Develop Bugs

Uhm... Launcher2?

N1 user here, but running Desire ROM. I've noticed that ever since Paul's released alpha17--which unlike his earlier builds is based on the Desire's release candidate--there's no longer Launcher2.apk. I can clear HTC Sense's defaults and press home, but... no option to pick Launcher2. Launcher2.apk doesn't exist in the ROM. Gone. Nada. Killed in action.
Obviously, as someone who's got root and can adb push Launcher2.apk from elsewhere, this isn't an issue for me. But if the Desire also lacks Launcher2, it means you guys (until it's rooted) can't switch to vanilla Android if the fancy takes you, which is weird. So, can any of you please check if you have got Launcher2 or not?

I want to root lol.

Have you tried http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=645550?
Download the zip file. Extract the launcher.apk to your sd card. Browse to the file (for example use astro) and install it. Be sure to have checked the box "Allowing unkown software installation" (or something like that).
Does this work? Shouldnt need root access.

No, no. See, I don't need Launcher2 myself and even if I did, I can manually install it. It's just that I was led to believe that the Desire itself will retain Launcher2 and switching from vanilla Android to Sense would be no different from switching between home replacements (which was the case in earlier Desire alphas).

Ah ok, I see. Misunderstood your problem. I believe that we need definitely root for the Desire, this would fix many problems...

Launcher2 can be installed without root-access, so this is no problem. You just can't push it to the /system/app folder. You can still install it, and thereby placing it in /data/app.
It makes perfectly sense that HTC removed the Launcher2.apk from the release ROM, as this is a phone with HTCs own Sense UI.
I do agree that root-access is needed, but not for this incident.

using the desire there is an option to disable Sense UI, and you will end-up with a N1 experience.
Programs > Unknown Sources > HTC Sense > Controls > choose stop and select "launcher" .... and thats it

A quick question: When you use Launcher2 instead of Sense, can you still pinch to see all the pages?

Nope. You lose the ability to pinch and all HTC widgets.

Thanks.
And Sense can't work in landscape mode, right?
(and the HTC music player also?)

irkan said:
using the desire there is an option to disable Sense UI, and you will end-up with a N1 experience.
Programs > Unknown Sources > HTC Sense > Controls > choose stop and select "launcher" .... and thats it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong! there is no Launcher app to replace Sense, so it just automatically jumps back to default.

kasonne said:
Wrong! there is no Launcher app to replace Sense, so it just automatically jumps back to default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you're wrong!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Amcaot1Us
if your device is crippled than thats another story all together

That doesn't work now when i try it on mine it just kicks back in using htc sense.

Guess Paul didn't take out Launcher2 from his ROM for giggles, then. I wonder if you could just install Launcher2.apk extracted from an N1 ROM normally. Probably you could.
C:Sharp! said:
Thanks.
And Sense can't work in landscape mode, right?
(and the HTC music player also?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct; neither supports landscape mode.

irkan said:
No, you're wrong!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Amcaot1Us
if your device is crippled than thats another story all together
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me and everyone else with a released desire in that case, as also mentioned it was removed in some of the leaked ROM's previous too.

kasonne said:
Me and everyone else with a released desire in that case, as also mentioned it was removed in some of the leaked ROM's previous too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, i think this is the case only wit the T-Mobile versions (and the fake unlocked versions that also came from T-Mobile)

irkan said:
No, i think this is the case only wit the T-Mobile versions (and the fake unlocked versions that also came from T-Mobile)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to dissapoint you, but launcher2 is not in the official latest desire rom.
This does not have anything to do with T-mobile.
I have seen a lot of desire phone's and none of them have the launcher2.apk.
(at least on the dutch market that is )

why don't you just install it like I did. better still install helix launcher from the market. same as launcher2 but allows placement of 4 icons level with the draw which will appear on every page
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

I've tried launcher apk but it doesn't add the zooming animation that you get when you open an animation like on the nexus one. I really want that animation!

