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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
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
See the Guide for NOOBS sticky at the top of this forum ^^^^
thinguy said:
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used kies with either my captivate or infuse. Don't see the need with other apps, as well as the fact that you can just drag and drop files onto your phone's storage. Syncing reminds me of an iphone, and is stupid in my opinion. Drag and drop allows you to only add the files you need/want, and is much faster in the long run.
I suggest using Google Music for your music, it automatically uploads up to 20,000 songs automatically from your itunes or windows media player to the cloud so that you can access them wherever.
If you use grooveshark at all, check out Dood's music streamer. Allows you to use grooveshark on the go without paying for premium service. If you have not used grooveshark before, check it out on your computer.
Google voice provides a simple, visual voicemail system, though I think I have read somewhere that the note has visual voicemail built in? Could be wrong.
XDA app is a must, though I assume you use that on your Nook already.
Dropbox is useful for documents, as well as google docs.
The note comes with S Note and other various apps that make use of the S pen.
Dolphin Browser HD is a great replacement browser that I have used with all of my androids.
Evernote is useful for taking notes that can be accessed on your phone or any computer. I hope the S pen can have some functionality with this app.
Root explorer is definitely worth the few bucks it costs to have access to all of the files on your phone.
Titanium backup is a must if you are into ROMing your devices, as it will allow you to restore your apps after every flash with ease. The free version works, but you have to approve every app install. I suggest buying the full version, as the restore process is fully automated and can run in the background or with your screen off, making the process much less cumbersome.
Other than that, we will have to wait and see if apps such as rom manager and such will be of any use to the flashing process once the devs get their hands on the device and start pumping out custom roms.
OP, i'm also as green as you on the Android platform. I have an iphone 4s and got the Note just to explore Android.
jpeg42 said:
See the Guide for NOOBS sticky at the top of this forum ^^^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you read it? Its just Android definitions and reserved spots for future use. No specific info on tips, advice or apps.
welchertc said:
I have never used kies with either my captivate or infuse. Don't see the need with other apps, as well as the fact that you can just drag and drop files onto your phone's storage. Syncing reminds me of an iphone, and is stupid in my opinion. Drag and drop allows you to only add the files you need/want, and is much faster in the long run.
I suggest using Google Music for your music, it automatically uploads up to 20,000 songs automatically from your itunes or windows media player to the cloud so that you can access them wherever.
If you use grooveshark at all, check out Dood's music streamer. Allows you to use grooveshark on the go without paying for premium service. If you have not used grooveshark before, check it out on your computer.
Google voice provides a simple, visual voicemail system, though I think I have read somewhere that the note has visual voicemail built in? Could be wrong.
XDA app is a must, though I assume you use that on your Nook already.
Dropbox is useful for documents, as well as google docs.
The note comes with S Note and other various apps that make use of the S pen.
Dolphin Browser HD is a great replacement browser that I have used with all of my androids.
Evernote is useful for taking notes that can be accessed on your phone or any computer. I hope the S pen can have some functionality with this app.
Root explorer is definitely worth the few bucks it costs to have access to all of the files on your phone.
Titanium backup is a must if you are into ROMing your devices, as it will allow you to restore your apps after every flash with ease. The free version works, but you have to approve every app install. I suggest buying the full version, as the restore process is fully automated and can run in the background or with your screen off, making the process much less cumbersome.
Other than that, we will have to wait and see if apps such as rom manager and such will be of any use to the flashing process once the devs get their hands on the device and start pumping out custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I forget that it can be handled like a normal usb device/storage.
I need to try Dolphin, using Opera on Nook now and it's better than the default but still lacking. The firefox app seems terrible/incomplete.
thinguy said:
Other than a rooted Nook tablet I don't have much experience with Android. I'm coming from an iPhone4 and looking forward to something new.
What are the must have utilities and apps?
Any tips or must have, must do things?
I've seen doubletwist mentioned and Samsung uses Kies.
