[Q] [REQ] - Simple spyglass-type zoom app for homescreen/apps - Android Apps and Games

Hello folks. I'm new, and I'm sorry in advance if this has been asked.
I know there are many complaints about font sizes on android phones. It appears each app has their own too. As someone who needs reading glasses, my phone is really hard to use without them.
So, I started looking for a simple "spyglass" type app that would magnify a part of the screen (whereever the finger is touching). There is NOTHING out there. I can't imagine it being too hard (granted...I haven't learned java/Android yet)?
Essentially, launch the app, then move your finger over the screen, and a preset rectangular area centered on your finger would double or triple the pixels. I'm far sighted, and reading my phone without granny glasses is a pain.
Anybody have any skills they feel like flexing? It would be great if the app ran as a service so you could magnify ANY pixels (no matter what app was running...or simply the homescreen).
Even better-> The "hard button" on our Android phones that is reserved for searching...if that could be modified to launch said "spyglass" tool.....you would win lots of kudos!
Thanks for letting me post. I know of various font tricks and apps, but they are not very slick.

Related

Is Touch Flo3D silly junk?

I disabled touch flo 3d right away because it seems like pointless eye candy. It seems like a sloppy rough integration that is a greater impedance than an assistant. Or is it just me
Have you modified it with the tweaks to enhance the performance? All it is is really just another shell, your preference there.
its the first thing i disabled. in my opinion its pretty darn ugly...except for the weather thing, its kind of cute. but i like having all my stuff on the home screen where i can see it all at once
As you can see, you are clearly outvoted. They had the same poll over at ppcgeeks (How many are still using TouchFlo3D) and of the 320 people who participated,80% were still using it.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=482651
TF3D brings an essential level of style to Windows Mobile.
Surur
Style, schmile!
If I wanted style I'd have the Jesus phone that Apple makes - with one of the great cases from Vaja.
Instead, I want to look at my screen and gain information. On my day, on the stock market, on the weather and on the number of messages I am currently blowing off.
I too liked the weather bit. I also appreciated that TF3D goes a good job at memory management. Maybe when I get the time to learn how to customize it, I'll return to TF3D.
For now, though it is back to WinMob running Pocket Breeze in full screen mode with panels for pA and Pocket Weather.
I really like it. It gives me access to what I need to see when I glance at the screen (except tasks) and finger-touch access to programs.
It does screw up maybe once a day though requiring a soft reset. I applied the mods recommended and they made my TP freeze a lot so I changed them back to default.
It's actually a great enhancement to WM. almost everything that needs to be readily accessible is "touchable" no need to get irritated and use the tip of my nail to make sure I press it just right. Even the corner X close button works almost flawlessly because the screen touch area is now flush.
I know there has been some whining but this really is the best match, easy touch interface for the simple phone stuff, and the ability to use a keyboard and a stylus for things that just aren't feasable to use efficiently with a finger on a touch screen.
I'm a very happy camper with the Fuze... well except for that ****ing GPS crap.
I'd also like to add that I think most of us really created and adapted ways to be able to not use the touchscreen for a lot of things, and with good reason considering how much I hate using a stylus to navigate a UI. So I think a ton of us bring a certain baggage about using our fingers because it just really did always suck that bad. Which thanks to HTC it really doesn't now. Plus this screen may not be like the capacitive Iphone but man it's definitely a lot smoother, the word "silky" comes to mind with how it feels compared to my Tytn.
I'm not sure which one of the 2 voting options is meant to be good
Some people are just afraid of change. As there still millions of windows 98 users out there. LMAO, people need to move with the times
Touchflo3d is indeed the most beautiful interface I've ever seen. It remained for about one month on my mobile phone. After that I still installed pocket plus (the program who puts icons dirrectly on screen and used only one tab in which I put all my programs).
Reason 1: functionality. It takes several moves in TF3D to do simple tasks. For example if I am in the home screen I cannot start with a single click an app. I have to scroll (and be quite carrefull to go in the desired position) and after that start a program etc. Imagine if in Windows you would be forced to use start, programs every time if you wanted to use an program...it'll kill you. That's why we activate programs by clicking the icon on the screen after all...it's the fastest way. All in all, to be clear, if it would be a contest between a TF3D and a Pocket Plus-type of program, everytime the pocket plus device will "click" the application faster, while in TF3D depends on where TAB are you..
