Related
I'm sure there's a couple other threads for this, but I thought one in the AT100/ Thrive section would be neat.
I will also keep adding to this original post.
9th August, added VPlayer, CNN, AccuWeather and Astro File Manager.
SOCIAL/NEWS
CNN
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cnn.mobile.android.tablet&feature=search_result
(Has a very nice UI but has been reported to have occasional force closes.)
Friend Me for Facebook
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.locomolabs.facebook&feature=search_result
TweetComb for Twitter
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.chriswstewart.twitter&feature=more_from_developer
Pulse News
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.alphonso.pulse&feature=search_result
(Has a tablet version.)
Skype
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skype.raider&feature=search_result
PRODUCTIVITY
Astro File Manager
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.metago.astro&feature=search_result
(Isn't particularly optimized but it works very well and can unzip and open zip files.)
ClipIT
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.clipper&feature=search_result
(Very nice clipboard manager.)
Evernote
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.evernote&feature=related_apps
(Popular notes app with syncing options to your pc.)
Swipe Pad
https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android&feature=search_result
and
https://market.android.com/details?...ddons.applauncher&feature=more_from_developer
(I like to use this since in AU we only have 3.0.1, thus the 'app switcher' thing isn't scrollable.)
Wizz Bar
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.snowbee.wizzbar&feature=more_from_developer
(Something like Slide Pad but a little more optimized for Honeycomb.)
Hacker's Keyboard
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard&feature=search_result
(Very desktop-ish keyboard, key's are slightly smaller than default.)
Better Keyboard
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.betterandroid.betterkeyboard8&feature=search_result
(Keyboard than recently got an update for tablet's, height can be changed, wealth of themes on the market. Note you must pay for the full version.)
WIDGETS
The Obelisk
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.clevergnome.fbtabletwidget
(A facebook widget, similar to the stock Youtube and Market widget.)
Wizz Widget
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.snowbee.colorize.hd&feature=also_installed
(Wealth of widgets, all in the same theme.)
MEDIA
VPlayer
https://market.android.com/details?id=me.abitno.vplayer.t&feature=search_result
(Awesome video player, it supports srt subtitles and can play 720p videos. Even off your sd card.)
Hive Player
https://market.android.com/details?id=falletta.hive.player&feature=search_result
(Music Player with widgets in a Honeycomb theme.)
WEB
AccuWeather
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.accuweather.android.tablet&feature=search_result
(Real nice UI with weather for the background, I personally like to preload a forecast before I go out.)
Maxthon Mobile for 10" Tablets
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mx.browser.tablet&feature=search_result
Dolphin Browser for Pad
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.pad
(It's still in beta but it has a couple features the stock browser doesn't have.)
THEMING
Destop VisualizeR
https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.co.bii.android.app.dskvzr&feature=search_result
(Neat for making your icons nice and big.)
VTL Launcher
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1046302
(It's like ADW 'cept much more smooth on a tablet though some users have had boot loop issues.)
There's many games as well such as the THD game's like Fruit Ninja THD, and games that look good on the big screen like Radiant. Also launcher's like LauncherPro are really neat on phones but just aren't that smooth or fast scrolling wise for tablets.
Hope these apps may make your experience with the Thrive a little more useful, they have for me since we've been getting quite honestly poor support here in Aus.
Btw I'm just looking at app's that aren't for rooted users since I know it's quite new on the Thrive/AT100 and I personally myself don't plan on rooting.
Peahnuts said:
I'm sure there's a couple other threads for this, but I thought one in the AT100/ Thrive section would be neat.
Some note worthy ones are
Friend Me for Facebook
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.locomolabs.facebook&feature=search_result
TweetComb for Twitter
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.chriswstewart.twitter&feature=more_from_developer
Dolphin Browser for Pad
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.pad
(It's still in beta but it has a couple features the stock browser doesn't have.)
Swipe Pad
https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android&feature=search_result
and
https://market.android.com/details?...ddons.applauncher&feature=more_from_developer
(I like to use this since in AU we only have 3.0.1, thus the 'app switcher' thing isn't scrollable.)
VTL Launcher
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1046302
(It's like ADW 'cept much more smooth on a tablet.)
Pulse News
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.alphonso.pulse&feature=search_result
(Has a tablet version.)
Destop VisualizeR
https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.co.bii.android.app.dskvzr&feature=search_result
(Neat for making your icons nice and big.)
There's many games as well such as the THD game's like Fruit Ninja THD, and games that look good on the big screen like Radiant. Also launcher's like LauncherPro are really neat on phones but just aren't that smooth or fast scrolling wise for tablets.
Hope these apps may make your experience with the Thrive a little more useful, they have for me since we've been getting quite honestly poor support here in Aus.
Btw I'm just looking at app's that aren't for rooted users since I know it's quite new on the Thrive/AT100 and I personally myself don't plan on rooting.
EDIT: If someone finds a good music player send me a link or a name, I'm currently using UberMusic which is awesome but when playing music it goes into a little corner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use VTL Launcher at your own risk. If you check the WEB page, it says it is not compatible with Honeycomb. Some individuals on Toshiba Thrive Forum has reported ending up in a boot loop after installing this. Not all have had this issue. That is why I am saying to use this at you own risk.
dalepl said:
Use VTL Launcher at your own risk. If you check the WEB page, it says it is not compatible with Honeycomb. Some individuals on Toshiba Thrive Forum has reported ending up in a boot loop after installing this. Not all have had this issue. That is why I am saying to use this at you own risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, will add to opening.
Someone on TF posted this site: http://tablified.com/
Ran across the beta of BeyondPod on there...might have to invest in this one.
I have been using it for some time on my Thrive. It did however, cause a boot loop when I set it as the default launcher. Otherwise (knock on wood), it is working fine.
dalepl said:
Use VTL Launcher at your own risk. If you check the WEB page, it says it is not compatible with Honeycomb. Some individuals on Toshiba Thrive Forum has reported ending up in a boot loop after installing this. Not all have had this issue. That is why I am saying to use this at you own risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any issues with VTL myself, guess I'm just lucky. Btw, does anyone else have a home replacement that is smooth and just as functional on a tab?
I'm using TINYPLAYER for my mp3's.
Its a pure player.
No Art work or search controls. Shows music by file name from folder you set. I actually like it like that. Has shuffle repeat and random. Also another cool feature is font re-size.
But one problem with it don't know if other are having same problem. When using the app and you initiate the g sensor that would reorient the screen the player give error about cant find the SD card. I play music when I drive so this really erks me. Bumps are fine but soon as I turn I get the error. I store my music on the SD card about 10 gigs worth.
where can i get the penpower chinese writing pad that works with thrive??
My Spider Solitaire should work without problems on Thrive: https://market.android.com/details?id=magory.solitairespiderhd. It is designed for tablet screens (doesn't work on phones). I'm working on some improvements now (expect them next week). Am also working on another, more advanced game. Writing for Android is fun.
Peahnuts said:
I haven't had any issues with VTL myself, guess I'm just lucky. Btw, does anyone else have a home replacement that is smooth and just as functional on a tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey all, the not sure why it hasn't been said yet but adw ex works like it was made for the thrive. Very stylish seen transitions and I can't explain how fast it is (you need to try it yourself) it also allows you to use more of the screen unlike the stock. All widgets and are resizable, you can create as many or as little screens (I prefer to have received rather than the standard 5)
osheriff said:
hey all, the not sure why it hasn't been said yet but adw ex works like it was made for the thrive. Very stylish seen transitions and I can't explain how fast it is (you need to try it yourself) it also allows you to use more of the screen unlike the stock. All widgets and are resizable, you can create as many or as little screens (I prefer to have received rather than the standard 5)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I'll be sure to check it out. I personally wonder how you have so many screens, I can barely fill 3 screens lol.
I installed Adw ex today after trying other stuff that wouldn't work and I really like it. Very smooth and adaptable. Im scared to try the other one, but I am sure they will update it to work with 3.1 soon.
photoheidi said:
I installed Adw ex today after trying other stuff that wouldn't work and I really like it. Very smooth and adaptable. Im scared to try the other one, but I am sure they will update it to work with 3.1 soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I haven't had any problems with the other one but I'm using ADW ex just 'cause it's smoother. But what bugs me is the little icon on the top left. My homescreen is generally black and white themed and the icon just sticks out so much lol.
Peahnuts said:
Yeah, I haven't had any problems with the other one but I'm using ADW ex just 'cause it's smoother. But what bugs me is the little icon on the top left. My homescreen is generally black and white themed and the icon just sticks out so much lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a different tablet, but wanted to say I totally agree! You can disable it with the hide/show action bar widget, however it comes back with a 90° rotation (not 180). I've written anderweb, so hopefully this gets changed.
Sent from my Asus Decepticon using Tapatalk
Jocelyn said:
I have a different tablet, but wanted to say I totally agree! You can disable it with the hide/show action bar widget, however it comes back with a 90° rotation (not 180). I've written anderweb, so hopefully this gets changed.
Sent from my Asus Decepticon using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new update replaced it with an App Drawer icon which doesn't stick out as much.
I made a game for tablets (works on phones too, but is best on tablets): Memory Owl HD (https://market.android.com/details?i...ry.memoryowlhd).
Also tablified.com has a great list.
Magnesus said:
I made a game for tablets (works on phones too, but is best on tablets): Memory Owl HD (https://market.android.com/details?i...ry.memoryowlhd).
Also tablified.com has a great list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'l stop updating this list and there's already multiple websites that have app lists for tablets. Btw, the market link doesn't seem to be working for me.
Ok, so I just rooted my tablet, my first time too. But I have a few questions.
I have no idea what custom recovery is? How do I get it, and what are some apps and stuff I should not do before I get it.
What are some apps you recommend? Keyboard apps, uh...any apps I guess.
My biggest question is, I downloaded a emulator called dolphin emulator, so I could play the old gamecube Pokemon Colosseum. But it wont work. I do not know if any of you use this program, but any help would be appreciated. The game actually starts, shows the nintendo symbol, goes to a weird grey screeen instead of the studios logo animation, and then turns black. The fps is around 21, and during audio or the grey screen, it goes to 13 - 15 fps. Any Ideas on what might be wrong? Maybe RAM or something of that nature.
What are things like Nova and Apex?
Also, what do i need to do to install roms? What should I have before I install a rom? And what kind of roms do you recommend?
um...and I guess anything else you could tell a complete rookie. I have no idea what I'm doing. OTL
also, what is the bloatware that i can get rid of?
ugh, basically, what have you done for your rooted note? What are some things you would recommend to another person for their device.
and for some reason i cant download SetCPU, so I downloaded CPU Tuner. What are some settings you recommend.
ryandoodles said:
Ok, so I just rooted my tablet, my first time too. But I have a few questions.
I have no idea what custom recovery is? How do I get it, and what are some apps and stuff I should not do before I get it.
What are some apps you recommend? Keyboard apps, uh...any apps I guess.
My biggest question is, I downloaded a emulator called dolphin emulator, so I could play the old gamecube Pokemon Colosseum. But it wont work. I do not know if any of you use this program, but any help would be appreciated. The game actually starts, shows the nintendo symbol, goes to a weird grey screeen instead of the studios logo animation, and then turns black. The fps is around 21, and during audio or the grey screen, it goes to 13 - 15 fps. Any Ideas on what might be wrong? Maybe RAM or something of that nature.
What are things like Nova and Apex?
Also, what do i need to do to install roms? What should I have before I install a rom? And what kind of roms do you recommend?
um...and I guess anything else you could tell a complete rookie. I have no idea what I'm doing. OTL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ryandoodles said:
also, what is the bloatware that i can get rid of?
ugh, basically, what have you done for your rooted note? What are some things you would recommend to another person for their device.
and for some reason i cant download SetCPU, so I downloaded CPU Tuner. What are some settings you recommend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, my first bit of advice is to start reading. Things like custom recovery are easily figured out with a little research. As far as I know, the only custom recovery we have for our tablets is TWRP 2.6.x.x, not sure what version they are on now since I am not using it.
As for what to do after root, that is up to you. Get the pro version of Titanium Backup, and SuperSU at the very least, they will be very important if you want to freeze/delete bloatware and modify your phone at all.
Can't help you with the Pokemon thing.
Nova and Apex are launchers. Try them out and see if you like one better than the stock launcher. I run Nova on mine.
To install a ROM, you will need to first download TWRP, then flash the ROM. Read the directions for flashing the ROM fully before you do anything.
As for bloatware, start by freezing things you don't use in TiBu, and go from there.
In all honesty, you need to read, read, read and then read some more. You don't want to turn your tablet into a $600+ paperweight.
As for me? I am rooted running the stock ROM, Nova Prime launcher, and I froze a bunch of bloat. It is plenty fast, smooth, stable, and it looks great.
lol the dolphin emulator won't work because it requires an extremely powerful machine. It will only work with maybe 2 or 3 devices currently.
The developer posted this in the app description:
"If you're expecting reasonable speeds out of this, you are sorely mistaken. This will run slow on every single Android device, no matter if it is the most powerful one in the world.
Some caveats
- It will crash. Alot.
- It might need to be force closed and ran multiple times to work.
- It will run slow"
Why immediately install new ROMs? There are no many ROMS for this device anyway. Rooting will help you to freeze unnecessary Samsung software, as already mentioned above (using Titanium). To try different launchers (Nova, etc.) you don't need to be rooted, just install and play with them. You have a powerful machine, learn to use it, use all the features (S Pen, multi-window, pen window, etc.) before playing with other ROMs.
Since you are rooted you must get this app:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2646432
Makes multi window way more useful.
Also Xposed Framework and multi window manager so that you can add any application to the multi window menu.
Actually there are a lot of cool things you can do with Xposed.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Towel root works?? We can make a thread in the development forums to guide people to root it. PM me.
bagher said:
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No to both.
the 3d is just a simulation, but a very convincing one. It uses perspective, and the best guess knowledge it gains from 4 cameras to guess where your head is. In theory, this could be used to watch a 3d movie, or photography, but it would need to be specially formatted for the Fire phone. As far as 3d recording goes, nope.
The 3d they call Dynamic Perspective. It is a lot like looking into a photo, but then being able to look around the inside of the photo as if it were a diorama. They use it in games and throughout the interface, though both are in the early stages.
bagher said:
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think of it as a 3D phone. Pretty much only the lock screen is 3D. Out of the five cameras on the phone, only one is a camera and the other four are used to track where your head is. That being said, it is a fantastic phone.
---------- Post added at 03:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 AM ----------
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you considered that the Ease of Use is hard because you're comparing it to other Android platforms? It really shouldn't be compared to Android at all.
For the Love of Tech said:
Have you considered that the Ease of Use is hard because you're comparing it to other Android platforms? It really shouldn't be compared to Android at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why shouldn't I compare it to android? It is android under the hood with a multitude of tweaks. Even iOS and Windows phone both support having apps arranged in a manner that makes finding them easy and how you want it. So far the Fire has not shown that. I had an original kindle fire, it was quickly rooted and I loaded custom ROMs within a few weeks because the interface was really bad for running multiple apps.
For me personally and anyone else I've shown it to, it is far from user friendly. But again that is my opinion of it and that was what I gave here, my opinion and observations.
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I have it a week , I sideload the 4.6.1 update and updated in 5 minutes, I followed the tutorial to install Google services and play store and works flawlessly, I installed Google maps and youtube and chrome Along with more Google apps and other apps and they work flawlessly , I can install custom launchers and different keyboards but I like the stock launcher as its fresh from just seeing a grid off apps and the stock keyboard is fine, the only work around I did was to manually install the 4.6.1 update sand install Google apps, the phone is fast and never lags and has good speakers and hardware
The home button doubles as a recent app selector. Try installing 4.6.1 like suggested it totally makes the a better experience.
I'm using it for about a month and easy of use is OK, much better than some say it is. I'm using it with stock launcher and I can't understand this obsession of many users here to s**t all over it. Main problem with FireOS is absence of persistent notifications on top bar - system tray, and inability to choose which quick actions you want to have in system tray. Lock screen is also pretty basic but not to bad. Installing other launcher will not solve this problems. UX can be better but can be worse either. Overall its a great phone for price under $200.
Hello, as of today, which is the best 3D launcher for the GNOTE PRO 12.2? I used TSF Shell and SPB Shell 3D on my Note 2. The transition effects looked very cool. However, they don't look good on my large screen Note PRO 12.2. Probably the effects were developed with small screens in mind. I tried Next Launcher 3D and EX, there seems to be a bug as my device got long pauses. On two occassions, I had to force boot my device.
petercohen said:
Hello, as of today, which is the best 3D launcher for the GNOTE PRO 12.2? I used TSF Shell and SPB Shell 3D on my Note 2. The transition effects looked very cool. However, they don't look good on my large screen Note PRO 12.2. Probably the effects were developed with small screens in mind. I tried Next Launcher 3D and EX, there seems to be a bug as my device got long pauses. On two occassions, I had to force boot my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought SPB Shell over 3 years ago and it's been abandoned for well over a year now. Can NOT recommend using it. I've also bought TSF, and the others, and Next Launcher looks the best so far if you want a 3D'ish environment.
tdetroit said:
I bought SPB Shell over 3 years ago and it's been abandoned for well over a year now. Can NOT recommend using it. I've also bought TSF, and the others, and Next Launcher looks the best so far if you want a 3D'ish environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, bought SPB years ago when it was probably the only 3D Launcher on the market. I think the company that developed it was bought out by Yandex because for a while they changed the name. I haven't checked out the Yandex Launcher in a while, it was the updated version of SPB.
Been using Nova launcher on all my devices and am really happy with it. Nice smooth effects and lots of customization available. Liked it so much I paid for it. Active development on it.
rhricik447 said:
Been using Nova launcher on all my devices and am really happy with it. Nice smooth effects and lots of customization available. Liked it so much I paid for it. Active development on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a question about that one for I've been thinking about installing it on my own Galaxy Note Pro because it looked like one a beginner with launchers can manage and not too heavy on resources - and it supports icon packs. Sorry if this 'should' be self-explanatory. The Nova website does not offer me even a FAQ, let alone a complete tutorial for beginners. I want to use my own wallpapers, not theirs and I don't want to be stuck with just a choice of ready-made themes. I just want to customize what I want where I want. Will the Nova launcher allow me to do this? I have spent the last 2 days with my search engines trying to get the answer to this one question, so I'm afraid to install any launcher at all until I know.
Just install it and try it. You're not going to hurt anything, and if you decide you don't like it, then uninstall it and you'll be right back where you started. Using a 3rd party launcher doesn't do anything different except change the look and feel of your device. It's not going to mess anything up, if you don't like it you can uninstall it to go back exactly like it was previously, but be sure you go through all of the settings and mess around with it first. Look and see exactly what you can do differently. Don't just install a launcher like Nova, come to the first screen you see, and then decide you don't like it. It's kinda like taking a car for a test drive before buying it. There are tons of launchers available today, probably 10 times as many as 2 years ago. I've tried many of them. Some people like certain effects, some people like a minimalistic launcher, some people like tons of widgets, different icons, etc. Everyone likes their launcher for different reasons, but like I said, I've used many, I still try something new if I see it, but I've always gone back to Nova.
