[REQUEST] Glow 4 buttons on notification (similar to palm pre) - Android Software Development

Hey all, Ive been thinking about what i miss about my pre, and besides the obvious wireless charging (one can dream, right) touchstone, the one other thing i miss the most is the glowing of the trackball device at the bottom of the phone for a notification.
Now i know there are many people who have WIMAX Notifier and will say to use that, but i really dont like it as much as a more behind the scenes and clean look, and W.N. keeps crashing and is really buggy.
My app idea would incorporate the 4 buttons at the bottom using different patterns for different notifications.
Ex:
Text: Glow all 4 slow
Email: Run from right to left back to right and repeat. (8 secs for one rotation)
Missed call: Glow only home
etc.
I searched and was not able to find anyone in the developing stages of an app for this. I would be more than happy to assist with the coding, but i have no programs or anything downloaded so far, and dont really have any idea what im doing, though i do know C, Java, & C++ a bit and can learn coding quickly.
Any idea on if this could be made to work, im pretty sure there has to be a way the light sensor sends a signal to the mocrocontroller to light the keys, but can it be done independently, outside of that code section? Any words of where to start with development of this app?
Thanks for the advice, please keep it relavent and to the point, i would REALLY like to make this a reality. Also please link me to any current development on this if you can find any.\
PS. I have an evo 4g, but i assume this would be a global android app.
PPS. Dont let my low post count dissuade you from the ferver i have to make this app a reality. I dont post a ton, but i am very serious about creating/developing this app with some help.

mods can delete this thread anytime they wish, it is now being developed in another section.

Related

What new apps would you like to see next?

List a few apps you would love to see created for wm devices. Here are some I would like to see (if not already available.)
1. App that changes spoken word into text
2. App to change voice (pitch, tone, etc) as you speak into your device
3. Spoken language converter for communication between two different languages
4. Radar to detect movement within a specified radius
5. calorie calculator - input what your eating throughout the day and it provides the # of calories for each item and gives a total
6. Car alarm interface - lock/unlock your car using your device
7. Battery maximizer - automatically cuts power to anything not being used/ auto restores when used and figures best output needed for operation
8. reserve 911 power - allows 5-7 mins of talk if 911 is dialed on a dead battery
9. Background noise reducer
10. flashing flare - signal for emergency or to get attention of others in dark places like clubs or movies. (choice of colors)
Some of those apps are a little too futuristic, like Spoken language converter, Car alarm interface (even if it would be able to make, it would probably be illegal?), though some others I think wouldn't be too hard to make for the developers here.
I dont have any specific request, I'd just love to see a game/app with nice graphics for once Most apps gui are kinda lame, even though the function is superb. Like if someone could do a remake of DiamondBeer and make it more realistic like the iPhone one (yeah I know, I'm jealous of all the apps iPhone has). Why dont developers and designers go together when they're creating stuff? Everything would be so much better with some teamwork
Tough I have an game/useless app idea. Kinda like a voodoo-doll using physics and the accelerometer. Like you toss a figure around by shaking your device and the figure gets more and more damaged..
Pomegranate NS08
http://www.pomegranatephone.com/
I agree some apps are a bit on the futuristic side but it's fun to dream.
Here are some in the games category please excuse me if it already exists:
1. Bowling - bowl is lauching by finger swipe (faster the swipt the faster the roll)
2. Dodgeball - control your character with your finger (see through image of your charter like oldschool punch out) and avoid the balls being thrown by other character. You can place the face of anyone in your pictures on the attacking/target character. Catch balls with a correctly timed tap.
Am I the only one that wants to see someone rewrite the text messaging side of the diamond?
Its crap.
Its not intuitive, its not finger friendly it doesn't look good and its slow.
And is it just me but when I try to look through past messages they seem t be in the wrong places. Like messages I've recieved aren't in the inbox. Messages I've sent aren't in the sent box!
Oh god, I can't stop laughing at that Pomegranatephone. Haha, awesome, would be cool if it actually was possible to make one of those.
vale|46 said:
Pomegranate NS08
http://www.pomegranatephone.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the shaving part!
i think the bowling idea mentioned above is a great idea.
would love to have it.
using G-sensor to curve the ball could be interesting
concerning the "flashing flare", I made my very first WinMo app with your idea... So, please be kind ^^
Hope you'll like it
I'll add some features, like the morse code mode or the possibility to save the settings
Edit : translation corrected
Noone likes my sadistic voodoo-app?
