Would you guys want a simple pack that would replace your default g1 apps automatically with better versions?
There are enough now where it would be a good idea.
Apps to be replaced:
Messaging replaced by ChompSMS.
Browser replaced by Steel.
Contacts replaced by Phonebook.
Alarmclock replaced by Klaxon.
Camera replaced by SnapPhoto.
I've talked to the developers and made sure that these apps are all standalone. Phonebook syncs on its own with your google contacts. Chomp receives texts independent of messaging.
It would be relatively noob friendly. If you were able to push your caches to the sd card, this would work fine.
If ChompSMS could handle MMS messages it might be a good idea, but as it stands I just removed it because it kept crashing on me anytime I even so much as looked at it wrong.
Hm. Good point with chomp. But I don't actually do mms messages. That's what email is for.
I was just thinking about this a few minutes ago. Mainly to replace the camera app with snapPhoto, and messaging with Chomp (never had any probs with chomp).
That's what I was forgetting. Snapphoto. That's now on the list as well.
You see, that would be nice if any of those apps worked decently...
The only halfway decent one you mentioned was chomp. The only stable thing you mentioned was SnapPhoto.
Phonebook is very slow and way too unresponsive to replace the contacts app, not to mention it has no option to set individual ringtones yet.
Steel is nice and all, but lacking BASIC functionality. For example on the stock browser when you go to a youtube page it gives you an option of playing through the youtube app. Steel does not, so it just leaves you not being able to watch shows.
Klaxon is extremely buggy. For example when in keyboard mode half of the klaxon screen is chopped off. Also when hitting snooze it usually takes a couple tries to put it to sleep.
Its a good try, but not quite ready yet.
I would definitely appreciate this. I'd never heard of steel before you mentioned it.
TuXeyM11 said:
You see, that would be nice if any of those apps worked decently...
The only halfway decent one you mentioned was chomp. The only stable thing you mentioned was SnapPhoto.
Phonebook is very slow and way too unresponsive to replace the contacts app, not to mention it has no option to set individual ringtones yet.
Steel is nice and all, but lacking BASIC functionality. For example on the stock browser when you go to a youtube page it gives you an option of playing through the youtube app. Steel does not, so it just leaves you not being able to watch shows.
Klaxon is extremely buggy. For example when in keyboard mode half of the klaxon screen is chopped off. Also when hitting snooze it usually takes a couple tries to put it to sleep.
Its a good try, but not quite ready yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everything is entirely functional. steel gives you the option of opening it up in the viewer. phonebook is extremely quick and klaxon rapes the basic alarmclock.
As you can see from the responses, the problem is going to be that most people like and regularly use some but not all of those programs(for me it's steel and snap-photo, cause I like the normal contact manager and messaging, etc), so 1 package that replaces all of them won't be worth it for 90% of people. Would separate packages replacing 1 system app each be possible? Then people could pick and choose which ones they want.
This is a great idea once these apps mature a little more.
Like other have said, MMS support is needed in ChompSMS before it's a viable replacement for the built in messaging app.
I have problems every morning with Klaxon hitting the Off button. It rarely responds on the first hit.
I'm still having trouble seeing where Phonebook fits in as a replacement for the default phone app. It doesn't feel like a complete app yet. Exact Call Log is far better in my opinion, and faster. I know it doesn't have an integrated dialer, but for the logging portion, it's superior.
SnapPhoto is a decently solid app. I would have no qualms about replacing Camera.apk with SnapPhoto.
[email protected] said:
As you can see from the responses, the problem is going to be that most people like and regularly use some but not all of those programs(for me it's steel and snap-photo, cause I like the normal contact manager and messaging, etc), so 1 package that replaces all of them won't be worth it for 90% of people. Would separate packages replacing 1 system app each be possible? Then people could pick and choose which ones they want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it might take me a couple days, but i could throw together a program that shows u a checklist and you select what replacements you want and what you dont.
thanks for the decent criticism.
Steel is a great browser. It also lets me download whatever file type I want, unlike the default chrome lite.
so it's decided.