Rolldog said:
Just install it and try it. You're not going to hurt anything, and if you decide you don't like it, then uninstall it and you'll be right back where you started. Using a 3rd party launcher doesn't do anything different except change the look and feel of your device. It's not going to mess anything up, if you don't like it you can uninstall it to go back exactly like it was previously, but be sure you go through all of the settings and mess around with it first. Look and see exactly what you can do differently. Don't just install a launcher like Nova, come to the first screen you see, and then decide you don't like it. It's kinda like taking a car for a test drive before buying it. There are tons of launchers available today, probably 10 times as many as 2 years ago. I've tried many of them. Some people like certain effects, some people like a minimalistic launcher, some people like tons of widgets, different icons, etc. Everyone likes their launcher for different reasons, but like I said, I've used many, I still try something new if I see it, but I've always gone back to Nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for such an encouraging message. (just got told I reached my limit for the thanks button today) If an experienced and knowledgeable user comes back to Nova so consistently, I feel yet more confident about trying it. I don't suppose there's any point in asking you, since you know that launcher so well, if you were able to use your own wallpapers? Because you're not going to tell me! :laugh:
I really do have to get over being a chicken about this and dive in. It's too easy to get into real states of apprehension when I spend all my time by myself on this mountaintop and have such a vivid imagination for disasters and doom - well, alone except for my dogs and cats, who've been thinking me an idiot already for years and won't offer me any advice.
My internet connection in this least-populated county in the state isn't stable or fast enough to deal with widgets that need to update online. I like looking at them but I can't run them, same problem with news feeds. I have the stock weather and still end up checking it on my phone mostly since that is faster. System widgets only tell me what it would be little bother to go check on myself. I even wasted my money getting windowblinds on my PC because I never remembered to use it much. I put weird icons on document files so I can find them when my eyes blur on text titles late at night; it's never just for looks. I change colors to relieve my eyes when I'm staying up on the computer and tablet too long, like now. I do like to be able to find things easily and put them where they're handy for that's what I do in my house too, so I can reach for them in the dark and grab them without mishap. So that's what I'll shop for in a launcher: compulsively neat organization for doomer hermits who already spend too much time looking at a monitor.
Yes, you can use any wallpaper you wish.
Rolldog said:
Yes, you can use any wallpaper you wish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, dear. I installed Nova this morning. Now, I'd like to put another launcher on my Note 4, so I can learn about that one at the same time, perhaps something a bit lighter. Slowing down the operation of my phone could be considered more directly dangerous to my security out here than hanging up my tablet so I'll go for simpler there. Have you a recommendation? That CM Launcher advertises itself as 'light and fast' but it also comes laden with 'security apps' and cleaners that I'm not so sure I want to bother with. I don't do much online browsing with the phone, at least not for long and I don't use social media on it. I also never share my devices because there's nobody around for miles anyway. I'd rather a launcher just be a launcher.
One Launcher that I like a lot, I use it on my phone but it won't work on my tablet because I use my tablet in landscape mode, is Buzz Launcher. Using this Launcher, you can go into their Buzz Launcher themes and download from about 500,000 different themes that other people have created. You can have as many as 9 different screens, all with different themes, and you can use their layout, their widgets and/or icons, and customize it to work with your apps. So, if you download a theme someone on the other side of the earth developed, you click on the icons they have, and if they used an app that you don't have, like if you use a different browser, the after you press on an icon, you can select the browser you use. This way, you can customize their entire themes to work with your specific phone and your specific apps. I change my themes fairly regularly, since it only takes a couple of minutes, and I feel like I have a different phone everyday.