Removing parts of sense

I am getting a Desire soon and personally I would rather remove Sense UI, but this is not longer possible the easy way.
Can anyone explain if you can remove sense another way? I have heard people say to use Launcher2 or HelixLauncher to get the 3D app drawer and the nexus one launcher. Can anyone confirm this works?
Thanks!

Yep if your install either you can make them default and use them instead but it will still have the Sense theming of all the apps / status bar etc and obv the HTC widgets wont work

ok thanks or the quick reply
so if i use either of these launchers i will not be able to use HTC widgets?
and when/if the desire gets rooted i'll be able to stick a nexus one rom on?
has anyone had any experience with either of these launchers on the desire?
im new to android so i apologise for the noobish questions

Not a problem
Nope you won't be able to use the HTC Widgets... but you can launch the HTC Sense launcher at any time and get access to your widgets though it's a bit of hassle doing that everytime hence i'm gonna stick with htc sense launcher myself.
Both the nexus launcher and helix work great on my Desire, no problems as far as i've been using it.
Not sure about putting then nexus rom though, sorry

thanks for the info.
so installing launcher2 enables the 3D app drawer from the nexus one?
just to clarify lol

Yep the home screen looks like the nexus one and you get the 3D drawer with fades. It looks pretty good! I just wish the widgets still worked then it would be perfect.

thanks again for your quick reply
so where do i download this launcher 2? from the android market when i get the phone?
sorry so many questions!

Not a problem,
Helix you can get from the market but launcher2 you will need to get from somewhere else but if you search these forums you will find one you can install no problem

awesome, thanks again.
one last request: which version did you use? i've searched here and elsewhere and each version is different and im not sure which to use

I'm not sure to be honest, if you know how to check then I can tell you?

[Q] HTC People/Dialler apk or zip available?

Hey guys,
Just wondering if there is a HTC People or HTC Dialler app which is extracted from the HTC ROM's either in apk format or as a zip which I can flash? I've searched the forum but not found anything - wondering if they can be extracted since I assume that they can work without HTC Sense (e.g. when using different launchers)
I want to use OpenDesire but don't like the stock Android contacts/dialler.
Any help would be appreciated.

Hey, you can use Launcher Pro for sense like widgets. Otherwise sense widgets cannot use with default launcher on froyo.

kubilay.demir said:
Hey, you can use Launcher Pro for sense like widgets. Otherwise sense widgets cannot use with default launcher on froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - thanks for your answer - I know that I can use Launcher Pro etc but what i'm really interested in is the actual phone app and the contacts app which are on the HTC ROM's. When using a Sense ROM, if i change launcher to, for example, Launcher Pro, then i can still use the HTC Phone and Contacts app - thats what i'm after on a non-Sense ROM.
The only sense integration is with Facebook Sync I think - which I could live without.

there is no option using sense widgets on froynly with launcher pro but i dont like it,i like sense widgets but i dont like sense,only widgets that i like.

I like to know if there's a way too, I don't like android's contacts\dialer either.

As far as I'm aware, the HTC dialler and phone .apk are too deeply integrated with sense to work as a standalone app on non-sense roms. Simply removing the apk won't work.

rolfd said:
As far as I'm aware, the HTC dialler and phone .apk are too deeply integrated with sense to work as a standalone app on non-sense roms. Simply removing the apk won't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers Rolfd - that would explain why no one has done it!
Does anyone know of any alternatives which offer smart dialling by typing in the name, etc?

Market: Dialer One

You could try Dialer One on the market.
Edit: I'm too slow!

Thanks guys - I'll try Dialler One on my next visit to Senseless Froyo!

Dialer one is the best in the market I think as a replacement for HTC's dialer however you could also check out "NubDial" some people prefer that.

beidl said:
Market: Dialer One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes "Dialer One" is providing very "Sensi"ble way to use phonepad. Thanks

[Q] Cyano-sense-mod

Hi Im A Htc Sense Rom User, I Like Sense A Lot especially the links and it lets me stays organized.The Problem Is My Internal Memory Is Small (1.1 gb)
I Tried Cyanogenmod and i liked it a lot
the only thing im missing well everything in htc sense i want the speed of cyanogenmod but i keep on returning to sense roms.
my question is: is there a way i can replace the htc sense stuff in CM?
like the camera
flip to silent
smart dialer
htc widgets
contact linkup or at least to sync my contacts facebook pictures
sense keyboard
please help me i want cyanogenmod so bad but at least replacements for the sense stuff cz the sense rom are big in size ( 250 mb) and cyanogen is small & fast.

