Database Info

[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.

TSF Shell 3D Instructions (Unofficial)

Greetings...
Until today, I’ve been just a reader of the forums and have gotten great information that way. I've finally found something that I really want to contribute on because I want to see it go to the moon and back. That said I apologize for the wall of text. If you're looking for a TL;DR, scroll to the bullets.
We all (or most of us anyway) know that TSF Shell 3D was released a couple days ago and the buzz is slowly growing. Anyone who has read the Market description of this launcher pretty much knows that it's straight from Google Translate. By no means am I bashing the developers for this. Hell, I purchased it the day after purchasing SPB Shell. So I more than support their work.
However, as I stated, the Market description is pretty terrible. As far as I can tell, the TSFUI website is down, and there really isn't a one-stop-shop to find out what features you just spent $16.80 on (more on price later).
So, hopefully the wonderful users of XDA can come up with an unofficial guide which can be added to as we stumble across features. Everything I've found has been in random article comments, very few forum posts, and personal experience. At any rate, I'll list what I've been able to confirm and hopefully we can go from there?
TSF Shell - Unofficial User Guide [WIP]
Disclaimer: This guide is based on personal experience. I have no connection to the developer of TSF Shell. All claims regarding working/broken, supported/unsupported features are strictly based upon my experience using a rooted, stock rom Motorola Milestone X. If you see something incorrect, please let me know and I will correct it immediately.
The Switch Button
The switch button is used to switch between your 4 personalized pages as well as the App Drawer or App Page.
You can tap the Switch Button to show a preview of your screens. Simply tap any screen to switch to it.
A slightly quicker way to use the switch button is to tap and hold it, and then drag your finger to the desired screen.
Tapping and holding an icon from any Personalized Page and dragging it to the Switch Button will also show the screen preview, allowing you to quickly move the icon to a different screen.
The App Drawer
The App Drawer or App Page can be accessed by tapping the Switch Button and then tapping the far left page.
The App Drawer uses a horizontal paginated scroll effect. As of yet, there is no way to switch to a vertical scroll.
There are 6 different scroll animations to choose from. You can switch the animation style on the fly by tapping the small tab in the upper left (just below the first row of apps).
Double tapping an app in the App Drawer will put a green check mark on it. This can be done to several apps at a time. Click and hold any of the apps you've pre-selected and the screen preview will appear, allowing you to move several apps to the same screen at once. When you drop them on the preferred screen, they will automatically arrange nicely into a grid. You can resize and move this grid to your liking. Tap anywhere off the grid or tap the circular arrow (refresh-looking symbol?) in the upper right.
When a new app is installed, it will have a fire animation on it until it is launched for the first time. On my phone (Milestone X), the fire is only animated while scrolling and is static while not scrolling. I'm unclear whether this is intended or a bug.
Personalized Pages
Personalized pages are fairly similar to the standard screens we are used to with Android. One major difference, however, is swiping them does not switch screens. It draws a lasso instead.
This lasso can be used to select multiple icons. When you complete a full circle with the lasso, a menu will pop up. This menu allows you to Arrange, Multi-Choice (like double-tapping in the App Drawer), Create a Folder, or Delete. There is a fifth option called "Gather", this feature is unavailable thus far. There is also a '?' in the center of the option menu which appears to do nothing. The lasso tool cannot select widgets.
All normal widgets can be placed on the Personalized pages as usual. Long press, or Menu > Add. Both of these methods allow you to change wallpaper as well. **Note** Live Wallpaper is apparently not supported currently.
Personalized pages do not have a defined grid, so the only way to align your asia neatly is to lasso them and use the arrangement option.
Personalized pages also allow you to place apps at any angle using multi-touch. Press and hold the app and turn it with the other finger.
The Side Bar
By default, the tab that activates the Side Bar is located on the middle left of the screen.
The Side Bar has 3 available tabs, they are as follows:
Smilie Face - I assume the Smilie Face implies favorites? Basically you can drag and drop apps in and out of this tab for fast access.
Settings Cog - This tab contains all TSF Shell specific widgets. You will NOT find these widgets (yet, anyway) through Menu > Add > Widgets or through Long Press > Widgets.
Thumb Tack - I'll call this the "Decorations Tab" because, as far as I can tell, there are three items listed here. A cloud, a ghost, and a pumpkin. Each of these can be places on any Personalized page. You can not tap through them, so placing them completely over an app or widget will require you to move them before being able to use the app or widget from that location. These "Decorations" don't appear to be animated and don't appear to serve any purpose other than "Hey guys, check this out!” I would imagine these will be elaborated on in the future?
Finally, if you tap and hold any of the above listed tabs, you can change their order around, as well as drag the whole side bar tab. You can move the side bar tab vertically anywhere between the bottom of the notification bar and the top of the Switch Button.
The Price:
One tiny rant on that... please stop complaining about the cost of this launcher, people. I don't see anyone crying over the $200 "Diamond Widget" app that does literally nothing but prove you have $200 to blow. Or, worse yet, that you have only $200 to your name and you've now blown it all accidentally The developers put a lot into this and it shows. Appreciate it or use the plethora of free launchers available.