Oh I just remembered what I want pretty bad now. a working landscape mode in tf3d.

setting up Droid 2 for my blind sister

My sister lost her vision last year at the age of 24 due to diabetic retinapothy. She is missing be able to text message, facebook, celeb gossip... you know, the important things in life We initially bought the Droid X for her, but It's going back in exchange for the Droid 2, which should be here on 9/9/10.
Problem with the X is the Android Eyes Free Shell and the Talking Dialer make use of either a trackball or a directional pad. The Droid X has neither. It's also difficult to navigate pretty much everything blind without a d-pad. Should of thought of that earlier. Oh well, the exchange process is very easy. The Android Eyes Free team developed the software around the Nexus one i assume, which has a trackball. Personally i think a d-pad is better for a blind person, as you can press down once to go down once. A trackball you might go down 2 or 3 depending on how much you rotate it.
I'm going to be updating this thread with our progress as well as what steps we took along the way. Hopefully this will end up being helpful for someone else in a similar situation. Blind people DO use the internet (even youtube!).
Here are the initial changes I want to make:
Locating Touch Sensitive buttons
I will go to a craft store and find something to put below the 4 touch sensitive buttons on the front of the phone, this way she will be able to find them. Im thinking 4 drops of some puffy glitter glue or something to that effect. Being diabetic she's also lost somesensitivity in her fingers, so something with texture will be needed.
Removing the Lock Screen
Slide to unlock is basically an impossible task for a blind person. The Droid 2 uses the stock vanilla lock screen I believe, does anyone know how to remove it? I could potentially replace it with a "shake to unlock" or whatever, and ideas here are appreciated.
Answering the phone
Again, here slide to answer isn't going to fly. Does anyone know: If you slide the keyboard out while the phone is ringing does it answer the call? Most slider phones I've seen operated like that, I'm hoping the Droid 2 does too. She will also have a bluetooth headset which should make it easy to answer, but if your blind trying to find your bluetooth headset in time to answer the call can be a problem, so i'd like her to be able to answer the phone without a headset as well.
Hanging up the phone
Can you slide the keyboard shut to end a call? What happens if your on a call and you slide the keyboard out and then closed, does that hang up the call? Another solution would be to make it so the power button hangs up the call, surely it can be remapped do that. Or is there an end call button somewhere on the hardware qwerty?
Ok, those are the first major things. Actually dialing a call is no problem once we get past the lock screen issue. She can double tap the home button to launch the voice dialer, or she can use the Android Eyes Free "Talking Dialer" to dial a number with her finger using swipe motions. It's pretty neat actually, give it a try if you haven't already. The Eyes Free Shell and the Moto Voice Command will take care of pretty much everything else.
Thanks in advance for your help!
I can confirm that the Droid 2 does NOT answer when sliding the phone open and does NOT hang up when sliding closed. Just tested this.
Edit: forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=762101
View that thread and search the app "no lock" in the market. Seems to do what you are looking for in the marketplace. You may also want to contact the developer to see about source code or see if it was a .apk that was removed.
Also in response to the glue idea:
I would test on another device because the screen has to be able to sense your impulse as well because it wont trigger unless it has a touch by a human hand. My guess it it reads the electronic pulse by the skin and that is how it picks it up.
about the unlock screen, I can say is once you do it enough times you know where is on the screen, I usually unlock mine while its not even all the way out of my pocket, also it vibrates when you touch the unlock area and it vibrates again as you pull it to the right...hope this helps
I don't have an Android phone yet, but I've seen a nice replacement for the stock locker, called WidgetLocker. You can modify it a lot (add your own apps, widgets etc.) but the most important thing for you is that you can move the unlock slider down to the bottom of the screen so it would be easier to unlock it.