I'll put up a little prog that allows you to choose which apps youd want defaulted from that list and it'l be installed automatically.
expect it within the next couple days.
I'm pretty sure snapphoto isn't standalone. When I replaced the stock app with it. I got force close errors in the area where you'd normally share/save. Also you lose the stock picture viewer, which not essential since you can use a file viewer, though it is a lot easier to use thumbnails then reading file names. But I know bratag updates it frequently so perhaps something has changed since I tried it. In fact I hope you can do it, I'll be following closely to see if its possible.
constellanation said:
I'm pretty sure snapphoto isn't standalone. When I replaced the stock app with it. I got force close errors in the area where you'd normally share/save. Also you lose the stock picture viewer, which not essential since you can use a file viewer, though it is a lot easier to use thumbnails then reading file names. But I know bratag updates it frequently so perhaps something has changed since I tried it. In fact I hope you can do it, I'll be following closely to see if its possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. If you delete Camera.apk then SnapPhoto starts acting up. If you delete Email.apk then Gmail no longer appears in the "Recent Apps" list when you hold the Home button.
Deleting Alarm.apk and the Amazon MP3 app doesn't seem to have any negetive effects, though.
For the snapphoto issue, I removed camera.apk. named snapphoto.apk camera.apk and pushed it into the system apps folder. That's what I am going to be doing with all the other apps itself. The core is designed to run with the default apps in mind, but it doesn't care what the app is. It just cares that its where its supposed to be.
You won't be seeing your apps named steel and everything.
Steel will be called browser, chomp = messaging and so on and so forth.
Removing the defaults entirely and not replacing them causes instability.
a little update. just threw together all the vb coding to set up the exe that would create and run the batch file specifically for what apps you want replaced.
the OP has all the options that are listed. expect it tomorrow.
btw. chomp just got autorotate.
a little update. just threw together all the vb coding to set up the exe that would create and run the batch file specifically for what apps you want replaced.
the OP has all the options that are listed. expect it tomorrow.
btw. chomp just got autorotate.
Question...how would we get the updates for these apps? Like, say, if chomp decided to support MMS in the future.
Either one of two ways. You can replace the .apk in the folder I give you with the new version and simply run the .bat file again, or you can just wait till I reupload it with the updated versions.
Related
Hello XDA,
I am one of the developers of the Asurion Mobile AddressBook and I would like to get some feedback on our product from the users here. I have been using this forum for some thine now for Winmo and respect the opinions of the developers here. It would be great to see what everyone thinks of the application. It is available in the Android Marketplace, just search Asurion. Or you can go to our site at http://www.getaddressbook.com/.
A little about AddressBook, it is a socially connected address book that allows you to get information about your contacts from different social sites like Facebook and Twitter right in the address book, through mini programs called Mixins.
Soon we will have an APK for developers to develop their own Mixins for AddressBook. When its ready I will post more information if anyone would like to beta for us.
AddressBook is still in a beta form and is available for 1.6 and 2.0 and above. Please try it out and let me know what you think. AddressBook is new and we are open to positive and negative feedback.
Thanks,
Peter
Just installed
Main app + all MixIn
It's a nice app, just a bit slow on my HTC Sapphire Magic Vodafone 32B with 2.1 Eclair Rom
I don't like "MixIn solution", why not a full app with all modules inside ?
I've launched main app, then I gone to market and installed Facebook MixIn for first.
After a lot of privacy authorization with some screen not well fitted I did a little war with Matching People, cause a lot of them were not matched nice.
I need Photos compare, cause I've some cases with two or more people with the exact name... like my cousins =)
I had some Facebook MixIn Force close Crashes and some com.google.process.gapps crashes too, right now...
I installed flickr and associate it with some of my contacts and no problems at all.
at last I tried Twitter and no probs with it...
I think it's a good app, but a bit slow...
last thing:
Support for all languages (I could translate it in Italian if you need)
I don't like number in this format 000-000-0000
or 00-000-0000
I know it's a developing app and I will wait for next releases of this.