Personalised pages also don't have a defined grid, so you might wanna add that.
Also, long press an icon, and use multitouch to rotate it freely for even more control on your pages.

some of the feature that were demo in their website wasnt implemented in this release,so what happen and is it worth??
from the ARC

lenny_kano said:
Personalised pages also don't have a defined grid, so you might wanna add that.
Also, long press an icon, and use multitouch to rotate it freely for even more control on your pages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, thank you! I completely forgot to add that.
Rashid,
I'm confident the developer will release the missing features as they can. Admittedly, I have little to base my confidence on, but they have released several updates already. If that continues, I'm sure the features will too.
As far as whether or not it's worth it? I believe so. It's the only launcher that was brave enough to throw out the standard feel of android and completely change it.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

Watched the video on the market and seriously the most feature packed launcher I've seen and incredibly smooth. If I ever am ready to pay 15+ on a launcher it would definitely be this one. Im using the stock launcher on my bionic at the moment and im satisfied.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

if they are going to have a page for apps instead of an app drawer then really should let you "hide" apps...i currently use go launcher and it is essential as i have a lot of system apps that i do not want something accidentally clicking or opening and changing something....also a lot of addons that ive downloaded show up in the app drawer or in this case app page and it leads to a lot of clutter
is it a nice launcher? yes, definitely...gorgeous animations and extremely fluid...but for $17 it better have everything the free ones have and some (which it does not) the features it does have are nice and pretty...but they are more luxury then necessities..go launcher, adw have a bunch of essentials that this launcher does not have...this launcher completely cripples artistic creativity (due to its lacking features)

Scott,
I totally get where people are coming from with the price... To am extent.
However, in the grand scheme of things, this is a launcher that took a lot of time and excellent coding. Lets not forget you can use it on all your future androids as well.
Jdiddy,
I also agree on the app page. App hiding isn't that important to me personally, but I get why it can be for some. Also, it's just a tad inconvenient. I can honestly say
I'm not sure why I perceive it as inconvenient... It's not like it takes long to access.
Aside from that, I do miss my dock. I can't seem to find a convenient place to put my dialer.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

doberman16 said:
Scott,
I totally get where people are coming from with the price... To am extent.
However, in the grand scheme of things, this is a launcher that took a lot of time and excellent coding. Lets not forget you can use it on all your future androids as well.
Jdiddy,
I also agree on the app page. App hiding isn't that important to me personally, but I get why it can be for some. Also, it's just a tad inconvenient. I can honestly say
I'm not sure why I perceive it as inconvenient... It's not like it takes long to access.
Aside from that, I do miss my dock. I can't seem to find a convenient place to put my dialer.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its convenient because we arent used to an app page...normally we press the button and have the ability to back out back to the homescreen..the app page forces to to switch between and choose which screen to go to after...its quite annoying...an app drawer is a lot easier
and the lack of a dockbar is a no no...i, as well as everyone else, have grown accustomed to a dockbar as even the stock launcher incorporates one...phone, contacts, texts need to be accessible from any page or else you have to have multiple clicks to perform simple tasks
IF and WHEN they incorporate the other basic stuff..dockbar, app drawer, grid size, # of pages...this launcher will be up there with the best
having an android is all about customization and using this launcher takes that away...its like having a glorified iphone...in terms of what your screen looks like

Nice collection of instructions; thanks for this. I hadn't realized that the tabs could be moved!
I've played a bit with creating a false "dock" at the bottom of each page to allow me to always have quick access to the Phone, Google Voice, Gmail, and Chrome apps. Seems to be a fair compromise so far.

