My old phone has a 4.3" screen, 544x960; the new one is 4.75, 1080x1920. The new phone is about 15% larger, and has 4 times more pixels; but, bue I read emails, or navigate in menus (like parameters), the new phones shows 10% less text and entries (up to 20% less). Both phones have the font set to small. I have compared Android system menus (like params) and setting menu in apps (same app on both). And in every single test case, the large screen shows less than the small one.
Stupid question: is it possible to ask Android to ignore DPI, and use really small fonts so that I don't have just 4 or 5 menu entries per screen, but rather 10-15 ?
Serious questions: which environment would allow me to custom graphical settings ? which ROM ?
I use ADW; it's a good start, but it's just a Launcher. It does not help for system menus, and menus in apps.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theSushi.dpichanger
Changed from 480, to 390 ... and I am wonderfully happy !!!
The app is tricky to use; think 5 times before you "go". Read carefully options in the menu.
After entering a value, before clicking go, you need to select an entry in the menu on the left of go; the menu is hardly visible; bad contrast; i will complain to author.
Related
Hi guys.
I got my first smartphone a few days ago (Motorola Defy, put CM7 on it).
I've been playing around with everything and am generally satisfied, but I'm gutted about the calendar - it's flat out terrible I hate the input method and the lack of differentiation in event types (only "appointment")
I've been trying different apps and widgets but they either look like they're remnants of 80's websites or have zero functionality/user friendliness it seems (but perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places, hence this thread).
I'm not an IT guy, but I can't believe that given the other stuff that's out there, calendar apps are an impossible thing to program?
What calendar apps/widgets do you guys use?
I have it set up like this now (colors distorted for some reason):
- launcherpro plus calendar widget on top
- colornote checklist as a make-shift task list
- calwidget to show upcoming events.
I like the launcher pro calendar widget, but I miss
- color coded dots to easily see what type of event(s) are attached to a day instead of only seeing that there is "something" there
- different types of entries (memo, appointment, birthday, etc instead of just "appointment")
- easy entry of just memo's for a day without having to set the time (which is a real cumbersome procedure by the way, given the way you have to either input those hours by pressing those arrows up or down or by x amount of extra clicks in order to select, delete and type them in - why not just make them typeable from the start or use sliders to set the time intervals - it's a touch screen, how hard can that be?).
- if no particular day is selected, a box underneath the overview of the month shows the events that are coming up next
- clicking on a day to open up the details for that day in the box underneath the monthly calendar, without removing the monthly oversight
- when entering a new entry -> first a simple choice screen asking whether you want to put in a birthday, a memo (which leads to not having to input any time, location etc and hence an uncluttered entry screen used for quick entries) or an appointment (which has the options to enter start/ending hour, location, title, description, etc)
I just want to click on a day and see all the events on it without losing sight of the rest of the month. Click it again -> switches back to the upcoming list instead of day detail. Adding a memo -> holdclick on a day -> pick "add memo" -> enter some text like "has Joe mailed back yet?" -> save, and bam, you're done - this as opposed to having to cycle all over the entry form to select "all day event", enter a title, etc
Or for appointments: holdclick on a day -> pick "add appointment" -> get the current options but with sliders for the hours (just a line showing the 24 with 2 sliders like those you use to select text for defining the timeframe) -> save, done. I also don't get why after having entered an update you have to reload the app through which you entered it - I'm guessing this is because google is involved so perhaps a separate database would be more user friendly.
Nothing overly complicated with 100 options nobody uses anyway.
I wonder if there's anything out there like that.
Try Business Calendar. Excluding the color coding, it has most of what you were asking for.
https://market.android.com/details?id=netgenius.bizcal&feature=search_result
The phones keep becoming inferior with every superior model getting launched. Some users might not want to buy a new phone just yet. You might want to get the most out of your device while it lasts. To compensate for the continously increasing screen sizes and resolutions in the newer phones, we can change the Screen Density of our devices in order to utilize our screens more efficiently.
Most manufacturers stick to the standard DPI of 240 on the large screened phones like Samsung Galaxy S II or HTC Desire HD, so it might be too big to really make efficient use of the Android device.
Still, there is hope. Just make sure that you are rooted and equipped with Root Explorer or a free app like ES File Explorer in order to access the Root owned partition of the device.
Method:
1. Open Root Explorer
2. Go to /system
3. Click on Mount RW (It shall appear aa Mount RO)
4. Look for build.prop. Long press on the file and press Open file in Editor
5. Scroll down to ro.sf.lcd_density=240
6. Change the value to anywhere between 180 and 240. The lower the value, the higher density your screen will have.
7. Click on the Menu button , and Save and Exit.
8. Reboot.
You should now have a phone with the same screen size but alot more density, slightly smaller text and more space to use applications on.
This guide can be used on all Android phone, even the smaller MDPI and LDPI phones to make your screen to appear bigger and more useful . However, you will have to tinker with the value unless you find one that suits you best.
If some applications cannot span properly to the new screen size, download Spare Parts from the market, uncheck Compatibility Mode in the options, and reboot.
Some launchers may act wierd , however most do look good with a higher density look!
Do press the Thanks button if this guide has helped!
Reserved.
I am using 160. With this value you don't have problems with play store.
Bighardy said:
I am using 160. With this value you don't have problems with play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What issues did you experience with play store before?
When I used different values between 160 and 240, i. e. 180 or 200, I had compatibility problems with play store. New program version weren't shown as update, and if I searched for apps the message Not compatible with this device appeared. With 160 no problems with unhacked play store.
This is more a request/plea for help to devs than a question, but basically, I've been playing around with adjusting the DPI (using Xposed + App Settings) of my Edge for 'bout 2 days straight now and because of the way Edge Panels/Cocktailbar service interact with the rest of the UI, it's been a rather rough 2 days. To summarize my findings:
1) Changing the DPI of Android System also adjusts the width of the area allocated to the Edge. *
2) Changing the DPI of cocktailbarservice ONLY changes how various panels are stacked together. *
3) Changing the DPI of individual panels ONLY changes the total size of the panel UI but NOT the area it's allocated. *
*These are all rather confusing so the screenshots below should clear things up.
I'll be working with 6 different things here:
a) Android System
b) Cocktailbar service (com.samsung.android.app.cocktailbarservice)
c) EdgeBoard panel (com.yotsumo.edgeboard)
d) Briefing panel (com.samsung.android.app.catchme)
e) RAM Usage Manager panel (com.samsung.android.app.ramusagemanager)
f) Quick tools panel (com.samsung.android.cocktailbar.quicktool
To simplify things, I'll be changing between only two DPIs: 640 (stock) and 320. Each set of screenshots will be labeled with the letters a-f. Uppercase means it's set at 640. Lowercase means it's set at 320. Also, remember that if you want to reproduce any of these for yourself, that "Apply res to widgets" must be checked for all DPI-adjusted Edge panels.
Set 1 - ABcdef
http://imgur.com/a/BmBTw
Set 2 - AbCDEF
http://imgur.com/a/kh8Y6 (Imgur REALLY doesn't like two of the screenshots here. Just ignore them. You get the point.)
Set 3 - aBCDEF
http://imgur.com/a/74hLH
You can do a few dozen more combinations (well 61), but I the pattern should be clear now. Setting it to abcdef (all 320) does result in an non-glitchy, usable, and thinner panel, but even then, only the EdgeBoard panel (of what I've downloaded) properly adjusts to the full length. The others just leave a blank space under them.
Now what I personally think (and hopefully some of you here will agree with me) would be optimal is if we could adjust the size of the allocated panel area as well as the size of the panel itself, independent of the Android System's DPI (320 works great for me on just about everything, but the Edge panel at this point is WAY too narrow). Could this be implemented somehow either through some hacking away at internals or perhaps an elegant Xposed Module? See link for what my screen looks like currently: http://imgur.com/XpvjkMD
thanks for this post i was looking for this,i am thinking of picking up a note edge next week.i am currently using a note 3 with many modifications like darklord rom 5.0.1 ,360dpi(stock 480),v4a ,system ui mods,about 25 xposed modules etc.
so what about changing the per app dpi like just changing system ui or whatsapp messenger and others?? does it affect the side screen(edge)???i will use nova launcher and definitely not tw launcher.
i saw v4a on screenshots.so its working fine in normal mode with everything convoler??
i am curious because i will be selling my note 3 to go for the edge, so is it worth getting edge and can do all customizations or i must stick with note 4?
thanks.