Well Done
Good Job
This is some great feedback, thanks for taking the time to try it out and post back.
Just wondering
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0
Haven't tried the app, but if you could spread the QR codes apart it will ease their reading.
Thanks for your app!
played with it 30mins.
1. got the main app
2. started a new a/c in www.getaddressbook.com
3. got the MixIn: Facebook
4. start the MixIn app, input Facebook a/c
5. click Allow buttons 3 times
6. MixIn starts to get contacts from FB
7. Auto Match
8. Manual adjust Auto Match results
9. Launch main app
The above steps took about 25mins (330 FB contacts; 300 gmail contacts; Auto Matched 180; manual picked out... haven't counted >_< i believe picked out 30 - 50).
Cool:
-Auto Match tried to best match FB | Local contacts even they are not perfect match.
e.g. Shirley Lam | Salei Lam (it matches)
-Facebook photos can replace local as well as sync. to Gmail Contacts
-Consolidated activities log (SMS, voice call, etc) for individual contact
Not:
-[MixIn: FB] Say you have some contacts named Peter Chan, you will get confused without some other hints like Organization.
I picked those contacts out in Auto Match to prevent mis-matching as Org is not displayed in Auto Match results
-[main app] Contact list won't remember the last viewed location.
I scrolled from top to Carol, click twice to view details, click Return and the contact list scrolls back to top.
-[main app] Slow. Maybe it's my outdated HTC Magic... (it's CyanogenMod 4.2.13 w/ EBI1 mod]
For me:
Keep and waiting for updates!
looks cool..will try this later when i get home for work..
speed is defiantely something that can be worked on.
thebluecoat said:
Is this ultimately going to be a paid application?
You know like:
5.99/mo
4.79/mo
1.99/mo
What's our deductible? :0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the application will be free. And no deductible that I know of
It looks interesting but what you should definitely not miss is the T9 dialer. The way you can find contact by typing their name directly from the dialer is the only feature that makes me stay on 1.5. I tried other apps from the Market but nothing could match HTC's Sense UI dialer. If you can bring something clean similar to this I'm sold!
Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?
Great work on the app. After using the app for a few days the main reason I stopped us using it was the user interface. Its not horrible but compared to everything else on the phone, it looks a bit outdated (quality wise). Other then the ui, it can be sluggish at times but nice work.
DesertWolf1971 said:
Another question for the community. Are there any features you are not seeing in the AddressBook that you would like to see, things that would make this app a must have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darvo is absolutely correct. The T9 dialer is something that is sorely missing from most builds. I think it would especially appeal to stock users as well as those running cooked roms. I have been searching for a reliable answer to this outside of a Sense UI but haven't found anything that I'll stand by 100%.
Thank you .........
I appreciate your effort with AddressBook; however:
I find it extremely inappropriate and invasive that the app immediately syncs my contacts upon install to -- where? your servers?
There should be a clear warning that this is about to happen!
Please delete my data from your servers!
Also, the 'delete all' function on your site does not work, at least not with Safari. I 'moved' all to the 'delete' column on right, but clicking on 'delete selected' does nothing.
And with Chrome I couldn't even log in. Got some error about 'src' and try the support page.
I am sorry that app is frustrating you. There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app. If you give me your user name I will delete your account from the database. The back up is meant to protect your contacts in the case that you loose your phone or get a new one. As for browser support, right now we are only supporting IE and Firefox. Again sorry the app is frustrating for you.
Great app!
I really like and appreciate this app. The 2 biggest features that drew me to waste countless hours playing w/ hero roms on my mytouch were hero's T9 dialer, and the social integration. I'll 3rd the motion for a T9 dialer in your app. No complaints otherwise. Bravo - and thanks for the great app.
P.S. Backup to server is a bit redundant in my opinion, because your contacts already sync w/ your Google acct - but, to each is own. I might be missing an advantage to it anyway. I just opted not to use it.
And props for soliciting feedback here in the forum - where the REAL users are.
