly every design issue I had with 4.3 on my 2014. It really feels like a tablet skin instead of a phone skin. I'm glad Samsung fixed it but why do such a terrible job in the first place? Was my $600 not worth their time?
Incredibly excited for 4.4 update. It will be like getting a brand new device! I really hope they have some kind of option to remap the menu button to a task switching button. That would be the ultimate.
Two words:
Nova. Launcher.
I checked the pro series 4.4 skins in best buy too. Although the skin seems to be more tablet oriented, the TouchWiz lag still exists. The device was still not snappy enough
Agree... Nova launcher fixes everything. Buy it once and you'll have it on every device you own.
Just bought Nova With the $25 credit they gave me to the google play store. I've Used the free version for ages. Finally broke down and bought the pro.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
jherring002 said:
Just bought Nova With the $25 credit they gave me to the google play store. I've Used the free version for ages. Finally broke down and bought the pro.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha you literally just inspired me to do the same. Had the 25.00 credit and then some from the Google survey app. In case anyone didn't know download the Google survey app and get free Google play credits. Totally worth it.
RussellEstridge25 said:
Haha you literally just inspired me to do the same. Had the 25.00 credit and then some from the Google survey app. In case anyone didn't know download the Google survey app and get free Google play credits. Totally worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're Welcome =)
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
jherring002 said:
You're Welcome =)
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha ty!
Stocklone said:
How do I know? I just played with the 4.4 skin at best buy on the Pro models. They seemed to have fixed nearly every design issue I had with 4.3 on my 2014. It really feels like a tablet skin instead of a phone skin. I'm glad Samsung fixed it but why do such a terrible job in the first place? Was my $600 not worth their time?
Incredibly excited for 4.4 update. It will be like getting a brand new device! I really hope they have some kind of option to remap the menu button to a task switching button. That would be the ultimate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I played with a N12 at BB and came away with a different opinion. Most of the differences between it and the N10.1-14 were pretty minor and aesthetic. M-UX is of course new but did you look at the number and type of widgets available? Pretty sparse. What used to be My Magazine is now broken up so each category in what was the "News" section are now individual widgets. There's no Facebook for the Social widget either just like My Magazine. There's e-mail, calendar, and all the S Apps like Hub, Apps, WatchOn etc. There's Hancom widgets but we're probably not getting it (unless you side load it as explained in the apps section of the forum). Not much else. And at CES there were mini tiles shown that acted like shortcuts to a bunch of common/popular apps; gone. Unless Samsung's got big future plans for stocking M-UX with widgets and shortcuts I'd be fine without having a mandatory page of it on my home screen.
In terms of TW (now "classic") the settings menus and some others have been freshened and the notification panel drop down has been reformatted/resized so it's more appropriate for a tablet. There are more Pen Window apps and the way you launch multitasking's been revised to "swipe from the side" which now conflicts with other apps (EG: Astro) that also swipe from the side. You can now also cascade (overlay) Multi View windows which was a N10.1-12 feature that got left out of the N10.1-14 launch ROM.
What other major changes or differences did you notice that I missed?
As for Samsung's interpretation of 4.4 over 4.3 I've been using an "official" AT&T 4.4 ROM for about a month on my N3. The only functional changes are the location and wireless control panels have been re-worked so they are much clearer and easier to interpret and the lock screen has a "one app" option that's set to camera by default but can be changed to any app. It can also be set to "4.3 style" which I chose because there are more options including launching five apps from the lock screen. The notification bar icons are white (wow! ), there's a new slightly revised default system font, and there are some minor UI graphic changes. You have to look pretty hard to see the differences between 4.3 and 4.4 as designed by Samsung. The biggest difference I've seen is my battery life went up and the N3 which was already fluid on 4.3 became more so. Having played with M-UX and come away meh, performance improvements are what I'm looking forward to most in our update. That along with some of the cleaned up menus and new Multi View functionality.