codesplice said:
Nice collection of instructions; thanks for this. I hadn't realized that the tabs could be moved!
I've played a bit with creating a false "dock" at the bottom of each page to allow me to always have quick access to the Phone, Google Voice, Gmail, and Chrome apps. Seems to be a fair compromise so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is the obvious work around...however, at this point -all launchers have it (especially for a $17 launcher) a dock seems like a pretty basic feature

Jdiddy,
The thing is... If this were iOS you'd be stuck. On Androids, we can provide feedback to the developer and, dare I say it, actually be listened to! The launcher is new, but from my perspective, the devs are listening.
Easier said than done, but if they incorporate a few more features, no other launcher competes. The fact that they have decided to say "To hell with the standard, lets be innovative." Is huge. I mean... Seriously, other launchers are nice, but come on. They're all same **** different day. They come up with slightly different ways to do it, but never far enough off the beaten path to really drop jaws.
Code, thank you! Glad I could help. Good idea with the pseudo dock. I might try that. I'm just the type of person that likes everything aligned and there really isn't a way to do that. At the same time, I enjoy the option to place things wherever you want. If a snap to grid feature were added... It'd be perfection.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

Jdiddy, I don't disagree at all. Lets again not forget the fact that this launcher is not written in stone. Smart devs, which I believe the TSF devs are, will listen. If they don't... I'm out $17... I've spent way more on way less useful things in my lifetime.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

I keep seeing folks lamenting "oh, it doesn't do this that Launcher X does". So what? It does plenty of things that other launchers can't touch! It wasn't meant to be just another clone of the stock Android launcher (like ADW, LauncherPro, Apex, Nova, Trebuchet...). TSF Shell is revolutionary, a way to interact with your Android device that is completely new and breaks from tradition. It's fantastic to have the option of a launcher that is truly different from all the others.

did i state my comments in a negative way? i was just stating what they needed to add..and giving reasons as to why its important...im commenting on the state of the launcher as it stands right now and nothing else...i said it crippled customization...which is the truth..i didnt blast their product or say their work was shoddy..its called constructive criticism
and yes, this launcher does things that others dont...but the KEY is that it limits customization...im not asking for bells and whistles to be taken from other launchers...its great that this launcher is unique...but im not about to trade convenience for a few cool animations..tell me that the app page is more convenient then a drawer and tell me that not having a dockbar is a good idea...didnt think so..thats all im saying..if they add all the customization options and had everything they have in their demo video then i can understand the hefty price tag
that was my entire point.
also..my perspective is of someone that creates a lot of artistic homescreens in the http://mycolorscreen.com mold
so to me grid size, icons, # of pages all that stuff is crucial...and after seeing the stuff this launcher has to offer...if they added those things, it would be incredible

Jdiddy,
Perfect response. I don't think anyone took your comment negatively... I didn't at least. Does it have took for improvement? Absolutely! Does it have the capability to meet our expectations? Yes! The only question is whether the devs respond to their paying customers in the way that they should.
I could email them myself, but lets be realistic. They're flooded as it is. My email would get lost in the mix and I completely understand that. The key here is to be the squeaky wheel... Because that's the one that gets oiled first.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

When install new app, icon of this app will be on fire, but not animated for now. Music widget allso will appear in nice music preview mode when swipe over it. And one bug - when using lasso function to select icons and release screen, then choose arrange icon function, the last selected app will run automatically.
Nice launcher, very fast with great potential, but it's only born before 3 days , will be improved.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium

Vallcho,
The fire animation shows up only while scrolling. I some this is a bug.
The lasso function you are talking about is the multi select. And, yes, it does open the last app you selected. I'd assume this will be fixed.
Edit: I noticed that double tapping in the screen preview makes the screens jump in an odd way. Could be a bug, could be a broken feature.
Also, I somehow was able to get the lasso to appear in the app page. Again, could be a bug or intended. Let me know if you see the same and how you got it to happen. Haven't been able to replicate it intentionally.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

I will say one thing, this launcher is the single most unique launcher available for android. I challenge anyone to give an example of something with as much creativity. There all either stock launcher clones, or clones of other OS's like windows phone.
That said, its far from perfect, but looking at a lot of apps on the market, the price vs effort/originality ratio is better with this then any other launcher available , so I very much look forward to what they can do in the future.

Very well said, Lenny. The thing we need to keep in mind is that it's a new launcher. It's innovative, and it's about time. If the devs need time to release everything... Give it to them. It will pan out.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA

doberman16 said:
Very well said, Lenny. The thing we need to keep in mind is that it's a new launcher. It's innovative, and it's about time. If the devs need time to release everything... Give it to them. It will pan out.
Sent from my Milestone X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as they don't abandon it. Its a great idea if they support it and keep it up.
Don't let it go the way of uber music. Great start, **** commitment and follow through. Innovative is a very good way of putting it. First original idea I've seen on the market for a long time.
And no offence to other launchers devs , there's amazing work going on in terms of feature adding and bug fixing, but the innovation is low to nonexistant.

[Q] Speaker / Camera Distortion / Dialer / Skin

Hello All,
I got a new HTC One X on ATT for my wife last week. I have a SGS2 since last two months but I am new to Android.
My wife liked the look of HTC One X. But got a few questions. (She was using iPhone previously).
1. We observed that the speakers are very low. I saw a few threads here about this issue but didn't find a solution. Is there any work around for it?
2. My wife found that while taking a picture at full resolution it gets slightly distorted at the sides. If a person is standing at the side (end) he might look a bit shorter or taller. Anyone else observed same problem?
3. Is there any good dialer or something for incoming call available which can show names a bit larger with all options (speaker, mute etc.) I tried a few full screen caller IDs but they dont provide all options.
4. Is there any way to use Touchwiz or somthing similar without rooting the phone? I found Sense a bit slower compare to my SGS2 and not that much beautiful (subjective).
Hoping to get some replies.
Thanks,
Alex

I'm going to go ahead and answer your #4.
No. You need to root to be able to modify system resources, such as the UI.

1) Call volume, music, or both? Music sounds okay to me, about what I would expect from a tiny smartphone speaker. Also in line with past HTC phones I've owned. But I know people tend to find speaker volume on HTC phones to be lower than other brands. And call volume over the speaker is a bit low. You can try the app "Volume+" on the Play Store (there are both free and paid versions) to boost volume, and see if that helps. But be careful, as boosting the volume over what the phone is designed for can damage the speaker.
2) Haven't noticed that.
3) Don't personally know.
4) A lot of the lag tends to come from the launcher. So you can try an alternate launcher, such as ADW Launcher, Launcher Pro, GO Launcher, and others. But you won't be able to get rid of all Sense elements without flashing a new ROM. AFAIK, there is no way to get TouchWiz on the phone unless somebody decides to port it over into a ROM (which of course would require root and unlocked bootloader to install), which is pretty unlikely.

Thank you very much for your replies.
For speakers.
- I found it very low in Pandora and Youtube and also in call. I tried Volume+ yesterday and as per it all values are set at maximum (speaker 15/15 if I remember correctly, I will try to dig through it in evening). My wife really likes to listen music loudly when at home and this is kind of upsetting for her from such a beautiful phone. I am also trying to find out other tweaks which can help.
For Camera,
- I will try to post a few pics for example. I thought it might be because it takes pics in widescreen and might be stretching them a little bit.
For Dialer,
- If anyone know a good dialer please let me know. Will "Go launcher" replace dialer too?
For launchers,
- Can I disable Sense when I use other launcher? I think "Go Launcher" kind of matches "touchwiz". Will HTC Sense will take up resources when I use other launcher?
Thank you very much for your replies. Still open to new ideas.
Alex
redpoint73 said:
1) Call volume, music, or both? Music sounds okay to me, about what I would expect from a tiny smartphone speaker. Also in line with past HTC phones I've owned. But I know people tend to find speaker volume on HTC phones to be lower than other brands. And call volume over the speaker is a bit low. You can try the app "Volume+" on the Play Store (there are both free and paid versions) to boost volume, and see if that helps. But be careful, as boosting the volume over what the phone is designed for can damage the speaker.
2) Haven't noticed that.
3) Don't personally know.
4) A lot of the lag tends to come from the launcher. So you can try an alternate launcher, such as ADW Launcher, Launcher Pro, GO Launcher, and others. But you won't be able to get rid of all Sense elements without flashing a new ROM. AFAIK, there is no way to get TouchWiz on the phone unless somebody decides to port it over into a ROM (which of course would require root and unlocked bootloader to install), which is pretty unlikely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

alex8525 said:
For Camera,
- I will try to post a few pics for example. I thought it might be because it takes pics in widescreen and might be stretching them a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm set to widescreen too (which is default), and don't notice any stretching. Post a couple pics, I'd be curious to see the distortion.
alex8525 said:
For Dialer,
- If anyone know a good dialer please let me know. Will "Go launcher" replace dialer too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, launcher and dialer are separate apps. They do make GO Dialer. Not sure if it has the feature you want, but the GO apps are pretty nice in general.
alex8525 said:
For launchers,
- Can I disable Sense when I use other launcher? I think "Go Launcher" kind of matches "touchwiz". Will HTC Sense will take up resources when I use other launcher?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sense launcher will be be disabled (or at least not active). Sense is more than just the launcher, so there will be other processes still running in the background. But you should see better launcher performance, and also overall improvement in RAM usage. Downside, is that you can only use HTC widgets on the Sense launcher.
After you install the 3rd party launcher, and press the home button, you will be given the option of what launcher to use. Just pick your launcher of choice and set it as default. To clear the default, just go to Settings>apps and find the name of the launcher and select "Clear defaults".

Will try to post pics when get back to home.
Looking to ideas if there are any from others too for these problems.
Regards,
Alex

alex8525 said:
Hello All,
I got a new HTC One X on ATT for my wife last week. I have a SGS2 since last two months but I am new to Android.
My wife liked the look of HTC One X. But got a few questions. (She was using iPhone previously).
1. We observed that the speakers are very low. I saw a few threads here about this issue but didn't find a solution. Is there any work around for it?
2. My wife found that while taking a picture at full resolution it gets slightly distorted at the sides. If a person is standing at the side (end) he might look a bit shorter or taller. Anyone else observed same problem?
3. Is there any good dialer or something for incoming call available which can show names a bit larger with all options (speaker, mute etc.) I tried a few full screen caller IDs but they dont provide all options.
4. Is there any way to use Touchwiz or somthing similar without rooting the phone? I found Sense a bit slower compare to my SGS2 and not that much beautiful (subjective).
Hoping to get some replies.
Thanks,
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For incoming volume ear speaker, under sound or call in advanced settings select hearing aid check. It will increase the volume for the ear piece.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

[Q] Getting widgets to agree with launchers (Nova Prime & S-planner)

I was wondering if there was a way to get all widgets to be availible on an non-stock launcher. I am using the Nova Prime launcher, and widgets for Samsung's S-Planner are not showing up in the list of available widgets. Anybody know a way to get full access to all my widgets, on this launcher (I don't have any plans to switch to another launcher)?
(The device is unrooted, if that's relevant.)

If you figure anything out please feel free to share, I've been trying to get my ****ing swidgets to work with now for a long time
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app

I believe they only work on the touchwiz launcher, even if you have touchwiz installed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

I guess our best bet, is for all of us to keep messaging Samsung, until they recognize that enough people want this capability, that they should work at getting it to happen. Another, that comes to mind, is to seek out a ROM, that could allow that compatibility.
For immediate purposes, I imagine that some app developer(s) have discovered this royal pain of incompatibility, and was smart enough to realize that:
A) Very few people actually keep the launcher on their devices as stock
B) Samsung is undisputed as the current most popular Android-device manufacturer, with the highest number of users & sales,
So they released what would pretty much be a clone of these Samsung apps, but with more universal compatibility to other apps. I will browse the market when I have the time. I will, and ask that other users do as well, post the best/most similar/user-friendly/useful/blah of these finding.
otherwise, we may have to set the stupid touchwiz as our default (if we prefer and wish to regularly utilize Samsung's S-planner & other launcher-picky S-widgets) and have the touchwiz default homepages remain relatively uncluttered, except for these widgets, obviously. Then put in an app icon to switch to the launcher you actually prefer most.
OR
I just did a search in the google app market for "launcher switcher". There seems to be a semi-decent number of apps to help make it easy to toggle between the use of 2+ different launchers. Again, no time for me to test them out at the moment. Will also try to report back with anything promising... this is getting to be an annoying obstacle. lol.
If, like me, you mostly just want to be able to be able to keep on top of your S-planner to-do's, & don't have a great need for that apps menu that pops out of the side when you take out your S-pen, then change the s-pen settings, so that S-planner appears whenever the pen is detached.
I just remembered I could change it. for me this is GREAT because I never used that pen-apps popup. Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . The result is that I constantly do ocd things, like put a lot of time into making detailed lists of things to do for the day, and set a stopwatch counter to track how long a task takes me to finish, but then I Always get distracted to the point, that All the time i put into countless overboard ocd attempts to keep on top of things, become completely worthless, because I have great difficulty keeping up any platform consistently. I feel like Sisyphus, rolling the giant bolder up the hill, and having it always roll back down. Anyways, on my Note tablet, I use the S-Pen more often than I use my finger, so for me, This works well.

