This post is being written to encourage major cell phone makers such as HTC, Samsung and Motorola to adopt Skin or Theme development within their devices. This post was specifically written to HTC and is a last resort for me to get their attention and if not, Samsung's or Motorola's. If you don't know HTC, I've emailed, called, "Twitted to you" and posted information to your Facebook account....all with no response.
Since the launch of my Skin applications on the Android Market for HTC Sense 3.0 devices, I've seen close to 10k downloads. I know it wasn't that long ago that we had our first base for creating Skins to be loaded by Non-rooted users about 3 months ago. My colleagues and I have a combined download count of over 50k in less than 3 months. That's some good numbers, considering most of the advertising has been from this forum and word of mouth.
My point is the Skin/Theme development that HTC implemented has lots of potential for a couple reasons.
1) No root requirement
2) People like changing the look and feel of their device..without a doubt. 50k Downloads in 3 months!
3) It doesn't deplete the battery like Launchers found on the Application market.
Here's how we can expand on this concept and make it great.
1) HTC's Sense 3.0 default Skin, consisted of roughly 6-8MB in size which included 50% of the graphics on HTC devices. Expand on how many PNG's we can modify.
2) As of lately we've been using Diamondback2010's M10 editor. Why should we have to use a program like this to decipher the Fusion.apk/M10 file? Shouldn't this be open source and easily changeable? A great example is Sense 3.5. As of now, we haven't a clue on how to decipher the folder. This is a major setback for both HTC and Themers.
3) Major areas we should be able to theme when it comes to Skins should be the Drop-down menu. Specifically, it should be broken up into to PNG's. One for the notification and one for the background. Seen below.
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4) The Dialer and Mms are a main parts of the phone so why not make it to be themed within the skin? A great example of this is below.
I know HTC has always responded to XDA which is great. I'm not sure why my suggestions & emails haven't been returned but maybe now they will. The Skin/Theme concept has proven to be a success. Now, it's up to HTC or possibly Samsung and Motorola to expand on it.
Related
For more info go here:
http://microsoft.blognewschannel.co...bile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/
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Ok, it looks REALLY great. If it's as fast as it looks, we may have a winner
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/what.s-w...ow-wm7-and-wm8-are-going-to-fix-it-333536.php
What you should make a note of is the things that it improves upon from all the previous ui's of WM past. I'll wait for 8.
When is WM7 due? It's not until 2009 is it?
Detailed picture gallery here as well..
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/01/06/is-this-windows-mobile-7/
I've gone thru the entire gallery and if its truly able to deliver on what it can do.. Its pretty much gonna be good light years jump from what WinMo and all other platforms short of the iPhone and still good 5 years ahead of the iPhone itself...
They are really going big on movement based gestures and some of the concept is truly remarkable.. like if you see lets say, a name on the browser search. One can then tap and hold on it and start "shaking" the phone/device which tells the device to do a "smart search" where it'll "rain" down a bunch of animated icons that settle down to show the various things/files/pictures/activities related to that name existing in your phone etc... what a simple yet ingenious concept.
Although, I must say that this will open more questions than answers to why did MS have to make this Super-Quantum leap from WM6 and not have given us a good progression to it in the form of already having released such interface in WM5 onwards??!!?? After all, this kind of technology and its implementation could not have just been put together overnight within the last 6 or lets say 12 months subsequent to the announcement/release of the iPhone...
Good Ol' boy wizards Mr. Gates and Balmer holding back as usual I guess...
Oh well.. better late than never.
AJ
Will Windows Mobile 7 be available as an upgrade to already existing phones? I just recently bought my tilt and am wondering if I will be able to run this when it comes out? Thanks in advance.
For tilt maybe, but I don't think my old prophet can carry the weight... There was no WM6 update, so why should there be one for 7.
Depends on the Device.
ya i was really greatful at&t baked us a wm6 rom for hermes (8525), is 100% stable and runs awesome, but i still can't wait to try some wm7 fresh from the kitchen goodness!
wonder if the unit specs will ramp up much?
Occasionally you find an application that surprises you, either because it is something really new or because they applied a different perspective to a subject that is not new.
Well, if you are someone who believes that the issue of launchers and everything is invented, perhaps you should try Launcher 360, a pitcher who combines versatility and simplicity in a robust, nevertheless, full of effects.
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The application has certain similarities with the launcher built by default in MIUI ROMs, probably because both come from the same country.
However, and here is where the amazing thing about this launcher, the developers have decided to include a drawer, which includes not only the list of all installed applications, but also the list of media (images, videos and music) stored on the device, which are so well organized and accessible, regardless of the application you use to play them.
The main features of the launcher, which just released version 1.5.1 are as follows:
Android runs on versions from 2.1,
Accept customization through themes,
Includes specific widgets (battery, weather forecast, clock),
Allows folders (which can include any number of applications)
Animations and transitions desktop applications list,
Organization of the applications on the drawer.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JS_Tffv8rDk
Like many of the applications that come from China, the biggest handicap of this launcher is the language, since the original version is only available in Chinese.
Nevertheless, thanks to the wonderful community of Android users, the application has been fully translated into English and Castilian, pending some minor detail, as the weather forecast only works in the Asian country.
From here we encourage you to try this launcher, we are sure will surprise you, and hope ye get us your comments and opinions.
Official Thread on XDA: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1345601 (Thanks to arjcba)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1345601
"official" thread
arjcba said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1345601
"official" thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I put it in the POST. Thanks
Why a threat for a other threat?
Sent from my R800i using XDA App
PLs close this three its useless
NX9_Heroic_Hero_S
I am not responsible for any damage to your phone. Flash at your own risk.
