[Q] Now that i have my Nexus... - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

I've just come from a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone. Now that i have my new Android device, im looking for the most recommended apps to install, or changes to make (short of a new rom, as im not ready to do that just yet). Ive already installed a flashlight app, facebook, netflix, and Colornote. But i know there's likely some apps im not thinking about (like if there is a good GPS navagation software if not the preloaded one.
Also, more key to the Nexus, there are a few things i would like to do.
1. Control the notification LED. (i think it takes too long to blink)
2. Add unlock choices to the lock screen (ie, id like to unlock straight to messages)
3. Perhaps add other information to the lock screen, like weather or something.
If those three things can only be done with a custom rom, i understand. Was just hoping there were apps to control it individually.
Thanks

all of those can in fact be done with a custom rom, advantage being all is builtin.
that said, these come to mind:
1- lightflow (paid and free versions available)
2- golocker, for example?
3- golocker once again, i believe.

Welcome to the nexus bud!
1: For the led notification I would get the app light flow.
2: The lock screen targets require a custom ROM.
3: Samething for weather and calendar. There are lock screen apps that can do it but they are mostly paid apps. One that I know works pretty well is widget locker.

I would install ClockwordMod Recovery and then a custom ROM. You get the benefits of improved functionality over stock without installing extra apps. In the end it's a more rewarding solution, as you might find other things you like that you may not be aware of.

As stated by the first response you could get all those features with a custom ROM. You actually hit the nail in the head because those are some of the main perks of custom ROMs. That and being built in instead using a third party app and using more ram.
Sent From My Toro+ via White Tapatalk

Cyanogenmod10
Weather and additional shortcut in lockscreen
Notifications LED included in the system
(Sorry for my bad english!)

Codename Android rom offers those things also.

Related

[Q] Is it possible to rotate things like the home screens and contacts?

Hi all,
Is it possible to get the Home page screens to rotate and things like the diallers etc? Although auto rotate is on, lot of things like this don't rotate. I'm using a pretty much stock Orange ROM.
I know on my old windows HTC Touch Diamond phone there was an additional app that allowed me to override these home screen settings, thus forcing most screens to rotate.
This is very useful when you use the phone as a sat nav device that is mounted in landscape. Of course, when you bring up the contact list to navigate to, or the phone rings, everything goes to the wrong - well back to normal - but difficult to see unless you tilt your head which is not a good idea when driving!
Many thanks for any help
AFAIK, you have to replace the Rosie Launcher apk, and this is only available if you are using a custom HD/Z port ROM.
Ahh, bugger. If there was an Orange ROM out there I would do this, but with no way back to a stock image on a relatively new works phone, I simply can't justify it yet. What a shame this can't be added to a normal ROM.
There is another way! If you are not determined to stick with sense, use Launcher Pro. See what you think. No rooting or flashing required. Just download from marketplace.
It has the option to rotate the home screens. Personally I also think it is also smoother and has more customizing options than sense.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
Cheers for that. Now we open a full Pandora's box. I didn't realise quite how the widgets are integrated with the launcher. I loose many of the sense widgets that i use to frequently such as currently appointment due, coming agenda, fully calendar email notification (not gmail but exchange, really miss this one), power bar etc.
I assume a lot of these could be added a separate downloads. I juts now have to start figureing out what they would be.
Lol. Sorry, should have made that clearer. There are plenty of choices for replacing the HTC widgets. The paid version of launcher pro has a tidy calendar, but if you are looking for free alternatives, I've found that the 'post your screen shots' thread in the 'themes and apps' section is a good way of seeing what other people are using...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=665991
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App

newbie- just got my new phone! so many questions!