Of course, the best solution is to remove completely the locker, but I don't know whether it's possible, so I'm just giving you another option
Kamill said:
I don't have an Android phone yet, but I've seen a nice replacement for the stock locker, called WidgetLocker. You can modify it a lot (add your own apps, widgets etc.) but the most important thing for you is that you can move the unlock slider down to the bottom of the screen so it would be easier to unlock it.
Of course, the best solution is to remove completely the locker, but I don't know whether it's possible, so I'm just giving you another option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This page has been a big help: http://eyes-free.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/documentation/android_access/basics.html
Above link talked about No Lock, an app on the market that removes the lock screen. Although it turns out she is actually able to unlock the phone blindly, but it usually takes her a few tries. For now we are going with no lock...
Also the Droid 2 has an option in the Accessibility page to enable "use power button to end call" so that has been a big help.
So far the biggest problem with the Droid 2 is the keyboard really sucks for a blind person. The navigation keys are kind of awkwardly placed, and the keys are very flat. I wish I would of known about the LG Ally, as the appears to be the best Android phone for a blind person. Has physical buttons on the front to start/end calls, and the keyboard is WAY better (for a blind person anyways). Unfortunately Verizon only lets you exchange a phone 1 time, and we already bought the Droid X. So looks like I'd have to sell the Droid 2 and buy the LG Ally on eBay. Not sure if we are going to go that route.. might just try and make the best of it with the Droid 2.
I have a LG Ally wits a protective rubber case, invisible shield screen protector, and 2 batteries which I'm not currently using. I'll do a straight up trade for your Droid 2.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Made my account to reply to this (And because I got my Droid 2 2 days ago). Will be watching this thread. My son is 2 and nearly blind. We are exploring any and all ways to work around it. I'm currently learning braille so I can teach him, and looking into how to make phones and computers more usable for him. Hopefully your sister handles what's happened well and finds ways to keep up her life, goals, and hobbies
Thanks for posting this. Good luck with the project and keep us updated, please!
Need some help here too
Hi there,
This seems to be the only forum that I can find on this subject. I will definitely be checking out the LG Ally but I'm also looking at the Droid 2 Global (which my partner has bought for himself and I have been testing out).
I am a blind person with little vision and I have to find a smart phone that works for me, as I have hit the point where I need to access my work email, work calendar, and browser functions do be more efficient and effective.
The blackberry is out, as it doesn't work for blind people through Verizon.
The IPhone, though just coming out from Verizon, does seem to have a great VoiceOver application which works great for a blind person. However, I'm not sure I'm patient enough to type without a keyboard--though it is possible for a blind person to use it.
Your points about the LG Ally are helpful for me. Does it have an accessibility application like the Droid 2 Global?
In testing out the Droid Two Global, I have enabled the "accessibility application" and checked the read out checkbox in the settings. It has abled me to see most stuff and some of the pieces you put up on the post will help. What I am struggling with is the following:
When I access any part of the browser application, it doesn't read the page of the web site or any of the links. I'm wondering if there are key combinations I am not femiliar with that would make this work or does it do it at all?
Also, the calendar is not reading things to me as well. Any ideas?
In general, is there a button that I can press, that will get it to repete something or to read a screen. I currently am just arrowing back and forth to choose something. I also can hit the OK button when typing a message to read what is in the edit box.
The last issue, though I think it would get much easier as I used it, is that to dial just a phone number seems to take a bit longer. But, I just tried using the voice dialer and it quickly got much easier. lol
I also wonder if the Accessibility application is the only one you are installing. Should I be installing something else to give me more functionality
Sorry for the long-winded questions but I really can't seem to find other assistance on this.
Thanks,
Jeremy Grandstaff
614-519-3026
Hi Jeremy,
I think you will get the best answers to your questions on Google's eyes-free group (I'm not allowed to post outside links on this forum, or I would have given you the URL).
On that list many blind Android phone users report accessibility issues and workarounds, and the list is monitored by Google's Android accessibility developers. Android web accessibility is indeed still very limited, as is text editing support.
Best regards,
Posted my question also to the eyes-free group
Thanks for the reply. I did post my message to the Google eyes-free group, but felt I would get a fuller response here as well.

New Android User Questions

Hi everyone. I just purchased my Droid X last week, and I'm having some migrating pains coming from Windows Mobile 6.5 (HTC Touch Pro 2, Mighty ROM) over to Android. I'm wondering if the fine folks here at XDA can help me ease into the Android OS a little easier.