DesertWolf1971 said:
There is a screen during setup that lets you know about the backup. This function can be turned off in the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Because I can see in the options where to change the time and frequency of the sync, but I don't see how to disable syncing altogether. Maybe I'm just missing something?
Good catch, looks like there is a bug, you should be able to set it to not backup. We will work to get that fix in.
I have been playing around with the Hero, but I am not sure I have found the T9 dialer, what does it do?
Feedback
I've been following this app since it first arrived, and I must say bravo for doing what only HTC dared to attempt. It works well, too, except for a few things.
1. It may SEEM that scrolling smoothness isn't that important. Ask Apple, they'll tell you the truth: Its the only thing the masses give a Sh&% about, how something looks. So imitate the apple or hero contact style, because the one here is rough but needs only an easy fix! Smooth scrolling and better "sleek" colors. Same for the dialer.
2. It seems to run too often in the background, which slows my phone seemingly, no matter how often i taskiller it.
Eagerly awaiting the next release...
Hi guys!
I know there is a way to create a Chrome extension which, when clicked, launches an app on the phone that vibrates the phone and plays a sound file at the loudest volume, so I can find it. Like Chrome to phone but with a different purpose.
This would be a great app for those times when you need to go but just can't find your phone even though you know it is somewhere in the home. With just the press of a button you could hear (or feel, if it's very close to you) where it is! No need to use another phone to call yours or run around the apartment getting all tired and angry!
Personally I would have used it like eight times since I came up with the idea, but I don't know Android programming or HTML (for the extension) so I can't create it myself.
where's my droid
and a couple of other apps already do this. They take a sms message and crank up the volume.
arw01 said:
and a couple of other apps already do this. They take a sms message and crank up the volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great for some people (with unlimited SMS), but unfortunately I haven't got unlimited SMS (nor do I always have access to a second phone. If I did though I would probably call my phone instead as this request is for finding the phone when you know it is somewhere near but don't have the patience to run around and search for it)
The app I want doesn't use SMS messages for launching the app but the Cloud-to-device service introduced with Android 2.2 and at the moment only available to a small but growing number of devices.
I use the Chrome to phone app & ext (code dot google dot com/p/chrometophone) on my Nexus and although it doesn't work every time when it does work it feels like magic!
I thought it would feel as much if not even more like magic if you could use this new service to find your phone with ease. I don't need it to have all the (for some) great features like showing where the phone is on a Google map or wiping important data if it's lost, I've got other apps for that.
I want this app to be as simple as it possibly can be, again like Chrome to phone:
Setting up: Download, Register phone, Be logged into Google account, done!
Use: Be logged into Google account, click extension button, wait a sec, phone rings, done!
Now does anyone here know how to create this app or where to request it to increase the chances of it getting past the idea stage and into something usable? It would surely make my day!
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
major_otaku said:
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) yes
2) yes (Astro File manager works very well)
3) you shouldnt have a problem making the transition.
I'd like to add in a questions since I'm doing the exact same thing (MDA>Tilt>TP2>HD2).
Is there any way to backup my text messages to my PC & read them from there? I currently use Jeyo Mobile Extender to back up my HD2s texts to Outlook & can read them there.
Also, I use Outlook to sync my calendar & contacts, is it an easy transition from this to using Google? I've seen how you can use the HTC Sync program to sync with Outlook but that doesn't look as easy as using Active Sync/WMDC
When I used WinMo/Outlook last (2008), I imported my contacts directly into Google. A search will get you multiple ways I'm sure.
Handcent is widely considered the best replacement SMS client on Android, and it offers some cloud features for SMS.
Alternately, you could port your number to Google Voice or simply use Voice for all of your SMS needs so it's all managed withing the Android app and available on the web.
There are many SMS backup app utilities also.
Ok more questions.
-How easy/hard is it to change the various icons & stuff in Android. I currently use DINIK's custom just about everything on WM6.5 & would like to do something similar in Android.
-Can the camera timestamp pics on the image like in WM?