first android phone coming from ios for the last many years
1. sms- how do i get notifications? i don't want that little icon on the top taskbar, i want a popup like the iphone so i will immediately know. i don't even get a notification in the lockscreen which i want. also quick reply somehow? same as missed calls, i want a big notification popup
2. contact/sms page- how do i get rid of the picture profile squares? it makes each line so "thick" and takes up too much room
3. quick way to put it to silent/vibrate only mode like iphone?
4. how do you actually exit an app? it seems like when i press any of the softkeys on the bottom (home or back) it just minimizes it and still has it running in the background
5. if i reflash rom, will i lose all my apps and settings? which rom do you suggest?
6. what are the advantages of giving me root access? examples or what i can do?
7. one big feature of iphone ios 5 is group sms, can android group sms with iphone users?
8. must have apps?
1. For SMS popup thing, you can go and download another messaging application like GoSMS from the market and set it's settings.
2. That can't happen, download GoContacts from the market?
3. Hold the volume down button or set a volume toggle on the homescreen
4. Click on multitasking, swipe left or right to close an application.
5. Yes, you will. You can backup all your apps and system data through Titanium Backup from the market, google how to do that. I recommend AOKP.
6. Better speed, stability, customizations etc.
7. No, just download whatsapp
8. Don't know what you'll like
Are you sure you wanted to leave iPhone? There are apps out there to do what you are asking for with pop ups, etc.... there are also SMS apps you can install to replace the standard one. Hands cent comes to mind for that.
To quickly go to vibrate press and hold power button. A window will open with the option for vibrate, airplane mode and power off options....
Hope this helps some what. I've had an iPhone 3G and 4. I came to Android for the freedom of not being locked into Steve Jobs view of how I should use my phone. I don't miss it. Give it time and you should see the same thing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
if ur that new to android... i dont think u should start flashing roms right now!!
read more, do more research cuz i dont want u to start another thread by telling us u brick ur phone.. wont start up.. those kinda things
Oh... forgot. Android is a true multitasking system. Apps will run in background. I have heard if you press the back button instead of home to exit an app it will stop it. Don't know if that is true. Usually the os takes care of the processes for you.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Learn to use your phone and become adjusted to the Android eco-system before you start talking about rooting.
Also, use GoSMS.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
arzbhatia said:
1. For SMS popup thing, you can go and download another messaging application like GoSMS from the market and set it's settings.
2. That can't happen, download GoContacts from the market?
3. Hold the volume down button or set a volume toggle on the homescreen
4. Click on multitasking, swipe left or right to close an application.
5. Yes, you will. You can backup all your apps and system data through Titanium Backup from the market, google how to do that. I recommend AOKP.
6. Better speed, stability, customizations etc.
7. No, just download whatsapp
8. Don't know what you'll like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for your reply
as for #3, is there another way to exit without going to that screen and swipe 1 by 1? because just now as i'm learning about my phone and opening up a bunch of stuff, i go to my multitask screen and have like 10 things i want to swipe and it's kinda annoying to do it 1 by 1
unknown00 said:
thank you for your reply
as for #3, is there another way to exit without going to that screen and swipe 1 by 1? because just now as i'm learning about my phone and opening up a bunch of stuff, i go to my multitask screen and have like 10 things i want to swipe and it's kinda annoying to do it 1 by 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u call swiping 1 by 1 annoying?? u press multitask button once.. and u ready to swipe already..
from what i see, i think u used iphone before... and when u want to close apps, u have to double click home button... then hold down 1 icon.. then press X
i see how u define annoying now...
unknown00 said:
thank you for your reply
as for #3, is there another way to exit without going to that screen and swipe 1 by 1? because just now as i'm learning about my phone and opening up a bunch of stuff, i go to my multitask screen and have like 10 things i want to swipe and it's kinda annoying to do it 1 by 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I believe someone above said, there is no real reason to "kill" apps, or close them down completely.
My understanding is that apps are kept in a suspended state in the background after you back out of them, or hit the home button. They don't really chew any battery or resources, but by keeping them in the RAM the app opens faster the next time you need it, or remembers what you were doing/where you were within the app.
If the phone needs to free up that space for an active app, or services that you are using, then it will close it fully/remove it from RAM to make space and keep the phone running smoothly.
Again, this is my understanding... and if I'm wrong I'm happy to stand corrected by more knowledgeable users.
