[APPs] The Unofficial R.HD-approved Apps Thread - RAZR HD Themes and Apps

Heya, chaps
So, the idea of this thread is to share information on the apps you have found to work best with your RAZR HD's. Or something like that Share your favourite apps with a short description what it does and why you consider it to be good at it Mentioning apps you found to be incompatible with our apps, even if they said they were, or the ones that just don't work as advertised is welcome, too.
When you do list your apps of choice, please mention which ROM you're using, too! There are many differences between various ROMs and Android versions, so it's only natural that some apps don't bridge the differences well.
This post will possibly turn into an index of recommended applications, if the thread gets enough attention
Cheers!

Let me start, I suppose. Although, at the moment, I really don't use many (except the AOSP ones) at all
gStrings Free Tuner - I play the bass and having a phone as a decent tuner comes in rather handy at many occasions and I've found this app to be pretty accurate, as well. The author has since made a fancier version called "Waves" but I've remained faithful to this one.
CM Next Camera - this has been my favourite camera app ever since I first installed it while I was on CM11 with my R HD. The UI is simplistic, yet absolutely perfectly intuitive for me - you set all your modes up and just flick through them with up and down swipes, while video recording starts as soon as you hit the dedicated in-app button. No need to switch to video camera mode first, as in many other apps, and no need to go into any menus if you, say, want to capture that beautiful scenery before you in HDR mode. But, ever since CM12 came along, it just doesn't seem to work as well, at least not for me. It often does a shot off-focus and the exposure and colour balance just aren't as good as they should be. I've searched and found newer versions of the apk, but it didn't help. I'm looking for an alternative now... Might switch to Camera Zoom FX, because that has given me great shots whenever I used it, but I'm open for other suggestions! I don't expect an DSLR-like pictures, don't get me wrong, but there's clearly something amiss here.
K-9 Mail - I've tried all of the fancy e-mail clients, but I always come back to K-9. It's just feels the most robust of all and it does everything I need. I don't mind if I need to tap the screen once or twice more than I would with a different e-mail client.
QuickOffice Pro - version 5.5.209 - this is an app I got from my old Defy and just continued installing it on the R HD. I've tried switching to different, newer versions and apps and I just don't find them as good. This works very fast, isn't bloated with a fancy UI, and has been able to open everything else any other office app can as of now. Is there a worthy replacement?

Did you try A Better Camera? One downsize for me is saving data to SD card is under development for Android 5.
niksy+ said:
Let me start, I suppose. Although, at the moment, I really don't use many (except the AOSP ones) at all
gStrings Free Tuner - I play the bass and having a phone as a decent tuner comes in rather handy at many occasions and I've found this app to be pretty accurate, as well. The author has since made a fancier version called "Waves" but I've remained faithful to this one.
CM Next Camera - this has been my favourite camera app ever since I first installed it while I was on CM11 with my R HD. The UI is simplistic, yet absolutely perfectly intuitive for me - you set all your modes up and just flick through them with up and down swipes, while video recording starts as soon as you hit the dedicated in-app button. No need to switch to video camera mode first, as in many other apps, and no need to go into any menus if you, say, want to capture that beautiful scenery before you in HDR mode. But, ever since CM12 came along, it just doesn't seem to work as well, at least not for me. It often does a shot off-focus and the exposure and colour balance just aren't as good as they should be. I've searched and found newer versions of the apk, but it didn't help. I'm looking for an alternative now... Might switch to Camera Zoom FX, because that has given me great shots whenever I used it, but I'm open for other suggestions! I don't expect an DSLR-like pictures, don't get me wrong, but there's clearly something amiss here.
K-9 Mail - I've tried all of the fancy e-mail clients, but I always come back to K-9. It's just feels the most robust of all and it does everything I need. I don't mind if I need to tap the screen once or twice more than I would with a different e-mail client.
QuickOffice Pro - version 5.5.209 - this is an app I got from my old Defy and just continued installing it on the R HD. I've tried switching to different, newer versions and apps and I just don't find them as good. This works very fast, isn't bloated with a fancy UI, and has been able to open everything else any other office app can as of now. Is there a worthy replacement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

forserg said:
Did you try A Better Camera? One downsize for me is saving data to SD card is under development for Android 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do Been using Camera Zoom FX (Pro) for a few days and it keeps asking me to comment and rate it on the Play store every 3-4 shots, it's awful. The video interface is bad, as well, you need to switch modes, then start recording, then it asks you whether you want to save it after pressing the stop button... Nearly lost my recording when I used it. Photography wise - it keeps trying to focus (and set other parameters) in the dark without firing flash for assistance so I get photos that are at least "burnt" by flash or blurry, along with that. Dang

Related

ohmigod! My Mobiler!