-If you add a birthday to a Contact & sync does it automatically add it to the Calendar (& put it all the way back to the year) like in WM?
I may have more. Also, sorry OP for hijacking your thread.
I've never seen a reason to change any of the icons in Android. The stock Android icons are just fine, and Sense might change that. Can't answer that one.
I'm not sure why you'd want to put a timestamp on the actual photo. All of that information is in the EXIF data embedded in the .jpg. My Nexus One has no apparent means of adding the timestamp, but there are many, many camera applications available and I'm sure it's a feature elsewhere. Also, the Sensation might not use the Android camera, and that feature could be present in an HTC camera.
I always did like the birthday thing in WM, and I've not fiddled with it enough to see if that's a feature that has been retained. The stock Android calendar widget is crap, as it's only one event per day, so perhaps Sense and/or a Calendar app, of which there are many, can facilitate this.
(As I said, I've used WM6 in the past, but it's been a while. My Herald with WM6.5 was okay, but the last time I used it as a primary phone was November 2008 on the MDA.)
I understand all the info in in the EXIF data, but I do like having the timestamp so I can see the date of the pic right away.
So the stock Calendar app kinda sucks huh? Hmm I'll have to look in to that when I get this phone. I rely on this app a lot for reminders of birthdays, bills, tasks, etc.
As for the icons, I'm just curious. WMs icons sucked (as everyone knows) so of course everyone wanted them changed. I'd just like to know that the option is there for Android in case I want to do it.
Fair enough.
The calendar app is decent, and you can set alarms and notifications with ease. One of the greatest things about the Google integration is that your changes done on the device or web are synchronized, which I'm certain you're aware of.
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
There are other free and paid calendar widgets that make this much less an issue.
Google app icons are, like most things Google, simple and effective.
kampf said:
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah ok, thanks for the clarification. Sadly WM is the same way but the mod Cookie's Home Tab was able to fix that & let's you decide how many to show. I guess I'll have to find a replacement.
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
The MT4G has some serious tweaks to it, but the SMS behavior is probably normal. I recommend Hancent again because not only does it wake and notify, but you can send a reply without unlocking the screen, though it does not unlock the device.
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
xnifex said:
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
MaxReality said:
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair play. what got my goat, was windows mobile has been out for a looong time. And it didn't really change much. then iphone came along, with a million quality apps, and nothing really changed with winmo. and then Android came along with a million free apps, and after a while in the UK we got the Marketplace in the UK with, erm about 8 apps, and then they charged you like £20!
After playing with these other phones, as soon as a reliable android rom became available, I gave winmo the 2 fingers. I've used them for 10 years, so have a right to be miffed. But yeah, roms not designed for the device were flakey. and like you I prob won't mess with my next phone.
Was just shocked that people stuck to winmo, with there being an alternative, - unlimited amount of android fun.
Anyone not used these android phones will be blown away with the amount of free useful and gimmicky apps.
kampf said:
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it sucks. I'll send her a pic from the HD2 & when she gets it it's been shrunk down a lot. When she sends me a picture it's still fairly big because of the setting on WM.
Killbynature said:
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not the saving that I'm worried about, it's the fact that pics that I send her that should be a lot bigger are shrunk down in size. If someone sends me a pic, I want it to be as big as possible & not be messed with before it gets to me.
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I like stock ROMs. The 3.14 ROM is nice & I have it set up perfectly with CHT. I'm going to do the same thing tho with my HD2 once I get the Sensation.
There's no good reason to use MMS between you two. Get Dropbox accounts and share a folder. Upload photos there and they're full size and accessible anywhere.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
yeah but there's still a reason to MMS between me & my mother/sister/brother/buddy/friends that don't have Android phones.
Your reasoning is kinda like the reason Apple kept MMS out of the iPhone for so long: they thought it wasn't needed because you can just email it. Sorry but MMS will be around for a bit.
Oh man, good on you for reminding me of how Apple resisted MMS for so long. Heck, most people forget that the iPhone HAD NO APPS for a year after it was released.