Rolldog said:
One Launcher that I like a lot, I use it on my phone but it won't work on my tablet because I use my tablet in landscape mode, is Buzz Launcher. Using this Launcher, you can go into their Buzz Launcher themes and download from about 500,000 different themes that other people have created. You can have as many as 9 different screens, all with different themes, and you can use their layout, their widgets and/or icons, and customize it to work with your apps. So, if you download a theme someone on the other side of the earth developed, you click on the icons they have, and if they used an app that you don't have, like if you use a different browser, the after you press on an icon, you can select the browser you use. This way, you can customize their entire themes to work with your specific phone and your specific apps. I change my themes fairly regularly, since it only takes a couple of minutes, and I feel like I have a different phone everyday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I had seen your post before I got misled by all the complaining in the reviews for that one! In fact, they ought to be paying you to write about their app's features for you've done a much better job than they did at the playstore. There seemed to be an issue of things 'disappearing' for no good reason, themes and icons and such and people were annoyed after having spent hours to download them. Then, 'folder contents get changed every time the phone restarts.' And then there's the 'upsidedown heart butt' icon that apparently no one can get rid of that has caused some consternation, lol. Oh, and multiple 'crashes' too. As usual, few indeed even say what kind of phone they have. I'm inclined to try it anyway now, since you like it and I rather liked their community-based approach to begin with.
So, what I downloaded to the phone yesterday, just to check it out, was one I haven't seen mentioned yet, (maybe just because I don't know where to look) Microsoft's Arrow launcher. I won't mind the howls of laughter. Just plain curiosity, for I haven't tried any of their stuff for android. This is another one that will only work on my phone, not for tablets. I know how annoying they can be on PC's, like everyone else who spends a lot of time on one. They remind me of certain supermarkets that like to constantly rearrange things so that every time I go in, I can't find anything and we all know Microsoft plays the same game with every new OS. They don't really want us getting to know the guts of their systems too well, do they? I was interested in finding the launcher to be free, since their Office apps clearly are anything but and in seeing if they can build an android app that isn't a resource-hogging monster. We'll see.
I've never used Arrow, but sometimes, it's necessary to go into a widget that has been designed and change the settings to customize it to your layout, your location, your calendars, etc, and I'm pretty sure the people who complain get frustrated because they can't figure out how to scale the widget, customize the information, change the icons, update the location, etc, and then they just give up. I usually try to save a couple of homepacks with widgets I like, and then I might try combining them into my own layout and custom icons too.
Getting recommendations isn't worth much, most of the time you have to try it out for yourself. For example, if you asked someone about a new movie that was just released because they just saw it, they might say it was horrible. You might go see it anyway, you find out it's scary, you love scary movies, the person who's advice you got hates scary movies, so it boils down to personal opinion.
Rolldog, may I hear more about 'homepacks and widgets?' If you have a few widgets that you like, do you, and can you, generally keep them with most other launchers you try out? Something you said before, I think it was you, about, if I got tired of a new launcher, I could go right back to Touchwiz and find my widgets and layout just where I left them, stuck in my mind and has me wondering about that little detail: why wouldn't the widgets still be there anyway, no matter what launcher I used? I ought to know all that already but I've had some 'rural life' issues keeping me too busy to spend much time with my devices or even read about them online. But I sure did a lot of shopping on the playstore, paid apps too and pretties for Nova! I'll have to watch that; it's too easy to do when I have a card on file and my budget will suffer. I have managed to discover that the ads in 'free' apps were draining my resources much more than getting the widgets I would like so if I really want something, I support the developer and ditch the ads with the constant 'phoning home' they have to do.
That 'Next' launcher has some nice 3-D effects doesn't it? But it isn't cheap, I notice.
Just starting out with the Fire Phone, unlocked version being used with T-Mobile.
Found the YouTube instructional video for loading the Google Play Store and got it to work fine after about 27 updates to the phone and store downloaded.
After trying a half dozen different launchers, went back to the stock version as seemed to work the smoothest and couldn't get any others to do what I wanted anyway.
Questions for current users:
1. Phone gets warmer than any phone I've used before. Is this normal?
2. Any way to dock a useful time/date widget and a weather widget on the home screen (or front of the Carousel)?
3. Any way to get rid of or minimize the mostly useless Carousel without using a different launcher? I'd rather see my wallpaper and place a few icons around the screen, then it'd be perfect.