Tablet_JF said:
Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess we all are to some extent or we wouldn't be on this forum reading things like this...

Is Lollipop all it's cracked up to be?

Really don't understand what all the fuss is about re. the release of Lollipop. When looking at some of the options under "Settings", for example, there are some things that are missing that KitKat had. Selecting the font you wanted to use, for example. Seems like there are less options to control your phone.
Maybe there are some other things under the hood that make Lollipop better, but I'm not seeing it on the surface!

There are somewhat less options now but its a different look and feel. Folks get bored and need something new.

MaverickCoast said:
Really don't understand what all the fuss is about re. the release of Lollipop. When looking at some of the options under "Settings", for example, there are some things that are missing that KitKat had. Selecting the font you wanted to use, for example. Seems like there are less options to control your phone.
Maybe there are some other things under the hood that make Lollipop better, but I'm not seeing it on the surface!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple answer is no.
Loss of xposed framework support is huge too.

MaverickCoast said:
Really don't understand what all the fuss is about re. the release of Lollipop. When looking at some of the options under "Settings", for example, there are some things that are missing that KitKat had. Selecting the font you wanted to use, for example. Seems like there are less options to control your phone.
Maybe there are some other things under the hood that make Lollipop better, but I'm not seeing it on the surface!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd have to agree that , no, there isn't anything magical about it really. I like the look, but something similar could easily be achieved with the proper themeing/ROM combo. The animations are nice, but I usually turn them off anyways. There may be some "under the hood" changes but nothing that will drastically change the user experience. Honestly, I think smartphones as a whole have hit a plateau. Minus some tweaks here and there, nothing really innovative has come along in some time. Perhaps the industry rushed towards advancement too fast. I think this is evidenced by the fact that how many pixels a manufacturer can cram into a screen, how awesome a selfie camera is and now animation styles have become selling points. Just my opinion though.

bjoostema said:
I'd have to agree that , no, there isn't anything magical about it really. I like the look, but something similar could easily be achieved with the proper themeing/ROM combo. The animations are nice, but I usually turn them off anyways. There may be some "under the hood" changes but nothing that will drastically change the user experience. Honestly, I think smartphones as a whole have hit a plateau. Minus some tweaks here and there, nothing really innovative has come along in some time. Perhaps the industry rushed towards advancement too fast. I think this is evidenced by the fact that how many pixels a manufacturer can cram into a screen, how awesome a selfie camera is and now animation styles have become selling points. Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like the unlocked developer edition m8 getting the lollipop today.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Premium HD app

Call me a cranky old man. I don't like Lollipop. Have it running on my Nexus 7 (FHD) and another device I'm testing. Just a few things I don't like:
1. Used to be easy to EITHER swipe for notifications OR quicksettings, now what used to be simple takes at least two-taps
2. The dialogue for which app to use is at the bottom of the screen and looks like it's "falling off" the screen instead of in the middle.
3. Really not happy about the need to decrypt on boot (for some devices). It's just too darn easy for someone with evil intent to completely wipe another person's device "just for a hoot."
4. I do not see a speed increase with ART that makes it worth losing Xposed Framework.
5. Material design does not require Lollipop; it's just window-dressing and styling.
That's just off the top of my head. Every couple of days have to put the test device down and return to my M8 for the look and feel I like.
Newer isn't always better.