I'm not the sqealy type. People who squeal in airports really annoy me. But this just about got me:
http://www.mtux.com/
I thought it needed some extra attention. I'm wondering if including a "recommended PC installs" (freeware) part of a ROM posting would be appropriate. ????
(If Sprite Backup is included in the ROM, but sets itself apart from other software like it by its PC functionality....) Just an idea.
Download this now if you haven't!
http://www.mtux.com/
I'm using it on daily basis since someon published the program on todopocketpc.com
Works great, far better than the one from Microsoft. The Cut&Paste option is very useful to me.
Old version reviewed http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/popup/dataconnect-comp-table.jsp#pda
Alternative and comparison reviewed http://www.modaco.com/content/Pocke...E-4-another-great-PDA-controller-alternative/
now this would be a very useful bit of software to turn my phone into an ip webcam if you could see the display when you are in camera mode, but it gives me the camera options round the edge, but just a black screen where the camera picture should be ?
Does it work on anyone else's computer ?

The HP Touchpad - The good, the bad, and the ugly

I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
Sent from my Sapphire/dream using XDA App
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.

[Q] Rant: I HATE mini apps on my Galaxy Tab 10.1... do YOU?

I HATE mini apps on my Galaxy Tab 10.1...
That feature alone is enough to make me want to return the device.
Seriously? Why would Samsung want to decide for me my what apps I want at my finger tips? Then not only that, they use their own cheesy versions of available apps. I have already found the solutions I want to use through my Android phone. I want to carry over the same apps to the tab so that my experience is a little less fragmented.
The "mini apps" constantly get in the way. I'm brushing against the bottom bar causing the apps to pop up... none of which I ever use, completely unintentionally. Annoying! If I could only decide what apps showed up!
Total pain in the REAR!
Then Samsung loads on a bunch of unnecessary software. I HATE having 5 apps that do exactly the same thing on my device... The abundance of music players is asinine. Having three book programs (none of which you can remove) is stoopid.
Why can't you get a piece of hardware without the software all screwed up by the vendor these days?
Why is root necessary every time I put my hands on an Android device to make it useful?
Why can't I purchase an Android product with a Google backed Vanilla version of the current OS installed?
Why?
Why?
Why?
I'm so pissed that this $600 tablet requires an additional 15 dollars in apps and a good 6-12 (or more) hours of set-up time and research to get it properly rooted and operating the way I like it.
Sorry... that made me feel so much better.
Maybe an ipad would have been a better choice for you. I like tinkering with my toys so I chose the tab.
I HATE mini apps on my Galaxy Tab 10.1... do YOU?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may have opened the mini apps tray 3-4 times unintentionally (in the 10 weeks I have the tablet) and I use the "calculator" mini app quite regularly. So no, they don't bother me but I wouldn't miss them if they were gone either.
SGPMan said:
Maybe an ipad would have been a better choice for you. I like tinkering with my toys so I chose the tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Them there are fighting words...
I enjoy tinkering as well. I have loved customizing my original Incredible and now Incredible 2. They have an excellent following with a lot of very reputable ROM "artists". However, their original UI wasn't that bad to start with. And with the CM nighties, my phone is near perfect.
With the Galaxy Tab 10.1, my initial experience (3 days) I have found it to be laggy and glitchy, which I was shocked about. I want this tab to work for me, but it seems that I'm trying awful hard to make this work. I think it's the fact that my phone is setup so well and runs so well... I figured the tablet would be so much better. I set my expectations high, only to be disappointed so far.
I have rooted and removed a bunch of unnecessary apps, but haven't figured out how to remove that dam mini app bar. As far as custom ROM's go... I haven't loaded any since I am still trying to figure which has the best reputation for stability and speed.
I am trying to figure out something, other wise by Thursday this thing is headed back to Best Buy. Sad thing is... I don't want an apple device, but if that's what is comes to, then I will retire my Android phone as well to keep everything streamlined. Sucks!
gokpog said:
I may have opened the mini apps tray 3-4 times unintentionally (in the 10 weeks I have the tablet) and I use the "calculator" mini app quite regularly. So no, they don't bother me but I wouldn't miss them if they were gone either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Real Calc regularly, a donate (paid) app which can handle higher level math functions. I wish I could just substitute it in place of the basic Samsung/Android version.
Agree with you, mini-apps are boring me every time i wanna play a fullscreen game, like "fruit ninja thd"... This "rolling dock" is not a great feature.
SGPMan said:
Maybe an ipad would have been a better choice for you. I like tinkering with my toys so I chose the tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the reason most of us choose Android is that we aren't forced into "one man's vision" and have the ability to choose for ourself. The mini-app bar forces us into one company's vision. I have to agree with the OP about this.
We should at least have the ability to turn it off.
Meh...it's there, it's unobtrusive, and at least my experience with it is that I really have to try to get it to come up when I want it. Have never accidentally brought it up. Sometimes the calc and the memo pad are useful.