@OP
Are you looking about upgrading to the Sensation, or is this about android on the HD2
If it isn't about the sensation, do you mind if I move this to HD2 Android.
Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this is the best subforum to ask in, but I figured if anybody knew it would be you guys on XDA-devs.
I have a slightly modified Facebook .apk - what I did was take the last version before they bastardized the newsfeed and got rid of "most recent" (it's version 8.something), then open it up and remove a bunch of permissions that I didn't want it having. I left in obvious ones like GPS for checking in, but removed the stuff like "prevent phone from sleeping", drawing over other apps and other really obnoxious things that you normally couldn't opt out of.
I use it on a daily basis. I also hate Messenger - not only because it's two apps instead of one, but because of that same aforementioned issue... the drawing over other apps and there was no way to TURN NOTIFICATIONS OFF ENTIRELY, only for up to an hour.
Anyway, Facebook v8 already has a messenger built in. It's absolutely pointless to use the standalone one. However, there's a value that keeps being generated by their end that I can't control - at least not yet!
What happens is the first time you open messenger after signing in, it says "Upgrade to Messenger? Your friends are using it!" and you can choose "Not now" or upgrade. It does this for a day or two and then eventually the "not now" option goes away and it refuses to let you see your messages without "upgrading" despite the fact the app obviously has the ability to do it just fine.
After some experimentation, I discovered the fix. There are two values that get written in prefs.db (it's /data/data/com.facebook.katana/databases/prefs.db - not sure why prefs.db since it's not really a preferences but I digress)
If you open that up in SQLite Browser, there are three tables... open up "preferences" and there are two values:
/config/force_messenger/first_shown_1
/config/force_messenger/last_shown_1
Then there's a binary timestamp stored in another column in that row.
If I simply delete both of those and restart the app, it works!
But this is a bit annoying to have to do every couple days. I already have my development options set to force-close an app when I long-press the back button, so I was hoping it were possible to put a line of code in the .apk somewhere that just wipes those values, if present, when the app starts. There's nothing I can do about their server sticking those in there, as obviously they want to force people to use Messenger. I CAN just delete the values, though.
At the very least, some script I could set to auto-run (like kill the app and edit the .db) would work too, but I'm going to be getting a new phone soon and want to use it unrooted if possible... so I figured having this done from within the app itself would be a better idea.
Thanks in advance!
Good afternoon,
With the release of Android Pie for more and more Galaxy phones, Samsung is deploying new versions of their own apps following the One UI scheme. It is the case for Samsung Music, which is now available on the Samsung Store in a new version with an updated interface.
The problem I have is that I don't want to update my A8 from Oreo to Pie as I hate the new One UI interface (general look and layout, icons, multiwindow...), and that the new Samsung Music app theme follow the Pie mode: dark if night mode is enabled, white otherwise. So, when the app is used on a phone under Oreo, one can't switch to a dark theme and has to endure the bright background interface.
I therefore chose to keep the previous version of the app, but since the release of the new one, each time I launch Samsung Music after it was closed (not if only sent to background) and if wi-fi is on, the app shows a pop-up asking for update. I can discard it by clicking on "later", but it is painful to have to do this each time, and I am afraid of clicking on the "update" option, and then having to uninstall the app, reinstall the previous APK, reconfigure it and etc...
So here is my question: is there a way to prevent this pop-up to appear ? Auto-updates have been turned off under the Galaxy Store, but it seems that the check for update is built in the app itself. This pop-up is not considered as a notification by the Android OS as disabling them has no effect on it.
Thank you in advance if someone has got an idea.
I used to use that app and was somewhat happy you could tag with it and it might work. You may not want to switch, but if you give this app, musicolet a try, you might not need the samsung app anymore. No ads or anything and it gives you an eq, but if you want you can switch to system eq in the app. Very easy editting for tagging. If you export the M3U playlist, it'll be pretty much ready for car audio sd cards. Give it a go.
One thing, and i am not sold on pie either, but i've noticed the bluetooth operates consistently with any chosen eq and it's possible the days of "maybe the dolby will turn on this time" are gone.
