Wethe Smart Dock on the S4 turns your phone into a desktop computer, it's pretty awesome, and Android has come a long way in supporting a desktop environment, but there are still many areas it needs help. this thread is all about getting the most out of your desktop machine; the Galaxy S4.
thread isn't too organized, but I'll try to update this post if other Smart Dock users are interested in a collaborative effort to get the most out their Smart Dock, with the smoothest experience possible. please share any tips or tricks you're using for your Smart Dock setup
some helpful tips I've found:
*attaching a USB keyboard turns the phone display off, and switches monitor to landscape.
*using External Keyboard Helper Pro lets you remap a few keys on the keyboard, as well as suppress on-screen keyboard. its SUPPOSED to activate automatically when docked, however doesn't work correctly.
*all Samsung apps intelligently work with a keyboard
flipping pages on the homescreen is difficult, and also any swiping/ scrolling features.. still finding a functional solution for this.
*changing dpi could probably make for a smoother expense
*also need to find a way to connect to dock with bulky case.. possible micro usb extender?
*suggested apps that work perfectly with external hardware:
Power Amp (auto plays in background even if not loaded when pressing play/pause/forward/back)
MX Video Player (all video controls)
Solid Explorer (reads flash drives/external hard drives )
FireFox (only browser I've found so far that suppresses the on-screen keyboard on its own)
*a great list by NZTechFreak that is regularly updated with compatible hardware can be found here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2252618
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Cool thread!
A few things I've learned in my time with the Smart Dock:
* Ultimate Rotation control is a good app for forcing landscape.
* Screen Standby #Root is a great app for Root users allowing the screen to be turned off while still mirroring the display, lots of cool options like ability to automatically turn on with certain apps or MHL connection etc.
* For Root users again: Paragon NTFS/HFS+ is a good app for allowing you to use NTFS drives with the Smart Dock.
* An externally powered USB hub is a good thing to have - the power output for the Dock is relatively limited and if you try to connect multiple things often times they will fail to be supplied sufficient power. A powered hub eliminates that problem, and also gives you MWOAR PORTS! Who doesn't love more ports?
* If you have troubles with sound on connecting to the TV make sure the HDMI cable is fully inserted, the port has a tight fit and it is relatively easy to not insert an HDMI cable fully. If still having problems try using a stereo sound output only (that option is greyed out in settings while you are docked, so change it while not docked if you need to).
I wish the S4 could somehow go into tablet UI when docked on the smart dock, and then open tablet versions of each supported app.
It's great that it outputs 1080p but when viewing content on a large 42" or larger HDTV, it's quite annoying to only see 4 or 5 lines of text because it's mirroring the phone's display.
delucz said:
I wish the S4 could somehow go into tablet UI when docked on the smart dock, and then open tablet versions of each supported app.
It's great that it outputs 1080p but when viewing content on a large 42" or larger HDTV, it's quite annoying to only see 4 or 5 lines of text because it's mirroring the phone's display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I agree, I think changing the Screen Density, or the DPI could be a very useful thing in this case.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Related
Is there any way (via app/driver) to increase the display resolution for a docked g-tablet?
It looks like the hardware can drive much higher resolutons: tegradeveloper.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/does-tegra-250-support-2-deferent-video-output-hdmi-and-vga-same-time
I see the Motorola Atrix has an app that does this trick when docked in their "laptop" dock. It would be real slick to do this with my docking unit - I would probably never go back to a laptop or desktop again, except for remote control from my tablet.
TIA
It wouldn't make sense for a device to push more pixels than the actual LCD is capable of.
I don't care about the display on the tablet when it is docked and hooked to an external monitor - that could be turned off. What matters is the external display and how crappy 1024x600 looks on a 19" 16:9 monitor made to display 1440x900.
Our HDMI out is 1080p. 1080x1920
What are you hooked up to when getting higher resolution? Does the tablet display just turn off and external takes over?
Everything I have hooked my dock up to (4:3 and 16:9 19" monitors and 720p TV) gets the same resolution as my tablet display. So the bigger the display the more jagged the experience.