Get this phone it's own forum on here.
Hi everyone, this is my first release for developing on any phone.
I know it's nothing special, as it's just a stock rom that I've debloated and tweaked just a bit, but like I said, it's my first attempt at ever doing anything like this.
I would also like to first off thank all the very helpful, and patient people on here, and at the sdx developers forums. All I've learned in this short time (which isn't much really) would have taken so much longer if I had to play around with no guidance.
Working:
Everything as far as I can tell. I've been using all the updates on this as daily drivers on my phone, and have not come into any sort of bugs with it. Again though, that is likely because I didn't really change anything system wise.
What's not working:
Nothing that I've noticed.
No Wimax if you load onto sprint evo design.
What's different:
ICS Roboto font used.
Removed the US Cellular default WP and replaced with the Sense 4.0 default WP.
Added in Green overscroll.
100% battery icons.
New screen transition animations.
Removed all the bloat apps.
Moved some of the apps that could be considered bloat that were kept off the system so they
can be uninstalled. (Amazon app store, etc..)
Added some other useful apps like google voice, etc..
(Added google voice because US cellular doesn't have a VVM app like sprint, but I found setting up VM to forward to google voice works even better for that.)
Updated some of the apps to the newest versions.
Newest version of Google play store.
Rooted, and busybox installed of course.
I'm sure there are a few other minor things I've one, but I can't remember off hand.
I was unable to completely figure out the widget placement and shortcut placement so I decided to go ahead and put this out without messing with it too much. I could move existing ones around just fine, but couldn't get new ones to show up.
Changelog:
V0.9.2
Removed a few widgets that the corresponding apps had already been removed.
Changed the battery icon.
Added in new custom skin.
Screenshot:
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Downloads:
Download from 4shared.com
Nice glad to see something at least
Sent from my HTC Hero S using Tapatalk 2
You might want to check out the forum at sdx developers. There is actually some decent things happening on this phone, they just won't give us a forum here for some reason.
I'm up on the ICS and just can't post to SDX from taptalk. There is something simple that we are missing maybe the ICS kernel Idk.
Sent from my HTC Hero S using Tapatalk 2
Kickedface
Update: Sources tell Kickedface that these images are not of a genuine Nexus device.
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Is this Sony’s Nexus device that will be known as the Nexus X? Well, what do you think? Is this real or fake? This was Uploaded by a user named Mutul Yeter, we can see that the device looks very similar to other Sony devices in styling, however, this appears to be running stock Android and has the “Google” logo branded in the middle.
All carrier branding is missing and the device has on-screen navigation keys, something we would expect to see on all Nexus devices going forward. We aren't sure where the name “Nexus X” originated from, but it’s being tossed around as a possibility rather than Xperia Nexus.
There's also some odd artefacting throughout the photo, particularly around the USB port and the Google logo up top -- hallmarks of possible Photoshopping. Then there's the fact that the front face shows a home screen where the Google Play Store icon is not labeled, and there's no persistent search bar up top. If you ask us, there's definitely something fishy going on here.
And then there's the fact that we're pretty sure the LG Nexus 4 is what's next from Google, and that Googlers are currently testing that model rather than any Sony creation.
In any case, let's suspend disbelief for a few minutes and entertain the idea that this is genuine. If so, we'd guess it's either an abandoned prototype or some future Sony phone in a dummy case. Certainly, the exterior doesn't match any Sony phone we're familiar with, though it does share a few design traits with the Xperia S and Xperia Ion. We know from briefings with Sony and other manufacturers that they often produce numerous prototype designs for future hardware, so it's possible that's what we're dealing with here. We also wouldn't read too much into the fact that it's running vanilla Android, as manufacturers must use this as a starting point when building their own UIs.
In any case, we'd suggest you don't get too excited about what we're seeing here. It's not impossible that we might see a Sony Nexus at some point in the future, but if we do, we're pretty sure it won't look anything like this.
Check past the break for the second, equally suspicious photo in this set.
First off, this is by no means "a thing" as im looking for people who understand, support and might help me with this idea
"The Struggle is real"
for me choosing my next android device is a pretty hard effort as im getting disappointed by various points:
-illogical choices of design: even if i find a decent device to consider as my next one, there is always something that will make no sense to me and bug me, but only after i have purchased that device
-poor development due to unavailable sources: a major requirement when i choose an android device is that it has good dev support and my previous devices have proven this point to an extend, where a nice new android version comes out and the oem no longer supports it: the new version can be ported,but some things that were closed source only work properly in stock roms (which mostly suck)
-ridiculous oem pricing and their visionary software addons:
every device by big oems is overpriced and is bloated and promoted with things that often are not unique at all and can easily be used on every phone
of course the price depends on a lot of factors but in my opinion every oem device can easily be a 100 euros cheaper while still being profitable, as small
oems easily show
"The perfect android smartphone?"
-"supersize my phone, please":
of course also size is a debatable aspect of a phone as some prefer size while others prefer compactness
i prefer efficiency and for me that means a device that can easily be used with one hand, fit in my pocket and
does not waste a lot of surface not covered by screen
-"whith a small phone comes small hardware"
every oem releases a mini version of their newest flagship, but that mini version has exactly nothing to do with its big brother
there are examples where this might not be the case(xperia z1 compact), but then, there are other aspects that make that phone inconsiderable
There cannot be a device that is perfect for every user, but i think that most users can agree on a large amount of aspects that fit their needs, especially if they are powerusers
Conclusion: i would like to collaborate with people that have the knowledge of building distributing and supporting a project based on my idea: the devPhone:
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I hope at least a small group of users can relate and i would like to see what you guys think
bump
can noone relate and would like to start a project?