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So I just signed up here after getting a G2X. I have been into Android for about a year. I started out with the Cliq XT which I actually loved, then got the Defy which I hate to see go, and now am on the G2X [the first superphone to really impress me since it can actually do something my Defy couldn't]
I am very happy with my G2X. I don't get the fuss over screen bleeding as phone displays have come such a long way from my first cell phone, the Panasonic GD55. I also have not had ONE reboot. My battery life is between 4 to 6 hours and I'm pretty much browsing the web ALL day.
but lately, I've wondered, am I wrong? dumb? blind?
I only use three home screens. The main one has just 4 small icons: camera, messaging, browser, and navigation. Then to the right home screen just the weather widget, and to the left screen, the android power bar widget. and after that, nothing else, nothing.
Is there something I'm missing? or am I right in not loading up the screens and just hitting the menus if I need something? I realize, for example, the google search widget would work for me, but I don't see the point of having it on the screen when I can just press browser and it opens to a blank google window I don't facebook much, but I can just open the app drawer, click the facebook button, and it's all right there.
So am I just crazy? or is my approach more common and popular than I think?
On another note, I'm missing some things from my defy. I was able to install the connected music player apk to use instead of the horrible stock one, but I'm missing my airplane mode button and timer built into my clock/alarm app.
but still...I feel weird..they added homescreens to make it 7..so people obviously love them and need them..and yet if I really wanted to I could put EVERYTHING I use on one.
Its your phone best used how you see fit. I have on extra page filled with a few apps I use since I've gotten into rooting my phone and playing around with things the devs help and teach me on. But I do the same I go to the app menu if I wanna use something too.
Sent from my HTC G2 using XDA Premium App
You're not an idiot lol I myself have a pretty much bare set up haven't really customized anything due to the fact that I've been bouncing from rom to rom. Plus the wonderful thing about android is that you can pretty much do what you please. If you're only using 3 pages I'd suggest you use Launcherpro or ADW (or whichever launcher you prefer) and have only 3 pages up so you're not left with all these blank pages. I used to just use 1 page back on my MT4g Bottom line is you're not an idiot
I know exactly what you are saying. I've got launcher pro and have the dock all customized with 15 icons in 3 docks. Some camera apps and different markets and the usual messaging and stuff.
Now I'm like...why do I need anything in my home screens? I've got my vacation days left widget on the home screen and the launcher pro contacts widget on another. That's it.
But then I downloaded three icon packs and see myself customizing the screens more. There sure are a lot of cool choices. If I do that the dock choices become redundant.
I just don't use most of the apps in the drawer enough to put them on a home screen. Only a select few.
Having a blast playing around though.
Instead of having all my apps on one page, I'm thinking of giving the pages themes, like games, tools, camera, messaging etc.
I also like to keep one home screen blank so the wallpaper, living or not, is highlighted.
i also have 3 screens
I also have just 3 screens.
I use LauncherPro + QuickDesk + SwipePad
Screen #1 just has 9 icons for each of my fave Google apps: Browser, Calendar, Market, Latitude, Maps, Navigation, Talk, Voice and YouTube.
Screen #2 has minimum of 2 icons: Shortcut > Direct Message > My Wife
The second icon is either my ToDoList for the day or a ShoppingList.
I use ColorNote.
Screen #3 is for my widgets.
Battery Monitor Widget, Catch Notes Widget, Pure Calendar Widget.
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I really love the scrolling dockbar in LauncherPro. I use just two dockbars for a combined quick access to a possible 10 apps + 10 gestures.
I also use SwipePad for quick access to 12 more apps, and also QuickDesk for additional quick access to s'more apps & shortcuts
Using the Hidden Apps feature of LauncherPro, I hide most of my apps in the app drawer.
I access everything else from the capacitive touch Search button.
I run simple as well. However adw ex utilizes both cores for instant function.
Buy adw ex. Open settings/Profiles and select FAST SETTING.
it will be like nothing you've had before.
I call it Instant.
I don't even use any animations at this point.
Its more impressive not to even need any then to watch one.
It will impress you.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
After using iOS's beta gestures and QNX/WebOS's card switching.. I'm of the opinion that Honeycomb badly needs a way to quickly switch between apps, vs tapping, scrolling and tapping.
Are there any mods/launchers/whatever that enables a quick way to jump between apps?
Thanks.
Pressing the recent apps button is one... but I'm guessing your looking for something else. ;-)
Here's some options:
"Power Strip: Multitasking Dock" (app in market that I had on my phone a while back)
SwipePad seems to be more what you're looking for though. It's in the market: https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android&feature=search_result
Edit: I digress, SwipePad does not seem to support the Transformer for some reason.