Thanks
i havent tested my hdmi output (waiting for straight cable) but the specs are there.
since max resolution on the gtab is 1024x600, thats what youl see, but through the cord the (720p, 1080p) resolution should show on the HD TV.
Hi Resolution when you use the YouTube.apk
stumppc said:
Is there any way (via app/driver) to increase the display resolution for a docked g-tablet?
It looks like the hardware can drive much higher resolutons: tegradeveloper.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/does-tegra-250-support-2-deferent-video-output-hdmi-and-vga-same-time
I see the Motorola Atrix has an app that does this trick when docked in their "laptop" dock. It would be real slick to do this with my docking unit - I would probably never go back to a laptop or desktop again, except for remote control from my tablet.
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to get HD (1080p) using the YouTube.APK by selecting HD mode in the application setting. Both the Tablet and the external screen played 1080p videos quite nicely. If you turned off the Tablet display, the external screen also went blank. When I quit out of the APK and set the Tablet to sleep, the HDMI setting appeared to stick in the main Tablet settings. There is no easy way to set the Gtablet resolution using the standard stock settings.
After a few days and trying different TV streaming APKs from the Market. The HDMI Out stopped working altogether. I did a reboot as well as Flash the ROM but the HDMI OUT still does not display. It does recognize the HDMI signal (the LCD shows 1080P) from the dock HDMI port. I am not sure what happened but some how one or more default settings are stuck in the user data configuration file. One of those settings makes my SHARP external display go blank (can't display the set mode). The GTablet continues to display in both 420P and HD (probably 720P) modes.
I will try a data wipe and Flash again to see if it clears the HDMI setting back to the default mode (I believe that is 420p).
If this is the case, then we need some type of HDMI.apk that allows one to set the screen mode to Tablet only, Tablet & External or External only AND set the resolution mode for each. When watching using the dock and an external LCD, I want the default to be 1080p.
So, far when tricking the Gtablet to display 1080p I have some how broken the dock and have not been able to reset back to factory settings.
Any suggestions and/or configuration apk's to resolve this problem?
EKS
Hi Resolution when you use the YouTube.apk
stumppc said:
Is there any way (via app/driver) to increase the display resolution for a docked g-tablet?
It looks like the hardware can drive much higher resolutons: tegradeveloper.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/does-tegra-250-support-2-deferent-video-output-hdmi-and-vga-same-time
I see the Motorola Atrix has an app that does this trick when docked in their "laptop" dock. It would be real slick to do this with my docking unit - I would probably never go back to a laptop or desktop again, except for remote control from my tablet.
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to get HD (1080p) using the YouTube.APK by selecting HD mode in the application setting. Both the Tablet and the external screen played 1080p videos quite nicely. If you turned off the Tablet display, the external screen also went blank. When I quit out of the APK and set the Tablet to sleep, the HDMI setting appeared to stick in the main Tablet settings. There is no easy way to tell in the standard GTablet setting function.
After a few days and trying different TV streaming APKs from the Market. The HDMI Out stopped working. I did a reboot as well as Flash the ROM but the HDMI OUT still does not display. It does recognize the HDMI signal (the LCD shows 1080P) from the dock HDMI port. I am not sure what happened but some how one or more default settings are stick in the configuration file. I will try a data wipe and Flash again to see if it clears the HDMI setting back to the default mode (I believe that is 420p).
If this is the case, then we need some type of HDMI.apk that allows one to set the screen mode to Tablet only, Tablet & External or External only AND set the resolution mode for each. When watching using the dock and an external LCD, I want the default to be 1080p.
So, far when tricking the Gtablet to display 1080p I have some how broken the dock and have not been able to reset back to factory settings.
Any suggestions and/or configuration apk's to resolve this problem?
EDIT: Fixed the HDMI Display by using new cable. I get really nice HD output using the YouTube.APK with the settings set to HD.
EKS
I'm placing this in the One S forum as there are not a lot of Sense 4.0 devices out there and the One S is what I have tried this on.
HTC Sense 3.6 had both dock mode and car mode (though there was no native car mode app). Among my disappointments with HTC Sense 4.0 on the One S is no dock mode. Not just no native dock app, but no triggreable dock mode (that I have found, anyway). I've tried installing the dock mode apk from an earlier Sense, but it does not work. It does have car mode, though and a pretty (but not customizable) car mode app.