I don't even know anymore what touchwiz looks like even though i have a samsung smartphone and the note 10.1 so many great launchers around.
I'm still looking forward to 4.4 because of the redesigned settings and notification. And hopefully bug fixes. And i think it would be the first time i actually have the most recent android version on one of my devices...
stm8 said:
Two words:
Nova. Launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't give a flying crap about the launcher. I use Action Launcher. I left Nova a long time ago. Don't miss it one bit.
The task switching actually being at the bottom instead of the middle of the screen and the notification drawer not being a phone one anymore plus it having multiple sliders instead of one giant huge slider show Samsung put a lot more thought into 4.4.
Those two things drove me nuts. Anytime I have to use a phone app on a tablet I die a little on the inside.
I also like the icons in 4.4 way better than 4.3.
BarryH_GEG said:
I played with a N12 at BB and came away with a different opinion. Most of the differences between it and the N10.1-14 were pretty minor and aesthetic. M-UX is of course new but did you look at the number and type of widgets available? Pretty sparse. What used to be My Magazine is now broken up so each category in what was the "News" section are now individual widgets. There's no Facebook for the Social widget either just like My Magazine. There's e-mail, calendar, and all the S Apps like Hub, Apps, WatchOn etc. There's Hancom widgets but we're probably not getting it (unless you side load it as explained in the apps section of the forum). Not much else. And at CES there were mini tiles shown that acted like shortcuts to a bunch of common/popular apps; gone. Unless Samsung's got big future plans for stocking M-UX with widgets and shortcuts I'd be fine without having a mandatory page of it on my home screen.
In terms of TW (now "classic") the settings menus and some others have been freshened and the notification panel drop down has been reformatted/resized so it's more appropriate for a tablet. There are more Pen Window apps and the way you launch multitasking's been revised to "swipe from the side" which now conflicts with other apps (EG: Astro) that also swipe from the side. You can now also cascade (overlay) Multi View windows which was a N10.1-12 feature that got left out of the N10.1-14 launch ROM.
What other major changes or differences did you notice that I missed?
As for Samsung's interpretation of 4.4 over 4.3 I've been using an "official" AT&T 4.4 ROM for about a month on my N3. The only functional changes are the location and wireless control panels have been re-worked so they are much clearer and easier to interpret and the lock screen has a "one app" option that's set to camera by default but can be changed to any app. It can also be set to "4.3 style" which I chose because there are more options including launching five apps from the lock screen. The notification bar icons are white (wow! ), there's a new slightly revised default system font, and there are some minor UI graphic changes. You have to look pretty hard to see the differences between 4.3 and 4.4 as designed by Samsung. The biggest difference I've seen is my battery life went up and the N3 which was already fluid on 4.3 became more so. Having played with M-UX and come away meh, performance improvements are what I'm looking forward to most in our update. That along with some of the cleaned up menus and new Multi View functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't get a chance to play with the multi-tasking tab. So what side do you swipe from? Please tell me it's not the left where every single side menu is?
I hate nearly every Samsung app and use none of their widgets. I buy the Note for the S Pen which I use with non-Samsung apps. I'm just incredibly tired of using a 10.1" phone so hell yeah I'm excited about 4.4. It looks like your priorities are quite a bit different than mine so it makes sense your take away is different than mine.
Stocklone said:
Didn't get a chance to play with the multi-tasking tab. So what side do you swipe from? Please tell me it's not the left where every single side menu is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's how it works now. If it's like the current set up you can, when it's open, drag it from side-to-side if you want.
Here's the Tab|Pro 10.1 manual. I'd imagine everything in it will be similar to what we're getting. Jury's still out on how Samsung's going to deal with the "menu" vs. "tasks" capacitive button issue. A pic of the soon to be released VZW N10.1-14 still shows our menu button so it wouldn't appear Samsung's planning any physical changes for the N10.1-14 down the road. So we'll either have a capacitive button that says one thing and does another (menu=tasks) or the s/w for the N10.1-14 will be adjusted to still support the menu button. Even though Google's killed the menu button in 4.4 Samsung's revived it because it still works the exact same way on the N3 4.4 ROM.