Can't see why people hate it so much.
MMcCraryNJ said:
Meh...it's there, it's unobtrusive, and at least my experience with it is that I really have to try to get it to come up when I want it. Have never accidentally brought it up. Sometimes the calc and the memo pad are useful.
Can't see why people hate it so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So...
Try a vs party on "Fruit Ninja THD", you'll see ^^
Just hide the status bar with this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1265397
problem solved!!!
I actually don't mind having mini app tray. I use task manager, calculater and memo pad for taking notes from web regularly. The only thing I don't like is accidentally hitting the screenshot button. But I totally agree with the original post. An option to turn it off would be nice.
Personally I like them. Two of them I use on a daily basis. Most of the others occasionally.
JHeal77 said:
As far as custom ROM's go... I haven't loaded any since I am still trying to figure which has the best reputation for stability and speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Task360/Phantom "In Paris"
v.2 works great for me, but v.4 is coming "soon"(tm)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1284355
Really not a massive fan of them being there tbh, but I don't accidentally press the button (not like the screenshot one...grr!) and I don't use the apps in it. I just ignore it and get on my way.
If there was an option of getting rid of it though, I would.
I found this thread while searching for a way to at least configure this menu bar... unfortunately it looks like the whole thing is embedded in the ROM and the only way to hide it is to patch the ROM and/or completely replace it (thanks for the links in the thread).
I fully agree with the OP on a lot of his rant. This is an awesome peice of hardware that comes out of the box with some insanely bad software. I'm still deciding on what launcher to replace the stock version with, but so far both Go and Launcher Pro are tons faster, more configurable, and better looking than the laggy default version that doesn't even let you use the full display.
The status bar menu is kind of a nice idea, but the execution is terrible. If I could configure what apps and quick commands I wanted on the menu and easily hide it, it would be a great feature.
But as it is, the choices of what to put there seem really bizarre. I can't for the life of me figure out why "screen shot" was deemed important enough for most users to justify space on an "always on" menu. I have to routinely go delete unwanted screenshots taken by accidentally brushing that menu option.
The choices of what to put on the quick launch app menu are even worse. Holding the "home" button on the main menu for a couple seconds pops up the task manager so why do I need a whole other button dedicated to pulling up this app? The world clock is just plain terrible compared to other clock apps. The calander is alright, but there are better widgets out there that serve the purpose better than a quick launch menu. The memo and calculator are again terrible and need to be replaced by 3rd party apps so you should be able to replace them on this menu too. The music player is the only one of the apps that serves my purposes, but again there are better 3rd party apps and you should be able to configure what is on a system wide quick launch bar.
From the perspective of an average consumer the out-of-box experience is fairly poor due to the OEM software rather than the hardware or system software. It should be easy for a user to fix this with simple market based apps and configuration options rather than having to apply warantee voiding ROM patches and rooting the OS. Allowing OEM's to "lock" bad software is a really bad policy. If an OEM wants me to use their software, they should develop or license best in class versions of those apps rather than locking the software on the system and forcing me to root the system to get rid of poor quality software.
You can disable all of these functions with some XML editing if it really annoys you that much
I'd happily do all these changes for you for a little donation of just a couple of quid
Try one of the sweet new cm9 kangs, I'm on the 7500 version. So much better then tw honeycomb.
I Agree!!
hate it so much, but now on overcome rom,
its at least slightly less annoying. just ever so SLIGHTLY.
at least in this rom, a swipe upward wont activate it.
wont disturb me during fruit ninja.
but still sometimes press it when i wana press spacebar.
stupid piece of crap tray.
the motorola xoom already has ICS.
samsung will be the slowest tab to get it cos of this touch widz.
Sometimes i feel sorry for samsung.
i have a hunch there is some kind of conspiracy goin on at the back,
where google force manufacturers to implement their own skin. (why else would samsung waste effort to make rubbish that people dont want?)
and google can sell their overprice nexus device to make money.
just imagine, if samsung can sell or upgrade the galaxy S2 and note with the pure and stock vanilla android, and upgrade them to ICS without touch widz, would anyone buy galaxy nexus?
nexus has lausy hardware. last gen GPU and horrible camera. (not due to the 5MP, but generally a weak camera compare to S2 and note)
Luv'em why we have android
Pop up windows that are independent of screen, getting closer to desktop experience. I would like to swap some out but overall, (calc, note, calendar, calculator, & music player) work great. Allow true multitasking.
I just installed OverSkreen which gives me a windowed web browser on top of screen. I really like them.
I am on an ICS KANG version by Mabalito
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1461240
With this ROM, I don't have a bottom row of mini apps.
I am using GO Launcher EX HD
http://golauncher.goforandroid.com/2012/03/go-launcher-hd-v1-0-beta/
With the launcher, I able to hide the bottom bar whenever I want.
This is awesome when I watch video and play games

After a few days using the Lumia 920 ..............

As a long time android user (since the T-Mobile G1 so about 5 years) i decided to try the Lumia 920 a few days ago and so far i`am loving it, so here are my first thoughts :
- The speed and lagless performance of the OS powered by a dual core cpu instead by a quad- or octocore cpu that is required for android. Clearly the OS and hardware are far better optimized than android. Also i had no reboots or fc`s so far.
- Many specific Nokia apps like Drive that enables navigation without a data connection required as you can download and install maps from the country`s you need.
- Seemless integration and synchronisation with Google and great data/contacts/calender transference when setting up the phone.
- Though there are obviously less apps available than with iOs and android there are many more than i initialy thought and most good and important apps are available. Only Dropbox is limited imo as it doesn`t sync and add automaticaly.
- Great camera and speakers.
- Good call quality.
I didn`t think it was going to be as good as it turned out so far but atm i don`t miss android at all and so i might stick with WP8 for a long(er) while than i anticipated.
Hope the coming update planned for July will bring some more goodies
if any problem with Google sync, simple set Google account via advanced setup
settings - email+accounts - add an account - advanced setup
- add your account info
- select Exchange ActiveSync
- add other data (dont forget to enter full email address for username), for server use m.google.com
- Sign in.... that's all
for calendar's problems look Microsoft advises
http://microsoft-news.com/sync-google-calendar-events-to-windows-calendar-app-via-outlook-com/
P.S.
Also must have app for WP is Store Deals to check latest discounts and occasional free periods for pay apps
Don't know what you mean about seemless integration with Google Calendar. Can't edit it at all. I had to follow Microsoft's tip and subscribe to it via Outlook.com but you can't edit the Google calendar that way as it is read only. Email and contacts are great. Hopefully the update that includes CalDAV support will fix the calendar issues.
Spectre51 said:
Don't know what you mean about seemless integration with Google Calendar. Can't edit it at all. I had to follow Microsoft's tip and subscribe to it via Outlook.com but you can't edit the Google calendar that way as it is read only. Email and contacts are great. Hopefully the update that includes CalDAV support will fix the calendar issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use Google calendar which i don't changes you make on the regular calender on the phone will sync to the google calendar and vice versa if you change google calendar on the PC. Just use the normal calendar on the phone and it should sync with your other calenders linked through google or hotmail.
Solarenemy68 said:
If you use Google calendar which i don't changes you make on the regular calender on the phone will sync to the google calendar and vice versa if you change google calendar on the PC. Just use the normal calendar on the phone and it should sync with your other calenders linked through google or hotmail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I was getting my windows devices mixed up.....It is working for me on WP8 just not Windows 8
Agreed in everything.
worst problem I found in WP8? Whatsapp...not always updating, got the notification but not the message....and we really need a good video player with mp4, avi and srt support.....and a notification center.
Any MS guy ever read this forum?
ramping said:
Agreed in everything.
worst problem I found in WP8? Whatsapp...not always updating, got the notification but not the message....and we really need a good video player with mp4, avi and srt support.....and a notification center.
Any MS guy ever read this forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats app working fine for me... no missed or late notification....
also avi and mp4 files work fine... and dont except or hope for srt (or any other subtitle) player... f you hope for this, you not learn anything about WP....
dxdy said:
whats app working fine for me... no missed or late notification....