First try musicolet. Colour it up too.
I think the Samsung app will not allow you to add lyrics, only show by tapping the art (if it's there)
The app i suggested you can add. You can also omit any directory or just allow one folder. No more ringtones or stuff that you can't omit. Sure, .nomedia but that is ridiculous. I am going to see if i still get Over the Horizon in my music collection. Gonna be sweet!
Thank you very much for this suggestion, I am going to give this app a try.
After all, it is what Samsung deserves, people dropping their apps because they behave in such a stubborn way, ignoring all negative feedbacks from users and willing to force them to accept silly changes (the same could be said about the new browser, which lose the video player).
I think you'll be happy with it. It has a lot of settings but you can back it up. It gets updated every so often and always gets better.
As far as Samsung goes i seem to either really like or really dislike what they offer. The email app is perfect for me now and i am as i said very pleased with the audio system functioning, as it should, without errors. It will bring up eq settings the way you set them for each audio source.
You can give it a try, can't recall if you did, and revert. I made a debloated one and posted it as a ROM but it isn't really. Just snips. Unless you're a W anyway...
Set Musicolet to system eq if you use viper and it'll use Samsung tone as well so i flattened the stock tones and let viper colour it.
Can't believe i am promoting pie, but besides the goofy icons and (likely temporary) theming options, it appears that it may be the beginning of major audio improvements. But, until i can plug my guitar into my phone and get zero latency and link with identical pc programs....
Anyway ever gone bald trying to install Viper? See the photos? I installed the apk from the xda labs app, rebooted because why not, played music and ticked that box. Never tried in Oreo. Tell me if it is the same. Huge leap for that app since i spazzed out a couple years ago installing it.
* just noticed it is aided by Magisk module. Not credit to Samsung i think.
Wow i screwed up a screw up. The magisk module was left over from the magisk version. Uninstalled that and after reboot the one i have needed to install the driver, reboot and works the same. Oops. A bit off topic too.
So, I tried the app you advised me, and I must say it does the job. At the beginning, I was a bit disthraugted in front of the complexity of settings, but once it is done, the UI is rather intuitive (far simpler than PowerAmp for example), and you easily find whatever command you need for a daily use. Editing tags in the app is a useful feature, I have been using MixPlorer Silver tagging plugin for that purpose so far.
I certainly am not as demanding as you are regarding audio quality and other features, as my needs are rather basic: plug earphones, navigate through my music files, play them, and control with the buttons of the earphones.
I could not install Viper, as it needs root. I have this phone only for two months, and I want to make sure it has no defect before voiding the warranty. I also need to read more thoroughly the posts dealing with the process and its consequences, as it seems that rooting the A8 induces some losses of useful features, such as the use of the fingerprint reader.
As for the email client, did you try K9-mail ? I don't know if the app works well under Pie, but it has exclusive options, such as the possibility, in IMAP mode, to delete a mail on either the client or the server, but keep it, on the contrary, on the server or the client.
Thanks again for everything.
I tried the email app and was impressed at how minimal the apk was. I have to get more information to set it up with my a accounts later and if all goes well it's stayin'.
So, in case you don't already know, the music app has a great feature that's a time saver and puts the whole idea of playlists consisting of the same song different in folders to rest.
When you look at it as text it's easy as hell. I think almost everyone here knows that. It's just a location like any computer file. But anyway use the export as M3U in playlists. I have all my songs on ext sd in a folder called music. Musicolet treats the music folder as root, so you'll get an output as i've pictured if you keep everything contained within one folder. All i have to do is stick my playlists outputted to an sd card and paste everything WITHIN
the music folder which is root, so all tunes are now as such and you need only edit.... NOTHING. Now this may be common to xda users, but think how many people have no idea the simplicity or that if they wanted they could type it out. That was me not long ago. If they had called M3U files, "buddy this is just written text of a filing system representing a portion of your music" it would have been..... stupid. But helpful.
So easy it's crazy.