Try Wave Launcher... it works for the TF, but is a paid app unlike SwipePad.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mobilemerit.wavelauncher&feature=related_apps
Thanks guys, I'll check them out when I get home.
To help clarify, I'm looking for a way to switch between applications with gestures vs tapping the recent apps list (which, I find organizes apps oddly at times).
On iOS 5 (and in 4.3 beta) there are 4 finger swipes to switch between apps. I have this enabled on my jailbroken iPad and it works wonderfully well.
QNX you swipe from the bezel (can't really be pulled off on the TF, but its an example) to switch easily between apps.
WebOS you swipe up and switch apps.
Ideally, I'd love to see the iOS method as a possibility, it's incredibly quick and smooth. It's about as fast as alt+tab/cmd+tab program switching on desktops. The HC recent apps list is nice visually, but I don't feel like it's a very quick solution.
Anyways, don't take any of this as complaining, I'm just wondering what's out there, and thanks again for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
i was able to get swipepad working on my transformer. I pulled the apk from my phone and sideloaded it on my tablet. It's not optimized for Honeycomb so it doesn't use the entire screen but it worked well without any FCs. Even the Tasking and MorePad addons worked well. Addons available to purchase from market.
Dorkington said:
After using iOS's beta gestures and QNX/WebOS's card switching.. I'm of the opinion that Honeycomb badly needs a way to quickly switch between apps, vs tapping, scrolling and tapping.
Are there any mods/launchers/whatever that enables a quick way to jump between apps?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
i know exactly what ur talking about and unfortunately, none of the apps mentioned do this. they are just like little shortcuts to the app switcher just wrapped around in different UIs. it wont do what u want it to do. im looking for a gesture app that overlays the whole screen and can use 5 fingers to swipe to another app or something of that sort. none of these apps do this.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
I decided to give Aviate a try yesterday, and I really liked the concept, but it was a little too rigid for me. So I spent some time last night playing around with different widgets and Nova features to incorporate the parts of Aviate that I appreciate into my current setup.
One concept I really appreciate is the categories idea. The screen to the right of my default home screen has long been a collection of folders that kind of function the same way.
With Nova's option to turn off padding, you can essentially turn a screen into a full-page widget, and I was wondering if anyone has ever come across a widget that works like the categories page on Aviate.
I would like to be able to put my most frequently used apps along the left edge, so they are visible and one-tap accessible, and then be able to expand to see the apps I don't use as frequently. And I would like to be able to scroll through the categories.
Any suggestions or recommendations? If I had any knowledge about building apps, I would try to throw one together. Alas, I lack such knowledge. If anyone else is feeling inspired, I would be happy to chip in to support their efforts.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
ejchis said:
snip
most frequently used apps along the left edge, so they are visible and one-tap accessible, and then be able to expand to see the apps I don't use as frequently. And I would like to be able to scroll through the categories
/snip
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apart from the "scrolling through the categories" it sounds like you are a prime candidate for Action Launcher... :victory:
One of the key features with AL is that you can set folders so that a single tap opens the "primary app", and an upwards swipe starting on that icon opens the folder. So you can have a folder called "Social", for example, where a single tap opens Facebook, but a swipe gives you the folder with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
You can also set widgets in place of the folder; i.e. an icon for Chrome, where a swipe opens the Bookmarks widget
This even works with the dock!
I've been using Action Launcher on my Nexus 10 and Nexus 5 since it came out (and Aviate on my Nexus 5 since beta) and I've simplified everything down to one home screen with the Dock having icons as described above for games, social, internet, media, photos
chaosdefinesorder said:
apart from the "scrolling through the categories" it sounds like you are a prime candidate for Action Launcher... :victory:
One of the key features with AL is that you can set folders so that a single tap opens the "primary app", and an upwards swipe starting on that icon opens the folder. So you can have a folder called "Social", for example, where a single tap opens Facebook, but a swipe gives you the folder with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
You can also set widgets in place of the folder; i.e. an icon for Chrome, where a swipe opens the Bookmarks widget
This even works with the dock!