also avi and mp4 files work fine... and dont except or hope for srt (or any other subtitle) player... f you hope for this, you not learn anything about WP....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YXPlayer can play videos with srt subtitles....but it´s a crappy app.
Still waiting for the VLC official app.
Anyone expiriace any problems with whatsapp?
Mobtel063 said:
Anyone expiriace any problems with whatsapp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use it; I use Skype and MetroTalk. Skype's not free but I'm not going to worry about paying on average $60 a year; $5 a month. It doesn't require my universe to have the identical app on the other end.
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
steevio_uk said:
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the 920 to replace the xperia t I had, best thing I ever did
It's fast, fluid, no freezes or hangups, battery life is great for me, the camera is awesome and I love the wireless charging.
If you can live without the modding and just use your phone for what it is then I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Sent from the event horizon of a quantum singularity
steevio_uk said:
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been an iPhone user and then a multitude of android phones user (Samsung) before embracing WP8.
My opinion: iPhone is fine if you just want a phone that works - although Apple lost me after the release of the iPhone 4: I was obviously holding it wrong when I wanted to make a call so it mostly wouldn't iOS is simple to use and has lots of apps, but is a walled garden.
Android, while open and extremely customizable, really annoyed me: at first the phones were fine, then became laggy over time. I also found I was frequently rebooting the phones daily. You shouldn't have to install a custom ROM for it to work smoothly. While there are a lot of apps, they are mostly poor quality compared to their iOS counterparts.
So I decided on trying out WP8 around 4 months ago and bought a Lumia 920. First off the build quality is excellent, it's a solid lump of a phone, not tacky plastic feeling like the Samsungs I had. The operating system has NEVER lagged on me...EVER. I only found out a few weeks after I'd had it how to reboot it, and I only did that to find out how to, not that it needed it. Although not nearly as customizable as the androids, I personally got bored doing so with the Samsungs anyway. I love the Live Tiles on the Lumia 920. Again there are nowhere near the amount of apps as iOS or Android, but those there are I find to be as good as iOS apps.
The camera is excellent. So good in fact that when my other half wants pictures taken she asks me to do so - she has an iPhone 5.
At first I was worried by the fact you cannot use a memory card, but honestly I find the 32gb onboard to be plenty - never had to go through and delete stuff to make more room. An added bonus is the wireless charging - I still think it's witchcraft :laugh: no idea how or why it works but it does lol
So in summary, yes - I thoroughly recommend the Lumia 920 for your needs: the camera is great, the stock browser is quick and I never had a problem with it and navigation is top notch.
Thanks so much for your replies.
I have had the phone for 4-5 days now and I am absolutely delighted by the decision. Possibly the best hardware change/update I've ever made.
I am finding excuses for taking pictures, such is the quality of the camera, enjoying getting to grips with the new layout and O/S, trying to find decent apps for certain things I used on Android, the main one being the notes app, which was sat on my Android home screen and I used regularly as a 1 click solution to add a note and remind me of things.
Something like that, as a simple live tile would be great, but haven't found such an app yet. (Any you guys suggest?)
I was initially very concerned by the battery life. I took it out with me after an initial charge and found the battery draining away at an alarming rate, even with it in my pocket!
But as I'm sure you're well aware, there's the changes to remedy this;; turning NFC off, location, background apps, getting used to exiting an app with the back button etc.
Great battery life now.
Just ordered a case and I'm one happy bunny!
My god, the Xperia S seems like a distant nightmare now! :victory:

Soul Browser - A litte gem you've probably never heard of

I posted this on the Kiwi Browser thread more in mourning at the lack of support and updates Kiwi has received in the last year or so.
So I stumbled on Soul Browser and it's been excellent so far. Extremely fast and lite. Unfortunately it doesn't have extensions but it's got virtually every function and customization you can think of. Digging into it's background it seems to be from a developer out of the UK so should be safe. It's on the Play Store but not open source unfortunately.
Everything is good and all but i couldn't find the toggle to turn video overlays on fullscreen. i watch something on youtube in portrait mode, when i make it fullscreen, video pauses, sometimes starts from the beginning and i don't like that overlay with full of buttons. How do i turn that of and have smooth transition?
Twotems said:
I posted this on the Kiwi Browser thread more in mourning at the lack of support and updates Kiwi has received in the last year or so.
So I stumbled on Soul Browser and it's been excellent so far. Extremely fast and lite. Unfortunately it doesn't have extensions but it's got virtually every function and customization you can think of. Digging into it's background it seems to be from a developer out of the UK so should be safe. It's on the Play Store but not open source unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycompany.app.soulbrowser ? I don't see any info about it at all, no blog, no homepage, no xda, nothing. Do you know any more about it? I love kiwi, and would stick if it wasn't Chrome 77, but for SB I cannot find anything about it and the dev replies on Play Store don't seem native english (which is fine, but I don't want yet another app later shown to be harvesting data)
hus.ter said:
Everything is good and all but i couldn't find the toggle to turn video overlays on fullscreen. i watch something on youtube in portrait mode, when i make it fullscreen, video pauses, sometimes starts from the beginning and i don't like that overlay with full of buttons. How do i turn that of and have smooth transition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea. Comment on the Playstore and the developer usually responds quite quickly. There's so much customization I haven't even touched yet.
Bingley said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycompany.app.soulbrowser ? I don't see any info about it at all, no blog, no homepage, no xda, nothing. Do you know any more about it? I love kiwi, and would stick if it wasn't Chrome 77, but for SB I cannot find anything about it and the dev replies on Play Store don't seem native english (which is fine, but I don't want yet another app later shown to be harvesting data)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the last 5 or so pages of the Kiwi thread on here and most of your concerns are answered. I, and several others, had the same worries but it seems Adguard DNS takes care of most issues. Trackers etc are all Google stuff anyway according to ClassyShark.
Twotems said:
I have no idea. Comment on the Playstore and the developer usually responds quite quickly. There's so much customization I haven't even touched yet.
Read the last 5 or so pages of the Kiwi thread on here and most of your concerns are answered. I, and several others, had the same worries but it seems Adguard DNS takes care of most issues. Trackers etc are all Google stuff anyway according to ClassyShark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, yes I've just come from there! I use nextdns so nothing gets through to Google any way. It looks more a Samsung Internet base than Kiwi/plain Chrome. I just wish there was more info. And I'm so tired of being unable to migrate bookmarks, logins, cookies, etc between browsers!
Bingley said:
Thanks, yes I've just come from there! I use nextdns so nothing gets through to Google any way. It looks more a Samsung Internet base than Kiwi/plain Chrome. I just wish there was more info. And I'm so tired of being unable to migrate bookmarks, logins, cookies, etc between browsers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand it's Chromium based but so is Samsung so all the same.
I'm having issues using it with NextDNS. It works but I get constant SSL errors on Soul which I don't get on Samsung or Kiwi, so there's something NextDNS doesn't like in there but I can't find it in the NextDNS logs. However it works fine with Adguard DNS and all trackers etc are blocked. I added Energized Ultimate to the adblock host list in Soul as an extra measure.
I imported my chrome bookmarks with ease using the html file. So no issues there.
A very good browser and can be greatly configured
(bars on top or bottom in custom size, long press settings, swipe settings, back/forward gestures, double finger gestures, no reload when back/forth, skip to page beginning, floating scrollbar, own blocklists, full auto dark mode, video downloader and much much more). I've never seen a better mobile browser, it's crazy.
But my problem with it is that it doesn't launch native apps from links:
Youtube is launched only if you google for youtube, but not from embedded videos; reddit is launched only if you use native reddit app and not third party one; ebay app doesn't launch and so on. Dealbreaker for me - I feel like on iOS.
Another thing is adblocker isn't consistent. If you jump through tabs and apps and then go back to prev opened website, sometimes there is suddenly an ad running, which was blocked before.
So overall it feels kinda buggy and you can say it's made by one person and on top of that - by a completly unknown entity (no mail, website) originate in Asia.
So I'm back on Samsung Browser beta which is still missing few nice to have things, but is fully baked.