Take a closer look at these Apps:
like the camera ---> Camera360
flip to silent ---> LLama
smart dialer --> Contapps
htc widgets --> which? / what are they doing?
contact linkup or at least to sync my contacts facebook pictures --> contapps
sense keyboard --> ThickButtons

How many apps do you have installed? Because if you're filling it up with 1.1GB of apps, you're doing well!
My recommendation is to use a Sense ROM, then use a ROM cleaner script on top to clear out the stuff you don't use, giving you more space. Because Sense is a full framework, not just a few bits and pieces running on top, you are unlikely to find any replacements for Cyanogenmod that work quite as well.

This could be a bit off topic.
Is there anyway I can get the cynogenmod phone.apk to work with Sense?
I'm coming from mid-ranged and low-end phones to the DHD and all of them use phones.apks similar to the cyanogenmod one. It's been over two weeks and I still uncomfortable with Sense phone.apk.

McKebapp said:
Take a closer look at these Apps:
like the camera ---> Camera360
flip to silent ---> LLama
smart dialer --> Contapps
htc widgets --> which? / what are they doing?
contact linkup or at least to sync my contacts facebook pictures --> contapps
sense keyboard --> ThickButtons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i think launcher pro did the job as for the widgets like sense clock and sense calender
And Thanks For Your Help Bro you helped me a lot

lambomanx1 said:
How many apps do you have installed? Because if you're filling it up with 1.1GB of apps, you're doing well!
My recommendation is to use a Sense ROM, then use a ROM cleaner script on top to clear out the stuff you do't use, giving you more space. Because Sense is a full framework, not just a few bits and pieces running on top, you are unlikely to find any replacements for Cyanogenmod that work quite as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I Saw This On Android Revolution And i'l give It A Try. Thanks For the idea

lambomanx1 said:
My recommendation is to use a Sense ROM, then use a ROM cleaner script on top to clear out the stuff you don't use, giving you more space. Because Sense is a full framework, not just a few bits and pieces running on top, you are unlikely to find any replacements for Cyanogenmod that work quite as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is what i recommend too, just strip out everything from the rom you dont want and then flash it
rather than starting at the ground up find replacements for everything, start with the finished article and start slimming it down

ROBINGAZI said:
This could be a bit off topic.
Is there anyway I can get the cynogenmod phone.apk to work with Sense?
I'm coming from mid-ranged and low-end phones to the DHD and all of them use phones.apks similar to the cyanogenmod one. It's been over two weeks and I still uncomfortable with Sense phone.apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I Will Give You A Suggestion Try To backup the cyanogenmod dialer in titanium backup and restore it in any rom u want. Always backup first if it didnt work try finding something in the market. And i will try this and i will post a link or tell you if another way worked bro.

I went from an HTC hero which was my first android phone to an optimus v, my preferences for replacing most of the sense feeling is launcher pro for the Widgets and go contacts for the smart dialer/contact linkage. There is a patched HTC_ime somewhere on this forum that will install on a non-sense rom but I can't remember where or search it out right now.
Sent from my LG-VM670 using XDA App

Just search HTC IME into Google, first result V27, but it isn't updated anymore. That said, I use it, and it does work very well indeed.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

ICS multitasking or HTC Sense multitasking

i find the way HTC has done multitasking is a bit irritating,, you cant view multiple apps at once and its rather irritating when removing recent apps..
do you guys prefer the way ICS handles it more than htc????
and the better question is would we see a tweak to revert it to the ICS way

The htc way may look impressive at first but having to perform multiple swipes around a 3d interface that show one app at a time is slow and inefficient. A list or grid view with a close button next to each app will be much more convenient and i would less of a drain on your battery.

