Handcent - Hero CDMA Themes and Apps

I don't get the big deal, or what's wrong with the default SMS app.
I was just wondering if some people could let me know what's so good about it. I know people were using it before the recent patch to avoid the battery drain, but now considering that the default app starts up in the back ground anyway what's the advantages of handcent
EDIT: Sorry for posting this in the wrong place

Auto resizes pictures for sending. Voice-to-text. Customization options.
This question should really be asked in the QA or App section, not related to the CDMA hero.

Related

[POLL] Ideas for a New ROM in Development

After doing my own work bringing the MoDaCo rom up to date with the Sprint MR, and a LOT of reading and researching, I'd like to start work on my own custom Hero rom. While speed and performance will be important factors I certainly want to maintain and/or improve functionality.
I have my own general vision for what I want to do, however I'd also like to get some community inputs on what you would like to see in a custom ROM.
If you can, please share 5 things you would like to see implemented. They can be features you've seen/liked from other roms or something you haven't seen done yet. I'm looking for some new ideas.
This ROM will be based on android 1.5 not messing with 1.6 or 2.0 until an official release is made by HTC/Sprint.
one great thing i would love to see included is a simplified task managment system. i am running task killer. but if it were possible to incorperate into the rom the ability to have a time limit on certin apps when not used that they would just stop.
The main thing that annoys me to no end right now would be to make predictive text allowable in all search forms, password forms and address boxes in browsers.
Would also love to see more functions from the locked screen like S2Unlock from WM. The ability to preview texts, emails and missed calls from the locked screen and either dismiss them or respond to them directly from the lock screen and have it open up the app that is needed like the SMS app/email app/Phone dialer after unlocking.
Edit: Oh and remove the vibrate from the dialer which Sprint added on the MR update. Why would they add this with no way to turn it off? SOME people DO wanna try and save their battery life ya know?? Stupid.
Something other than a minimally-modified stock ROM.
ricersniper said:
one great thing i would love to see included is a simplified task managment system. i am running task killer. but if it were possible to incorperate into the rom the ability to have a time limit on certin apps when not used that they would just stop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QuiQNeZZ said:
The main thing that annoys me to no end right now would be to make predictive text allowable in all search forms, password forms and address boxes in browsers.
Would also love to see more functions from the locked screen like S2Unlock from WM. The ability to preview texts, emails and missed calls from the locked screen and either dismiss them or respond to them directly from the lock screen and have it open up the app that is needed like the SMS app/email app/Phone dialer after unlocking.
Edit: Oh and remove the vibrate from the dialer which Sprint added on the MR update. Why would they add this with no way to turn it off? SOME people DO wanna try and save their battery life ya know?? Stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So both of you want applications for the most part, that's not a rom, that's something you can suggest in te developer section.
As far as something I'd like to see in a rom... A modified Kernel with SetCPU support would be wonderful
The ability to rotate the home screen to landscape mode, please.
ruskiyab said:
So both of you want applications for the most part, that's not a rom, that's something you can suggest in te developer section.
As far as something I'd like to see in a rom... A modified Kernel with SetCPU support would be wonderful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the second request is more of a software request but he did say "anything". However, the second one I believe is more ROM related as there seems to be something in the ROM that does not want to allow predictive text in certain forms.
ruskiyab said:
So both of you want applications for the most part, that's not a rom, that's something you can suggest in te developer section.