Dexter666 said:
A very good browser and can be greatly configured
(bars on top or bottom in custom size, long press settings, swipe settings, back/forward gestures, double finger gestures, no reload when back/forth, skip to page beginning, floating scrollbar, own blocklists, full auto dark mode, video downloader and much much more). I've never seen a better mobile browser, it's crazy.
But my problem with it is that it doesn't launch native apps from links:
Youtube is launched only if you google for youtube, but not from embedded videos; reddit is launched only if you use native reddit app and not third party one; ebay app doesn't launch and so on. Dealbreaker for me - I feel like on iOS.
Another thing is adblocker isn't consistent. If you jump through tabs and apps and then go back to prev opened website, sometimes there is suddenly an ad running, which was blocked before.
So overall it feels kinda buggy and you can say it's made by one person and on top of that - by a completly unknown entity (no mail, website) originate in Asia.
So I'm back on Samsung Browser beta which is still missing few nice to have things, but is fully baked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Vanced and it launches directly. Check settings and enable the toggle to allow YouTube launch. I don't know about the ebay app but complaining about a 3rd party reddit app isn't the browsers fault.
I've switched off the built-in adblocker and use 1Hosts Pro and Energized Ultimate in the user field and never had that problem even with the built-in one active. Maybe because I also use a private dns adblocker on my devices.
I think the developer is from Korea as there are references to Korean legalities if you dig a little. I use this browser for daily casual surfing and it's fantastic but my main browser is also Samsung for secure and private stuff. Best of both worlds.
Well I use YouTube app and not vanced and it's not working. Toggle is set correctly and as I said some apps are starting, example "eBay Kleinanzeigen".
Ofcourse it's browsers fault if 3rd party reddit client is not starting IF it's registered in system as default reddit client.
Well written browsers always open apps properly: Samsung Browser, Firefox, Yandex and so on, because they respect those flags.
I don't want to need use vpn for adblocking.
Twotems said:
I use Vanced and it launches directly. Check settings and enable the toggle to allow YouTube launch. I don't know about the ebay app but complaining about a 3rd party reddit app isn't the browsers fault.
I've switched off the built-in adblocker and use 1Hosts Pro and Energized Ultimate in the user field and never had that problem even with the built-in one active. Maybe because I also use a private dns adblocker on my devices.
I think the developer is from Korea as there are references to Korean legalities if you dig a little. I use this browser for daily casual surfing and it's fantastic but my main browser is also Samsung for secure and private stuff. Best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi there, how your experience using energized Ultimate jost adblocker, when I use Ultimate packs I experienced apps keep restarting even when keeping them on my recent apps and also it seems like it keep hogging free ram resource from 8gb mi note 10 lite
Question: what does the Cup of Coffee stands for in the overflow menu?
Azka05 said:
hi there, how your experience using energized Ultimate jost adblocker, when I use Ultimate packs I experienced apps keep restarting even when keeping them on my recent apps and also it seems like it keep hogging free ram resource from 8gb mi note 10 lite
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped using Energized Ultimate as it was overkill and heavy. I'm using 1Hosts Pro, OISD and Easylist now.
brianmolko1981 said:
Question: what does the Cup of Coffee stands for in the overflow menu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was for donations but doesn't seem to work anyway.
Thanks for letting other people know about this browser.
I am not a advanced user. I only want a browser with adblocker and simple interface. I don't know about hosts, dns, etc.,
I have used Via, OH, Berry, Fulguris, Stargon, Onbibi browsers. Soul mixes all these into one.
Thanks
One thing missing is reader mode. Some old websites won't "work" mobile without it, example:
Infinite-baffle
Honestly! I'm just loving it! Perfect title and Perfect Browser name! Soul Browser
Bingley said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycompany.app.soulbrowser ? I don't see any info about it at all, no blog, no homepage, no xda, nothing. Do you know any more about it? I love kiwi, and would stick if it wasn't Chrome 77, but for SB I cannot find anything about it and the dev replies on Play Store don't seem native english (which is fine, but I don't want yet another app later shown to be harvesting data)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree about how nice this browser is but I'm also VERY MUCH concerned about the risk of privacy violation. Anyone has additional info about this ?
To the author if he's reading us: why don't you show up and talk about this important aspect of your (fantastic) app ?
Cool browser. But there's no option to import passwords
This was my daily browser for a while but now things are getting out of control. So much customisations as I like but not working flawlessly. Sad that no developer communication exist and bugs are not getting fixed.
Really like this browser but I have one really annoying issue : when watching a video in full screen landscape mode and would like to adjust something and tap the screen, the navigation bar do not disappear automatically...
Anybody faced this issue?

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