Yes i much prefer the stock ICS one, makes much more sense to see 4 apps at once and swipe them off very quickly, instead of swiping one, then waiting, then swiping one, then waiting *sigh*

It's part of sense & that's why I bought this phone and not wait for the sgs3 because I prefer sense over stock android. Some parts may be less efficient but for me sense vastly improves Android experience so little things like this are worth it. Sure there will be a mod for rooted phones
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

I very much prefer the ICS stock one. Hope there's a way to change that without needing a root. Not about to root a new phone so soon.

Definitely HTC easier than aosp ics.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

ajftl said:
Definitely HTC easier than aosp ics.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a question, how exactly do you find the HTC multitasking easier than ASOP?

Cause its easier to navigate. I find scrolling left or right easier then up and down on aosp. It's a matter of taste. I have a gnex and I couldn't get use to the multitasking on it. On the one x i use it more.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

ajftl said:
Cause its easier to navigate. I find scrolling left or right easier then up and down on aosp. It's a matter of taste. I have a gnex and I couldn't get use to the multitasking on it. On the one x i use it more.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess but I prefer the fact that you can see more than one app on ASOP

The Sense way of doing it is slow. It's slow to start and when you close an app you have to wait for the slow animation to slide in the next app. I understand that HTC wants to do things different but omg don't do things slow and laggy. Have you tried scrolling the bookmark list in the browser!? It's slow.

wardh said:
The Sense way of doing it is slow. It's slow to start and when you close an app you have to wait for the slow animation to slide in the next app. I understand that HTC wants to do things different but omg don't do things slow and laggy. Have you tried scrolling the bookmark list in the browser!? It's slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I think that's even the bigger problem. I have no problem with the tabs themselves, but it's annoying that you first see the (outdated) picture of the app flying in, wait for one second till it's replaced with the actual app and then you can do something.
Actually, I don't prefer any of them. I prefer the pre-ICS way of multitasking - it was the most efficient, fastest way (altough also the ugliest) of switching between apps.

wardh said:
The Sense way of doing it is slow. It's slow to start and when you close an app you have to wait for the slow animation to slide in the next app. I understand that HTC wants to do things different but omg don't do things slow and laggy. Have you tried scrolling the bookmark list in the browser!? It's slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can close the left and right app on the side as well by swiping up on it, and you don't need to wait for the animation or wait for it to go to the middle. The ICS method isn't that great either. Where yo actually do need to wait for the animation.

Love the way HTC has done it. I tend to use it more to switch between apps, rather than to kill apps, I guess ics is intelligent enough to handle the background apps.
Btw, the feeling is more like the vista aero style app switching.

but even when just switchings apps i think ics is better,, you can see like 4 apps at once

This is a classic case of "to each his own." I prefer the sense. It looks better. I really don't notice any speed difference.
Sent from my HTC Desire

flame10 said:
Love the way HTC has done it. I tend to use it more to switch between apps, rather than to kill apps, I guess ics is intelligent enough to handle the background apps.
Btw, the feeling is more like the vista aero style app switching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think it (or the stock ICS one) ever actually kills an app.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium HD app

I second the motion of having a mod to have ICS multi-tasking
Much better then the sense if you ask me.

rajitsingh said:
I dont think it (or the stock ICS one) ever actually kills an app.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does, by swiping the application upwards and out of your screen so to say, you effectively kill the application....

rajitsingh said:
I dont think it (or the stock ICS one) ever actually kills an app.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it doesnt "kill" it like a task killer does, however it does end it as if you were in the app and pressed the back button until you get to the home screen, rather than just pressing the home button. It effectively ends your session in that app.

Stock ICS method as on my tablet is MUCH better than the Sense method on my phone. Yet another Sense feature that is poorly conceived; HTC should leave the software to Google. If I could get stock ICS with the hardware features of the phone all retained, and a full warranty, I'd switch in a heartbeat. Sense has far too many annoyances, and brings nothing of value to the table.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA