I have been messing around with the LCD density settings on a few ICS ROMs for a little while now and after a lot of trial and error, I thought i'd share my experiences. I did some digging and I didn't see a formal write-up on this for our phones so I thought I'd give this a shot. (if anyone feels this has common knowledge and unnecessary, please just let me know and i will delete. also, I never tried this back on GB)
General Info for Beginners:
As you may already know, the standard resolution for our screens is 800 x 480 pixels. This is far below that of HD or even qHD screens. What this means in terms of real world use is that icons and text appear very large. Given our devices have a large 4.5 inch screen, it is arguable that this is not taking full advantage of all the extra screen real estate. While you cannot change the native resolution of a screen, you can do a simple build.prop tweak that can "trick" your phone into thinking that the resolution is much higher via a few simple programs.
How-To Change the Density Setting:
There are multiple programs out there for this purpose but I have found the best results with "ROM Toolbox". Feel free to buy the full version to support the dev but if all you are looking to do is change the density setting, the lite version will do just fine.
1. download and install "ROM Toolbox" from the Google Play Store
2. go to the "Performance" tab
3. click "build.prop tweaks"
4. change the "LCD Density" slider to whatever DPI you like
5. reboot
As mentioned, there are multiple programs out there but from my experience, DO NOT USE "LCD DENSITY MODDER" from the play store. This seems to soft-brick our phones as well as other GSII variants based on other reviews I've read and there does not seem to be a resolution at this time. This caused issues for me on TW-based and AOSP ROMS. It's a shame too, it seems perfect for this task, especially considering it can install a hacked Play Store (more on that later)
To see a more detailed thread on LCD Density Modder, go here (thanks kobridge!): http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1570893
What Setting to Choose:
This is matter of personal opinion, but I personally like 190 dpi (stock setting is 240). Many people swear by using 160 dpi but personally the icons and text are too small for my poor eyesight. I suggest starting from about 200 or so and working your way down. Remember, the lower the number, the smaller your icons/text will appear but will also give you more screen real estate
You may also notice that text and icons appear less sharp when messing with these settings. Keep in mind that because you are not truly changing your screen resolution, the translation will not be perfect. Personally, given the natural sharpness of AMOLED screens, i think most people while not be bothered by this or even notice
Some users like elliwigy have reported FC issues when going below 190 DPI. If you want to go lower than this, I suggest you search for the thread that has a modded phone.apk that can help with this issue
Potential Issues and Workarounds:
You will inevitably run into some compatibility issues so here are few final thoughts
Which ROM to use?
TouchWiz-based Roms: All roms based on stock Samsung TW for the E4GT were written with only the native resolution in mind. This means that certain apps will not scale well with a higher resolution and two particular ones come to mind:
- The Phone Dialer: The dialer looks like small box that fills up only a portion of the screen. To resolve, use an aftermarket dialer app like "exDialer" from the play store (thanks tenazrael!)
- TW E-mail App: The TW e-mail app (not gmail) also doesn't scale well. Instead, delete and install the AOSP e-mail apk.
AOSP ROMs: CM9 and AOKP handle the conversion a bit better. You won't run into the dialer or e-mail issue like with TW ROMs but there are still some bugs.
- Certain pictures of contacts may show up as way too zoomed in, i.e. messaging notification pictures or the favorites tab (thanks locoboi187!)
- Other aspects of the OS may become hard to read when scaled down so much, i.e. lock screen add-on buttons (thanks phpracing!)
The Play Store Doesn't Show All Apps? - This is the biggest pain in the a$$ when you mess with the lcd density settings. There is a bug in the play store that prevents you from seeing certain apps when you change the settings away from default.
I have seen a few "hacked" versions of the vending.apk out there that makes the play store think you are always set to 240 but for some reason, this only works for a little while.
Here are the steps to get the market working again:
1. Change LCD Density back to stock (240)
2. Reboot to take effect
3. Clear the data for the Google Play Store AND Google Services Framework
4. Open the Play Store app and you should see everything again
5. Change LCD density back to whatever you like.
6. Reboot
I know this is a bit cumbersome but it's the best solution for now. I haven't quite nailed down what triggers the market to "break" but hopefully you won't have to do this fix too often. In opinion, this annoyance is worth it.
To see a more detailed thread on this topic, go here (thanks kobridge!): http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1529227
Everything Looks Too "Stretched Out"? - Having an aftermarket launcher will help with this tremendously. I personally use Apex Launcher and there are some settings you can change to make the proportions look better
1. Homescreen Settings: Change the Vertical and Horizontal margins to medium or large
2. Dock Settings: Same as above.
You may also want to mess with different grid configurations now that you have extra room but i prefer to leave mine at the default 4 x 4
And that's it. I hope this will help you out so that you won't have to go through all the trial and error I did. I promise you, after you do this, it will be impossible for you to go back to the stock resolution (everything looks HUGE)
... and for those who care, here are some screen shots and the stock e-mail app
I've found 190-200 to be the sweet spot for me no matter which rom I use. It's nice, but isn't as nice as native 720p.
Tis a pity pentile was chosen for the GN over samoled+ makes it so one must choose between awesome colors or sweet, tight rez.
heroisnotdead said:
Tis a pity pentile was chosen for the GN over samoled+ makes it so one must choose between awesome colors or sweet, tight rez.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen
For those people who are interested - I am currently using LCD Resolution app from the Market store to keep my phone at 200. Anything less bothers me in some way or another.
In regards to the Dialer/Contacts being off center, I use an app called exDialer + exDialer ICS theme which scales perfectly. I then use an app called Holo Launcher which I believe beats Zeam, Go, and Launcher Pro hands down! This also scales perfectly. Finally, I am running the latest Blazer ROM on GB EL29.
The Market bug is very annoying, but I'm continually doing research on how to get past it.
tenazrael said:
For those people who are interested - I am currently using LCD Resolution app from the Market store to keep my phone at 200. Anything less bothers me in some way or another.
In regards to the Dialer/Contacts being off center, I use an app called exDialer + exDialer ICS theme which scales perfectly. I then use an app called Holo Launcher which I believe beats Zeam, Go, and Launcher Pro hands down! This also scales perfectly. Finally, I am running the latest Blazer ROM on GB EL29.
The Market bug is very annoying, but I'm continually doing research on how to get past it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the dialer tip! I will update OP with this info. This is very useful knowledge. I started using AOSP roms to avoid annoying dialer bug so this may lead me to rethink what ROM i use and go back to TW based
At any lower dpi the messaging notification picture icon looks zoomed on CM9. I tried 160, 180, 195, 200
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
im running cm9 a4 and this worked for me no problems. everything works the contacts and the dialer. not off center to me. i havent really messed around with the store yet but seemed good to me. the only thing i saw that was a little out of place and i dont think it is the tweak is the favorites icons. i use the favorites alot seeing as i only really call the same 6-7 people. does the contact/dialer app fix this?
phpracing said:
im running cm9 a4 and this worked for me no problems. everything works the contacts and the dialer. not off center to me. i havent really messed around with the store yet but seemed good to me. the only thing i saw that was a little out of place and i dont think it is the tweak is the favorites icons. i use the favorites alot seeing as i only really call the same 6-7 people. does the contact/dialer app fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i guarantee you that you'll see my problem listed above. Reproduceable.
Thanks for re-editing.
LCD Modder issue -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1570893
Market download -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1529227
elterible said:
... and for those who care, here are some screen shots and the stock e-mail app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that a galaxy nexus or did you just change the dpi.
Also with the changes. The lock screen add on buttons (top, right, and left options) are very tiny. I didn't even notice them until I took a good look at it. Again don't think this is a problem, just a product of the modification.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
My experience on any rom is phone fc's on any setting below 190 without modded phone.apk.. havent had any issues with market or anything when set to 190 in rom toolbox on any rom.. also if interested in native lcd changing support paranoid android is awesome! Not only does it have tablet mode it also has hybrid mode where you can change global density and even density per app while in hybrid mode
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
thanks for the feedback everyone. again, i will update OP with the info
kobridge - thanks for the links to your posts. i didn't see these but will link in the OP for those who want more info.
Zero Night said:
Is that a galaxy nexus or did you just change the dpi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just changed the DPI (don't own the GN, only E4GT). At the time of the screen shots, i was running CM9a5 with apex launcher set at 190 DPI
I didn't feel like reading the previous post but here's how to fix play store dpi issue. Steps 1 & 2 can be done in either order. Doesn't matter. Just be sure to change dpi before market updates
1) set your dpi
2) uninstall all data and updates to market.
3) reboot phone let play store update.
4) where did my dpi compatability issue go?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Shoulon said:
I didn't feel like reading the previous post but here's how to fix play store dpi issue. Steps 1 & 2 can be done in either order. Doesn't matter. Just be sure to change dpi before market updates
1) set your dpi
2) uninstall all data and updates to market.
3) reboot phone let play store update.
4) where did my dpi compatability issue go?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried both OP's solution and your solution, but neither is working, guess I'm one of the unlucky ones. It'll be a pain, but whenever I need to download something from the Play Store, I'll have to sit with 240 dpi for a bit, haha.
lucentflame said:
I've tried both OP's solution and your solution, but neither is working, guess I'm one of the unlucky ones. It'll be a pain, but whenever I need to download something from the Play Store, I'll have to sit with 240 dpi for a bit, haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM you using?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
lucentflame said:
I've tried both OP's solution and your solution, but neither is working, guess I'm one of the unlucky ones. It'll be a pain, but whenever I need to download something from the Play Store, I'll have to sit with 240 dpi for a bit, haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd. I forgot to mention u gotta wipe Google frameworks also. But its how I fix my issue. It works on cm9 and blazer 4.1
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Shoulon said:
That's odd. I forgot to mention u gotta wipe Google frameworks also. But its how I fix my issue. It works on cm9 and blazer 4.1
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the "trick" doesn't work for me either until i wipe google services framework.
On a side note, wipe the google services framework FIRST, then the play store. If you do the GSF last, you sometimes get a weird "server error" when you open up the play store
Related
So since most of the themes if not all, have wrong placement of images (specially the notification pull down window) I am wondering if indeed most of the users are NOT using applications like LCD Density.
To me, LCD Density is the first thing I install pretty much. It makes my phone just completely different so I wouldn't imagine myself without it.
Please comment.
I liked it too, but it's not compatible with a lot of games and some other apps... That's the reason I don't use it.
HaTeNL said:
I liked it too, but it's not compatible with a lot of games and some other apps... That's the reason I don't use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
With a bit of tinkering you can make 240dpi look a lot like 200, and avoid headaches in the process.
Thing is, when changing the density the SGS doesnt look so good as for example hero with a changed density. On hero I go with 120DPI. Tried on SGS 200 and it looked bad and somethign wasnt even readable. (I have even now trouble with fonts on 240 sometimes they are thick sometimes thin in the same app)
Its strange but hero on 120DPI is better readable then SGS on 200 why is that so?
PAGOT said:
Thing is, when changing the density the SGS doesnt look so good as for example hero with a changed density. On hero I go with 120DPI. Tried on SGS 200 and it looked bad and somethign wasnt even readable. (I have even now trouble with fonts on 240 sometimes they are thick sometimes thin in the same app)
Its strange but hero on 120DPI is better readable then SGS on 200 why is that so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? That is very odd. I run 182 and the image is just insanely sharp and detailed. I wonder if user Eyes are also coming into play here... interesting to see the Poll that some many people have never heard about it!
Jumba said:
+1
With a bit of tinkering you can make 240dpi look a lot like 200, and avoid headaches in the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what tinkering is that but I still run 182 (the minimum I can run without Contacts crashing) and everything looks so razor sharp and so much info fits on the screen that I cannot think about using my phone without it.
HaTeNL said:
I liked it too, but it's not compatible with a lot of games and some other apps... That's the reason I don't use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What games are those? So far only Pac Man has given me the issue and I have tons of games. You can always use the Temp change to go back to stock when needed.
shaolin95 said:
Really? That is very odd. I run 182 and the image is just insanely sharp and detailed. I wonder if user Eyes are also coming into play here... interesting to see the Poll that some many people have never heard about it! .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Image is pretty, but try to read something on opera mobile with a smaller font or even gmail (messages from google checkout)
PAGOT said:
Image is pretty, but try to read something on opera mobile with a smaller font or even gmail (messages from google checkout)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I mentioned, I use this all the time 24/7 and read all my email and use different browsers as well and love it. Might have to do with each users vision as well I suppose.
Well that might be so but we could rule that out? Since I told you I have a HTC hero on even lover DPI and its still better readable as the SGS . Maybe my SGS is bugged...
Dont get me wrong here, SGS is far more superior and literally not comparable to the Hero. Am just saying, maybe with mine is something wrong
PAGOT said:
Well that might be so but we could rule that out? Since I told you I have a HTC hero on even lover DPI and its still better readable as the SGS . Maybe my SGS is bugged...
Dont get me wrong here, SGS is far more superior and literally not comparable to the Hero. Am just saying, maybe with mine is something wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No prob I understand what you mean indeed.
I'm very happy with my screen, so won't screw around there unnecessarily...
Prasad007 said:
I'm very happy with my screen, so won't screw around there unnecessarily...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was happy until I tried this plus is not like its going to crash and burn.
I went to all the trouble of rooting my phone and installing the free version , but after changing the numbers it didn't work so I decided that it wasn't worth the bother
Kethead said:
I went to all the trouble of rooting my phone and installing the free version , but after changing the numbers it didn't work so I decided that it wasn't worth the bother
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks. Was that an old version or a recent one. I dont recall the first one I tried but they have all worked. On eclair I could do 160 but on Froyo anything under 182 crashes the contacts.
Thing is i have tried it many times at 200 but the stock apps that Samsung provides don't change to 200, so it's all too small when you open e.g the Phone app, the dialer is in the left hand corner and there is dead space on the right around it, same goes for other apps except contacts and calendar, but the top bar is messed up in those apps.
I'd use it but also GTG's touchwiz launcher doesn't work properly with it, only thing stopping me from using it is the problem with apps, if there is any way to make them scale to 200 i'd use it in a heartbeat
I use a different dialer as that is the only one that does not show correctly for me. It would be nice if everything worked though.
I know what it does, I do not use it at all
It causes too much screen / resolution problem with Apps that are not compatible
too much hassle to maintain
it's easier to not use it
AllGamer said:
I know what it does, I do not use it at all
It causes too much screen / resolution problem with Apps that are not compatible
too much hassle to maintain
it's easier to not use it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just baffles me to read comments like this, my phone has about 305 apps/games (according to Titanium back up) so it is odd for me to read people saying this. Either I am very lucky that my apps are all fine or something else is wrong.
shaolin95 said:
It just baffles me to read comments like this, my phone has about 305 apps/games (according to Titanium back up) so it is odd for me to read people saying this. Either I am very lucky that my apps are all fine or something else is wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have issue with plenty of apps not sizing properly. It's just the nature of the beast when you change the density.
But to answer your OP, I don't use that program. I just change it manually in the build prop. That way it stays 140 or so when I do a full reboot.
oohaylima said:
I have issue with plenty of apps not sizing properly. It's just the nature of the beast when you change the density.
But to answer your OP, I don't use that program. I just change it manually in the build prop. That way it stays 140 or so when I do a full reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never tried changing it there, I guess the app is just a GUI for the same thing.
Can you name some of those apps if you have time cause I am really curious to check those.
So far games, only Pac Man and apps, the Dialer for which I am using a different one.
I think it's a waste to have a 4" screen and have it display as much as a 3" one would. I used it at 185 for a long time and never had many issues with non-Samsung apps.
Sometimes things scaled a bit weirdly, but they were perfectly functional and it was quite rare. Some of the Samsung applications (TouchWiz app drawer, calc, phone, memo, etc) just got smaller but I replaced those anyway. Other than that I never had issues.
Right now I'm using it at around 210 since the fonts got a little too small and for example the LP Twitter widget hard to read from a distance. Trying to find a balance.
I heard about the Adam's apps getting ported to the G-Tab, so i thought id try some of them on my Tab.
I couldnt find the original versions, but of the ported ones Sniffer and Quickoffice worked almost perfectly (both would get stuck for a second when scrolling quickly). Couldnt get the browser to work at all, though people say its magical and whatnot.
Is anyone interested in giving it a crack?
could u post up the apps? too lazy to rip them out myself
I cant find the originals and have no idea how to rip them out of the dumps im afraid. I used to ones from the post above...
All of the ones in the linked thread worked for me on my tab (I haven't tested the mail'd app yet, will update after I do).
With the browser apk, you must first use root explorer and navigate to /system/app and rename your default Browser.apk to Browswer.apk.bak and then it will install. To go back to the stock modified samsung browser just rename Browser.apk.bak to Browser.apk.
The keyboard would be nice if it wasn't so bad.
Browser is really nice, I'm going to compare it to Dolphin for a while.
Calendar is worthless IMO, not nearly as good as the Samsung one (albeit a lot better looking)
Quickoffice HD IS AWESOME!
Sniffer is unnecessary IMO
Canvas is entertaining
Calculator is nice.
Thanks to the OP for reminding me to check these out!
Edit- I got mail'd working, just install THIS APK it's really sick!
Edit2- For those people that don't read the whole thread, just the first couple posts, it looks like you will need to have a screen density of 180 or so to be able to display the apks full screen. Just FYI.
My maild just gets stuck on the opening screen with your apk, also i cant install browser despite renaming
I had trouble installing browser but just rename the old one, transfer the new apk to the same folder an install it from there an.it works great.
Ive had no probs with maild. Works fine for me!
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Yeah, sorry, Browser.apk has to be in /system before you can install it.
Also, it's not my apk, I just pulled it out of the flashable zip archive that's linked. No credit to me at all.
Any special trick for getting the canvas app to work? I get a FC every time I I press the paint. On a stock Verizon Tab (no root)
Also the Mail'd app goes off the screen and there is no way to scroll over without it springing right back. Makes it hard to see what is in the folder you're looking at.
Anyone else seeing this?
For the maild app ur gonna need to change the lcd density to something like 180 or 160.
Mines at 160 an i c the whole 3 panes in maild.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Its a pity you have to change the lcd density as its a dam smart email app.
Thanks for the apk though i prefer the density bigger
QuickOffice looks good too but the browser is excellent.
It works really well on the Tab. The best one i have used yet
I believe the originals can be had over at tithing. Anyone tested them yet?
darrenjdoc said:
Its a pity you have to change the lcd density as its a dam smart email app.
Thanks for the apk though i prefer the density bigger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I highly recommend running the tab at a LCD density of 180 (haven't tried 160). The screen is just too big and all the icons are unnecessarily large with the default density of 240.
Boushh said:
I highly recommend running the tab at a LCD density of 180 (haven't tried 160). The screen is just too big and all the icons are unnecessarily large with the default density of 240.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. 180 is perfect for me though it cuts off a little of the mail'd app. I tried 160 and the notification bar kept changing colors depending on the background which was annoying.
From the Tab.
www.twitter.com/ayman07
anyone got the maild working with exchange mail?
i tried mine but no avail
seems like the browser also cannot work for me
180 breaks the camera though
TheGrammarFreak said:
180 breaks the camera though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about 182??
TheGrammarFreak said:
180 breaks the camera though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine works just fine at 180... (JK5)
Office suite is nice, but ThinkFree office is better I think
I tried browser also and I just don't like it, I'd like to instal back old browser. I deleted browser.apk (Notion INK) from system/app, rename browser.apk.bak back to browser.apk and tried to instal but it always shows me error. How can I instal it? Thanks
TheGrammarFreak said:
180 breaks the camera though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. It keeps asking for an smtp server even though with exchange and activesync you're not supposed to configure it on the device...
Hey everybody
One of the most useful mods I have performed on my Note 2 is a PPI adjustment, which effectively increases the resolution of the screen. I'm not sure why this isn't more commonly discussed, because I think it really takes advantage of the phone's size and tablet-like qualities (especially with the new MultiView update, if that appeals to you). I know many users of the original Note did this mod, which is how I found out about it. I suspect that many other Note 2 users may not be aware of this trick...
WHAT IT DOES
It has the same effect as increasing one's monitor resolution - more content is able to be displayed on screen. If all the icons, text, menus, etc on your Note 2 just seem really BIG to you, this is the antidote.
Look at the two before and after screenshots attached. I would have posted them in line, but as a new user I am prohibited from doing so.