The workaround I came up with is three-part:
1. A horizontal desktop charging cradle, At bedside I use a Philips Bluetooth Speaker "Dock" (which, they basically took their iPhone dock and put a micro USB on it, but not a _dock_ micro USB - grrrr!) and I've also ordered a $7 Neewer cradle for my office.
2. A dock app - I've found Desk Clock Plus (with the added $1 customizing extension) to be the best option.
3. And here is the trick: an automation app like Automateit Pro.You can create a dual trigger to include horizontal state and phone on a charger. The triggered actions would include, of course, opening the dock app, plus you can throw in turning on WiFi and/or Bluetooth. For the horizontal state I use the accelerometer sensor and I use the "record state" option.
If you also use a car dock as I do, you'd want to add a third trigger of "dock mode = not docked." That way, your macro won't run in the car and you'll get instead the HTC car mode app. And BTW, you can also program Automateit Pro to use the car mode trigger to turn on Bluetooth (I rarely listen to local radio anymore on my car stereo), open Spotify, turn on speakerphone if a call comes in (I do not like to talk through my car stereo), etc.
As I'm sure many of you know, HDMI mirroring on the Infinity works well, but having two screens on while watching a video or playing a game is distracting.
Screen Standby is a new root app that disables the backlight on your tablet or phone while still allowing touchscreen functionality to remain active. That means while your tablet may look off when outputting to HDMI, you can still use it to pause, change apps, and do whatever you want while saving battery life at the same time. To turn your display back on simply shake the device. Unfortunately the proximity sensor function isn't working at the moment, at least on CM10.
I'm surprised it's taken this long for an app such as this to come along, but I can confirm it works on our infinity and on CM10 as well.
You can find it for free at the play store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nkahoang.screenstandby
and the XDA thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934495
And I would suggest you turn on two-stage screen off as that allows you to switch to whatever app you want to run before you go dark. Hope this helps!
Interesting... I've been wanting something similar to this. Think I'll be trying it out once I get my cable.
We all love our Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch. But we all know it is nowhere near perfection. I personally can't wait for Galaxy Gear 2 and to see what changes and additions will be made.
Here you can post your suggestions on what would you like to see in Samsung Galaxy Gear 2. Hardware wise and software wise as well. And please add an example of how or why would you use the suggested hardware and software.
I will try and update this thread as often as possible so there will be all the suggestions in one post. I will even add a number of how many times was something suggested.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY GEAR 2
Better battery autonomy(2,3 days at least) - 4x
Better camera(more megapixels, better sensor) - 1x
Led Flash - 1x
IR Blaster - 2x
Gesture customization - 1x
Ringtone and notification customization - 2x
App specific notification - 1x
Wi-Fi Direct - 3x
Bigger internal storage - 1x
Bigger wraparound display - 1x
Always on clock display option - 2x
Compatibility with every android phone - 2x
Galaxy Gear 2 Round - 1x
Option to change the strap to metal - 1x
Wireless charging - 1x
Built in FM/AM radio - 1x
GPS - 1x
Bigger display - 1x
Battery saving mode(CPU, radios off, screen) -.1x
All components in the casing(easy strap changing) - 1x
Stand alone Media player - 1x
No cradle(Micro USB port directly in the watch) - 1x
Better CPU - 1x
Bigger display - 1x
Front facing camera - 1x
Bluetooth connection for BT headphones -1x
Better camera(more megapixels, better sensor). no explanation needed here. Led Flash for night photography. IR Blaster. I love the Wach On app. Gesture customization. i would love to have gestures customizable so for instance i could swype up from the clock screen and run any app desired. Ringtone and notification customization. and app specific notification, so i would immediately know which app has a notification, before i even read it. Wi-fi direct for faster data transer and maybe web browsing. And of course a better battery life. one day autonomy is unnaceptable. two days or at least three would be best. so that we can use it for a full day or two no problem
malnsk said:
Ringtone and notification customization
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. The 3 stock tones for each are horrible.
I would also like to see it opened up for 3rd party dev rather than the closed development we have now.
WiFi would also be a plus. Doesn't necessarily need to be able to connect to AP's, I would be happy if it could do WiFi Direct to the paired device for access to the internet, twitter quickview takes a little while to load over BT, and images and videos could be transferred much quickly, or even in the case of video streamed directly to the devices storage to remove the time constraints.
Bigger mmc, would be nice for 8 or 16gb storage, this of course goes well with the third party dev, but also for pictures and videos.
Lastly a slightly better battery, or more power efficient SoC.
Larger wrap around display.
Longer battery life
Persistent clock face
Perhaps another model with a low profile round face?
Option for a metal band.
Universal android support
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
Inductive charging capability
AM/FM radio
GPS radio
IR blaster would be great!
Battery Saver mode: Throttle CPU, Screen, Radios
Move all components into the case, so normal straps can be used.
Someone needs to made a good bio-sensor health app. specific to the Gear so exercise and sleep can be monitored and compiled.
malnsk said:
Better battery autonomy(2,3 days at least) - 3x
Better camera(more megapixels, better sensor) - 1x
Led Flash - 1x
IR Blaster - 1x
Gesture customization - 1x
Ringtone and notification customization - 2x
App specific notification - 1x
Wi-Fi Direct - 2x
Bigger internal storage - 1x
Bigger wraparound display - 1x
Always on clock display option -1x
Compatibility with every android phone - 1x
Galaxy Gear 2 Round -1x
Option to change the strap to metal -1x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with all of this but would add:
Onboard GPS
Blue tooth capability to use BT headphones
Keep all components in Watch itself (nothing in the band)
More powerful processor
Bigger battery
Stand alone media player (even tho we can sideload one now I suppose)
Persistant clock face! (this one seems like a no-brainer can't believe the Gear can't do that now)
Ditch the charging cradle - give us a micro usb port.
Mostly, I want more stand alone options with more power (the watch can get slow IMO) and it's own WIFI capabilities (BT wifi is slow as molasses). Although I realize most people don't want a mini version of their phone and the Gear was not meant to be used like that, it would be nice to have it do those things if a person wants. And for me it would make it one cool James Bond watch even more than it is now!
We know that all of these options people want. The watch itselfs will get a lot bigger.
I think it is awesome this way. Maybe only a FrontFacing Cam. Nothing more I want.
As the watch size itself is more important to me.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Jeshter2000 said:
We know that all of these options people want. The watch itselfs will get a lot bigger.
I think it is awesome this way. Maybe only a FrontFacing Cam. Nothing more I want.
As the watch size itself is more important to me.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adding all those as Jeshter2000 states will increase its size ...It will need a bigger battery to run 1/2 of those features hence bigger watch
To work with all android devices.
I'd like it as an update on the one I have now. I don't want to have to buy V2.
teegunn said:
Blue tooth capability to use BT headphones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this isn't neccesary IMO. you can connect the BT headphones to your phone. why would you connect your phone with the gear and than gear with BT headphones(unless the stand alone media player gets implented).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2576157
Some developer please.
It seems incredible that a device like this doesnt have a save energy mode and dont disturb mode
I used to have a 7 inches old tablet (with builtin battery) power plugged all the time to display my weather dashboard (webpage) 7x24. The problem is now the battery is dead and inflated till the display panel almost fall out.
Ideally I wish to have a bigger tablet without builtin battery and have power feed direct from external power source. However I can't find such device with reasonable price. Such devices are usually designed for advertisement which are very expensive.
So I am turning to Android Head Units which intended for car, but I'll use it at home instead. I'm not sure I can use it for my purpose:
1. only connect the unit with the 12v and ground cables to my 12v external source. No other connections are needed.
2. replace the builtin display launcher with say, Nova Launcher
3. install some apps from google playstore (is it available in such unit?)
4. display some android widgets or display my weather webpage in full screen mode (I usually use Dolphin browser)
6. always on.
7. wifi connection to my wifi router
What I'm aiming at is here, as an example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EKIY-9-IPS-Android-8-0-Universal-2-Din-GPS-Navigation-Autoradio-Car-Multimedia-Player-BT/33000523715.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.99999999.268.39273c00qGParI