I've been using Action Launcher on my Nexus 10 and Nexus 5 since it came out (and Aviate on my Nexus 5 since beta) and I've simplified everything down to one home screen with the Dock having icons as described above for games, social, internet, media, photos
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I really appreciate the thorough response. I'll have to check this out tonight when I have some time to play around with it. I'll report back on how it goes. Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I'm running through Action Launcher now. This is a very different approach, and I like that. The one area where I think it falls short is in aesthetics. It doesn't look very refined to me. I'll keep experimenting with it for now, but I'm hoping someone has an idea for a widget I can just stick on my right screen.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
ejchis said:
I'm running through Action Launcher now. This is a very different approach, and I like that. The one area where I think it falls short is in aesthetics. It doesn't look very refined to me. I'll keep experimenting with it for now, but I'm hoping someone has an idea for a widget I can just stick on my right screen.
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Click to collapse
It's certainly a lot "fresher" than the more established brands due to being significantly newer. Things are likely to pick up again soon as the developer has time to work on updates again now.
One thing you can do with the "Pro" version that might be contributing to your aesthetics opinion is hide the little white square indicators on the icons... certainly makes a big difference in my opinion! I definitely prefer the alphabetically indexed single-scroll list in the app drawer once I got used to it!
chaosdefinesorder said:
It's certainly a lot "fresher" than the more established brands due to being significantly newer. Things are likely to pick up again soon as the developer has time to work on updates again now.
One thing you can do with the "Pro" version that might be contributing to your aesthetics opinion is hide the little white square indicators on the icons... certainly makes a big difference in my opinion! I definitely prefer the alphabetically indexed single-scroll list in the app drawer once I got used to it!
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Click to collapse
Well I'm going to keep it on my devices and continue tinkering. I'll keep an eye on updates and development too. I appreciate the recommendation. Sometimes when the approach is different from everything else out there, it takes a few days to adjust to it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
ejchis said:
Well I'm going to keep it on my devices and continue tinkering. I'll keep an eye on updates and development too. I appreciate the recommendation. Sometimes when the approach is different from everything else out there, it takes a few days to adjust to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely! I used to have about 4 different homescreens for various collections and widgets but after getting used to AL I've slimmed it down to one single screen with zero loss of function thanks to shutters and covers
The fact that you can access the app menu (left side) and "quick page" (right side) from any other app or launcher is also pretty useful (again once you get used to it)
We all know the Nexus Player has a Chrome browser integrated in its firmware as it is used for some settings, google cast support, etc. However, it seems the browser can be somewhat user accessed and has a bit more capabilities than I expected, such as a desktop mode, mostly baked remote control support, ability to directly access web, image, map, etc search and so on. The interface for the browser seems close to having full remote control support. Amyone can sideload the actual Chrome from the Play store, however that one doesn't have a leanback interface like the built in one yet.
Here's how to find it:
Select settings at the bottom of the main menu
Select "About" from the first row
Scroll down and select "Ads"
Scroll down and select "Ads by Google"
Scroll down to "Ads Settings" link and select it
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select "Desktop View"
Now you can select from the top bar with your remote any of the quick links for Google services, such as "Search". Once you do so, you're brought to the standard Google search page... clicking in the search field brings up the standard software keyboard (or use your sync'd phone, otg keyboard, etc). The results are displayed in normal "Mobile" view as on a phone, but you can scroll to the bottom of that page and choose to view the results in "Classic" desktop mode which is preferable.
Once you visit a site you can scroll through it with your remote as well, however navigating and clicking links seems to be hit or miss depending on the site. Also, hitting "back" currently takes you back to the settings menu instead of the previous page. I'm sure there are other quirks as well.
The point of this is: it'd seem to be trivial for an enterprising developer to wrap the existing functionality in an app and expose this near complete built-in remote ready chrome browser for easy leanback web browsing on the NP. Or, of course, the obvious route of Google exposing this web browser to leanback itself. Interesting.
This is cool to know. Love or hate the old google tv boxes (the ones with honeycomb) that is one feature they had done really well was they had a really awesome version of chrome browser that was very similar to the pc version out at the time. Still one that is made to work with the NP is good too.
I was able to install Chrome Beta from the Play store, and after getting past the "I Agree" screen it works perfectly. I'm using a BlueTooth KB/Mouse.
I'm using ChainFire's Launcher to start it, as the Icon doesn't populate on the home screen.
Tried this but can't get beyond "Ads by Google". When I select this I get a black bar down the center of the screen (1/3 the screen) and it flashes some information but then goes back to black.
ldavids said:
Tried this but can't get beyond "Ads by Google". When I select this I get a black bar down the center of the screen (1/3 the screen) and it flashes some information but then goes back to black.
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Click to collapse
I may be seeing the "I Agree" screen but it disappears pretty quickly.
ldavids said:
I may be seeing the "I Agree" screen but it disappears pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same happens with me. I read in another post Chrome will work (non-beta) but launched through the Chainfire sideload launcher. Also read Nova launcher works. Will test this weekend and update.