4. If no way to remove the Carousel without using a different launcher, is there a launcher that gives a simple, clean interface and the ability to have your own wallpaper, a date/time and weather widget on home screen, and standard icon and icon folder placement ability? None of the ones I tried gave me that. I find it bizarre that custom wallpaper is not a standard option on every single launcher.
5. Battery life is pretty bad. Walking around for just about two hours yesterday playing Pokemon Go drained my 100% battery entirely. Is that normal?
6. I'm seeing people mention "turning off fancy stuff" and the like in threads here to improve battery life, but cannot find where anyone says what specifically to turn off or how to turn it off...help?
7. Any way to customize the left-hand tilt menu? It is mostly useless links...the "Music" link doesn't even go to Prime Music -- what's up with that? I'd like to customize what gets launched from the links, but it seems impossible.
8. The "swipe up" back button feature is really annoying as it is so picky and just plain doesn't work in some situations and some apps. Any way to improve it?
9. Any way to tell what apps are currently running to close some? My last phone would show the list if you held down the main button, but this phone just brings up a microphone service when I do that.
10. Is Alexa on the Fire Phone a junior version? It can't do anything I ask it and I'm used to Alexa from my Fire TV. I want to do stuff like "Alexa Play Adele" or "Alexa What Time is It?" but it just shows the "I can't do that" text. (On a related point...any way to get the "Okay Google..." talking function?)
11. Is the GPS a bit weak? Maps don't always load, rather annoying.
12. When I'm talking on the phone, I can't figure out how to get the screen to turn on again if I have to enter numbers, change speakerphone, or check something. Others phones just automatically turn on when I take it away from my ear, but the screen just stays off with this one. Is there a button to push to get it turn on again?
My primary uses for the phone are Prime Music, the Camera, and texting, so it is really a great phone for me. With more reliable mapping, better battery life, and a good back button, it'd be an excellent phone despite the other above gripes.
If you can help with any of the above questions, that'd be great. Thanks!
Stock launcher very restrictive you'll need a third party one to have custom options. That's not as easy as it sounds as not all support widgets on fire phone. I use lucid launcher which does. Mine doesn't heat up much, and battery life is the best I've had on a phone. Double click button for running app display.
try install custom rom like MIUI, I am using MIUI in my fire phone and its really fun... apart from few minor bugs like switching camera it's a great rom, boost battery time, heat up problem solved and very fast rom as compare to stock rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-phone/general/miui-7-6-3-20-fire-phone-t3412344
ratbags said:
Stock launcher very restrictive you'll need a third party one to have custom options. That's not as easy as it sounds as not all support widgets on fire phone. I use lucid launcher which does. Mine doesn't heat up much, and battery life is the best I've had on a phone. Double click button for running app display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll look at Lucid Launcher -- wasn't one of the ones I tried.
kingtymur said:
try install custom rom like MIUI, I am using MIUI in my fire phone and its really fun... apart from few minor bugs like switching camera it's a great rom, boost battery time, heat up problem solved and very fast rom as compare to stock rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-phone/general/miui-7-6-3-20-fire-phone-t3412344
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, if I'm understanding other threads, camera function is iffy for everything except FireOS. Since the most important part of this phone is the camera for me (tied with messaging), it looks like I need to stick to stock on that.
Frustrating though as I really like the look of that MIUI 7 you linked. I wish I had time to give it a shot just to see if the camera is still good enough.
Thanks.
FeuerFon said:
Thanks, I'll look at Lucid Launcher -- wasn't one of the ones I tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using nova and widgets work fine as long as you move the app to /system, but you'll need root for that.
dato02 said:
I'm using nova and widgets work fine as long as you move the app to /system, but you'll need root for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which unfortunately means camera issues on the Fire, so not good for my situation. :/
FeuerFon said:
Which unfortunately means camera issues on the Fire, so not good for my situation. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root itself doesn't cause issues with the camera, it's roms other than stock.
Try Nova Launcher With Hd Packs...