As far as something I'd like to see in a rom... A modified Kernel with SetCPU support would be wonderful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
I posted this in Modaco's thread and I'll post it here too. Email from Mike, dev for SetCPU:
There is a feature in the Sprint HTC Hero's kernel that prevents SetCPU from working. It likes to constantly set the CPU speed itself, and SetCPU can't override the kernel itself. From analyzing the source, I believe this is fixable. Are you using a custom ROM? If so, try asking your ROM developer to compile a kernel without the "PERFLOCK" feature in the kernel off. Because I don't have a Hero myself to test, I can't verify that this will work.
I don't know if the setcpu idea would work well with the cdma hero, one of the times I've wifi tethered I witnessed an overheat LED warning, thought nothing of it until I checked my battery info, which was pretty much beyond egg cooking temperatures, phone then force rebooted without warning... Not sure if that has to do with things inside the Kernal like mentioned, but it seems like overclocking the cpu might just fry it quickly with the hero, underclocking could be a different story though..
Also.. It's hard for me to say because I'm very interested to see what HTC will be bringing to the plate with Sense 2.0, but I wouldn't mind more interchangable/ custom themes, or modifications to the look and feel to Sense itself, or like what was said above, something more than just a tweaked version of stock. Landscape home screens would also be a nice addition to the Hero, I often attempt this when tired, wouldn't mind it actually working for me.
katmandu421 said:
The ability to rotate the home screen to landscape mode, please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that!
LeftonJackman said:
I second that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the rotating home screen would be neat to show off
going to look into portrait mode in sense ui since i'm curious in seeing how it works too. any more ideas?
Do you think there is any way to optimize the htc_ime.apk? I hate getting keyboard lags when typing a text. That is the only thing about this phone that I could say that I hate.
Also don't want to beat a dead horse, but I wonder if there is any way to get the new maps to work with 1.5. Coming from the Dream forum, I know that they got it working on 1.6 (before it was released to 1.6) by tricking the app into thinking that 1.6 was actually 2.0. I'm not sure exactly how this was done but from what I remember, it didn't sound extremely difficult.
Then again, I'm not a dev so I don't know what it would entail.
Don't know if this is more of an app or what, but how about a way to change the frame colors from grey to one of serveral colors.
How about this, for the browser make it so I can type something into the address bar and if doesn't have a .com at the end of it. It then will give a Google search. Kinda of odd its not already like that it would keep googles numbers way high
The keyboard Lag would be great to fix and the rotating screen would make this phone even better than what it is. How about finding a way to increase the internal memory we start with. I don't know if that is possible but it sure would be nice to be able to have more to start with. I use Apps2Sd but still lose memory when I install apps. I am still real confused about this, but I am about 20 meg better than I was before I used Apps2Sd. I saw a video from unlockr.com where he was setting up apps2sd on a G1 and when he finished it showed the added memory from the ext3 partition in the Sd card and internal memory area in settings. he went from about 45 meg to over 500 meg after he finished setting it up.
please no hideous blue themes or annoying boot sounds
Is the ability to choose which apps open (or don't open) on startup something that can be incorporated into a rom?
fr0st said:
please no hideous blue themes or annoying boot sounds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice.
ricersniper said:
one great thing i would love to see included is a simplified task managment system. i am running task killer. but if it were possible to incorperate into the rom the ability to have a time limit on certin apps when not used that they would just stop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would love to see the time limit thing, and maybe an automatic reboot function, and maybe a recovery system IN the Phones GUI not in its own Partition or whatever.