As for a previous question about what "must have apps", I am a fan of Light Flow (which you can get in a free version) for customising the notification LED.
unknown00 said:
thank you for your reply
as for #3, is there another way to exit without going to that screen and swipe 1 by 1? because just now as i'm learning about my phone and opening up a bunch of stuff, i go to my multitask screen and have like 10 things i want to swipe and it's kinda annoying to do it 1 by 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're looking at Android from an iOS users perspective. Don't even worry about closing apps. Android is set up to know when to end processes/close apps. Even if you do completely close an app it'll just take longer to start that app when you need it again. Let the OS handle that stuff.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
king23adrianc said:
if ur that new to android... i dont think u should start flashing roms right now!!
read more, do more research cuz i dont want u to start another thread by telling us u brick ur phone.. wont start up.. those kinda things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely listen to this advice. You can wind up with a 500$ paper weight
Sent from my i9250 (GSM) Galaxy Nexus.
[email protected]
i don't think i'll flash to custom rom until 4.0.5 so i'll have enough time to play with it. more questions
1. speaking of roms, i see 4.0.4 is coming out. i go to settings and try to update but it says non available? is there a quick seamless way to upgrade? also, if i upgrade to stock 4.0.4 will i lose all apps?
2. how do i get notifications to appear on the lock screen? i hate how the lockscreen just has the time and doesn't show anything else (except that tiny thin taskbar line on top)
3. i want to be able to delete/mark as read/etc emails without actually going into a native app? for example, from that taskbar notification dropdown or preferably from the lockscreen, is there a way to delete an email?
4. when i get a notification or any kind, all i get is a ring and vibrate. i want the screen to turn on and have the notification show (kinda like #2, a popup on lockscreen of what the notification is)
unknown00 said:
i don't think i'll flash to custom rom until 4.0.5 so i'll have enough time to play with it. more questions
1. speaking of roms, i see 4.0.4 is coming out. i go to settings and try to update but it says non available? is there a quick seamless way to upgrade? also, if i upgrade to stock 4.0.4 will i lose all apps?
2. how do i get notifications to appear on the lock screen? i hate how the lockscreen just has the time and doesn't show anything else (except that tiny thin taskbar line on top)
3. i want to be able to delete/mark as read/etc emails without actually going into a native app? for example, from that taskbar notification dropdown or preferably from the lockscreen, is there a way to delete an email?
4. when i get a notification or any kind, all i get is a ring and vibrate. i want the screen to turn on and have the notification show (kinda like #2, a popup on lockscreen of what the notification is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears that you want your android phone to be an iPhone. That is something that it will never be. They are two completely different eco systems and are capable of completely different things.
1. Updates are not available for every phone at the same time. Google/Android/Carriers do have an annoying habit of releasing updates to certain phones in certain area's/countries at different times. You will eventually get the notification that an update is ready. Just be patient. With Android, you need to be patient.
2. Personally, i am not sure there is a fluid way to make this happen, however i am sure someone can correct me. There lock screen replacement apps like WidgetLocker but i dont know if they enable large notifications.
3. again, as far as i am aware, there is no way to mark as read or delete an email without actually going into the native application. When the notification comes through you can dismiss it by swiping left or right (like you do in the multi-tasking section) but you will still have to enter the native app to delete or reply.
4. Try SMS pop up, but again, this is not and iPhone...
I saw earlier you asked about Rooting etc... TREAD CAREFULLY. This can be dangerous if you dont understand the terminology and as you have been in such a closed system that is iOS, learn more about Android before going down this road. When you are ready I would keep an eye on the following sites...
i) Androidpolice.com
ii) galaxynexusroot.com (great tutorials and videos)
iii) galaxynexusforum.com (only about the gnex)
Hope this helps
---------- Post added at 05:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:55 PM ----------
I also just found this thread which will give you all the information you need if you are new to the joys of modding.
Thanks to Dakota0206 for putting this great post together
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1442184
another quick question - everyone talks about oh if you root if you flash and mess up you will get in trouble etc etc, can't you just "reflash" to stock if you screw something up?
unknown00 said:
another quick question - everyone talks about oh if you root if you flash and mess up you will get in trouble etc etc, can't you just "reflash" to stock if you screw something up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, if you brick your phone it won't even boot. How would you "re flash" if you can't get into recovery. You're really trying to run before crawling. Slow it down, read & research you'll be happier at the end of the day.
Sent from my i9250 (GSM) Galaxy Nexus.
[email protected]
unknown00 said:
first android phone coming from ios for the last many years
1. sms- how do i get notifications? i don't want that little icon on the top taskbar, i want a popup like the iphone so i will immediately know. i don't even get a notification in the lockscreen which i want. also quick reply somehow? same as missed calls, i want a big notification popup
2. contact/sms page- how do i get rid of the picture profile squares? it makes each line so "thick" and takes up too much room
3. quick way to put it to silent/vibrate only mode like iphone?
4. how do you actually exit an app? it seems like when i press any of the softkeys on the bottom (home or back) it just minimizes it and still has it running in the background
5. if i reflash rom, will i lose all my apps and settings? which rom do you suggest?
6. what are the advantages of giving me root access? examples or what i can do?
7. one big feature of iphone ios 5 is group sms, can android group sms with iphone users?
8. must have apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install handcent and use it, it has a pop up notification anywhere when you get a text. And it has better options too, and has identical iPhone theme and look. Disable the stock SMS app in its settings.
Use volume down to quickly turn on silent. Better option is to use a dedicated widget from the market. A custom rom has better options though enabled just by holding the power button.
To exit apps you leave it with back button. This let's the os claim that process for free ram. Home button backgrounds an app to multitask. So always leave an app with back button when you're done.
unknown00 said:
i don't think i'll flash to custom rom until 4.0.5 so i'll have enough time to play with it. more questions
1. speaking of roms, i see 4.0.4 is coming out. i go to settings and try to update but it says non available? is there a quick seamless way to upgrade? also, if i upgrade to stock 4.0.4 will i lose all apps?
2. how do i get notifications to appear on the lock screen? i hate how the lockscreen just has the time and doesn't show anything else (except that tiny thin taskbar line on top)
3. i want to be able to delete/mark as read/etc emails without actually going into a native app? for example, from that taskbar notification dropdown or preferably from the lockscreen, is there a way to delete an email?
4. when i get a notification or any kind, all i get is a ring and vibrate. i want the screen to turn on and have the notification show (kinda like #2, a popup on lockscreen of what the notification is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. In the lock screen, you can swipe down the notification bar to see the notifications you have.
3. I don't think there is any way to do that. I think it's a security measure on Google's part so other apps can't "hijack" your email management.
4. Not a direct solution but I would recommend getting the app Light Flow. This lets you customise the LED to light up different colours depending on which type of notification you have. You don't even need to turn the screen on in that case.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
unknown00 said:
another quick question - everyone talks about oh if you root if you flash and mess up you will get in trouble etc etc, can't you just "reflash" to stock if you screw something up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always go back to stock. Its very difficult to permanently brick a nexus. Its pretty safe as long as you follow directions.
Edit: and for notifications this phone has a colored led light. You can set each notification to different color. Green I have new Google voice, blue I have new text, white is new Gmail, etc.
Ruxin said:
As I believe someone above said, there is no real reason to "kill" apps, or close them down completely.
My understanding is that apps are kept in a suspended state in the background after you back out of them, or hit the home button. They don't really chew any battery or resources, but by keeping them in the RAM the app opens faster the next time you need it, or remembers what you were doing/where you were within the app.
If the phone needs to free up that space for an active app, or services that you are using, then it will close it fully/remove it from RAM to make space and keep the phone running smoothly.
Again, this is my understanding... and if I'm wrong I'm happy to stand corrected by more knowledgeable users.
As for a previous question about what "must have apps", I am a fan of Light Flow (which you can get in a free version) for customising the notification LED.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're pretty much spot on with that. Unused RAM is wasted RAM. The Galaxy Nexus has a whopping gig a RAM, so the next time you'll need to physically close apps will probably be 2 or 3 years from now. Plus, Android's memory management is much better than iOS'.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA
Also, for multitasking, just install system panel. Any app you see labeled "cached" is frozen and ready to be opened should you go back to that app. Cached apps are doing nothing, so you don't have to kill them. Just leave them be. You really don't have to kill anything ever. I never do and things work great.

Couple random questions

Hey guys,
I have been using this phone now for a couple weeks and totally love it but I have a couple questions I'm hoping someone may be able to help me with.
1) is there any way to turn the phone on besides using the power button? Like, is there an app you can use to shake that will wake up the phone?
2) is there any way to autohide the status bar up top? I am currently rooted but dont want to change launchers as adw launcher works but some widgets are missing from it.
3) is there a way to ad other access icons to the power strip (that has wifi, data, airplane mode etc)?
4) I can't seem to get any adblocker to work.. if I open up apps with adds they still all appear even though I've tried several different ones like Adfree and one you can use with ROM toolbox.. is there something I'm missing?
5) what is a good font change tool to use? I have tried a couple and they too do not work at all.. makes me wonder if there are still some locks is the os where it prevents these types of changes even though the apps I've tries have superuser access.
Thanks for any help!!
1)Yes, in the market.
2)Yes, on the ADW
3)If you mean the stock one, no
4)Yes, you missing a fact some apps has ads built in. There the app called Chelpus Lucky Patcher, it has some great abilities (Prohibited though) including ads removing from apps.
5)Settings->Display->Font
Thanks for the tips!
Regarding the font, I am aware of the fonts built in but is there a way to use different fonts?
scoobydooby said:
Thanks for the tips!
Regarding the font, I am aware of the fonts built in but is there a way to use different fonts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android will accept any TrueType fonts. To install 3rd-party fonts, you'll have to root your phone first (yes this is from the Sprint forums but it works with all variants).
Read this guide as well if you need more help on how to do so.

[Q] Stock rom gesture&dock modification

Hi everyone!
I'm new and i wanted to ask some question. I've been using my new LG G3 for about 2 weeks and I really dont like the few customizability of the stock rom.
Before we start I'd like to point that... Yes, I've already asked Google.
I was wondering if there is a way ON THE STOCK ROM, with root access , without using Themer or Buzz launcher or Nova or whatever, to:
Customize gestures: I'd like to open the menu with a swipe up (I've heard that this thing is something that has to do with kernel, but I'm not sure)
Customize the menu: I'd like to have a scroll down menu, rather than the grid one.
Hide the dock and the touch buttons. I simply don't fancy the menu down, I'd like to have a full screen usable, rather than 75% (I dont like pinching out every time)
I'd like to do all this without using custom launchers or installing apps. In case this would not be possible can i ask for suggestions to do this things again without custom launchers? (I know some apps btw, I would like to do all this with AS FEW as possible)
I am sorry if it was pretty pedantic and kinda cocky, but I am still wondering why they make such an horrible stock rom... I mean... Customizability 0 (the answer is obvious: otherwise we wouldnt need the custom roms xD)
Sorry for bad english
Thanks to all!!! :3
Custom Gestures: Nova would be able to do that. Not available on stock launcher.
Menu: (Assuming you mean app drawer) Nova has that option, I don't think stock does.
Hide Dock: Again, Nova can do this while on the home screen. For other apps, AFAIK Xposed has an addon that can do that, but CM (And other ROMs) totally can do that all the time.
I know you don't want to do Nova, but it'll solve at least some of your problems. Also, it should help any lag you may have.