Anyone else noticed for such a large display the text is overly large, see pics & YouTube clip I have the Samsung tab S 10.5 & more text is filled on the screen than the Huawei 10.8" display (even the nexus 10 shows more text) & that's with the Text size & view mode set to small because of this I would end up scrolling more. This is making me think twice about getting the tablet. The one I reviewed is my parents.
Does not help that the max home screen grid is only 6x5 where as the Samsung tab is 8x6 which is better.
in the landscape picture it mostly is because of the navigation bar you dont need wth the tab s.
I agree with it being slightly less dense than your parents tab s but I only have a old notebook as a comparison (with 1366&768 resolution) and am perfectly happy with the tablet. I suppose this could be changed with a custom rom though.
Edit: btw if it is just the browser you can adjust the scale. in firefox go to about:config and search for font.size.systemFontScale. I've got it on 70 instead of 100 and can fit a lot more content.
First of all which OS is the Tab S running. Is it the old WebView which comes as separate App, or does it already have the new WebView which is integrated into Chrome. Seems as if it is the old one on the Tab S.
Regarding the Launcher grid well yeah EMUI is different to TouchWiz, less rows and columns on the grid, but less lag fest as well. If you want to obtain more rows and columns on the grid change the launcher let's say to Nova Launcher Prime.
Sent from my HTC U11 using XDA Labs
Increase value in system - > dev options - > smallest width
Surethom said:
Anyone else noticed for such a large display the text is overly large, see pics & YouTube clip I have the Samsung tab S 10.5 & more text is filled on the screen than the Huawei 10.8" display (even the nexus 10 shows more text) & that's with the Text size & view mode set to small because of this I would end up scrolling more. This is making me think twice about getting the tablet. The one I reviewed is my parents.
Increase value in system - > dev options - > smallest width
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BAYMAX T1 said:
Increase value in system - > dev options - > smallest width
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I've done the same. For me, it's the non text items that are far too big. It feels like they've taken the 8.4" tablet and just scaled everything up.
I use a value of 950 - if you go smaller than that, the settings pages can become unusable. Note that this gets set on a restart, so you have to go back to Developer Options and set the value again. Still, how often do you reboot the tablet?
Hello,
I am visually impaired and I want to use a tablet as a phone, because everything looks bigger on a big screen.
But some apps look different on a tablet than on a smartphone.
They show more content on one screen if you use a tablet than if you use a smartphone.
If you then set large fonts and an enlarged display, elements overlap in the display.
Is it possible to use a tablet as a phone and make the app believe, that it is a smartphone when it is a tablet?
My smartphone is rootet and I have already tried some things.
I have changed ro.build.characteristics=tablet to "phone" (build.prop)
But that did not help.
Andreas
Change DPI. Lower means bigger. You can adjust that in developer settings, in the "smallest width". Play with that number until you find the good value. Keep in mind, every restart will reset that value to default.
Note that the Android's window size and the device's screen size are not the same. . For example, the area within the window that is used by an app can change if the window becomes too big to fit on the screen.
Read here:
Android: How to use "adb shell wm" to simulate other devices
So I bought a Nexus 10 for development and was super excited by the prospect of being able to simulate other devices using the "adb shell wm" command, with its size, density, and overscan subcomman...
stackoverflow.com
BTW:
Smartphones usually have a screen measuring between 3.5 – 4.3 inches. The screens of tablets measure between 7 – 10.5 inches, they look like a large smartphone but with additional capabilities
xXx yYy said:
Smartphones usually have a screen measuring between 3.5 – 4.3 inches. The screens of tablets measure between 7 – 10.5 inches, they look like a large smartphone but with additional capabilities
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is right. Tablets look like a large smartphone. The screen of my tablet has three times the space of the screen of my smartphone. This could mean, that everything is three times as big as on my smartphone. But that is unfortunately not the case.
If you then set large fonts and an enlarged display, elements overlap on the display.
I would like to have a tablet, that behaves identical to a smartphone and everything on the screen looks exactly like on the smartphone, only three times as big.
The tablet knows the physical size of the screen. Otherwise it would not know the ppi-Value. Does anybody know in which file this information is?
Maybe the tablet knows the physical size of its screen ( screen size ), but that's absolutely not of any interest in your case: it's Android's window size ( viewpoint - resolution ) what matters.
You have to find the suitable combo of PPI related to resoulution ( window size ). Both values
wm size
wm density
can get set in Android's system file
/data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db
what is a SQL database