Here are the things I miss most about WinMo, maybe you can tell me some viable alternatives.
1) The Dialer. - Skip the next 3 paragraphs if you're familiar with HTC Sense on WinMo.
The dialer absolutely sucks compared to the TP2. Having to click different tabs juts annoys me. In the TP2, the dialer and recent calls were displayed in a single window, so if I wanted to dial Steve, I had 2 ways of doing it.
The first way was to dial 7(S), 8(T). The phone would recognize I am spelling out Steve, and list everyone who fits the ST criteria sorted by most recently called. The more I spelled out his name, the narrower the results got.
The second method was to dial his number. Pretend Steve's number is (123) 456-7890. If I dialed 123, it would sort all contacts with numbers who matched the area code, and it would narrow the results as I typed more of his phone number.
I really hate having to tap between Contacts (there is a contacts soft button next to the dialer anyway), I would just click that if I wanted to from the beginning.
Are there any dialers out there closer to the HTC Dialer?
2) Contacts.
There has to be a better contact manager. Not being able to quickly tap a letter to get to contacts is really dumb.
3) Ninja Applications.
Why do I keep seeing applications running that I never started when I load Advance Task Killer. It's really annoying when I load up an App, and go to close it, and see Skype and CityID running when I never launched either of them. I'm almost afraid to set up AIM on my phone at this point.
4) GPS.
If I keep my GPS on, my battery gets killed. With my TP2, it would only use the GPS when it needed it, so for weather updates, and Google Maps, otherwise it stayed off (or was in a suspend state). I turned the GPS on my first day and had 0 battery by around 2 (left the house at 8). Is there any way to set the GPS to only be used, as needed?
5) APPLICATIONS EVERYWHERE.
Is there anyway to sort these into folders? Also, is there anyway to add an X to the application so I can close it when I'm done with it rather than having to launch an App just to close the App I just used?
I really liked the Sense way of doing it, where I had an X in the Application, and a drop down on the home screen that would list the open Apps so I could close them 1 at a time.
6) MotoBlur.
Ugh, I really hate this UI. Has anyone had any experience with SenseX?
7) Custom Roms.
I've seen a handful of Custom ROMs, and I'm planning on putting one on when I have some time next week. I need a good way to backup contacts, after I just spent an hour linking everyone, but I'd like to know if there is a decent Apples to Apples comparison of the ROMs. They don't seem to be outlines as detailed as I'm used to.
On this topic, are there any problems setting up things like MMS once you install a Custom ROM? It was a nightmare on the TP2, but those ROMs were also made for multiple carriers, which isn't a problem with this phone, so I imagine it shouldn't be an issue.
----------------------------------
Thank you for taking the time to read this wall of text.
Other than the 7 things listed, I love the phone. Finding MortPlayer for Droid made my day. I'm looking forward to unlocking it's true potential, and I hope my list isn't a bunch of things I'm just going to have to adjust to.
Thank you again, have a great day.
EDIT:
Also, it's really annoying that every time I connect my phone to my PC, it launches a Verizon web site. Is there anyway to disable this?
Ok... I will take a stab at this.
FIRST, You DO NOT have to settle for the apps that come preinstalled on your phone! Just had to clear that up... Ok, here we go:
Check an app called "Dialer One" and see if that fits your needs... I haven't used it in a while... but heard it still a great replacement for the stock dialer.
Searching for a better Contact Manager is on my To-Do list.. hope someone comes in and help out a little more with that one
Don't worry about the "ninja" apps TOO much. Android Froyo has an amazing task manager and even though you SEE the apps as "running applications", they are not really RUNNING. They are more like... in a queue.. so they are ready for whenever you come back to them....but you still have to watch what the apps are doing. Some do not play nicely and hog memory. I'll link a good post here in a minute explaining that a little better.
There is a widget that can help you out here.. it's called "Power Control" put that bad boy on your homescreen and the option to turn on/off wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc is at your fingertips (for even more controls... check out "Extended Controls" in the market. It cost like $1 and some change)
I'm... not really following this one. For one.. you CAN use folders on your homescreen and put whatever your heart desires in them.. and label it accordingly. I'm not sure what you mean by the "X" in the app
SenseX?? What is that?? Anyway.. as you will find out soon, 99% of the Droid X community despise MotoBlur!! You can use a different Home Launcher and not use Blur. Two of the major Home Launcher replacements are Adw.launcher & LauncherPro... which one is better is a whole different story. They are both great and only YOU can choose which one is best. There many threads comparing them and they run neck to neck mostly. I'm on LauncherPro personally
Custom Roms?? Eh.. I personally do my own developments and theming on my phone and do not use them... there not really all what they cracked up to be because whatever they have on them... I can do myself. So I'm not much of an help on that one... Somebody else maybe will chime in.
P.S-To fix the Verizon thing, go to the "M" in the taskbar at the bottom of your screen by the clock on your PC and right click it.. there should be an option saying to tell it to NOT send you to the Verizon site when you connect your phone. I don't know the EXACT wording of the option menu.. I'm on a mac
Thank you for your reply.
I will check out the Dialer. Thank you very much.
Darn!
A friend of mine told me that, but it's hard for me to not be a bit OCD about background Applications. I've been a Windows user most of my life, and coming from WinMo, background apps really kill performance.
More than anything, my issue is with things like Skype loading when I do not want to be signed in. I want auto-login when I launch the Application, but I don't want the application loading when it feels like it, and me getting a random IM or call from someone when I didn't even tell it to log in.
It also bothers me that Amazon MP3, something I've never even loaded, has turned itself on. It makes me feel like I don't have control over my phone.
I do have a widget that lets me turn these things on and off, I was just hoping for a way to set it up so that the GPS is "pinged" and only used as needed, and turned back off. My TP2 did this, and was a great battery saver. Having to turn the GPS on and off just to get a weather update based on location is a bit annoying.
I didn't mean on the home-screen, I meant in the application list. So when I hit the application list, I can sort them by "Games", "Google", etc.
For the "X", what I mean is in reference to closing an App. In WinMo, the top right of the screen had an X, and if I touched that X, the app would close. Now, once I exit the App, I need to use an application killer to close said App.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=764840
Looks like Sense for the Droid X. In Beta now, so I'm waiting for a stable release.
Really, it's just to get rid of bloatware and take advantage of some performance optimizations that have been made.
A couple of other things that have come up.
I need a better keyboard. One with arrows so I can navigate text. Touching isn't precise enough, and I don't have a stylus with this phone. Today I voiced a text message, and I went to correct an error, but I couldn't get the curse to go in the exact spot I needed it to go into. My old OSK had arrow soft-keys I could tap to navigate with.
Also, I notice when I pull my phone out of the leather pouch I have, when I hit the power button it comes up in landscape, and the accelerometer doesn't pick up on the turn. I need to turn the screen off and turn it back on.
Finally, I'm having extender issues, but I think I need to call VZW for that. When leaving my house, I can't reconnect to Data without a power-cycle.
Thank you for the reply.
my .02
3. Break yourself from the taskiller need. If you have programs allways running that you dont need, ie skype or city id. Root and delete those SOB's. you can look around and there are plenty of articles of why not to use them. Android is a linux based os. Linux is far supirior to Win in memeory management. You dont need task killers.
4. if your gps is turned on its not always running. It only runs when needed. Is by chance your wifi on? that will run all the time by searching for access points. if not you might have maps running, make sure to always back out of maps and not just hit home. That way it closes and doesnt just run in background. (actually goes for most apps)
5 organization- you cant sort the app drawer, you can hide apps (just the icons) using launcher pro, not sure if ADW has that option. Useing folders or the app "app manager" is your best bet
extra. swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
I came from winmo- so I know all about your "X" pains. But I say forget about a task killer or even killing tasks (except maybe maps and navigation). I did a little reading about pros and cons and decided to try the "no task killer" approach. I haven't had any problems. the task killer is a pain anyways. you can kill apps all day long and there are a bunch of them that are just going to repopulate themselves in like 5 minutes. I just said, "fegetaboutit". My phone runs great.
if you open the dialer and are on the contacts tab just long press the menu button (the physical button) and your keyboard will pop up. start typing and contacts will appear.