Hero 2.1 Mms.apk is so slow...and I think I know why

Just to start off the problem I am having is prevalent in all 2.1 stock sense hero roms. There is so much keyboard lag in the sense messaging app that it is pretty much useless. You really can't type the way you want too. Considering I use my phone pretty much for text messaging and music, this has destroyed my opinion of the phone. Sprint was so excited about this phone and gave up on it within 7 months. Considering all contracts last for 2 years (if you want the good upgrade prices), don't you think it would be the ethical thing to do to keep a phone updated for at least that duration. This is a $500 dollar phone that can't text message correctly.
Alright after my ranting now down to the problem. I feel like the #/160 character counter right above the send button is the issue causing the terrible keyboard lag. I rarely do texts over 160 characters so I really don't need this. I remember back in the day of my touch diamond, there was an .xml mod you could do to eliminate the character counter which sped up the texting perfectly. I have no idea how to go through all the .xml's and .pngs of the apks but I figured someone in here could help. Basically I want the character counter to be removed to see if this is the problem. I do have only prediction on, no vibrate or sound, and it still lags out of control. It happens on every sense rom I've tried (and trust me I've tried them all). This does not happen in any of the AOSP based roms such as Cyanogen and Aospmod with the stock android Mms.apk, where there is no character counter. I tried pushing that to my phone an I like it but it just doesn't match up with the rest of the sense, plus it doesn't have the message counter option on the icon which i really like. I pretty much came to this conclusion when i used both of Zen's ports, Aria and MT3G, and I had absolutely no lag when texting. Both roms have different framework i understand which doesn't allow me to push either of the MMs.apk's from either of these roms to my hero stock 2.1. I am using IcedHoneyBun with Zens' any rom Kernel right now but it happened in NfinitiFX's rom too. ONCE AGAIN I NEVER USE VIBRATE OR SOUND so please don't mention that as a fix.
I am posting the Mms.apk below. If somebody can help me I would be glad to donate.
you might want to post this on android central, Beezy420 build icedhoneybun, and he might be able to fix it for you. Although i blieve hes mostly developing for EVO now, he is still around. Post in his honeybun thread.
The Mac said:
you might want to post this on android central, Beezy420 build icedhoneybun, and he might be able to fix it for you. Although i blieve hes mostly developing for EVO now, he is still around. Post in his honeybun thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know beezy built it but it has nothing to do with the rom. It has everything to do with the stock sense Mms.apk. More hero users use xda than any other site thats why i posted it here.
I *highly* doubt that a simple character counter is causing the delay. First of all, that only makes sense if the keyboard is *completely* lag-free in all other "known-good" apps.
Handcent's text messaging app also has a character count... have you tried that app?
Can you type without any lag in a basic notepad application? Make sure you have all of the same auto-correction and spelling options enabled.
HTC MMS is laggy as hell!!! This isn't "the fix" but it should help somewhat. Turn off ur notifications and auto-retrieve in stock MMS then go into your stock app manager under settings~~>manage apps and force stop Messaging. Now download either Handcent or Chomp from the market cuz they r pretty much the same. Then remove the stock messaging shortcut from your desktop if u have one just so it's outta your way. A good portion of the lag should be gone. Clocking ur cpu higher if u use a clockable kernel will help reduce keyboard lag too.
x99percent said:
I *highly* doubt that a simple character counter is causing the delay. First of all, that only makes sense if the keyboard is *completely* lag-free in all other "known-good" apps.
Handcent's text messaging app also has a character count... have you tried that app?
Can you type without any lag in a basic notepad application? Make sure you have all of the same auto-correction and spelling options enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean my keyboard is lag free in any other application except ones that require per letter searching such as google search. I just feel like getting rid of the character counter would help a great deal just because you are absorbing a but of memory after ever letter you type. I really don't know what is the cause. I don't like chomp or handcent i've tried them both. Not as much lag but there is still some lag. I just wanted to see if this was the problem and then go from there.
I would love for someone to pull the counter out of the HTC mms app. I will also gladly donate.
...still willing to donate...
Not possible. I'm using a GSM port of the Legend 2.1 build, and there is no 160 count at all, and it runs no better/worse than the older one. (The only reason it loads faster is because I'm using Zen's Any Kernel)
anything is possible and we wont know until it happens
tailsthecat3 said:
anything is possible and we wont know until it happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except, this doesn't make much sense. MMaybe I haven't used a CDMA ROM in a while, but I distinctly remember the HTC Messaging app always being a bit sluggish.
You should try swype its great and quick as hell! =]
Has nothing to do with what you are saying. My brother has a Droid Eris with the same messaging app and its flawless. Maybe ours will get fixed in the update rolling out
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

[Q] Utilizing a home screen as a messaging app?

What I am envisioning is using an actual home screen as a messaging app, for example I would just slide over to a fully featured messaging app without having to click on an icon. I have seen lots of widgets and the like that just sit on the "desktop" but most are rather limited in functionality. I dont want to just display messages in a widget. Ideally, just sliding over would seamlessly and literally slide right in to the native messaging app. Anybody know anything that would allow this? Or does something like this even exist? Im assuming this is probably going to be more than just an app, and something that would have to be built into the launcher itself. I have been browsing the android market for something, but maybe I am just not looking hard enough?
there are lots of SMS / IM / email widgets that you can put in your home screen
for you to directly type into it and send from it, without launching the actual app
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
AllGamer said:
there are lots of SMS / IM / email widgets that you can put in your home screen
for you to directly type into it and send from it, without launching the actual app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive found a couple that do everything in a widget, Pure Messaging Widget probably being the closest to what I am looking for. But there a lot of wasted realestate on the screen, just looking for something that uses the full screen like a regular standalone messaging app. I dont know, maybe Im just being picky and pedantic. Lol, if there are any other suggestions that you have that I may not have seen yet please do tell. Thanks for the quick response.
Have you tried LauncherPro yet? I believe it has a Messaging widget that's pretty good. It may not be the full screen appearance you are looking for but there are lot's of themes around to alter it to your taste.
Somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

[Q] Switching from iPhone to Android. Great, but...

Hi all,
New to Android here. Just got a AT&T Galaxy S II Skyrocket after 4 frustrating years with iPhones.
So far I really like Android, especially that it lets you change what you don't like. I do feel that both devices are unacceptably tethered to their respective corporate landlords - and google is not necessarily better than apple in that respect - but Android lets you change that more readily. For instance myphoneexplorer lets you sync with outlook pretty flawlessly if you don't care to upload your info to google's "cloud", etc.
OK, I'm done ranting now but I do have 2 specific questions:
1. My particular SIISR does not display a visual reminder nor sounds a loud enough alarm when (a) I get a text, or (b) a calendar event comes due. It just makes a ridiculously soft noise that I miss every time I'm not standing in an empty recording studio, and even worse when I pull the phone the screen is dark so I have no idea what the feeble alarm was about. I expect the same level of alert as when I get a call, i.e. the lock screen lights up and I can read / snooze / dismiss as the case may be. This is really pretty amazing that such dirt-basic functionality is not included in the software, at the very least easily enabled in Settings. Am I really expected to turn on the phone and pull down the Notifications curtain to find out what is going on? If there is no workaround this will be a showstopper for me and I'll have no choice but to return the phone.
2. I like the idea of upgrading to a rom like cyanogen when it becomes available for the SIISR, but I am concerned about how at&t cottons up to having rooted and OS-reflashed devices on its network and what they might do about it, and more specifically what happens when updates are pushed down the pipe. What is you guys' real world experience with that?
Thank you for your feedback! I'd really like to stick with my new Android phone!
you go into setting and the sound option. click on volume and make sure it maxed out, then click notification ringtone and you can change the sound.
As for visual reminder its at the top left of the screen. Text shows an envelope and calender alert a different icon.. I use handcent for sms and it works way better than stock program.
Not sure if BLN works on the this model but try it. it will leave your softkeys lit when you have a text.
you can try different lock screens via golocker so that you dont have to unlock your phone to see what the alert was but to actually read the alert or know more than if it was a message or email or phone call you have to unlock it for security reasons as perhaps you get confidential material that not just ANYONE should see.
as for rooted and custom firmware its safe, and prevents stock updates from your provider. as android is opensource you are allowed to customize it.
As to #1, you can change the notification sound both in your email settings and in the phones settings/sounds area. As to it being a dark screen when you go to check it.. thats one of the downsides to this particular model, no notification LED.. there is an app on the android market called NoLED that will put a little picture on the black screen to make up for it. BUT I cannot vouch for whether or not it drains battery (my chief concern), just have to try it out.
#2 I've been on AT&T with a rooted/flashed phone of various models since 2008 and I've never had them notice/say anything. It does void your warranty flashing, but there are ways of getting it back to stock if you do end up needing that. At the moment on this phone I believe you can't get it *perfectly* back to stock, but just have to give the devs here time and it will be available eventually.
*NoLED is on my list of apps to check battery usage, I'll get on it and post again tomorrow
while the forums are a great resource for things, you will get answers faster if you just google (or youtube) things like 'how to change android sms sound'
jacobharasimo said:
Not sure if BLN works on the this model but try it. it will leave your softkeys lit when you have a text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds even better than NoLED.. givin that a try too
sulpher said:
Sounds even better than NoLED.. givin that a try too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BLN requires a kernel that supports BLN, its only a matter of time when one of these great devs on here creates one.
Handcent SMS (free in the market) has the option to have your message pop up and remain on your screen until you cancel it. Almost like the iPhone.
As what Jacob said, when you are running a rooted device, you are most likely running a custom Recovery like CWM. Its actually the custom recovery that prevents you from getting the updates Over The Air. HOWEVER, the way the devs work... those new updates will generally be available for you way before your carrier sends it to your device. So rooted or not, you're gonna wanna root it anyway cause you'll end up being one of the few who wont have ICS, or whatever.
cue_32 said:
BLN requires a kernel that supports BLN, its only a matter of time when one of these great devs on here creates one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Da_G supports it - look in the dev forum.
fedupey1 said:
2. I like the idea of upgrading to a rom like cyanogen when it becomes available for the SIISR, but I am concerned about how at&t cottons up to having rooted and OS-reflashed devices on its network and what they might do about it, and more specifically what happens when updates are pushed down the pipe. What is you guys' real world experience with that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like it was said, you won't get updates from AT&T, but why would you want AT&T updates to overwrite your Cyanogen ROM?? When you flash Cyanogen (or any ROM), you follow that ROM and reflash when updates are available. So instead of relying on AT&T for updates, you'll rely on the developer of the ROM for updates. Also, as long as you're not trying to exchange the phone or anything like that, AT&T has no right to tell you how to use your phone. Root it, flash it...throw it against the wall...it's yours. Do what you want. Now, when you try to warranty your wall smashed phone, you better hope you have a stock AT&T ROM on there if it powers up. Every time I've warrantied a phone, it's been dead, so it didn't matter. If it won't turn on, they can't tell what ROM you have, and really, most of those "techs" just want to give you a new phone and get you on your way. Personally, I've never had a problem getting a new phone.
#1 go into sms press settings in there change your SMS ringtone. If you want an iPhone SMS type of visual reminder (bubble alert) download SMS popup from the market tinker the settings to your liking.
I'll suggest every new iPhone to android user to read the phones manual or Google your questions before jumping to conclusion that android doesn't have this and that. Most likely it does. You can customize android how ever You want.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
Has anyone had experience with the Chinese GO Launcher and the widgets that come with it? They look pretty cool, and it seems they have the functionality I'm missing.
btw I can understand the "read the manual first" comments; I did read the manual and, not unpredictably, it said nothing about functionality that doesn't exit.
Thanks for all the input so far everyone!
I recently upgraded from the iphone to the Skyrocket, and am loving it. I wasn't sure whether I was going to like it the first few days, but now when I pick up my husband's iphone it seems like a toy compared to the Skyrocket.
I just started using Go Launcher Ex two days ago. It has a lot of slick and useful features. I haven't finished exploring all of the options available, but so far I'm enjoying the themes, locker options, and SMS pro. It's easy to try Go, and you always can uninstall it if you don't like it. I did have to redo my widgets after installing it, but that was actually kind of fun with the new theme I installed.
Not a huge deal but something to keep in mind with GO launcher.. recently noticed with system panel that GO launcher drains battery excessively when the phone is idle (device on but screen off), so i switched to launcher pro which drains FAR less with the screen off. The app is nearly the same as far as functionality, with one or two exceptions that can be added by purchasing the the pro version if you really need them (resizing widgets). I decided it was worth it to use less battery.
*note, im a battery stickler.. I can't stand any extra drain
more then happy to help you out.
fedupey1 said:
Has anyone had experience with the Chinese GO Launcher and the widgets that come with it? They look pretty cool, and it seems they have the functionality I'm missing.
btw I can understand the "read the manual first" comments; I did read the manual and, not unpredictably, it said nothing about functionality that doesn't exit.
Thanks for all the input so far everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know switching from the Iphone to Android is a big change. I was so confused for about a week. Anyways, if you want I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about your phone. I use the Go Launcher and Go SMS , I know a lot about them. Anyway just PM me if you'd like.
it has been my experience, because all returned/exchanged phones are sent out for reconditioning, att nor does the manufacturer care what OS modification has been performed on the phone. I returned my cappy at the atrix launch and asked specifically about the issue of "stock" or not, then I handed my serendipity cappy right over. Never heard back from att since and I'm still upgrading phones today without any heat. no worries.
sulpher said:
Not a huge deal but something to keep in mind with GO launcher.. recently noticed with system panel that GO launcher drains battery excessively when the phone is idle (device on but screen off), so i switched to launcher pro which drains FAR less with the screen off. The app is nearly the same as far as functionality, with one or two exceptions that can be added by purchasing the the pro version if you really need them (resizing widgets). I decided it was worth it to use less battery.
*note, im a battery stickler.. I can't stand any extra drain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know, thanks for the info. I'm really happy with Go launcher, and in fact have noticed much better battery performance than I had previously with a live wallpaper. But I'll look into launcher pro if the battery performance is a problem in the future.
i can confirm that Go Launcher DRAINS battery very much.....but i still use it i like to functions.
just letting you know
I installed GO Launcher EX, it looks very cool; polished and very usable UI is a massive improvement. I recommend it. Ditto GO Dialer / contacts, a huge improvement over stock. GO calendar widget is OK but not fabulous; it looks good though with the Transparency theme. GO locker was pretty but rather useless, I uninstalled it.
Installed SMS popup, works excellent. I'm happy with it. Who knew I'd get excited over functionality that used to be standard 6 years ago.
Then for my calendar I looked for an iPhone type of visual reminder (bubble alert) that wakes up the phone and displays even when the screen is locked. I only found two:
- Calendar Snooze, of which I am currently running the free version. It does the job, but it's sort of aesthetically challenged.
- The pathetic Nudnik, which I uninstalled immediately. It looks like it was designed by a pre-schooler.
Now I need to resolve my lock screen issue, then I'll be content (it locks up immediately whenever I press Power although I set the delay to 10 mins in Settings).
I think I'll give Cyanogen a whirl if it becomes available for Skyrocket.
Try iPhone Notification.

[Q] Skyrocket and Go SMS Auto Reply

Hello all,
Wondering if someone can help me here...
I have spent a considerable of time modifying the Skyrocket and I must say it was worth it! I do use Go Launcher Pro and it really is quite impressive.
With that said, I do use other screen widgets but do use a few Go applications. One of them that I just installed is Go SMS. I absolutely love this and have set everything just about right. However, I don't like one particular feature and it seem it is simply not possible to change it (for obvious reasons). That is the auto reply option. I've tested it for hours and it does work quite well. Only a couple of times it did not execute. However, what I would like is a way to change that default auto reply text? Is there a way? Yes, I can add some custom text but that default "(From GO SMS auto reply)" still appears. I just can't seem to take it out.
Wondering if someone knows how to do this?
Much appreciated!
--
mike
I would love to know that, too. Also more text to this auto-reply would be fine ...
You might be better off contacting the go dev team. There might be a way to do it but I am pretty sure if there is no setting for it in the app, you will have to decompile, hack and recompile the app...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Go software is crap. Huge ram usage and way too many cached images. My suggestion is dump go and use something like nova or apex and use handcent if you want a different messaging app. The aosp one is nice, it has popup in cm ROMs
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

Categories

Resources