Strange. I still have no problem getting in to the built-in browser doing what I wrote above as long as Chrome from the play store isn't installed. If you instal Chrome from the play store, it supplants the built-in browser and the procedure above doesn't work anymore.
I also have Chrome from the play store installed... it works ok, but not as well as the (near hidden so useless) built in browser when it comes to the remote control support - with keyboard and mouse Chrome from the play store works perfect. I also don't like the Chrome from the play store defaults to its "mobile" UI in search, etc.
Hopefully Google will surface the built-in soon and provide an easy link in the main leanback interface.
I thought I got rid of the Chrome browser I had downloaded as a test but I hadn't. Once I did, the built-in now works except it does not fit the screen correctly (menu items at top only display half).
ldavids said:
I thought I got rid of the Chrome browser I had downloaded as a test but I hadn't. Once I did, the built-in now works except it does not fit the screen correctly (menu items at top only display half).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your TV is probably not in "just fit" kind of mode... it's probably over scanning or set to 16:9, etc. If you can change the aspect ratio through your TV settings that'll probably fix the issue. Most media content is designed for overscanning so won't be an issue, but things like web browsers, PC screens, etc are not.
I was able to get the built in chrome by just installing google search from the playstore..
Sent from my Nexus 5
Hi guys,
These apps i am about to introduce will change your phone experience for the better not just our phone for that matter but any Android phone.
1. Immersive Mode Manager(Paid)
This app is a must for every Amoled screen to protect your phone from future screen burn, the other thing is you get to enjoy the full screen experience with every app on your phone. I install this app on all of my Android devices.
I have created a thread long ago doing it manually but i think it's too much of work for people who want an app for that, if you want a manual free alternative check it out.
2. Fluid Navigation Gestures(Free/Pro Features)
This is my second go to app which i was introduced to recently. I will dare to say IMPO that it's the best custom gesture navigation app on Android currently.
By the way our Asus gesture navigation is not bad but i feel it's not polished yet. Also by using Fluid Navigation Gestures we can disable the navigation bar in the keyboard so that is a plus. So go ahead and give it a try.
3. JINA: App Drawer, Sidebar & Folder Organizer(Free)
This app is also a recent discovery and i highly recommend it. What the stock rom or custom rom for that matter lacks to date is the ability to access your apps form any app without going back to the Home launcher to access the drawer. With this app you can achieve that and then some more. The only downside of this app is that it's not noob friendly it will take you a lot of time to figure out all the features it has. The best thing about it you can customize every aspect of it and it's free.
4. Glimpse Notifications, Always On Edge - Edge Lighting or Glance Plus(Free/ Free / Free)
So to my surprise the ROG phone doesn't wake the device when you receive notifications like my previous HTC phone, but don't fret because here where Glimpse Notifications solves the problem that is if you just want the screen to simply light up. If you want more customization then the other two apps are great to check out.
5. Blokada(Free)
You must have an Ad blocker on the list if you are unrooted and definitely one of the best open source and free app out there is this one.
6. Popup Widget 3(Paid)
Now this app will get your phone setup to another level, instead of cluttering your homescreen with widgets how about hiding them and calling them when needed only either through your home launcher gestures or a shortcut sidebar ... . Pretty cool right!. Now this isn't a must have app but i had to mention it because it's absolutely amazing. I have an old video featuring it check it out.
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I will keep updating this thread once other apps are discovered or suggested.
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*Launcher used: Nova Launcher
*Icon Pack: Pixel Icon Pack
Here is an updated video to showcase everything
Great List ! Much appreciated !
Thanks
Cool "A Liquid Cloud" live wallpaper. I bought the paid version to support the developer, but the free version is great.
Swiftkey Keyboard
Textra SMS
Firefox browser
I used to use a third party camera, but I like the default camera and love playing with Google Lens
I used to use Apex launcher, but they have gone downhill lately forcing bloatware on you. I might stick with the default. I like the default theme.
I have installed Immersive Mode Manager! Very cool!
is there any app or setting mod that allows can turn the RGB /aura lighting into a visualizer for audio/media playback ? like the audio visualizer chroma app available for razer chroma windows on windows platform ?
spicemaster said:
is there any app or setting mod that allows can turn the RGB /aura lighting into a visualizer for audio/media playback ? like the audio visualizer chroma app available for razer chroma windows on windows platform ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not aware of any.
Sorry double post!
For nothing