Reason 2: familiarity with Windows way of activating programs. As I said before it's more simple for me to simply activate the icon on screen and not bother with some paradigm of displaying emails or SMS (and related to that, do you want to be able that someone can take a look at your info by simply scrolling to that tab? I don't)
Reason 3 -not quite a reason, but a proof that this a better interface in my opinion: the simple-icon-on-display type of interface is actually validated by the Iphone which we all know as a beautiful device at least.
I like Touchflo3d, but I missed my usual today screen setup.
The easy answer is to use secondtoday, that way I get the best of both worlds, one tap on the screen switches between them.
Gigs said:
Touchflo3d is indeed the most beautiful interface I've ever seen. It remained for about one month on my mobile phone. After that I still installed pocket plus (the program who puts icons dirrectly on screen and used only one tab in which I put all my programs).
Reason 1: functionality. It takes several moves in TF3D to do simple tasks. For example if I am in the home screen I cannot start with a single click an app. I have to scroll (and be quite carrefull to go in the desired position) and after that start a program etc. Imagine if in Windows you would be forced to use start, programs every time if you wanted to use an program...it'll kill you. That's why we activate programs by clicking the icon on the screen after all...it's the fastest way. All in all, to be clear, if it would be a contest between a TF3D and a Pocket Plus-type of program, everytime the pocket plus device will "click" the application faster, while in TF3D depends on where TAB are you..
Reason 2: familiarity with Windows way of activating programs. As I said before it's more simple for me to simply activate the icon on screen and not bother with some paradigm of displaying emails or SMS (and related to that, do you want to be able that someone can take a look at your info by simply scrolling to that tab? I don't)
Reason 3 -not quite a reason, but a proof that this a better interface in my opinion: the simple-icon-on-display type of interface is actually validated by the Iphone which we all know as a beautiful device at least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pocket Plus sound like exactly what I need!
nuke1 said:
I'm not sure which one of the 2 voting options is meant to be good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bunk = bad and handy gooey is handy GUI or handy Graphical User Interface
migsims said:
It's actually a great enhancement to WM. almost everything that needs to be readily accessible is "touchable" no need to get irritated and use the tip of my nail to make sure I press it just right. Even the corner X close button works almost flawlessly because the screen touch area is now flush.
I know there has been some whining but this really is the best match, easy touch interface for the simple phone stuff, and the ability to use a keyboard and a stylus for things that just aren't feasable to use efficiently with a finger on a touch screen.
I'm a very happy camper with the Fuze... well except for that ****ing GPS crap.
I'd also like to add that I think most of us really created and adapted ways to be able to not use the touchscreen for a lot of things, and with good reason considering how much I hate using a stylus to navigate a UI. So I think a ton of us bring a certain baggage about using our fingers because it just really did always suck that bad. Which thanks to HTC it really doesn't now. Plus this screen may not be like the capacitive Iphone but man it's definitely a lot smoother, the word "silky" comes to mind with how it feels compared to my Tytn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe thats why I'm having so much trouble with the touch screen. I tap something,,,, wait 5 seconds,,, tap again,,,, wait 6 seconds then give up and get out the stylus. Maybe I should re-enable touchflo to stop this problem
surur said:
As you can see, you are clearly outvoted. They had the same poll over at ppcgeeks (How many are still using TouchFlo3D) and of the 320 people who participated,80% were still using it.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=482651
TF3D brings an essential level of style to Windows Mobile.
Surur
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats interesting. Thanks for the link. Maybe I should give touchflo 3D a another shot.
chetmichaels said:
its the first thing i disabled. in my opinion its pretty darn ugly...except for the weather thing, its kind of cute. but i like having all my stuff on the home screen where i can see it all at once
