Screen Density / DPI questions and opinions - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So I've tried 184 dpi which seems like allot of people like and seems to work without issues on Resurrection Remix ROM but to me stuff is just too small. I get the idea of having more "screen real estate" so more items fit on the screen since like the app icons get smaller but then when I watched a video on youtube it looked like crap IMO and so did a movie on my phone - this is in comparison to 240 dpi. That's where the deal breaker was for me, like when I want to show off my phone and how nice the screen is I show someone a video or a pic so why would anyone want it smaller and not as clear I just can't understand. This I also find has to get when newer phone are coming out with higher dpi - the Galaxy Nexus for example is 320 wo why would we want lower instead of higher?
Maybe I'm blind or something but I'd like to hear people's opinion on this and also as to what DPIs they've tried or use and also if anyone has gone higher than the stock 240 and if so what's the result they get.
Look forward to hearing people's response. Thanks.
thanks and look forward to hearing people's answers/opinions.

Kman Gymrat said:
So I've tried 184 dpi which seems like allot of people like and seems to work without issues on Resurrection Remix ROM but to me stuff is just too small. I get the idea of having more "screen real estate" so more items fit on the screen since like the app icons get smaller but then when I watched a video on youtube it looked like crap IMO and so did a movie on my phone - this is in comparison to 240 dpi. That's where the deal breaker was for me, like when I want to show off my phone and how nice the screen is I show someone a video or a pic so why would anyone want it smaller and not as clear I just can't understand. This I also find has to get when newer phone are coming out with higher dpi - the Galaxy Nexus for example is 320 wo why would we want lower instead of higher?
Maybe I'm blind or something but I'd like to hear people's opinion on this and also as to what DPIs they've tried or use and also if anyone has gone higher than the stock 240 and if so what's the result they get.
Look forward to hearing people's response. Thanks.
thanks and look forward to hearing people's answers/opinions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it depends on people on what they like, personally i like 210.lower dpi gives u more space to fit icons,text. also changing dpi other than 240 will give incompatibility error in play store.

It all depends on your readability of your eyes, I'm using 160 dpi and it feels perfect for me
#*posted on the move *#

160 dpi worked well for me and looked awesome i thought however the dialler on foxhound rom doesnt take too well to the change so ive gone back to 240
to me though 240 doesnt look as smart i like fitting more on the screen

what are th fixes for market compatibility? I heard there was this one fix in which you had to create data.prop or some file like that. Anyone knows about that?

I'm on 182 and suits me perfectly
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

I've tried a little higher and though yes you lose screen realestate but boy does it make videos look good. All higher dpi I tried the market would open and load fine - i cleared market data after each change then rebooted, didn't try installing any apps tho so can't say if I'd have any issues. Too high and i got app labels in the drawer overlapping the pages in the app drawer which would be fine if i changed to vertical scrolling instead. All numbers i tried were multiples of 8 as i read somewhere that it must be so.
Just fyi for anyone who wants to try. Videos and pics looked sweet!

For anyone confused... the lower you set the dpi - the higher it actually displays (that's why things are getting smaller and not bigger like on a pc). I too like my settings around 210. To each his/her own.

Related

[App]Launcher360 plus 210 DPI

Been running theBeast for a bit, thx for the great ROM X.
Anyway, I've found changing the DPI to 210 from 240 looks great on this phone, and doesn't create any obvious graphics issues (Quick Settings is pretty close tho). Really gives you more real estate things, which I always like. Oh, make sure you keep an old market copy around... the new versions check DPI and many apps will be "incompatible" with the phone. I have an apk to a market replacer if needed, can't recall where I got it from.
Additionally, I found a great launcher that I'm cross posting here just cause it looks beautiful on our phone. All credit goes to the folks in the thread for it.

LCD Resolution app problem

Hey guys...
I use this LCD Resolution app, and it is awesome, but I have one problem, I cant find balance between two things...
If I set it to 160 everything looks nice but in some apps my status bar is messed up...
And if I put any other option I get everything look OK but colors in PlayerPro for example look a little bit mixed up :S
thank you
That's because you're running at DPI's lower than what the phone is built for.
Market will not work properly and you would not be able to update all apps if you go under 240.
If you want one of the best DPI's, set it to 183, I prefer it as everything is just working as it is, although some apps are formatted incorrectly.
I will give it a try
market will not allow me to install some applications.

[Q] Change Pixel Density(PPI) Galaxy S2?