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c...axy_Tab_PRO_KK_English_User_Manual_NAE_F2.pdf
I'm just incredibly tired of using a 10.1" phone so hell yeah I'm excited about 4.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google's the one to blame for the phone UI. The unified UI works fine on a 7-8" display that's primarily used in portrait mode but looks goofy on anything larger. Like this...
The Nexus 10's not a hell of a lot better than the N10.1-14. The only glaring blunder on Samsung's part was the full-screen notification panel but other than that there's not a big difference UI treatment wise between the Nexus 10 and N10.1-14.
It looks like your priorities are quite a bit different than mine so it makes sense your take away is different than mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of polar opposites. I use pretty much all the features (that work well) in TW and have most stock Google apps disabled in settings. We totally agree about S Pen being the purchase driver for a Note though.
I'm running Buzz launcher, it's good on battery life and smooth, apex is good as well, a new update will be coming out in a few months for 4.4 let's hope they give us the new pro features when it comes out. I would also like to go back to the virtual buttons like the last model, I keep hitting the back and menu button in portrait.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Curtis_HTC said:
I'm running Buzz launcher, it's good on battery life and smooth, apex is good as well, a new update will be coming out in a few months for 4.4 let's hope they give us the new pro features when it comes out. I would also like to go back to the virtual buttons like the last model, I keep hitting the back and menu button in portrait.
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep hitting the back button in portrait too. But I doubt virtual buttons are coming to this tablet.
Make sure to watch the sunset at least once a day
RussellEstridge25 said:
Agree... Nova launcher fixes everything. Buy it once and you'll have it on every device you own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have it on all my Android devices. Note 2014 rocks with it.
Nova + spen is king!! I have nova on everything I use. I have put slide from the side apps on before but I always forget that I have them. I bought the note 2014 for the spen and snote (I format a basic chart for personal training sessions to fill out) and when I get my 12.2 it will be that much better. I would prefer to have the old notification bar in the bottom corner though :/ I used to use that mod on my note 2 and I loved it!!!!
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
what features are you using with nova prime over nova free? i have about $75 in google credits but just can't bring myself to spending the $4 or whatever it is for prime...it seems like the free version has everything i need...i don't use gestures or care to increase icon size or have folders in the app drawer...i'm curious to find out, thanks!
maximus96 said:
what features are you using with nova prime over nova free? i have about $75 in google credits but just can't bring myself to spending the $4 or whatever it is for prime...it seems like the free version has everything i need...i don't use gestures or care to increase icon size or have folders in the app drawer...i'm curious to find out, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My favorite thing to with Nova+ is get rid of the app drawer shortcut and make the home button open up the app drawer. Not sure if that is a plus feature or not.

Hide On Screen Nav Buttons

One of the software features that isn't getting much press but one that I'm hugely looking forward to is the ability to hide the On Screen Nav Buttons on an app by app basis.
I've never been 100% behind Google's decision to advocate the On Screen Nav Buttons. A huge waste of screen real estate sitting there doing nothing while you read/play etc. The expectation was that developers would choose to hide them when they weren't needed but that never really happened. Some developers got behind the idea (thanks!) but even Google has inconsistent behavior when dealing with them.
Now we can choose to display them or not on an app by app basis. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen displays them again.
There are a number of delightful touches like this one on the G3.
Great work LG.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
I agree. Even though it's easy enough to root the phone and force immersive mode, I applaud LG for implementing something that should be on every applicable Android phone, yet isn't. I'm very much looking forward to the phone becoming available, whenever that may be.
Though a nice effort by LG, there are a lot of games that use up motions for movement. Anyone into game emulators will especially have issues. Not to mention not all apps work with it, including web browsers.