newbe question regarding level of customization with no rooted phone

If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience
trocchietto said:
If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If partner. goes through my web
www.eladiosthemes.com
Enviado desde mi SM-G935F mediante Tapatalk
trocchietto said:
If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely! That's the great thing about Android. You can even choose to go with something completely different than Samsung's launcher. There's lots of different launchers that support themes. Nova and Apex are two popular options. Themes are also available for Samsung.
Sent from my SM-N930P using Tapatalk
1. Launcher and theme as mention above.
2. Ads free by Adguard on Play Store.
3. Disable almost apps anf module you want by EZ Disable Package or Package Disable Pro
4. Change dpi by Content Scaling or some commands through adb
Sent from my SM-N930F
I prefer not to root or tinker with my primary business phone because I don't want to have something not work as intended and miss a call or appointment.
The level of customization you can do with launchers and themes these days is almost on par with what you can achieve with a rooted device.
In addition to themes you can also download and install custom icon packs to customize the look of all of your icons.
For widgets you can get something like the Beautiful Widgets app that lets you customize various widgets for the device. It is very popular for people who like the HTC type clock widget look on their home screens.
Just do some searches on the play store for themes, icon packs, widgets, keyboards, etc and there are enough customization options to make your head spin.
For Home screens / App drawer / Folder, any Launcher will do. My all time fav, and most reliable recommendation is easily Nova Launcher.
- Nova lets you customize the font size, label colours, icon sizes, icon packs, homescreen grid, app drawer grid, homescreen gestures and so much more.
For custom button remapping, Button Remapper works perfectly without root. It will let you set custom actions for your physical buttons (swap the recent/back if you wish, or add hold functionality)
- The app is a bit limited without root in regards to added functionality, but its something!
- I believe the non-rooted version also allows you to map volume keys to add Music skip / pause functionality. (Correct me if im wrong!)
For global app / service disabling, definitely use Package Disabler Pro. It has a built in list of (currently) 97 apps considered unneeded, and gives you full control of every app.
- This has been proven to save battery btw!
For added Toggles in the Notification panel (not QuickPanel) there are hundreds of working apps that add their own little notification bar, fully interactive, that shows up as a notification card.
- It may seem a bit redundant considering Samsung's built in QuickPanel does mostly everything, but for a few things that may be missing (ie. Hotspot, Mobile Data, or specific functions like opening apps, setting gps/data to specific modes etc).
For ad blocking, you can use AdGuard. I havent personally tried this app, but it is highly recommended by most users in this forum.
For button backlight disabling / modding, you can use Button Backlight 2.
- It allows you to turn off button backlight completely, add a custom time, or have them on all the time
Android is so vastly open, even without root, if you ever feel like you are missing a certain function / feature, theres a very high chance that a solution would have been made long ago.
It never hurts to google what you wish to do. When I first got my Note 5 for example, the first phone with button backlights, I wanted to turn them off completely as well as swap the layout of them from recents home back, to back home recents. A few minutes later and I found myself using the two apps mentioned above, and a happy camper!
well it looks like I am really grateful to samsung to give me the possibilities under the hood. My dev friends scared me in every way saying that touch wiz is bloatware, that people think is really taking the control of the system, instead I found it effective, and most important of all I am happy samsung is not taking coltan from congolese mines.
I am also really grateful to you.
which tutorial do you recommend me to customize my themes? if there is an app, Gui super, otherwise I am also an android developer, so do not mind also to write some java/xml. Also i guess there is some design involved, which software should i use photoshop or gimp? Last but not least, as I use to test my apps, installing a lot of themes will decrease the perform, or the fact that is run one per time will not affect performance? thank you guys. Customization is everything for me, as bosters creativity and make the day more exciting
EDIT: I am wondering if downloading themes is safe in terms of malicious code.

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