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. Thats why I copied and pasted the links that are in folders within the program folder back up to the program folder. I like having everything in 1 spot. I wish it was alphabetized though.
kareem9nba said:
Have you modified it with the tweaks to enhance the performance? All it is is really just another shell, your preference there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Performance wasn't really the issue for me. It just seemed like pointless eye candy.
James, you'll really find SPB Pocket Plus really nice. The thing with it is to remove all the tabs, as they really only generate useless clicks to navigate where your program is, and in final squeeze in one tab only the icons you need. I have 3x5 icons(with no text and large size enabled) and if I really think some of them I don't really need - like powerpoint and so on.To give an exameple this is what I consider usefull:Comunication Manager, Resco Explorer, HTC Album, Igo, Camera, Excel, Word, Coreplayer, sms, activesync,radio, opera, 1-calc (a very nice calculator) and notes. And supplimentary I have enabled the calendar and date plugins in today screen. This is a very nice setup - eficient - and if you set a non transparent background, very nice, kinda stylish look. Now, I have seen that you complained about precision of tapping - beware that in the margins and corners of display you'll have sometimes to get out the stylus. Give that pocket plus a try.It really made my days.
kareem9nba said:
Have you modified it with the tweaks to enhance the performance? All it is is really just another shell, your preference there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to share those kareem?
jamespaulritter said:
I disabled touch flo 3d right away because it seems like pointless eye candy. It seems like a sloppy rough integration that is a greater impedance than an assistant. Or is it just me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely NOT at all. We must be on different spectrum of the universe. I like TF3D a great deal, make navigating the phone intuitive and seamless. It is just you.
Without TF3D, my Sprint TP would just be any other run of the mill Win Mobile big screen phone. My 39 cents.
TF3D is totally kickass! I love it for everything. Althought I do wish they had the map intergration that they have in TF2D. I also want the stocks tab and am waiting for the hd manilla to be perfected . Other than that, the original htc theme, with q-style font, my personalized background, tweaks from diamond config, and stock fuze rom, it runs pretty darm fast. Only did a soft reset once and that waas because I was attempting to run a qvga application and it crashed.
Gigs said:
James, you'll really find SPB Pocket Plus really nice. The thing with it is to remove all the tabs, as they really only generate useless clicks to navigate where your program is, and in final squeeze in one tab only the icons you need. I have 3x5 icons(with no text and large size enabled) and if I really think some of them I don't really need - like powerpoint and so on.To give an exameple this is what I consider usefull:Comunication Manager, Resco Explorer, HTC Album, Igo, Camera, Excel, Word, Coreplayer, sms, activesync,radio, opera, 1-calc (a very nice calculator) and notes. And supplimentary I have enabled the calendar and date plugins in today screen. This is a very nice setup - eficient - and if you set a non transparent background, very nice, kinda stylish look. Now, I have seen that you complained about precision of tapping - beware that in the margins and corners of display you'll have sometimes to get out the stylus. Give that pocket plus a try.It really made my days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Let's not turn into a bunch of iPhone cattle. They stick to their phones like cult even when plagued with numerous problems.
Get SPB mobile. It blows TFTD out of the water.
dgduris said:
Style, schmile!
If I wanted style I'd have the Jesus phone that Apple makes - with one of the great cases from Vaja.
Instead, I want to look at my screen and gain information. On my day, on the stock market, on the weather and on the number of messages I am currently blowing off.
I too liked the weather bit. I also appreciated that TF3D goes a good job at memory management. Maybe when I get the time to learn how to customize it, I'll return to TF3D.
For now, though it is back to WinMob running Pocket Breeze in full screen mode with panels for pA and Pocket Weather.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know the Lord makes phones
Back to the subject, it's all a personal preference. I think it's great, and makes the phone a lot more fun and a little easier to use, you don't, but nobody is right or wrong on this one.
ababrekar said:
Care to share those kareem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are stickied in the Raphael subforum
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=413562
BTW I have been using TFL3D since when I got my TP in August. SPB Shell seems outdated now but I have it installed anyway, accessible via Second Today

Theme or ROM?

So I'm curious about looks vs. functionality
Each one of my little drawings here satisfy both.
First off, I apologize for being a retard and using cam scanner to make these images sideways (although they were right side up originally).
Seeing as I can't attach images directly from my phone onto this site, I had to email them to myself, download them and then re attach.
Also another retard thing, I made a home button (app) thing on both of them even though there is a physical one on the phone itself.
Have a look
Also clarify with me which is which (theme or ROM).
How hard is it to design/engineer this and actually have everything function properly?
Theme/ROM 1
Them/ROM
it looks like you want to pull the whole status bar to the bottom of your phone. i didnt think you could just move that stuff around. a Dev would would be able to give u a yes or no.
im leaning more towards a theme than a Rom. but you can only theme what the Rom has. and NO rom has that, that i know of. so its like a combination of both.
Those drawings appear to be a significant layout overhaul, a la Sense and Touchwiz
It would either be:
1) a full-blown ROM
2) A replacement for a number of system apps (but could be an add-on), at the very least the launcher and probably the lockscreen
More than just basic theming, that's for sure.
Well it certainly gives the phone a neater, "in my opinion more efficient" functionality.
The one with the radial app dial, that spins, (you guys probably could tell that already) can fit either 7 or 8 apps.
When you press the home button the phone app automatically aligns directly above the said home button (non physical assuming there are 7 apps not 8).
The apps that go on the radial thing-a-ma-jig are your primary apps.
However since that non-physical home button is not needed, then the phone would be in the center or perhaps you'd like the browser.
In any case whichever app you use most extensively (ie #1).
I certainly cannot do any of the ROM creating but I was hoping to spark interest with the ones who are able to do so with ease.
The one with the triangle side bars (next image) these have 1-3 icons on them, when you tap that icon the first time a box will come up over lapping everything else in the background (or with slight opacity) and that gives you more detail rather than just an icon.
I think it would be neat as hell if this was done.
So is it like, theme = aesthetics ; rom = function
In this case I'd like to do both.
Also the capability to assign any app in that 7-8 slot (radial) would also be nice.
Perhaps done through the command prompt.
This is a feature I picked up from a blackberry (ability to assign any icon to a specific design/theme).
Thanks for the interest, I'm going to try and fix the orientation.
Some of what you're looking to do (the home-dial concept) may be doable without any ROM development at all - after all, plenty of launchers are installable as apps and what you're describing there is a launcher concept.
Notification bar moving could be a lot harder though.
FYI I'm a kernel guy not an app developer, so I can't help you much other than say that I'm fairly certain one of the features you want to implement can be done as a launcher app for any ROM.
Alright alright, we're sifting through sonething here.
I have very little knowledge od 'kernel' 'launchable' 'rom' as far as developing them goes. Are there tutorials ? (search bar probably)
Thanks for your contributions
What about color (borders keys etc)
Nice drawings man
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
Hey thanks DevilDogAK
It's one thing to draw the idea by hand but to actually create it with code...
That's where the tires hit the road one might say.
I need to do some reading to get an idea of what I have to accomplish.
Thanks for the interest, as always it starts with a dream
I'll let you guys know whats up when I actually get to the point of dev
But team work goes a long way (hint hint hint)
sweet... great concept imo, & hey, cyanogen started with just a concept. wish i knew more to help you out, but we're with you in spirit nice drawings too lol
from Sams inFuse... inFused GB
About the launcher comment, does having two mean more computing power needed to run the first and second launcher or can I just do one primary launcher?
If I can just move things around, what about putting some notification components under the wheel? Components such as the wifi toggle and the data image or perhaps the data and battery.
Anyone smart enough to do that probably isn't dicking around on XDA. You never know though.
Well... I'm here
Haha just kidding, I do wish somebody with some experience knowledge (ie developer of Serendipity etc... ) a man can dream... a man can dream.

Why I like Freenote+ over S Memo

Hi all,
a few people have asked me why I like Freenote+ and why I think it's better than S Memo, or other note taking apps.
I made a video to try and show the features that are the most useful for me.
I haven't shown all of the features of Freenote+, there are a lot of other useful features like the To Do list, shortcuts for commonly entered text (like your email address) and the paint function.
I've found similar features in other note taking apps, but Freenote seems to get in the way less for me and allow me to get notes down the quickest.
I hope you find it useful if you are looking for an alternative to S Memo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdHh4gSZK6Y
Cheers,
Rich
That looks superb, exactly what I was looking for.
Silly question, but is Freenote+ the same as Freenote? (Thats the only one showing up on the Google Play store for me)
I think they've just added the + to the paid version.
This is the free version
This is the paid version
I don't think there is any difference in functionality, except for the nag screen on the free version. Once I had decided how much I liked it and how much I used it, it was worth paying the few bucks to get rid of the nag screen and to support the developer.
hi richlum,
thanks for the video.
to be honest, i didnt watched it till the end since i'm im quite aware of the functionalities.
but one thing i havent found so far, is how i increase the font size. i'm on ics stunner with 240. and i think the font is too small for me.
Do you have any solution?
Preferences> Editor> Handwritten
You can set the size of the handwriting there.
I have mine set at 50.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
it doesn't support pressure sensitivity. and it's slow as hell. no use for me.
In Paint mode it is pressure sensitive. Press hard to get a think line, lightly to get a thing line.
But if your note taking involves a lot of drawing and artistic sketching (as opposed to just drawing some shapes and diagrams) there are a lot better drawing/sketching apps like Sketch Book Mobile and Infinite Painter.
But I don't do much drawing for my note taking.
And I'm not worried about the handwriting mode not being pressure sensitive.
Different people are going have different work flows. For me, Freenote is the quickest way I've found to get notes down without the interface getting in my way.
That's why we're lucky to have so much choice to be able to find what suits us best.
When i add it to my home screen as a widget, the words look blurry, what size did u set ur widget as and font scale? Thx!
My handwritten font size is 50.
I just inserted the largest widget and then resized it in ADW (I have mys screen setup to be a 10x10 grid).
Typed text looks clear than handwritten text on the widget for me, but it's still easily readable.
Arthur Hucksake said:
That looks superb, exactly what I was looking for.
Silly question, but is Freenote+ the same as Freenote? (Thats the only one showing up on the Google Play store for me)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ... I noticed a difference that adds to the beauty of this application :
If you use the big widget of it on the home screen , In freenote+ , you can toggle between pages right from the home screen .. while in the free version you can't ...
But in both versions , you can perform all other functions shown on the home screen "Except for editing" .

Will you Marry me? [APP] Geeky Love

This is inspired by robo4130 geeky way of professing his love for his soon to be wife. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771509
I thought about making an application that does a similar thing, without having to bother about a LWP. Gratz btw robo.
The app has most of the functionality I was going for, but the UI needs a huge revamp.
Current features :
- Add a name to the message
- Add up to four lines showcasing your love
-- Each line is separately added
- Add a personalised message
--Default is 'Will you marry me?' , but this can be changed to 'Will you go out with me?' etc
- Option to add a personalised background
- Set the app to display your message on application startup
If you guys like it, I could add in sounds and UI changes and some wallpapers included in app.
I have narrowed down most bugs, but if you find any, please post here.
I tried to it out on my samsung infuse running cm9. It works well. If i understand the concept a person goes in beforehand and sets it up with their words. Then when you are ready to show it you start the app then press start and the words appear on the screen?
I understand its a basic start but its a good start you have going. I would definitely like to see some ui enhancements and some sound. Maybe even let you pick a chopped mp3 sound. Or include a couple premade sounds that are timed with when the words appear on the screen. And a live wallpaper effect for a background would be neat too.
I did notice that it displayed the text in the upper left part of my screen. Any way to get it centered in the middle?
Good luck and thanks.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA
@skyliner
Thanks very much.
I will try to make the UI look nicer Inshallah.
Main problem might be sounds. Firstly, I am not experienced with SFX and I have just a faint idea of where to find them copyright free. I found a neat website but I am not sure if it will have the sounds that I'm looking for. I wil probably use specific tracks and not unique effects because they are easier to find.
If anyone has any that I can add, it would be much appreciated.
Secondly, timing I think is crucial. I will try to make it spot on. I would love to hear/see a lovey-dovey song playing in the background while a dude sits on his knees and hands his (soon to be) wife an Android phone with those 4 magic words displayed on the surface
Regarding the text placement.
That is just temporary. So many times before I have made an app and have thought of posting but have always given up due to laziness and my short attention span.
I nearly went to sleep mid way so decided to post as is.
I hope to have 2 options. One. display in the middle. Two. Display it diagonally.
I could also make option to add hearts, roses, chocolates etc. Anything that raises the odds of getting the right answer
Sent from my R800x using xda app-developers app
Sorry haven't posted something updated version, am in bed with flu.

[IDEA] For a Launcher

Hello, first of all, I want to apologize because I didn't know where to post this.
Here is my idea:
A simple launcher (the design doesn't matter for the moment) with an innovative function (I haven't seen it in any place), the app drawer can be scrolled up and down using the gravity sensor (I don't know if this is the exact hardware which it will use), for example, If I tilt the phone forwards, the apps will scroll down (like falling) and If I tilt the phone backwards, the apps will scroll up.
I'm looking for someone interested in my idea who wants to take this as a hobby, the point is that I don't know anything about development, but I can use very well graphic design tools such as Illustrator and Photoshop. We can work together.
Sorry for my very bad english.
Greetings and again, sorry for posting this here.

Categories

Resources