REQUIREMENTS
ROOTED Note 2 - there are other Howto's on XDA that cover this
ROM Toolbox Pro (other apps may work too, possibly including the free version of ROM Toolbox, but this is what I used)
HOW TO DO IT
Root your phone and install ROM Toolbox Pro. Go to the performance tab, and click "build.prop" editor. There will be two entries called "ro.sf.lcd_density"
Within each one, change the property value and the default value to 240. That's four numbers you're replacing. On the last change, go ahead and reboot. Done!
OTHER NOTES
With the original Note, it was common for this mod to break the Market. This is no longer the case. But, there are a few things that break to varying degrees. They're easy to fix though...
TouchWiz: The default launcher will not adapt to the new settings, and you will have a lot of blank space. Fix by installing another launcher. I use Nova.
The Clock app breaks completely. I replaced with Alarm Clock Plus.
The dialer, like TouchWiz, will remain small. You could replace with a custom dialer, but I actually left it as-is because a side effect is that it's really easy to use with one hand.
The Camera app has the same problem. Camera Zoom FX makes a good replacement.
the Samsung keyboard breaks, thus taking down handwriting input with it. Swype works fine, as does s-note.
Aside from those minor issues, everything has worked fine, including all the 3rd party apps I have.
Hope this is helpful to some of you guys.
Seriously, this phone is amazing at 240
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2
I have been using this since I first got my phone.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
This is great. One other app is the email app only takes half the screen on portrait. Really need to figure out how to install the AOSP JB Email app on here....
Another benefit is Swiftkey Tablet keyboard now does the split keyboard on landscape which is easier to type on.
The only problem is that you can't use the handwriting mode with the stylus with the ppi set to 240 because the Samsung keyboard keeps fc'ing. That's my only complaint so far with this phone is that the handwriting mode is tied to the Samsung keyboard.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium HD app
I had problems with apps saying they weren't compatible with my device... cleared data in the market app... still no dice. Any insight?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
I'm not real fond of the way the dialer looks so I'm using Go Contacts which has a pretty good dialer.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium HD app
mrush said:
I had problems with apps saying they weren't compatible with my device... cleared data in the market app... still no dice. Any insight?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The market is probably filtering since at this resolution it is probably now considered an x-large device.
Really like this resolution, will need to use for a while to see which apps decide to crap out.
you can also edit the build.prop with root explorer. If you edit the it to be =160 it switched to tablet mode, but crashes a lot
=170 i think its still tablet and doesn't crash
firemedic624 said:
The only problem is that you can't use the handwriting mode with the stylus with the ppi set to 240 because the Samsung keyboard keeps fc'ing. That's my only complaint so far with this phone is that the handwriting mode is tied to the Samsung keyboard.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. I forgot to mention and will update the original post. Hopefully devs will fix at some point.
mhoepfin said:
The market is probably filtering since at this resolution it is probably now considered an x-large device.
Really like this resolution, will need to use for a while to see which apps decide to crap out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, with jelly bean letting us choose "tiny" text now and the screen size being so big, I'm not as inclined to change the Res on this thing anymore... in the past with my S2 that was the first thing i would do whenever I flashed a new rom.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
installed, set to 170, put on nova launcher, and downloaded a jellybean keyboard. so far so good, but how do I get the "hold home to bring up all running apps back" feature? It looks like Nova doesn't support this...
Dioscorus said:
installed, set to 170, put on nova launcher, and downloaded a jellybean keyboard. so far so good, but how do I get the "hold home to bring up all running apps back" feature? It looks like Nova doesn't support this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, which rom are you using? I have stock rooted with nova and this feature still works.
intelli78 said:
Hmm, which rom are you using? I have stock rooted with nova and this feature still works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have stock/rooted...
Fixed the dialer problem for me just got exdialer it work great and looks good too!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5tb2Rvb2h1dC5kaWFsZXIiXQ..
Technically the Galaxy Note II does have a higher screen res than the Galaxy S III since the Note 2 does not have a pentile display. Paranoid Android in the future will also let you completely customize the size of everything on your phone without messing up the market due to DPI issues.
weehooherod2 said:
Technically the Galaxy Note II does have a higher screen res than the Galaxy S III since the Note 2 does not have a pentile display. Paranoid Android in the future will also let you completely customize the size of everything on your phone without messing up the market due to DPI issues.
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Do you think PA will come to this phone? If so, it will be a great addition and will fit this device perfectly.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2
anyone with issues sending MMS? I had taken a pic and tried to send MMS but got a unsupported file type or something like that and wont attach the picture. reverting back to 320dpi works.
hopefully the samsung keyboard will work with this in the future, it looks sooo much better with the dpi change .. specially with multi-view (although the menu and border of it doesnt stretch all the way across the screen).
bala gamer is hopefully going to take a shot at FIXING the bits that don't work right at 240dpi !! I especially hope he can fix the keyboard as I LOVE the keyboard.
for the multi window just drag the menu to the TOP OR BOTTOM edge and it displays correctly at 240dpi (the separator is not wide enough but thats not an issue)
Zoom FX is no good since it uses "smaller" images (really small) in burst mode NOT 8mp. I found that out the hard way after I shot some really nice shots and later discovered the res was so small it was useless to me
I discovered today that the note 2's dpi is set to 320, this is shocking given how big the screen is.
This dpi is similar to phones like the galaxy nexus, galaxy s3 and one x, so technically we are getting as much usability as phones with screens smaller then .7inch smaller then owers.
I changed the DPI to 240 and I instantly found a huge difference, no loss in overall sharpness, more icons fit in the screen, apps showed more detail, and the phone felt like a phablet rather then a phone for the first time.
Anyways for now I'm using nova launcher(for a costimizable homescreen/drawer) and alternates to all the samsung apps because they are not compatible with a lower DPI. Has anyone played around with their DPI? which DPI was the best for the phone?
For those who didn't try it yet, I highly recommend you to try it out if you know what you're doing.
You may find this handy - Samsung apps resized for 240 DPI:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001577
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
onslaught86 said:
You may find this handy - Samsung apps resized for 240 DPI:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001577
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
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I did check that out, but they're all older versions of the apps i have (4.1.2 final)
Keep in mind that it does screw with the Play store. Certain apps may not be available.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
240 is too small in my opinion. Most of the apps work without any problem on 280, and for me it's the highest visible density for me. Btw on 240 there problems with fluency.
hav0c said:
Keep in mind that it does screw with the Play store. Certain apps may not be available.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
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I cleared the play store's data a cache, it turned into tablet mode which was pretty sweet. I could've kept it as is from stock dpi and I would've been able to get the normal phone mode apps.
parrotlarch said:
240 is too small in my opinion. Most of the apps work without any problem on 280, and for me it's the highest visible density for me. Btw on 240 there problems with fluency.
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Samsung apps seem a bit laggy at 240 dpi, but I solved that by using alternatives to most of them, nova launcher looked pretty sweet. And as for the visibility, the screen is HUGE, like even at that tiny dpi icons are as big as they are on an S3 which is at 320 dpi, I'm gonna try 280 seems like a better choice for frequent usage.
I find it kind of stupid that they kept the dpi at 320, a lot of wasted screen space
Shame S Note crashes even at 280 dpi... especially as there is not an alternative that links in so well with the S Pen with pop up windows.
edit: Unbelievable, I set it back to 320 dpi, S Note is still crashing. Even after I wiped it's data.
edit 2: Wow, re flashed my ROM, even did the wipe option, S Note STILL crashes.
edit: DW, was EE's CSC causing it lol.
I need to set more than 320DPI but TW based rom always got crash
RambJoe said:
Shame S Note crashes even at 280 dpi... especially as there is not an alternative that links in so well with the S Pen with pop up windows.
edit: Unbelievable, I set it back to 320 dpi, S Note is still crashing. Even after I wiped it's data.
edit 2: Wow, re flashed my ROM, even did the wipe option, S Note STILL crashes.
edit: DW, was EE's CSC causing it lol.
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Must be a rom issue then, been running hypernote for a very long time and I'm using 240 dpi.
No crashes here
This is for the D850 AT&T G3. I used Nomone to set resolution to 1080x1920 @ 480 dpi and observe two weird things:
1) Everything but the dock rescales correctly. This persists even after reboot and only happens in the stock launcher, Nova is OK
2) Several of the stock apps no loger work, and their icons change to generic Androids: calculator, calendar, clockemail, file manager, gallery, messaging, quick remote, tasks, voice command. Any attempt to launch these apps results in a FC. This happens both in the stock launcher and Nova, so I am guessing that they do not rescale correctly at the lower res.
Not a great loss, I would not be using most of these anyway, just curious if there is a workaround. I do not plan on running the monitor at more than 1080x1920. The only thing I will probably miss is the stock email app, I was planning on using that to access office mail via Exchange.
EDIT: Unfortunately it appears that I cannot set up an Exchange account with the lower res, on account of the stock app crashing instantly. This is a complete deal breaker for me, I absolutely need exchange and will need to run at full rez. Bummer, with the bootloader locked I probably can't downfreq the phone either to extend battery life.
EDIT2: You can work around every non-functioning LG app by sideloading the corresponding Kitkat stock app. Unfortunately the one exception to this is Email + Exchange, which is badly broken on stock Kitkat and Google has not bothered to fix it for many months now. For those of us that need Exchange for work this tends to be a deal-breaker issue
EDIT3: As others have noted, Swiftkey does not seem to play well with Nomone either
EDIT4: Nova is also exhbiting some minor issues, with our without Nomone. It does not break too many things, and the things it does break are mostly cosmetic - the icons of the above-mentioned apps turn generic, and the first group of Google apps in the drawer disappeears.
I changed the resolution, rebooted and got an android systemui fc loop that I couldn't get out of. had to factory reset
I then tried it again on a fresh device but wihtout rebooting this time. and like you said, a lot of things are not right...
so I'd say this is generally not recommendable
best bet might be paranoid android or something whenever that becomes possible
I agree, the display is draining the batt too quickly and I doubt underclocking the cpu is going to be of much help
Did you try changing the dpi from 480 to 530? Anything less than 500 dpi seems to force close most apps.. Change it to 530 dpi and hopefully most things should run ok
adrian_nene16 said:
Did you try changing the dpi from 480 to 530? Anything less than 500 dpi seems to force close most apps.. Change it to 530 dpi and hopefully most things should run ok
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will try that, thanks
With the changed resolution I'll assume that you're rooted. You could use XPosed with the "App Settings" Module to change the DPI for the crashing system apps back to 640. I did this, and it works nicely. It is a bit of try and error in the beginning, but once you caught all apps you use it looks great.
This will probably not solve the icons issue, which is caused by LG not including the icons for other resolutions than what they recommend for the G3. They are available for xxxhdpi (640), but not for xxhdpi (480).
FordT said:
With the changed resolution I'll assume that you're rooted. You could use XPosed with the "App Settings" Module to change the DPI for the crashing system apps back to 640. I did this, and it works nicely. It is a bit of try and error in the beginning, but once you caught all apps you use it looks great.
This will probably not solve the icons issue, which is caused by LG not including the icons for other resolutions than what they recommend for the G3. They are available for xxxhdpi (640), but not for xxhdpi (480).
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I'm running 530 without issues sofar. Would love to be able to go a bit lower though.
Does the Lockscreen works to you on lower then 640dpi?
latino147 said:
I'm running 530 without issues sofar. Would love to be able to go a bit lower though.
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How's your battery life so far, do you notice anything?
Thanks for the tips and replies, many of them quite useful. Running 530dpi with 1080x1920 is, IMO, kinda pointless, as it negates the benefits if the large screen., If we need to stick about 530 dpi (which seems to work nicely) the lowest settings that make sense are 1224x2176 with 544 dpi setting. This scales everything down by 25% from full resolution. With these settings I don't see the screen get notably warm and the icon and text proportions still make sense. With 1080x1920 @ 530 dpi things don't make any sense, it feels like you are using a 3" screen with high magnification.
So far there are only three things I have been unable to get working
1) Nova launcher to correctly display the custom icons for the above apps. Apex works fine so I have switched from Nova to Apex.
2) Swiftkey - it just gets mangled badly. I will try the "per app" setting in xPosed, but I can't see how it will help.
3) Kitkat stock email.apk with Exchange. This is a long-standing KitKat issue that Google has not bothered to fix. The LG mail works fine with Exchange but does not thread. Any good alternatives?
adrian_nene16 said:
How's your battery life so far, do you notice anything?
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don't know, went back to the default resolution as too much stuff was off, like Swiftkey