Develop Bugs

[How-To] Change your LCD Density Setting (My Experiences on ICS ROM)

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

A waste of a screen...?

I only have one complaint with my new Note 2, which is simply Samsung have not made the best use of the screen. I had foolishly hoped it would offer a more tablet-like experience, with more data on-screen in Apps, websites etc compared to smaller Android handsets with the same resolution.
Putting my Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 and my Note 2 side-by-side with the same Apps, the Note 2 offers pretty much the same on-screen data as the Galaxy and noticeably less than the Nexus 7, despite all having the same resolution. I guess there is some sort of PPI/size calculation going on, or a distinct 'tablet mode', I'm not an expert in Android development I must admit so this might be obvious stuff.
I just wish I could put the Note 2 into a 'tablet' mode whereby it showed more data, rather than just offering larger icons that take up more relative space.
If somebody manages to crack this and finds a way, root or otherwise, to make better use of the screen, I'll be a happy man.
Does anybody else share this view? Or am I alone...
Other than this, it's hard to fault the Note 2

There were a number of ROMs for the original Note that had the option to enable Tablet mode; homescreen and all with the tablet versions of the apps. I'm sure ROM's will eventually pop up for the Note 2

Thanks... that reply manages to answer my question (tablet mode!) and give me something to look forward to, all at the same time!

The difference is the dpi. You will be able to lower it down once you root.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

CreepyDroid said:
The difference is the dpi. You will be able to lower it down once you root.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This does **** up your entire phone. Trust me. Ive tried.
Not many samsug apps that like the dpi change. Specially snote...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

This is the drawback of the 16:9 aspect ratio. The original Note gave one more column's worth of icons due to its 16:10 aspect ratio.

It's the height that bothers me, rather than the width. I read a lot of news, use social media, messaging and email a lot, so it's all list based. The width is fine, but the height leaves a lot of white space in lists. You can always rotate if width is a problem, but with height you're a bit stuck.

I agree, I do wish I could have 5 columns of icons on the home screen instead of four.. there's so much space thats wasted!
I don't see why they couldn't have made it 5 columns since the TouchWiz app drawer has 5 columns.

Reb0rn said:
This does **** up your entire phone. Trust me. Ive tried.
Not many samsug apps that like the dpi change. Specially snote...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung's apps tend to be fairly hard coded to the stock resolution, but many many others work just fine.
Your mileage may vary. Lots of people were happily using the Note at DPIs of 280 and 240 or even lower.
Paranoid android was absolutely fantastic in that you could select certain DPIS for certain apps.
I'm going to miss it.
As it stands now, some apps are just better about allowing you to select font sizes and etc.
Readers and web browsers in particular.
In settings -> accessibility there is a 'change the font size' option. Does it allow you to set something smaller?
It had a very limited functionality in the Note 1 - I was hoping it was improved a bit for the Note 2.
- Frank

Just wait for ParanoidAndroid, and then you could choose tablet mod, or stay on phone mod and enable tablet mod only for selected apps

Changing the font size to small in accessibility works for me... no as good as my 6800 but I would trade the screen estate for pocketability
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

Im waiting for n7100 tree to come up and then we will have pa rom, been in contact with moles and its clear for take-off. Putting it up on original android dev once n7100 tree is up.
Skickat från min GT-N7100 via Tapatalk 2

I use go launcher or adw launcher resize or have 6x5 rows of icons etc

It is MAINLY a phone....
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

changing lcd density on stock rooted n2 ?

hi all
has anyone tried changing the lcd density on there stock rooted n2 ?

Hey ipguy, have you got your n2 yet?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Hi,
Yeah, gone down to 240 using Rom Toolbox.
Mostly works OK but with the following problems
1. Samsung keyboard crashes all the time causing serious lag in the UI. Suggest installing swiftkey (which works fine at that DPI) and making default before switch, as is tricky to do with non-working keyboard!
2. Clock app crashes when setting alarms. Replaced with doubletwist alarm.
3. Camera app is a little kookie - the settings UI is a bit cut-off, but is just about usable in landscape orientation. Sticking with it for now as mostly OK and my other camera app (ICS camera+) doesnt work at all on N2/JB
other than that, no problems - dialpad works properly unlike note 1, and everything else works lovely.
George

DMax99 said:
Hey ipguy, have you got your n2 yet?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup I have indeed and I'm loving it!!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

ripnetuk said:
Hi,
Yeah, gone down to 240 using Rom Toolbox.
Mostly works OK but with the following problems
1. Samsung keyboard crashes all the time causing serious lag in the UI. Suggest installing swiftkey (which works fine at that DPI) and making default before switch, as is tricky to do with non-working keyboard!
2. Clock app crashes when setting alarms. Replaced with doubletwist alarm.
3. Camera app is a little kookie - the settings UI is a bit cut-off, but is just about usable in landscape orientation. Sticking with it for now as mostly OK and my other camera app (ICS camera+) doesnt work at all on N2/JB
other than that, no problems - dialpad works properly unlike note 1, and everything else works lovely.
George
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah had the same issue with the keyboard and did the exact same thing! I running at 280
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, thanks Sansung for taking beautiful stock Android and putting half arsed replacements on instead... i wish they would ship stock, then make APKs available for the "value-add" features per provider... might make updates quicker too

ripnetuk said:
Hi,
Yeah, gone down to 240 using Rom Toolbox.
Mostly works OK but with the following problems
1. Samsung keyboard crashes all the time causing serious lag in the UI. Suggest installing swiftkey (which works fine at that DPI) and making default before switch, as is tricky to do with non-working keyboard!
2. Clock app crashes when setting alarms. Replaced with doubletwist alarm.
3. Camera app is a little kookie - the settings UI is a bit cut-off, but is just about usable in landscape orientation. Sticking with it for now as mostly OK and my other camera app (ICS camera+) doesnt work at all on N2/JB
other than that, no problems - dialpad works properly unlike note 1, and everything else works lovely.
George
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Goerge,
is TW launcher still running on 240dpi? How is the dialer? Contacts?? Could you please post some screenshots???
Could you please try to change into 213dpi - tablet mode?If the SystemUi will work as a tablet mode? (install NOVA before you do this, dont worry, it will boot and just might come some FCs and you can then revert back to 240dpi.
Can you post then some screenshots?
This is only thing holding me back from NII untill there will be proper tablet ROM ( i am very happy with the tablet mod on N1 from my signature but there are some bugs, but it seems that Samsung stock ICS apps got more compatible with tablet mod with every update - so i am very interested how Samsung handled the Jelly Bean (NEXUS 7 phablet) compatibility when changing stock NII JB to 213dpi.
Please please do this as i did not seen it anyone to try it, i believe more are interested in this.

[Q] Problem with DPI [solved]

Has anyone managed to permanently change the DPI on Note 2? I have tried two applications from Play and both ended up with the phone hanging on the boot logo. Had to flash the ROM again in order to have the phone working again. My Note is rooted and running Revolution HD.
EDIT: Solved. Edited the build.prop file which had the DPI setting in two separate lines due to a custom ROM - I should guess that the DPI changer applications only edit one line.

The LCD Density lines? What did you change them to? And how're you finding the changes? Any probs at all?

Yes there was the LCD density on two separate lines on the build.prop file. So both of them must be edited.
I changed them to 241, because anything under 240 makes the ADW Launcher show a line on the top of the home screen which is very annoying. I haven't been using the phone much yet so can't really say anything about problems - the only noticeable thing so far is the dialer that looks stupid since it doesn't scale correctly.

Ahh I see. Thanks, let me experiment

I am to believe that Rom toolbox (market) does the Job as well without crashing the rom, doesn't it ? What about s-Note & stuff? It's Not usable anymore, right?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

Hopefully we'll see Paranoid Android for Note 2 sometime!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

brooon said:
What about s-Note & stuff? It's Not usable anymore, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S Note is working fine, the draw area is just smaller than usual.

LadFromWales85 said:
Hopefully we'll see Paranoid Android for Note 2 sometime!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, will be great!

jusutus said:
Yes there was the LCD density on two separate lines on the build.prop file. So both of them must be edited.
I changed them to 241, because anything under 240 makes the ADW Launcher show a line on the top of the home screen which is very annoying. I haven't been using the phone much yet so can't really say anything about problems - the only noticeable thing so far is the dialer that looks stupid since it doesn't scale correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't you get any Samsung keyboard crash? That's my main concern right now, if you don't I want to know why!!!
As for the small buttons is various apps (Samsung apps only, how surprising ) this can be fixed be recompiling the apps with select changes.

Yes the Samsung kb is not working. I'm using a different kb so no problem there.
The main problem now is that the Play Store was working fine until now. I changed the DPI once again and now Play is only showing just a few apps. I changed the DPI back to the one I was using earlier but still the same problem. I cleared the Play data and cache but that did not help.
Pffft, still waiting for the ParanoidAndroid...

Picked up my Note 2 today. Have some questions and concerns

I picked up my Note 2 today at a local sprint store. They were only given 5 and once I got mine they had 2 left. This was 20 minutes after they opened.
I have a couple questions and concerns reuarding the phone that im hoping someone can help me answer.
1. Is there a way to stop the volume from decreasing whenever i plug it into my car? The volume will always go down to half and its kind of annoying.
2. When using the keyboard to type messages, if i spell a word wrong and hit space it wont autocorrect it. Is this a feature Samsung left out? Im so used to it on my evo, i feel like i have to keep looking at what im writing to make sure i dont misspell something.
3. If im in the browser and zoom in on something it wont adjust to fit the page like the HTC EVO did. Is this also something samsung didnt include?
The main concern I have with the phone is the 3g data speeds. I am coming from the original Evo 4g and although Sprint isnt known to have the greatest speeds I never had a problem downloading an application. Today it took an hour to download myfitnesspal from the play store. I tested the speeds on speedtest.net and I was getting 33kbps down and 5kbps up. My girlfriend who also has an Original EVO 4g was getting 300kbps down and 170kbps up. Still not the greatest speed but alot better than what i was getting on the Note 2. Both phones were in the same spot and the same time. I did the test a number of times and always had the same outcome.
Thanks everyone. So far I am loving this phone and both the hardware and software are great!!

Word prediction will need to be enabled in your keyboard settings
Settings\language and input\
Also maybe try installing a different browser for your auto alignment issues
Sent from my GT-I9300

I think the zoom to fit is in the settings of the browser..its not on by default

Did you try to reset the data profile and do a PRL update?

massiveian said:
2. When using the keyboard to type messages, if i spell a word wrong and hit space it wont autocorrect it. Is this a feature Samsung left out? Im so used to it on my evo, i feel like i have to keep looking at what im writing to make sure i dont misspell something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
manemzjum said:
Word prediction will need to be enabled in your keyboard settings
Settings\language and input\
Also maybe try installing a different browser for your auto alignment issues
Sent from my GT-I9300
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There currently no autocorrection on the stock Samsung keyboard.
Hopefully it will get pushedto us in a future OTA

Download the Jelly Bean keyboard from the Google Play store...the best keyboard you will ever use...I have never used anything else after I downloaded it. But I believe the fitting text to the screen was an Apple patent (could be wrong) but I thought I heard that somewhere
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

massiveian said:
1. Is there a way to stop the volume from decreasing whenever i plug it into my car? The volume will always go down to half and its kind of annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is due to one of the headphone options to limit the intensity of volume so it doesn't damage your ears. You'll find the option it in the sound settings, after you disable it in won't change your volume to half anymore.

massiveian said:
I picked up my Note 2 today at a local sprint store. They were only given 5 and once I got mine they had 2 left. This was 20 minutes after they opened.
I have a couple questions and concerns reuarding the phone that im hoping someone can help me answer.
1. Is there a way to stop the volume from decreasing whenever i plug it into my car? The volume will always go down to half and its kind of annoying.
2. When using the keyboard to type messages, if i spell a word wrong and hit space it wont autocorrect it. Is this a feature Samsung left out? Im so used to it on my evo, i feel like i have to keep looking at what im writing to make sure i dont misspell something.
3. If im in the browser and zoom in on something it wont adjust to fit the page like the HTC EVO did. Is this also something samsung didnt include?
The main concern I have with the phone is the 3g data speeds. I am coming from the original Evo 4g and although Sprint isnt known to have the greatest speeds I never had a problem downloading an application. Today it took an hour to download myfitnesspal from the play store. I tested the speeds on speedtest.net and I was getting 33kbps down and 5kbps up. My girlfriend who also has an Original EVO 4g was getting 300kbps down and 170kbps up. Still not the greatest speed but alot better than what i was getting on the Note 2. Both phones were in the same spot and the same time. I did the test a number of times and always had the same outcome.
Thanks everyone. So far I am loving this phone and both the hardware and software are great!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flip it to the same prl that is on your evo, that's what I did and I'm getting killer speeds (3g) on my s3...
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

i agree with the Jellybean Keyboard!!! It should have come with it seeing as IT IS JELLYBEAN!!! I use the voice input constantly form the keyboard when I am emailing and texting, so when this phone "hid" the mic button and you have to press 3 buttons to get to it, I wasnt happy.... So I downloaded the Jellybean Keyboard and its awesome!!!I was having a fit last night with the browser when everytime I scroll, it zooms in, thought I was gonna throw up... so I switched to Google Chrome Browser.

Jcossack88 said:
Download the Jelly Bean keyboard from the Google Play store...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two of them on the store that are called "Jelly Bean Keyboard". Which one do you recommend?
Thanks.

Jaybenosa said:
I think the zoom to fit is in the settings of the browser..its not on by default
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a similar setting in advanced settings. To get true reflow you will have to use a different browser. You can thank Apple for this.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

I have a new Note 2, and I'm also new to Android, so I've been posting different things I encounter with the phone.
My experience with the keyboard is one of the things I posted, copied in here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The default Samsung keyboard on the Galaxy Note 2 is a sleeper.
Samsung included Swiftkey Flow, which allows gesture-based typing, like Swype. The more I use it the more I like it, and it has auto-suggest and auto-correct.
The number row at the top is pretty great, too, the large screen allows it all to fit. The auto-suggestions appear above the number row.
Samsung also included the handwriting keyboard, for the S-Pen. The handwriting recognition works really well, and I'm coming up to speed with it.
The main points to remember about the keyboards are these:
- auto-suggest and auto-correct function in both tapping and handwriting modes.
- in tapping mode the transition between tapping and gesturing is seamless, but if you try to use both modes within a word a space is automatically inserted.
- in tapping mode auto-correct functions only while using gestures. If you're tapping and not gesturing you have to choose among the suggestions instead of relying on auto-correct. I'm learning the cases where it's important to me to have auto-correct do its thing, like when typing "I'm". If I type it in in tapping mode, it ends up as "Im" unless I choose the auto-suggestion with the apostrophe. It's better instead to use gesture mode for "I'm" as the auto-correct will do the right thing and use the apostrophe. As I mentioned, the transition from tapping to gesturing is seamless.
- quick-punctuation and quick-capitalization functions are missing
completely. People who don't use gestures and people who've never spent time with an IOS keyboard ( and many who have ) don't get this.
I am starting to really like this keyboard. My only real gripes are the lack of auto-correct in tapping mode and the lack of quick-capitalization and quick-punctuation, but they are mitigated by long-presses.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Someone else mentioned in the thread the Jelly Bean Keyboard, and it really is an excellent keyboard, I discovered it with my Galaxy S3 and initially installed it on the Note 2. But I'm not willing to give up the handwriting recognition, so back to the stock keyboard I went.
The stock keyboard doesn't do everything, but it has its good points.
Cheers,
-John
massiveian said:
...
2. When using the keyboard to type messages, if i spell a word wrong and hit space it wont autocorrect it. Is this a feature Samsung left out? Im so used to it on my evo, i feel like i have to keep looking at what im writing to make sure i dont misspell something.
...
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mlkaufman said:
There are two of them on the store that are called "Jelly Bean Keyboard". Which one do you recommend?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
The one by johntanmi....it should be a red icon with a keyboard
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app

00mred00 said:
There is a similar setting in advanced settings. To get true reflow you will have to use a different browser. You can thank Apple for this.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
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I also came from the Evo4G, and the auto adjust feature you speak of is a HTC Sense feature. I noticed this early on after using others phones and tablets. Although a small feature for those that have had it and lost it we all know how big of a thing it really is. Still don't know why Google hasn't implemented this within current builds of Android yet.

Tw1sted247 said:
I also came from the Evo4G, and the auto adjust feature you speak of is a HTC Sense feature. I noticed this early on after using others phones and tablets. Although a small feature for those that have had it and lost it we all know how big of a thing it really is. Still don't know why Google hasn't implemented this within current builds of Android yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple is why. Htc will eventually have to remove it as well.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

00mred00 said:
Apple is why. Htc will eventually have to remove it as well.
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Can you explain what Apple has to do with it, references? AFAIK, HTML can be rendered any which way the (User Agent, that is) browser wants - that's the point of markup language.

ireallyamspecial said:
Can you explain what Apple has to do with it, references? AFAIK, HTML can be rendered any which way the (User Agent, that is) browser wants - that's the point of markup language.
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Text/browser reflow after zooming(what the op is refering to on HTC phones...similar to word wrapping in excel lol) is patented by Apple. Samsung removed it from devices last year. HTC will eventually do so as well.
Its been all over the web for nearly 2 years...you are a smart guy you can find it
The only way to get it to work on samsung phones is to, after zooming in to the size that you want, you have to double tap the screen an additional time to enable text reflow.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

00mred00 said:
Text/browser reflow after zooming(what the op is refering to on HTC phones...similar to word wrapping in excel lol) is patented by Apple. Samsung removed it from devices last year. HTC will eventually do so as well.
Its been all over the web for nearly 2 years...you are a smart guy you can find it
The only way to get it to work on samsung phones is to, after zooming in to the size that you want, you have to double tap the screen an additional time to enable text reflow.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Yup. And in a coup today Apple won a patent on page turning animations. ..
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

Using the Dolphin browser with Dolphin Jetpack, you get extremely fast page renderig with automatic text reflow.

00mred00 said:
Text/browser reflow after zooming(what the op is refering to on HTC phones...similar to word wrapping in excel lol) is patented by Apple. Samsung removed it from devices last year. HTC will eventually do so as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, that'd contradict TechRadar.com's review [/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-note-2-1093688/review/5#articleContent]:You can have the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 reformat pages when you zoom in but it doesn't do this by default, which is slightly annoying.
In fact, you have to go into the advanced section of the settings menu to dig this little gem out, which we weren't overly impressed with having to do.
Lots of people won't be aware of this - and that could lead to a second rate experience for no reason at all.​