I like "Zeam Launcher". There is a thread here on XDA. I have Launcher Pro+ -but actually liked Zeam so much I use it. Just different preferences though.
that's all i got for now.
Thank you for your replies.
I will try to be a bit less OCD regarding my tasks. I did kill a couple of services of applications that kept starting, like Skype.
I'll check out those launchers and see if I like them better.
Any good stock widgets?
EDIT:
So I just tried to check my location on Google Maps with GPS turned off, and it says I need to turn it on.
How do I set it up to use the GPS as needed?
I leave location services on (GPS)
My theory is that applications will only enable GPS when they need them, so if you have a application running that wants GPS, it will use it.
The GPS icon appears in the notification bar when I'm using something that is using GPS, so I assume its only actually on when this icon is present. Leave it on in settings just makes is available.
Any widget or application that has a setting for manual location (Weather, IMDB) I use it, and disable GPS location, to keep GPS from running all of the time.
To exit an app you are using, either hit the back button or the home button.
If you are worried about "ninja" apps using cpu and memory, you can try a minfree adjustment application such as AutoKiller Memory Optimizer. It fine tunes android's inner memory manager to be a bit more aggressive in closing applications.
I use another Rom (rubiX, link in sig) that already has minfree adjusted (according to the author) and it does help in keeping the X smooth. It also removes all (well most) of Blur and default installed apps as well, so you start with a very clean X.
The default home screen (blur) is crap. I would also suggest replacing it with LauncherPro or ADW
For removing the pre-installed applications. Follow this guide
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/d...ta-3-ways-super-easy-safe-safe-easy-free.html
Some apps in /system/app/ are not named what they are
(IE. mynet.apk = 3g Hotspot)
For a keyboard anywhere, you can hold the menu button, and it will pop up.
Swype is really a few keyboards. Swype from the icon to the SYM button, it will give you the edit panel (arrows, home, end, copy, paste, etc...) press the ABC button to go back.
Swype from the icon to the f key, it will turn into a number pad. Press the ABC button to go back to the normal keyboard.
Run the tutorial on Swype too, it will give you some very nice pointers on it's use. I used Swype on windows mobile and I found out a few things about Swype I never knew.
Also, as for touching where your cursor is in a text field, if you press and hold, and magnifying bubble will pop up. This makes moving the cursor easier
Did you find a dialer yet? I saw these posted and thought about this thread...
http://www.appbrain.com/app/kz.mek.DialerOne
http://www.appbrain.com/app/acontacts/kz.mek.aContacts
Haven't had a chance to try them yet.
bad4u6669 said:
.... swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG. thanks. been loving swype but that has been driving me nuts. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for the replies.
One of the things I liked about my TP2, is I could leave location services on, and it used very little battery.
I guess Weather Bug just SUCKS battery out like crazy. I turned on the GPS last night for something, and decided to see how well it did with battery today. It turns out that some grocery shopping app I wanted to try was sucking my GPS dry (no idea why)... yet another "ninja app" that just started up because it felt like it (this kind of **** really makes me , programs should only start up when I tell them to, not when a component of my phone turns on).
I live in an apartment that has really bad signal (I actually have a Network Extender), so that might be my GPS constantly trying to update when I'm at home killing my battery.
WeatherBug is set to update every hour, so I'm going to see what happens tomorrow with the GPS turned on. It would be nice if I could just set it and forget it, not need to turn it off every time I come home.
Thank you for the contact program, I might check it out. I've been pretty content since I got DialerOne and found out I can get the keyboard up by holding the options.
I tried LauncherPro, and I LOVED it at first, and my phones performance was fantastic!
Then I found out it charges me to resize widgets... WTF is that crap?
I'm going to try some other launchers and see what happens. I'm getting the hang of it, but I still do not like things starting up on their own. Regardless of memory management, my phone should not just decide to boot up programs on it's own.
the phone only does what the app or the user tells it to do. If theirs an app that you don't like, delete it.
And complaining that launcher pro charges for every thing it offers is ridiculous. Every thing it offers for free already ( 7 home screens, 10 rows and columns, unreal speed improvement, etc. ) then to get the extras its less than most people throw away on a daily basis. Where as this three dollars its money that pays off on a daily basis
Adw and lp should be paid apps from the start for all they offer.
You have 3 options, write your own program, use the stock launcher, find a free one.
-end rant
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I usually leave my location setting on "Use Wireless Networks" and don't bother with GPS other than for maps and navigation. Works fine for all of my other apps that need a location (e.g., weather).
There are apps out there that can turn GPS on and off automatically when you run a particular app, such as Tasker (which can do a whole host of things, but that is one one of them). Tasker is a paid app, but there might be something free out there that does something similar.
Also, I agree with the previous poster re: Launcher Pro. It's really a fantastic home launcher and well worth a few bucks to support the developer. The LP Plus widgets are also a lot better than any of the Blur widgets.
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
EtherBoo said:
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
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You might want to look into RockPlayer. That's the only one I found so far that decodes ALMOST anything on the spot.
The "Ninja Applications" are running because Android is a true multi tasking OS.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I hope necromancy isn't frowned upon on this board, so my apologies if it is.
I found a new problem because I had the nerve to attempt to update a contact photo after Facebook had saved it's picture to it.
This is especially frustrating because I'm going to want to override a lot of these photos very soon.
Apparently, updating the photo updates the Google Contact photo, but the phone only displays the Facebook photo. This is a bug confirmed by Moto that will be fixed in a future update.
This leaves me with 2 options.
De-Sync FB, which I'm not thrilled about only because I like getting the most recent status update prior to receiving a call, and There is a lot of info that FB fills in for me.
Copy down all the FB info, and fill it in manually. With Google Contacts not being the best contact manager (I'm very OCD about uniformity in the way things are formatted), I really don't want to do this.
So I figure I need a new contact manager. I tried AContacts, and it crashed every time I tried to edit a contact.
I would love something like the HTC one that comes with WinMo, or maybe even the iPhone one.
I would be willing to pay for this.
P.S.
I'm now rooted and running a custom ROM (zapX I think it's called). I'm loving my phone much more now. My battery life has skyrocketed, and my performance is amazing now. Very iPhone smooth (one thing I was always jealous of, and I hate the iPhone).

HTC Messaging jumping and keyboard shortcut

I don't know if anyone of you guys here have experienced screen jumping around the conversation thread while texting, but I've seen pretty much elsewhere. I haven't seen any similar thread around, so just to share it.
According to my interpretation, it is both a feature and a bug.
As for the feature part, the T, B and Backspace buttons are actually keyboard shortcut in a conversation thread. Once you've selected an sms with the trackpad, pressing T will get you to the top of the thread, vice versa for B and Backspace is for deleting.
What bugs me badly is that these things happen right when I was texting. Once or twice, I thought I was accidentally touching the trackpad, but considering my hand positioning and the cursor was still in the composing box when it happened, it was rather impossible.
It seems to be an universal Sense problem as well, since I came across this in multiple Sense Rom.
The best workaround I could come up with was to press B to get it back to the composing box, and use the trackpad to reposition the cursor. Nevertheless, it was still disruptive and annoying as hell.
Please share in the thread your experience/workaround/solution regarding this
Wish I could help more than to say you're not going nuts, it happens. it's incredibly annoying, i have no idea what does it. I don't use the roms that it happens in. If you like sense roms, but hate that try out myVision, I haven't seen that happen at all. Only downside I've found to myVision is the 'favs' crap that I'm amazed tmobile still tries to call a feature.
myVision is still in RC, that's the main reason why I still haven't tried it yet, but thanks for letting me know, will see how it works then
I think they only things keeping the dev from calling it complete are:
wants to add:
Will be adding 4-way reboot (when I figure out how to do it)
Will be editing updater-script so that you aren't just looking at a blank screen while it is installing (again when I figure out how to do it.)
And there is one bug:
HTC FM radio is not working on RC3.1 - working on a fix now.
I've been using it since for a few days now and have had no problems at all (I don't use the radio because I don't carry around headphones). It seems to get good battery life for a sense rom also. I think the only thing that could get me away from this rom is a Doubleshot rom with the lock screen app shortcuts like in Unity... couldn't hurt if it were updated to the newer doubleshot base either.
