Hey guys, new to Android and G2, my G2 just arrived today and I'm in the swing of things. Been doing some app picking up on the Market and it's really just awesome.
A few questions though.
What's with Browser? It lets me select a homepage but when it opens, the Homepage doesn't load. Instead it's the last page I visited. Not a fan of that.
What's the best Video Player out there? I'm using RockPlayer, it's great, but I'd like to lose the ads. If there's no alternative, I wouldn't mind paying the ten bucks, but... if I can avoid this, I'd rather do that.
Also, the Music Player is okay, but I can't seem to get the music to stop. I can pause it, but it doesn't just close out completely.
Thanks for your help, sorry about the noobish questions, but please go easy on me, I'm new -.-
The browser goes to the last page visited because you haven't closed out of the browser completely. You might have just pressed home to get out of the browser, unless you pressed back several times to go to the original page from all the pages that you have viewed, then it will finally go back to the home screens. It will go to the new home page if you press menu, windows, and new window.
I don't have a problem with the stock video player, so I have been using that.
Also, I'm not sure since I don't have a stock rom, but on CM6, if you hold the back button, it forces the apps to close out. You could give that a shot.
The question 1 & 3 are the same actually. The browser and the player still runs in the background, like u just minimize them. They are not closed yet.
To close them the simplest way is to install a thread killer software like ES series or some others.
Q2, I found no better video player [email protected]@
I'm sorry, stock video player? Where's that at? :/
And thanks for the answers on 1 and 3, I'll give both a shot now.
MnemonicSyntax said:
I'm sorry, stock video player? Where's that at? :/
And thanks for the answers on 1 and 3, I'll give both a shot now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, if you have a video file in your memory card and you click on it using a file browser or if its in a directory where the gallery app picks it up (folder named 'videos' etc), it plays automatically.
MnemonicSyntax said:
Hey guys, new to Android and G2, my G2 just arrived today and I'm in the swing of things. Been doing some app picking up on the Market and it's really just awesome.
A few questions though.
What's with Browser? It lets me select a homepage but when it opens, the Homepage doesn't load. Instead it's the last page I visited. Not a fan of that.
What's the best Video Player out there? I'm using RockPlayer, it's great, but I'd like to lose the ads. If there's no alternative, I wouldn't mind paying the ten bucks, but... if I can avoid this, I'd rather do that.
Also, the Music Player is okay, but I can't seem to get the music to stop. I can pause it, but it doesn't just close out completely.
Thanks for your help, sorry about the noobish questions, but please go easy on me, I'm new -.-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Dolphin HD as web browser, powerAMP as music player..
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
G2 cm6.1.1
I'd recommend u root the phone and install "Ad Free", it solves the annoying ads on your phone
There are a ton of video players in the market. I've tried the ones that seem to be most commonly used by XDA folks: ArcMedia, Rockplayer and vplayer. Rockplayer is my favorite so far. It is able to play every video I've tried (might have to toggle hardware decoding to play a few) and has the most usable interface of those I've tried.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
tazz9690 said:
The browser goes to the last page visited because you haven't closed out of the browser completely. You might have just pressed home to get out of the browser, unless you pressed back several times to go to the original page from all the pages that you have viewed, then it will finally go back to the home screens. It will go to the new home page if you press menu, windows, and new window.
I don't have a problem with the stock video player, so I have been using that.
Also, I'm not sure since I don't have a stock rom, but on CM6, if you hold the back button, it forces the apps to close out. You could give that a shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that a function somewhere? Or is that just on the Home Screen and applies to all Apps?
I'm not really trying to stop anything from running, as opposed to having a certain webpage open everytime I open the Browser and no music playing when I open up Music. For those two Apps, I don't want to be where I "left off."
Also, I did root it and put on CM 6.1.1. For the first time doing something like this, I think it went rather well.
Thanks guys, for any help provided.
Dolphin browser is the one I use and I have no complaints.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2
Android decides for itself whether to leave an app running when you move away from it, or whether to close it. It usually does a pretty good job.
Most people want the browser to stay at the page they were using so they can go straight back to it. There are task killer apps for Android but it's normally recommended that you stay away from these, since they can cause their own problems.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z
Right, I'm not looking to close any apps really. I guess it'd be nice to be able to close an app out, say a game, Browser or Music, but only if you wanted to. If you instead just pressed Home, those apps would stay open so you can go back to them later. But if you were finished with say, surfing the web, you could exit out, it would take you Home like normal.
I don't know, I understand totally about Android and it's ability to multi-task. I'm not really even looking to close things out completely, but if that's the distinction between opening an App from where you last had it to opening an App to it's "home screen" then so be it.
Yeah, it's kind of a different mentality. Pressing the phone's home button is really more of a "show desktop" than an exit. This means a better user experience for the average user though (since as was said before, everything is back to the way they last had it and the programs will load faster since they weren't removed from memory to begin with). Whenever I want to leave the browser on its home screen, I simply close all of its windows before leaving the app (just like opening a new window, closing the last open one will make it go to the home page).
With a custom rom, you can do more of what you are saying. I know with CM, you can assign a long press of the back button to exit out of the foreground program (so now pressing home will leave the app running and long-pressing back will completely exit out of it). I believe the MIUI rom allows that as well. Alternatively, you can use a task manager to do the same thing (though maybe not as conveniently---not sure if any of the task managers have a similar shortcut key feature).
Thanks. This is what I was looking for. I have Cyrogen 6.1.1 on my phone now. Could I ask for some assistance in setting up the long press of the back key? Thanks much!
Sure. It's under Settings->Applications->Development. The last option in the list.
Thanks again so much Quinn. I am very happy now! Just a few more questions and I think I'll be good.
1) I'd like to be able to set my Quickkeys to Back, Foward, and Home. Is there a way to do this, preferably without an App? If not, at least a way to clear out the Quickkeys area.
2) What does the Google App package come with exactly?
3) How do I uninstall some of the Apps like Twitter and Facebook? I don't see a way to uninstall those the normal way.
Thanks for all the help!
MnemonicSyntax said:
1) I'd like to be able to set my Quickkeys to Back, Foward, and Home. Is there a way to do this, preferably without an App? If not, at least a way to clear out the Quickkeys area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do this by editing your keymap files. An example of an edited one can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=837002. The QuickKeys are mapped to user1, user2, and user3. I know you said you didn't want to use an app, but there is a simple one to use called ButtonRemapper (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=850464). You may be able to install it, use it to quickly edit your keymap file, and then uninstall, but I'm not positive on that. That app page also has a link to a great guide about how keymap files are structured.
MnemonicSyntax said:
2) What does the Google App package come with exactly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming you are talking about Google Addons for CM6? You can unzip the file and look in the apps directory, but here's a listing for convenience: CarHomeGoogle, CarHomeLauncher, Facebook, GenieWidget, Gmail, GoogleBackupTransport, GoogleCalendarSyncAdapter, GoogleContactsSyncAdapter, GoogleFeedback, GooglePartnerSetup, GoogleQuickSearchBox, GoogleServicesFramework, googlevoice, HtcCopyright, HtcEmailPolicy, HtcSettings, kickback, LatinImeTutorial, list.txt, Maps, MarketUpdater, MediaUploader, NetworkLocation, OneTimeInitializer, PassionQuickOffice, SetupWizard, soundback, Street, Talk, talkback, Twitter, Vending, VoiceSearch, YouTube.
MnemonicSyntax said:
3) How do I uninstall some of the Apps like Twitter and Facebook? I don't see a way to uninstall those the normal way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can delete the appropriate APK from your /system/app directory. Alternatively, you can simply disable the app with a "pm disable" command in the terminal (see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=809231). This is usually the safer route---disable the app, make sure your phone is still running properly, then uninstall it if you still want to. If you want a nicer interface for doing all this, you can download TitaniumBackup from the Market (I believe the free version allows both uninstalling and freezing/disabling apps).
Enjoy your new phone!
Dude... open market, click the search button, enter "firefox". Install that. Yes, genuine firefox. Its in beta and still has a few glitches, but ITS FIREFOX!! DO IT!
First post.
Just ordered the SGS2, migrating over to T-mobile from (godawful) AT&T on the (godawful) E71x.
I've done a bunch of skimming here, tons of good info.
Question: is there a definitive, "go to" guide to get up and running with the SGS2? I want to hit the ground running when it shows up next week. I see some noob guides to Android, but most are quite dated.
Thanks in advance.
get titanium backup and ROM manager apps so u will be prepared when it's rooted. Get a proper home launcher like zeam launcher,etc.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
I'd skip the other home launchers, I like the TouchWiz 4 launcher a lot more than those other launchers.
MOG is an excellent music subscription service with high quality lossy downloadable streaming music.
I like Opera Mobile for fast connections. It works well with most websites. I use Opera Mini when I'm on EDGE or GPRS. I use Firefox Beta 8 in the market if Opera Mobile doesn't want to work with a certain site or if I want to access Firefox Sync. Set your User Agent to Desktop with both browsers. Firefox isn't my main browser because it doesn't support flash and it's intensive in CPU usage but Opera Mobile does support flash and it tends to be easier on the processor.
Tunein radio is awesome
What are you looking for though?
I agree that tunein radio is awesome, it's my go to app for internet radio.
The first thing I did was a factory reset, I did it before I ever left the store. I waited until I got home and connected to wifi before I began my setup. It did not have the new market so after adding my google account I opened the market and closed it. I then turned my screen off and left it alone for 20 or so minutes so it could sync from Google. After 20 minutes I had the new market and all my contacts were there.
So I would recommend those steps to begin and whatever you do after is up to you. That is the great thing about Android, everyone is allowed the experience of their choosing!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
I would do the same thing as far as syncing goes. I also once owned an E71, I loved the hardware on those phones but not the OS... I'd get acquainted in general with Android for a bit, check out the market, and go from there. Few helpful tips:
-holding down the home button brings up task manager
-the option key (far left) is useful in a lot of situations. If you're stuck in an app but want to change it's settings or don't see the button you need, try hitting option!
-set up gmail and Facebook if you'd like to have sync'd contacts including contact photos
-if you use dropbox, go grab the app from the market!
-if you tap the home button and the lock button at the same time, it will take a screenshot. The screenshot can be found in the gallery under that name (screenshots), if you open it in there and tap on the image, more options will appear below so you can share the image with us for example if you need help with something.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Does anyone know how to make the browser default to Desktop? There's nothing I want to see in mobile view.
Type "about:debug" without the quotes in the address bar of the browser and hit go. A message about java will show up on the top. Click it and ignore any errors. Now hit menu and settings. there will be a new option called debug. Click it and go to uastring change it to desktop. Restart the browser and your done. You might need to reboot not sure
Thanks.. That worked great until I rebooted. Youtube still went to the mobile site. I went back to the java menu and the agent was still checked desktop. Works fine as long as the java script console is on.. Might have to use another browser..
Netconn said:
Thanks.. That worked great until I rebooted. Youtube still went to the mobile site. I went back to the java menu and the agent was still checked desktop. Works fine as long as the java script console is on.. Might have to use another browser..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know on htc devices using about:debug was only good for that browsing session. You'd have to redo it anytime you close then reopen browser. You could try to set your homepage to about:debug to make it a little easier, but the browser would have to be modded to force it to keep those settingd. Its on my list of things I want to do but will likely be quite a while before I get to it. Search the forum for browser UAstring mod. You may find something that can help. I know some htc roms had it, not sure about samsung though.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Use a different browser. Maybe dolphin or xscope or firefox.
I guess I'll use Opera, it works just fine and the desktop agent stays. I liked the stock browser and got used to it. Oh well, no problem.