Looking forward to Note...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a captivate and have used froyo and gingerbread. I suspect you will find the gingerbread used on the g-note okay but not as polished and as smooth as your iOS. That said, the new android ICS (using cm9 alpha, build 16) is is incredible. Smooth, clean, powerful and intuitive. A pleasure to use, I believe It offers the best of both worlds. The ease of apple and the configurable power of android.
Since you have a nook you can try it out, the nook ics rom is very usable and will give you a hint of the g-note goodness to come with the ics operating system the xda guys will cook up. I have a nook to, and if you have rooted it, the ics install will be relatively simple.
The following list are some Apps you might find worth looking at, and depending on your interest, might even be worth paying for.
Music; I use Power Amp, paid app. clean seductive interface, lots of audio magic for the music lover, and great developer support.
Files; Webdav; paid ver. Nice little app let's you wireless mount your android as a drive so you can cut/paste files and folders as you would to and from any other drive on your PC. Great for lots of audio book files, movies, or just cleaning up your phone. You can use 3g instead of wifi but I've never tried it.
Podcasts; Dogcatcher, paid app. simply the best. Its biggest competition is Mypod. I used it for over a year, but never was able to get comfortable with its interface. Dogcatcher....you can just start using it, and it has lots of options.
Sling player, TV goodness, paid app and home box. Watch anything straight from your home cable, sat., or ota tuner, perfect if your a sports nut.
Launcher; Nova , free app. I am still testing but it is just so sexy and free so I figured I give it a mention.
Radio; Tune in , free app. music sports news radio stations with easy search presets. It is to good to be true but I haven't found a downside yet.
Browser; Dolphin HD, free app. I can't get excited about this one. It works, the speed is good, and it is not going to choke on flash. I would like to recommend Opera but it has been very buggy lately, I don't think it is playing nice with ics.
Google chrome is getting great reviews but it doesn't support flash. Then there is Boat browser and Quick Ics browser both show great promise but not sure about them yet.
I've got a G-note on order, for the lte and its monster screen. The thing is, since I got ics, my captivate is such a pleasure to use and play with I don't know how I'll survive waiting for a ics port.
Oh, and samsungs kies program might have some use but I've never found it.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
vizographic said:
Browser; Dolphin HD, free app. I can't get excited about this one. It works, the speed is good, and it is not going to choke on flash. I would like to recommend Opera but it has been very buggy lately, I don't think it is playing nice with ics.
Google chrome is getting great reviews but it doesn't support flash. Then there is Boat browser and Quick Ics browser both show great promise but not sure about them yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very disappointed to hear that Opera is buggy with ICS--it's my favorite browser by far. <sarcasm>Fortunately</sarcasm>, we probably won't have a working ICS ROM for I717 any time soon. For the OP, this is Opera Mobile, not Opera Mini--the latter handles all traffic through opera's servers and compresses images to speed up browsing for slow phones or phones with poor connections, but the result is that many webpages with active (javascript or flash) content just don't work right.
Also a word of warning for the OP: if you choose Dolphin, make sure you are rooted and block en.mywebzines.com (and maybe some other related URLs) through your hosts file. The spyware seems to be removed in the latest update, but I still won't trust a browser that, at any time in its history, forwarded essentially all of your web activity to a third party server. There's a long thread around here that discusses these issues in more depth.
Browsers are very much a matter of personal preference though; also, if you use a browser that matches your desktop browser, it makes syncing the two much easier--firefox, opera, and chrome all have great sync capabilities between their desktop and mobile counterparts.
Thanks for the link, a very disturbing read regarding the Dolphin Browser HD. I took aggressive data mining for granted, but damn the DB-hd boys are into strip mining personal data...... thanks again for taking the time to post...
OP, please forget i even mentioned Dolphin
(i going to.. ; ) and give Opera a shot. He is right were not gonna be on ics for good stretch, and by the time we are any quirks will be ironed out. It is a great overall program with lots of features. It has usually been my daily driver since the long gone days of windows mobile.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
root question?
Since ICS is a ways off, If we root for TiBU, or Root explorer to remove certain system apps, will we get ICS FOTA, or will we not get it without unrooting and replacing all bloat we removed?
So my question is -any advice for those of us who root but want the OTA ICS when it comes out?
Should have put this out first- will the method for the international version for root work for the ATT one?
I've dreamed of having this on a tablet ever since they came out. I cannot believe iOS got this before any Android implementation, Cornerstone is ok, but this beats it hands down!!!
http://thebigboss.org/quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quasar-a-window-manager-for-ipad
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
demandarin said:
that isnt even true multitasking. you see they dont have a video playing in one window while browsing in another. all it is is opening up different windows. the other windows stop loading or doing whatever as you open a new one.
i can do all of that and more easily on just a rooted prime with stickit floating media player and overskreeen floating browser. On android it will be true multitasking because all things are going at the same time , all on the screen at once. ex. i could open up overskreen browser to browse xda. then i can open up multiple movies or vids with stickit and have them playing. then i can open up Facebook app and browse the app. i can have all that on my screen going on at once. one doesn't pause for the other action. so ill have my movies playing and watching them in a resize able window while looking at Facebook while also looking at xda in the overskreen browser. this is all at the same time, on the same screen, in real time. no slowdown or anything what so ever. i can even open up multiple browser pages and have them in their own individual windows if i want.
plus thats not an ios feature. thats something developers from cydia implemented. cydia isnt even supported by apple. jailbreak(isnt supported by apple also) is required to get cydia. then this app is in cydia. it looks cool but more of an illusion of multitasking. id say cornerstone blows this away or even what i described i use because what android does is true multitasking. on ios its not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
luminus69 said:
Yeah, come back when iPad can do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I stated, I know the Prime is a much better device, and can handle a ton more, just a feature "wish we had it" post.
RubenRybnik said:
I know this is a jailbreak tweak and not supported by Apple, this is a given with any tweaks like this. However, I will agree with you on the pausing of 'windowed' apps, not ideal at all. And using Overskreen, and / or airterm is great, but they are app specific. Cydias implementation, while not perfect, is still pretty nice to have any app windowed so you can have info displayed any where then just switch over to have it update, yes ideally they would keep running in windowed mode, but I feel this is still a nice feature to have as you can have info displayed in say Facebook, and then have twitter in another window if you want to use some FB info to post an update to twitter and need to see both at once.
I'm still waiting for Android to get a windowed implementation where you can, much like Overskreen or airterm, but have any app go into 'windowed' mode to fullscreen seemlessly, allowing you to choose what suits your needs at the time. For me this would pretty much seal the deal as Android being the clear winner for a tablet OS( in my mind it already is light years ahead of iOS in everything other than the 'polish' of apps being developed for iOS, but that's just an issue with sheer number of 'established' devs giving iOS more priority over Android, and the fact that it's easier to develop for a known set of hardware Vs. the array of HW available for Android ) ... Even with that Android is obviously better, especially if you're a power user.
Anyways, this post wasn't a supposed to be a dis on Android, just more of a "I want, I want.." kinda post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree. i want any app to be able to be windowed. Maybe those developers will make something that can do that. they seem to be the only developers, creators of stickit & overskreen, that seem to be going in that direction. the people from tablified app also created a floating messaging client. so its only a matter of time before more n more apps will be able to be windowed just like on a PC. thats why i love overskreen, stickit, aircalc, & floating air terminal so much.
Oh god here we go. ****storm imminent. Massive buttrage incoming. FLAME WAR HAS BEEN IGNITED I REPEAT FLAMEWAR HAS BEEN IGNITED.
But, the ipad's gonna have a monster log load of compatibility problems with that because apple locks down their stuff so it's going to be insanely hard to adapt screen sizes especially because there is little variation in resolution for ios devices. For android, this is much easier because you've got devices from 320x240 all the way to the upcoming 1920x1200 tablets.
Sent from my tf9001 with XDA XD.
They make this operating system called "Windows". I suggest you check it out.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Cydia is a nice touch to ios. Makes my iPhone somwhat bearable.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA
/me really hopes they can get this to work in all apps.
lol are they just now getting widgets???
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Kailkti said:
Add more ram to the Android tablet realm then this would be more advantageous. Sure for simple tasks like Facebook, twitter, one tab browser, just small stuff, the prime would be able to handle all at once. But add in YouTube, more tabs in browser, a game, then bam, where's my ram?
$1 gets you a reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Screwedupsmitty said:
I'm not sure how you have missed this as it was posted ~5198298 times, but how about 15 vids at once on the ram it has now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S65h7cT0bo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I'm talking about, 15 vids at once. I believe we have enough ram to make a feasible implementation, I personally am not looking to have even 4 or 5 intensive apps running windowed, but having my RSS reader, a terminal, a video and a 'casual' game def. seems doable to me.
I stand corrected. Just tried leaving real racing 2, browser and YouTube in memory but I still have roughly over 100mb free.
With 6 tabs open on all flash intensive sites did I start to near the limit. (+ the real racing &, youtube)
$1 gets you a reply
we already have the source code for android for windowed apps. it just needs to be included into roms. but that is no easy task. so apple is actually late in the game.
i for one would like to see tiling window-managers on android, since i am a tfp+dock user.
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Ever heard of Linux
Many flavors of Linux all have window based desktops available for years. Why would having this function on Android be any different.
rorytmeadows said:
So you guys really want development to spiral in the direction of "windowed" apps? Didn't you purchase Android products for an alternative for Windows? Honestly, if it heads in that direction, you're going to just eventually have a slow bulky java app and you'll be begging for the next Tech powerhouse to design another OS as an alternative...
Jeesh...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In what world is Android an alternative for Windows? You could say Mac, Linux, Unix, hell even Chrome desktop, but Android? I don't think so. Android is an alternative to iOS, Palm, Windows -Phone-, Blackberry OS, etc... but don't compare a mobile( phone and tablet ) OS as an alternative to a Desktop OS. And yes, if you added Windowing and a couple other features to Android, then, maybe, you could make that comparison, but saying that "you'll eventually have a slow bulky java app" just by adding a Window manager is not logical. Hell, if I run 2 instances of Crysis, while watching a move, torrenting and compiling a project Windows will get slow also, it's on the owner( or limiting number of windows apps, or some other preventitive method ) to keep your system running smooth.
That being said, Android as is, is great for most people, hell just keep using it that way, but isn't Android all about options and customizability? Why not allow people another option for those who know how to manage their systems and wont go loading 10 intensive apps at the same time, what the hell would you do with that many apps open anyways on such a small screen? Guess you could video out, but the resolution wouldn't be great anyways. I'd imagine this to be a very light weight window manager, for lightweight multitasking, not for playing a tegra 3 game while listening to music and having 2 videos playing, lol.
First thing first if i helped you in any way shape or form please thank this thread.
This is all of the apps that I think are a "must have" for anyone with a Galaxy Tab 2 (7 or 10.1)
1. Rom toolbox: *REQUIRES ROOT* This is the best app for any one who likes to mod or customize the look/ feel of their tablet. It has all the features you could want wrapped up into one app.
Features: Install roms and themes like Cyanogen Mod. App and data backup. Root file browser (best file browser in my opinion).Boot logo changer.Build prop editor, app manager which allows you to delete bloatware (stock apps) and much much more!
There is a paid version which is 5 dollars and is well worth it believe me.
Lite version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.liberty.toolbox&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5qcnVtbXkubGliZXJ0eS50b29sYm94Il0.
2. XDA Premium HD: This is an app that allows you to browse and surf XDA developers without having to use a browser. Also this app is specifically designed for tablets!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quoord.xdapad.activity&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5xdW9vcmQueGRhcGFkLmFjdGl2aXR5Il0.
3. Android Tweaker :*REQUIRES ROOT* This is a must if you really wanna get the most out of your tablet. This app will do everything from increase battery life to make your tab much faster. This app is will also make mods to custom roms too!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.igio90.androidtweaker.free
4. Google Currents: Wanna follow all your favorite news/sports/car articles? This is the app for it. This allows you to follow and read articles for whatever your interests are. So for me I follow things like android central, cnet, motor trend, and many more. Also this app allows you to read articles offline this is very useful. For example your about to leave the house and you have a long car ride. You can go into currents and sync all the latest articles so you can read them offline or without internet connection later. This app is free too!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.currents
5. Nova Launcher: One of the best things about android is the ability to customize your device to the way it suites you. This is a app that replaces the home screen launcher and replaces it with a better more with more customization options. There is a free and paid version.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher
6. Spotify: This is an app that allows to stream music to your mobile device. (There is also a pc version which is awesome) THIS APP IS 10 TIMES BETTER THAN PANDORA! You do have a limited amount of skips, but you can create millions of stations and each station has 6 skips. So for example my favorite band is Avenged Sevenfold. I could create a station and it will play me songs similar to what type of music Avenged Sevenfold plays. This has helped me discover many new bands. Also its free and doesnt require root.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.mobile.android.ui
7. Google Drive: If your a student like me this is definitely a must have app. This apps allows you to create documents and spreadsheets. Also it syncs with what you made on the computer. For example say tomorrow I have to read a speech in front of my class as an assignment. I can type the document on the computer and when it comes time to do my speech I read from my tablet instead of from boring old paper. And its even better because your potentially helping the environment.:good:
You can also use this app for cloud storage!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs
8.HD widgets: Widgets are really cool but the stock ones are really boring. This app allows you to change the color and theme of the widgets to what you like. There are tons of widgets to choose from too.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cloudtv.hdwidgets
9. Swift Key Tablet Keyboard. The stock keyboard is very boring and hard to use at times. This app replaces the stock keyboard and allows you to change the look and feel of the keyboard to the way you like.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.touchtype.swiftkey.tablet.full
Lastly what do you guys think? If you have other apps that you like tell us what they are and why.
GestureControl:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodmooddroid.gesturecontrol&hl=de
Thanks just got my tab and rooted im sure these will come in handy :good:
thanks mate for the android tweaker
xposed module to modify user apps for leanback support such as emulators or sideloaded **free** games that never show up on Android TV such as NSTV.
The idea behind this to make it work is really simple....somehow the module will:
1. Load ALL user apps that don't have leanback support
2. Modify either permanently/load the app's manifest to add leanback LAUNCHER & other lines to it.
3. On restart Theoretically it should work with almost all apps being modified for Android TV.
Side note:
Any app/game that only has touch support will NOT work at all since those apps probably don't have either controller, keyboard, & mouse support at all and it will be just redundant to mod them...
(Tried playing cod zombies on NSTV...I tried all key mapping apps and nothing worked.)
THIS MODULE WILL PROBABLY REPLACE THAT **SIDELOAD LAUNCHER**
From the way I wrote this you should have already guessed that the module has NOT been made yet, since more research is needed to be done in order to progress any further than an idea, but I'm posting it now for anyone that's wants to tackle this project or help me make it(new to xposed module developing.)
Xstar410 said:
xposed module to modify user apps for leanback support such as emulators or sideloaded **free** games that never show up on Android TV such as NSTV.
The idea behind this to make it work is really simple....somehow the module will:
1. Load ALL user apps that don't have leanback support
2. Modify either permanently/load the app's manifest to add leanback LAUNCHER & other lines to it.
3. On restart Theoretically it should work with almost all apps being modified for Android TV.
Side note:
Any app/game that only has touch support will NOT work at all since those apps probably don't have either controller, keyboard, & mouse support at all and it will be just redundant to mod them...
(Tried playing cod zombies on NSTV...I tried all key mapping apps and nothing worked.)