Hi, i have a Samsung Galaxy S2 which i would like to change the Pixel Density of. It is rooted currently, but I just want to be able to read texts clearer and play my games and watch videos more sharp and crisp.. i know there are afew apps on the android market which can do this, but if i want clear/sharpness which is the recommended pixel density(240 is the default).
Also, i need something that will work perfectly on Galaxy S2, like, not make the widgets or icons or anything out of proportion..i want things to auto fit
Get root access.
Edit the line where density is mentioned in build.prop in root directory, probably in /system. You can change from 240 to 320. But be very careful as you may mess up the things & will have to flash the rom again.
I used an app called LCD Density in the market. Paid app but you should be able to try it out in the time period. Before purchasing, make a nandroid backup as the app gives all these scary messages about not backing up before changing the density. The app doesn't do anything drastic and allows you to change relatively quickly.
I haven't used on my sgs s2 but did for s1. I used to use 220 or 230. Cannot guarantee it won't mess anything up. Also doing is subjective, I did not want too small as was squinting alot so test it out.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
yeah i used lcd density and put it to 200 its wayyy too small but why is it that bigger ppi means worse quality?

[Q] Any way to fix the Nook app on the Note?

If any of you have used the Nook app on the Galaxy Note, you probably already know what I'm going to ask.
Problem: at stock 320 dpi, the text in eBooks is ridiculously large in the Nook Reader, even at its smallest setting. You have to go down to 260 dpi before text becomes small enough to read comfortably--but 260 dpi leads to force closes for me. 240 dpi solves the force close problem but for some reason ICS Objection is very sluggish at 240 dpi.
280 dpi is a good happy medium for me for all my aps but the Nook. Thing is, most of my eBooks to date have been purchased through the Nook store... ugh.
So! I started mucking about with font changing apps in the store and found one called "Font Size Setter" that actually works pretty well in ICS. Unfortunately, while it does scale fonts all over the OS itself, it has no effect whatsoever in whatever calculations the Nook app uses to display fonts in an eBook.
So what I'm wondering is, does the Nook app have a settings file of some kind that I can manually edit to scale down the font display? Does anyone know? I don't know enough about how Android is laid out even begin looking...
Thanks for any help you can provide...
EDITED: I just realized it may be as simple as finding smaller versions of the fonts the Nook uses for display purposes and overwriting the default ones. Are android fonts .otf files? And does anyone know if there's a way to find smaller ones?
Just out of curiosity I flashed Saurom and the Nook app doesn't display this problem at all. Does Gingerbread handle screen DPI differently than ICS?
re: Any way to fix the Nook app on the Note?
I'm dying to know this myself. The Nook app is probably the biggest reason I bought the thing to begin with - it was really great back on the older version of Android, but this new thing just looks ridiculous. I called Barnes & Noble about the problem and they seemed genuinely concerned - I was on the phone with them for about 30 minutes. They said they'd get back to me within a week but that was like 3 weeks ago.
Between this and Next Issue not working (and all of the other problems listed at the Geekitarian blog), I'm considering dropping the Note altogether and going with something new.
If you figure out a solution, please do come back and share it, as this phone was AWESOME before the Android 4.0 update.
ubersoft said:
If any of you have used the Nook app on the Galaxy Note, you probably already know what I'm going to ask.
Problem: at stock 320 dpi, the text in eBooks is ridiculously large in the Nook Reader, even at its smallest setting. You have to go down to 260 dpi before text becomes small enough to read comfortably--but 260 dpi leads to force closes for me. 240 dpi solves the force close problem but for some reason ICS Objection is very sluggish at 240 dpi.
280 dpi is a good happy medium for me for all my aps but the Nook. Thing is, most of my eBooks to date have been purchased through the Nook store... ugh.
So! I started mucking about with font changing apps in the store and found one called "Font Size Setter" that actually works pretty well in ICS. Unfortunately, while it does scale fonts all over the OS itself, it has no effect whatsoever in whatever calculations the Nook app uses to display fonts in an eBook.
So what I'm wondering is, does the Nook app have a settings file of some kind that I can manually edit to scale down the font display? Does anyone know? I don't know enough about how Android is laid out even begin looking...
Thanks for any help you can provide...
EDITED: I just realized it may be as simple as finding smaller versions of the fonts the Nook uses for display purposes and overwriting the default ones. Are android fonts .otf files? And does anyone know if there's a way to find smaller ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto trying to find solution to this as well. Anyone?
Emailed B&N Support; no reply yet
ubersoft said:
If any of you have used the Nook app on the Galaxy Note, you probably already know what I'm going to ask.
Problem: at stock 320 dpi, the text in eBooks is ridiculously large in the Nook Reader, even at its smallest setting. You have to go down to 260 dpi before text becomes small enough to read comfortably--but 260 dpi leads to force closes for me. 240 dpi solves the force close problem but for some reason ICS Objection is very sluggish at 240 dpi.
280 dpi is a good happy medium for me for all my aps but the Nook. Thing is, most of my eBooks to date have been purchased through the Nook store... ugh.
So! I started mucking about with font changing apps in the store and found one called "Font Size Setter" that actually works pretty well in ICS. Unfortunately, while it does scale fonts all over the OS itself, it has no effect whatsoever in whatever calculations the Nook app uses to display fonts in an eBook.
So what I'm wondering is, does the Nook app have a settings file of some kind that I can manually edit to scale down the font display? Does anyone know? I don't know enough about how Android is laid out even begin looking...
Thanks for any help you can provide...
EDITED: I just realized it may be as simple as finding smaller versions of the fonts the Nook uses for display purposes and overwriting the default ones. Are android fonts .otf files? And does anyone know if there's a way to find smaller ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I emailed B&N to bring this issue to their attention - how the Nook for Android app that worked fine with Gingerbread no longer works correctly after updating to ICS 4.0.4 (SGH-i717 AT&T model, in my case).
Fingers crossed they reply, as the issue makes reading Nook books on the Galaxy Note practically unreadable due to ridiculously oversized fonts, the inability to hide the status bar, etc. - all of which worked fine on 2.3 Gingerbread Note before I ran the update to ICS (which seems to have changed the dpi/ppi resolution reporting between the device and the Nook app).
flash back to GB.....It sounds like our only hope...unless B&N pulls their head out, and supports ICS with their apps...g
Nook Updated 3.2.0.81 - better Galaxy Note & Tablet support & built-in dictionary
Good news: Nook 3.2.0.81 updated yesterday and there's some better support for the Galaxy Note, including ability to hide status bar, and (for all devices) a built-in dictionary option to download the dictionary of your choice so you no longer need to launch out of the product to look up definitions. (Interesting note: The iOS version update also offers downloadable dictionary even though that version of the app has had dictionary lookup using the iOS's own dictionary feature since earliest versions.)
To me the updated version helps make using Nook on the Galaxy Note more comfortable, though the font sizing still seems off, because even the smallest font still looks too big to me.
That said, I'm pleased this app has finally gotten a reasonably helpful update after so many months of gargantuan fonts and unhidden status bar and whatnot.
I just long-pressed the left button (back button) to bring up the settings and fix the text size. Now it reads just like it did on my Samsung Galaxy S4.

What's with the stock DPI?

I was real surprised the first day I used my Note II when less stuff fit on the screen that my Galaxy Nexus. I guess I assumed it would be the same, as they're both 720p. I'm used to it on stock at least now, but was just thinking...what's the point in this, Samsung? Feels like the stock DPI is designed for my grandpa sometimes "These old eyes need big letters, son"
johnchad14 said:
I was real surprised the first day I used my Note II when less stuff fit on the screen that my Galaxy Nexus. I guess I assumed it would be the same, as they're both 720p. I'm used to it on stock at least now, but was just thinking...what's the point in this, Samsung? Feels like the stock DPI is designed for my grandpa sometimes "These old eyes need big letters, son"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the DPI is 320.
Not sure why you would be surprised...plenty of reviews out there showing the larger...well...everything.
First of all brother,
let me say that DPI is dots per inch and it is a measure of video.dot density..
When the DPI increases the object go bigger in Android...
You said that it is like maded for Grand papas reading glass and i liked that.. but manufacturers always go for the average of optimal values , thats how they can prouduce a littile less buggy products... If they had decresed the DPI to fit more things on the screen some peoples may be complining that they cant see writing because it went too small.. There might be some peoples who might be having littile less eyepower and they may start complaining...
Brother, i heard that stock DPI of GS2 is around 320 and to fit too.many items just decrease DPI using apps like "Pimp My Rom" which is available on play store when if you are in custom ROM
Sent from my GT-S5360 using xda app-developers app
I didnt like it either. So I got nova launcher and increased the grid size so more icons would fit on the screen.
Sent from my SCH-I605
I use Holo launcher and have the grid set to 7x9, with no margins, and the DPI set to 240 (just change the ro.density lines in system >build.prop from 320 to 240 using a text editor and reboot). You do have to be rooted to do this though. There are some apps that go out of alignment, but there are 240 DPI compatible ones: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35583745
I also use the on screen nav bar which looks good at this DPI too.
Sent from my unlocked & underclocked Galaxy Note 2
sleevasteve said:
I use Holo launcher and have the grid set to 7x9, with no margins, and the DPI set to 240 (just change the ro.density lines in system >build.prop from 320 to 240 using a text editor and reboot). You do have to be unlocked rooted to do this though. There are some apps that go out of alignment, but there are 240 DPI compatible ones: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35583745
I also use the on screen nav bar which looks good at this DPI too.
Sent from my unlocked & underclocked Galaxy Note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FTFY.
Well yeah I knew things were visibly bigger, but thought it was just same dpi stretched another inch. Wasnt till I started noticing context sensitive stuff like less menu options displayed, or the winner of not being able to see text messages as I type them in landscape in google voice. And to be clear I'm not exactly complaining, I just don't see the logic in the design choice.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium HD app

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