This is one of the many things that drives me away from Sense.
It's pretty, but I do 10,000 texts a month, and less than 100 minutes. So little things like this kill me.

My impressions and a few questions.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out in my (now closed) "Any former iPhone users using a Nexus 4?" thread.
First, my impressions:
I am very, very lucky to have my Nexus 4 right now. I ordered it on Friday, December 7th and received it on Monday, December 10th. I had watched a lot of YouTube videos about the phone up until that point, but nothing really prepared me for how great this phone actually felt in my hand. I work for a major cell phone retailer, so I've felt all of the latest flagship phones from the top 4 carriers and nothing before has rivaled my in-hand experience with the iPhone. The Nexus 4 actually feels better. I love it.
The screen on this phone is remarkable. Everything is so crisp. In comparison, the Nexus 4 screen seems to outshine my iPhone 4s screen. It all seems to look like a movie to me. So fluid and well put together. I actually watched the Man of Steel trailer on both of my devices and it just felt and looked so much better on my Nexus 4.
So far, everything leads me to the Nexus 4 as my new primary phone, however it isn't without flaw to me. It's not necessarily the Nexus 4, more so the developers of certain applications for Android. I am a huge Twitter and Instagram user. I don't like using third-party applications for either. (i.e. TweetDeck, Plume, etc.) Both apps are so much better on my iOS device. There are certain things that make my experience in both apps enjoyable on my iPhone and frustrating on my Android. I'm not sure why the Android counterparts are missing some of the features that are key to my iOS experience, but it really bothers me. I won't say which features because I don't want to seem nitpicky and be dismissed as an "apple fanboy."
Now my questions:
1. How do I select which artist I want to be seen in the Google Music app on my phone? I realize that it is cloud based, but geez, I don't listen to Bow Wow or care to have him cluttering up my phone music app. I am lightweight OCD about the organization of my music. I don't mind being exposed to new things, but these artists are far from what I listen to. Is there anyway I can get rid of them?
2. Can I select a contact to use as my "me" profile on the Nexus? I've used the same contact for years on my iOS device. It has all of my business information, my email addresses, twitter accounts, and much more. I use it as a business card of sorts when I am out of them. Is there any way I can use that as "me" in my contacts now? The contact is still there, but it's asking me to create a profile. Can I somehow merge it?
3. How do I make my phone notify me of new tweets and other things that are happening in my phone other than an icon in the menu bar? I have yet to see my notification light flash and the only way that I know there is something new happening in my phone is to actually turn it on to see. My screen doesn't light up, there is no vibration, no light show or anything. I can't seem to figure out how to enable those notifications. They are VERY important to me. My clients often me via twitter and so do my friends.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out. I know that I can be (more than) a bit longwinded. I really appreciate this community.
morejaylesswar said:
3. How do I make my phone notify me of new tweets and other things that are happening in my phone other than an icon in the menu bar? I have yet to see my notification light flash and the only way that I know there is something new happening in my phone is to actually turn it on to see. My screen doesn't light up, there is no vibration, no light show or anything. I can't seem to figure out how to enable those notifications. They are VERY important to me. My clients often me via twitter and so do my friends.
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Click to collapse
Use Light Flow from the Play Store. You can configure not only the notification LED on the front of the phone but things like the pattern of vibration, the sound that is played for a notification, whether/how long/how often it repeats, etc. You can set all of those differently for each app's notifications. Very handy (and the author hangs out in the "Themes and Apps" sub-forum here).
wmm said:
Use Light Flow from the Play Store. You can configure not only the notification LED on the front of the phone but things like the pattern of vibration, the sound that is played for a notification, whether/how long/how often it repeats, etc. You can set all of those differently for each app's notifications. Very handy (and the author hangs out in the "Themes and Apps" sub-forum here).
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Click to collapse
Thank you!
I'm going to mess around with this today when I get a little down time. I already see that I will have the purchase the app because some of my main things are only supported in the full version. Doesn't bother me none. LOL, there are like 2 free apps in iOS. And there it is already, a notification light. Ah, I'm relieved.
(This beats having my camera flash go off when things happen in my phone!)

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