I prefer my S4 having buttons at the bottom. The irony is the G3 5.5" display is the same size as the 5" display S4 for some apps and navigation.
Still, LGs effort is MUCH better than nothing.
rushless said:
Though a nice effort by LG, there are a lot of games that use up motions for movement. Anyone into game emulators will especially have issues. Not to mention not all apps work with it, including web browsers.
I prefer my S4 having buttons at the bottom. The irony is the G3 5.5" display is the same size as the 5" display S4 for some apps and navigation.
Still, LGs effort is MUCH better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Browsers do work with it. I say 'browsers' but I can only confirm Chrome and the stock browser.
In the instances that it might cause a problem for things like emulators then just don't include them in the list. It's an opt-in feature on an app per app basis. Best of both worlds really.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
this work on all apps? if so great, can't wait for mine... now if only they made Qslide works on all apps too!
rushless said:
Though a nice effort by LG, there are a lot of games that use up motions for movement. Anyone into game emulators will especially have issues. Not to mention not all apps work with it, including web browsers.
I prefer my S4 having buttons at the bottom. The irony is the G3 5.5" display is the same size as the 5" display S4 for some apps and navigation.
Still, LGs effort is MUCH better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seems to work perfectly with chrome and stock browser and pretty much any app that i select on my phone. I have to say LG really listens to people and implement their suggestions on their devices. I hate wasting screen real estate especially when i'm playing games or watching a video in an app that can't force the nav bar to minimize. LG solved this problem.
not all apps, I guess
nap007 said:
this work on all apps? if so great, can't wait for mine... now if only they made Qslide works on all apps too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not think this cool feature will work on all apps.
This sounds a very good feature and something that everyone should be doing, the thing is though I haven't seen this mentioned in any reviews I've seen or read and that's quite alot! As mentioned I'd prefer hard buttons ala Samsung phones but because they've dropped FM Radio I wont be buying one of those any time soon.
Does anyone know if there's the one handed mode from the G Pro 2 that shrinks the whole screen down to a size of your choice? Again was featured and mentioned in G Pro 2 reviews but is not something I've heard about on the G3
phillio said:
This sounds a very good feature and something that everyone should be doing, the thing is though I haven't seen this mentioned in any reviews I've seen or read and that's quite alot! As mentioned I'd prefer hard buttons ala Samsung phones but because they've dropped FM Radio I wont be buying one of those any time soon.
Does anyone know if there's the one handed mode from the G Pro 2 that shrinks the whole screen down to a size of your choice? Again was featured and mentioned in G Pro 2 reviews but is not something I've heard about on the G3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just YouTube DetroitBORG's Unboxing and Review for a demonstration of the Nav Button hiding and a demo of the One Handed Operation solution LG have implemented. It's a fantastic review showing loads of cool stuff!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
It's a nice feature for sure, but gets old after awhile. I hate constantly having to swipe up to bring them up to hit the back button. It's cool on some apps, then others it's not. For whatever reason I can't get it to go away in YouTube. This is on 4.4.2 on a g flex though.
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
JesseMT4G said:
It's a nice feature for sure, but gets old after awhile. I hate constantly having to swipe up to bring them up to hit the back button. It's cool on some apps, then others it's not. For whatever reason I can't get it to go away in YouTube. This is on 4.4.2 on a g flex though.
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a shame there is no pie like control system in the stock rom but it's a lot better than other stock roms where you can do absolutely nothing with the on screen buttons.
It's nice to use for certain apps such as a news app or game where you don't need buttons. Other then that out doors get annoying to swipe up, but I'm glad LG included it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Is it possible to change the nav button icons to look like HTC One M8 without root?
I saw somewhere you can change app icons without root too?
TheKrow said:
Is it possible to change the nav button icons to look like HTC One M8 without root?
I saw somewhere you can change app icons without root too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not on the G3 using the stock Optimus launcher.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Categories

Resources