THIS MODULE WILL PROBABLY REPLACE THAT **SIDELOAD LAUNCHER**
From the way I wrote this you should have already guessed that the module has NOT been made yet, since more research is needed to be done in order to progress any further than an idea, but I'm posting it now for anyone that's wants to tackle this project or help me make it(new to xposed module developing.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for an xposed module. just a new launcher, there's a few out already, not great though
for the mapping, I don't think it's possible to do that, xposed or not due to different mappings per game, the shield TV community is tiny, without many developers onboard.. will be a tough to get anyone with knowledge to write anything at this stage.
xd4d3v said:
No need for an xposed module. just a new launcher, there's a few out already, not great though
for the mapping, I don't think it's possible to do that, xposed or not due to different mappings per game, the shield TV community is tiny, without many developers onboard.. will be a tough to get anyone with knowledge to write anything at this stage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I been using es file explorer, but I want native support though for my games/emulators
Xstar410 said:
I been using es file explorer, but I want native support though for my games/emulators
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ES file explorer to start sideloaded apps?
try sideload launcher, or HAL launcher for a full launcher replacement.
xd4d3v said:
ES file explorer to start sideloaded apps?
try sideload launcher, or HAL launcher for a full launcher replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nah, Im saying I been using it for everything & its great, but I would like to see my non-native tv apps on the leanback lists for games...I hate to modify them manually since it is a bit annoying
Why don't you guys just use Kodi as your launcher?
I've looked into the same issue, mainly because of the norwegian TV app GetTV that is ment for customers to watch TV on any device in and out of the house and with NSTV i would have 1080p native from the IPstream instead of the 1080i the cableboxes they deliver can handle.
To make apps work that way, they need a layout compateble with DPad navigation, so changing the manifest wouldn't help much i think, and if you create an app to launch with an overlay for the app you would need to run an emulated new version of android and in that instance launch the app and have cursor/leanback support for non-native apps, that would drain the power and create even more issues, best way to do this would be for Nvidia to add a cursor mapping profile for the gamepad controller og tv remote (ex. "trippleclick search to start 'mousemode'." and then use the directional keys to move the cursor around)
Zacharybinx34 said:
Why don't you guys just use Kodi as your launcher?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking personally, because that would make this flagship device very limited in terms of what you can do outside of Kodi. Who would buy a device as powerful as the Shield TV then use it simply for watching video in Kodi?
Leanback is terrible. I use Smart Launcher Pro myself, lots of options, support for remotes and automatic categorisation of applications and games.
Beefheart said:
Speaking personally, because that would make this flagship device very limited in terms of what you can do outside of Kodi. Who would buy a device as powerful as the Shield TV then use it simply for watching video in Kodi?
Leanback is terrible. I use Smart Launcher Pro myself, lots of options, support for remotes and automatic categorisation of applications and games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can create links to android apps within Kodi.
Zacharybinx34 said:
You can create links to android apps within Kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm aware of that. But the whole process is limited and the interface less than ideal for a device of this type, or at least if used to its potential. If we were talking about a system of limited specification that was used for little else other than video playback and a few additional apps (for example, an Amazon Fire Stick) then it would perhaps make sense. But I have 60+ applications and games installed on my Shield TV. And the idea of having to access them from within Kodi, an application which was not designed with this in mind, is unappealing to say the least.
This is funny. I enjoy how the discussion is on modifying Leanback Launcher, but all the suggestions are "Don't use Leanback Launcher".
I for one actually like Leanback and the way it works on my TV with a remote. Like it was designed for it.
In terms of the discussion at hand - this isn't that hard to implement. You don't have to hook *every* package - you just need to hook the bit of Leanback Launcher that enumerates the packages and then modify that code to always return "yes" when asking if it has the Manifest permissions for Leanback.
As I find this quite intriguing and know a bit about Xposed - I think I'll take a look at this today if time allows. I happen to have both the nexus player and shield TV system images lying around (access to both versions of Leanback), so I may just be making this.
I'll post back here if anything comes of it.
Also, I wonder if I can force the "Live Channels" app to display at the top of Leanback's home interface, like it does on my parents' Samsung w. Android TV.
While we're modifying leanback...Should we put the "non-leanback" apps in their own row, or in the same row as all the other apps?
digitalhigh said:
This is funny. I enjoy how the discussion is on modifying Leanback Launcher, but all the suggestions are "Don't use Leanback Launcher".
I for one actually like Leanback and the way it works on my TV with a remote. Like it was designed for it.
In terms of the discussion at hand - this isn't that hard to implement. You don't have to hook *every* package - you just need to hook the bit of Leanback Launcher that enumerates the packages and then modify that code to always return "yes" when asking if it has the Manifest permissions for Leanback.
As I find this quite intriguing and know a bit about Xposed - I think I'll take a look at this today if time allows. I happen to have both the nexus player and shield TV system images lying around (access to both versions of Leanback), so I may just be making this.
I'll post back here if anything comes of it.
Also, I wonder if I can force the "Live Channels" app to display at the top of Leanback's home interface, like it does on my parents' Samsung w. Android TV.
While we're modifying leanback...Should we put the "non-leanback" apps in their own row, or in the same row as all the other apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its own row would be great actually.. Otherwise I feel that things could become a little bit too messy. Or you could simply let the user select that via the module's option[emoji14]
Xstar410 said:
xposed module to modify user apps for leanback support such as emulators or sideloaded **free** games that never show up on Android TV such as NSTV.
The idea behind this to make it work is really simple....somehow the module will:
1. Load ALL user apps that don't have leanback support
2. Modify either permanently/load the app's manifest to add leanback LAUNCHER & other lines to it.
3. On restart Theoretically it should work with almost all apps being modified for Android TV.
Side note:
Any app/game that only has touch support will NOT work at all since those apps probably don't have either controller, keyboard, & mouse support at all and it will be just redundant to mod them...
(Tried playing cod zombies on NSTV...I tried all key mapping apps and nothing worked.)
THIS MODULE WILL PROBABLY REPLACE THAT **SIDELOAD LAUNCHER**
From the way I wrote this you should have already guessed that the module has NOT been made yet, since more research is needed to be done in order to progress any further than an idea, but I'm posting it now for anyone that's wants to tackle this project or help me make it(new to xposed module developing.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't wait for this I hate HAL, costomizing the stock launcher is the way, best of both worlds: original features AND customizations:good:
A little update:
I did some initial research into this, and found the method we need to hook in order to make this happen.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/development/hooking-protected-list-inner-class-odd-t3306186
I haven't had more time to dive into this further, but I do have the initial framework started for a module. No idea when I will be able to tackle it more, but at least we have an idea of what needs to be done for anybody else who may be interested in this and know Xposed.
i do like the stock launcher,but needs more cosmetic,but i did found that the apk call OmniSwicth is wonderfull,the only thing is not fully working if somebody make work that would be remarkable,i do like the interface and using my fire tablet 7 inches with a combination the droidmote apk is the best so far for my shield tv if someone try this would know what i am talking, i am not a developer but i will be happy is somebody from XDA make this app OmniSwicth works
Anyone remember GEL Xposed before it became GNL? Thats what we need for this. I actually like the way leanback works, I just want it to load all of my apps.
Yea that's the thing that kills me about AndroidTV, its so crippled in terms of apps. I love the interface but the lack of apps sucks, it would be amazing if someone could figure out a hack that would allow the play store to show all apps.
Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk
digitalhigh said:
This is funny. I enjoy how the discussion is on modifying Leanback Launcher, but all the suggestions are "Don't use Leanback Launcher".
I for one actually like Leanback and the way it works on my TV with a remote. Like it was designed for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ME TO, if it weren't for the crap play store and the lacking all the installed apps.
I installed this ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/development/rom-t3321787 last night and I already miss the Leanback Launcher and how it "just worked" with the remote, the stock interface (and Nova for that matter) just don't navigate well with the remote.
honestly my dream setup would be the factory OS with the Leanback Launcher, but rooted with the FULL play Store and all the installed apps shown in the Launcher.
daniel644 said:
ME TO, if it weren't for the crap play store and the lacking all the installed apps.
I installed this ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/development/rom-t3321787 last night and I already miss the Leanback Launcher and how it "just worked" with the remote, the stock interface (and Nova for that matter) just don't navigate well with the remote.
honestly my dream setup would be the factory OS with the Leanback Launcher, but rooted with the FULL play Store and all the installed apps shown in the Launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed the leanback launcher and it works well on restyle
pspbyer said:
I installed the leanback launcher and it works well on restyle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage this. I tried and it would not let me install leanback launcher