hgoldner said:
Call me a cranky old man. I don't like Lollipop. Have it running on my Nexus 7 (FHD) and another device I'm testing. Just a few things I don't like:
1. Used to be easy to EITHER swipe for notifications OR quicksettings, now what used to be simple takes at least two-taps
2. The dialogue for which app to use is at the bottom of the screen and looks like it's "falling off" the screen instead of in the middle.
3. Really not happy about the need to decrypt on boot (for some devices). It's just too darn easy for someone with evil intent to completely wipe another person's device "just for a hoot."
4. I do not see a speed increase with ART that makes it worth losing Xposed Framework.
5. Material design does not require Lollipop; it's just window-dressing and styling.
That's just off the top of my head. Every couple of days have to put the test device down and return to my M8 for the look and feel I like.
Newer isn't always better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Specifically relating to your first point, I'm not sure what you mean. On Lollipop, you can pull down the notifications menu with a single finger or go straight to quick settings with 2 fingers. Just like Jellybean and KitKat. If you use the single finger swipe down to access notifications on Lollipop, you can simply swipe down again to access quick settings. On JB/KK, you had to tap a button to get to quick settings after pulling down the notification shade with 1 finger. Since the 2-finger gesture to go straight to quick settings still works in Lollipop, I'm really not sure I understand what's so inconvenient about how it's implemented vs JB & KK.

maxpower7 said:
Specifically relating to your first point, I'm not sure what you mean. On Lollipop, you can pull down the notifications menu with a single finger or go straight to quick settings with 2 fingers. Just like Jellybean and KitKat. If you use the single finger swipe down to access notifications on Lollipop, you can simply swipe down again to access quick settings. On JB/KK, you had to tap a button to get to quick settings after pulling down the notification shade with 1 finger. Since the 2-finger gesture to go straight to quick settings still works in Lollipop, I'm really not sure I understand what's so inconvenient about how it's implemented vs JB & KK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes the other three fingers are busy ?
One thing that kinda bugs me is that the notifications overlay the top part of the screen so if you are trying to type there (chrome) and someone is texting you like crazy it gets annoying quick.

maxpower7 said:
Specifically relating to your first point, I'm not sure what you mean. On Lollipop, you can pull down the notifications menu with a single finger or go straight to quick settings with 2 fingers. Just like Jellybean and KitKat. If you use the single finger swipe down to access notifications on Lollipop, you can simply swipe down again to access quick settings. On JB/KK, you had to tap a button to get to quick settings after pulling down the notification shade with 1 finger. Since the 2-finger gesture to go straight to quick settings still works in Lollipop, I'm really not sure I understand what's so inconvenient about how it's implemented vs JB & KK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well smack me upside the head. Had no idea about the two-fingered pull down.....
My name is Harold and I'm a flashaholic.....

I think it's great. I'm running stock Lollipop (GPE), not the Fauxpop that just got released today for the international M8. KitKat is just the latest build of what started in 2011, about three and a half years ago. With Lollipop, we're living in 2015. It's really a lot of little things, though. ICS was, too, when it was new. The big changes came with Jellybean.
Regarding Xposed, none of the blame for that is on Lollipop. The Xposed developer had, I don't know, but I'm sure it was over a year, probably more, since ART came out, to get it working. He/They wanted to wait for the release of Lollipop to port it to ART. Now, having had all this time, it's all on them. But if Xposed was that good, and Xposed was open source, where's the community in porting it to ART on their behalf? Seems to me that not that many people even want Xposed. The supply follows the demand. Google isn't lifting the smallest finger to fight Xposed. They don't care. And apparently neither do the developers. Or maybe Lollipop's market share is too small. Last I heard, it was still under 0.1%.
Yeah, Lollipop's great. I might sooner go back to KitKat than switch to an iPhone, but vs switching to Windows Phone I might have to think about it. Realistically on my M8, I'm never going back to Android 4.x. It isn't worth considering. It's like, why would you go back to Windows XP? Sure, it was stable, but so is 7. So is 8.1. Hell, even the 10 tech preview is good enough for most people. Why would you go backwards? Or to put it another way, why would you make your phone all retro? Retro games are cool. Retro cars are cool. And retro music, or more precisely, classic rock, is cool. But personal computer operating software? Not just no but hell no. Give me the latest code I can safely and securely run.
Seriously... HTC One M8... On Verzion... Running the GPE... I have the best phone, on the best network, running the best software. I envy no phone... okay, the Nexus 6 just a little, but it's too big. M8's a little too big. I think the HTC vanity bar should have been at the top. Better thumb reach. But really, nobody's got it better.

no worries, lollipop will be great

Awwww - now that's just plain cruel! Share or shut up [emoji14]