[Q] how stock can I get without rooting? - Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Q&A, Help & Troubl

I've been looking to upgrade from my old Toshiba thrive for quite a while now, and see the refurbished note 10.1 2014 on eBay. I've been resisting Samsung for a while now because I'm not a fan of the touchwiz and status/notification bar, but it seems like such a deal and I wonder if I could deal with it.
My question is, how close to stock Android can I get without rooting? I love the Google now launcher on my nexus 5, and would also want to get the on screen buttons some they rotate with the screen orientation and it's what I'm used to.
If I do root, I'd like to know what I'd have to do to get things like the Time Warner streaming app to work?

talz13 said:
I've been looking to upgrade from my old Toshiba thrive for quite a while now, and see the refurbished note 10.1 2014 on eBay. I've been resisting Samsung for a while now because I'm not a fan of the touchwiz and status/notification bar, but it seems like such a deal and I wonder if I could deal with it.
My question is, how close to stock Android can I get without rooting? I love the Google now launcher on my nexus 5, and would also want to get the on screen buttons some they rotate with the screen orientation and it's what I'm used to.
If I do root, I'd like to know what I'd have to do to get things like the Time Warner streaming app to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use different launchers like Apex or Nova to get rid of the touchwizz interface. Notification bar is there for life but when using apps it does go away. It can be pulled down if you need to check something but is not present when using most apps.
Not sure about the time warner app as it probably doesn't work here in Oz anyway...
I don't know about what model you would get, be it 600,601 or 605 in your region but each has their own pros & cons, make sure you do a bit of research first...

I just fired up the time Warner app on my rooted thrive and it didn't give me any problems aside from telling me to turn off USB debugging.
I guess I'll still wait and see what's coming up in the next couple months.

Related

[q]cm10 for our note's?

Will it ever come to our device?
I come from international note 1 forums where cm10 was plentiful lol! Nah for-real though.I read around a lot and from what I gathered its gonna be near impossible till Samsung releases a proper source code... smh... correct me if I'm wrong.
I thought cm 10 was basically jb and jb is what our phone has. . And does man or hasn't even been a week yet and yet we are already rooted and have several custom roms to choose from.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
cherylbaker said:
I thought cm 10 was basically jb and jb is what our phone has. . And does man or hasn't even been a week yet and yet we are already rooted and have several custom roms to choose from.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There a couple of threads going about this on the international forums - In a nutshell, the official maintainers of exynos devices are fed up with Samsung's lack of release proper source. Until that happens, the best we can expect is a port/KANG.
Here's one particular thread where Entropy weighs in on his thoughts:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1941039
There's another one buried in the International general forums but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
EDIT - I don't know why you'd want AOSP on this phone, though. It's so buttery smooth and Touchwiz adds a lot of benefits on this phone - even more so when the Multiview patch gets pushed to us. I'd just wait for an AOSP theme and just flash that.
In answer to your question..
chunology said:
There a couple of threads going about this on the international forums - In a nutshell, the official maintainers of exynos devices are fed up with Samsung's lack of release proper source. Until that happens, the best we can expect is a port/KANG.
Here's one particular thread where Entropy weighs in on his thoughts:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1941039
There's another one buried in the International general forums but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
EDIT - I don't know why you'd want AOSP on this phone, though. It's so buttery smooth and Touchwiz adds a lot of benefits on this phone - even more so when the Multiview patch gets pushed to us. I'd just wait for an AOSP theme and just flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who's come from AOSP I can't see why anyone would keep this nonsense on the phone any longer than necessary. The calendar is a prime example IMHO- other the gimmicky S-Pen notes on a picture of the calendar, the calendar doesn't separate Sync and display like CM- so I can't keep track of what my wife is up to without having to see all her appointments. The screen palm/capture thing is also tied to media hub and the rest of the (as far as I can tell ) completely useless bloatware (samsung suggest? tied to yahoo? Please.). I can't figure out how to change the toggles on the notification bar (please, please tell me there's a way to put whatever you want like sound in there as a toggle).. Wifi tether or the lack of it is another issue. Then there's the amaturish and completely annoying startup and shutdown sounds. Really, you have to disturb a meeting to shut down your phone? There's no over/under clocking except via the somewhat vague "battery optimization". Rooting and Nova has taken care of my major launcher problems. I guess I might miss S-beam unless CM ports it but honestly, I've found it extremely tedious to use IRL and not encountered anyone else who uses it has outside of the two hipsters near the apple line and the oh-so-sweet wife of the traveler.
I can't wait for CM10 so we can get Paranoid Android! It would be nice to have the status bar on the bottom within reach. I'm going to try to patiently wait it out and let the N2 price drop. My local Sprint stores are sold out anyways.
guisar said:
As someone who's come from AOSP I can't see why anyone would keep this nonsense on the phone any longer than necessary. The calendar is a prime example IMHO- other the gimmicky S-Pen notes on a picture of the calendar, the calendar doesn't separate Sync and display like CM- so I can't keep track of what my wife is up to without having to see all her appointments. The screen palm/capture thing is also tied to media hub and the rest of the (as far as I can tell ) completely useless bloatware (samsung suggest? tied to yahoo? Please.). I can't figure out how to change the toggles on the notification bar (please, please tell me there's a way to put whatever you want like sound in there as a toggle).. Wifi tether or the lack of it is another issue. Then there's the amaturish and completely annoying startup and shutdown sounds. Really, you have to disturb a meeting to shut down your phone? There's no over/under clocking except via the somewhat vague "battery optimization". Rooting and Nova has taken care of my major launcher problems. I guess I might miss S-beam unless CM ports it but honestly, I've found it extremely tedious to use IRL and not encountered anyone else who uses it has outside of the two hipsters near the apple line and the oh-so-sweet wife of the traveler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything you're asking for you can get with root and modified stock.
guisar said:
As someone who's come from AOSP I can't see why anyone would keep this nonsense on the phone any longer than necessary. The calendar is a prime example IMHO- other the gimmicky S-Pen notes on a picture of the calendar, the calendar doesn't separate Sync and display like CM- so I can't keep track of what my wife is up to without having to see all her appointments. The screen palm/capture thing is also tied to media hub and the rest of the (as far as I can tell ) completely useless bloatware (samsung suggest? tied to yahoo? Please.). I can't figure out how to change the toggles on the notification bar (please, please tell me there's a way to put whatever you want like sound in there as a toggle).. Wifi tether or the lack of it is another issue. Then there's the amaturish and completely annoying startup and shutdown sounds. Really, you have to disturb a meeting to shut down your phone? There's no over/under clocking except via the somewhat vague "battery optimization". Rooting and Nova has taken care of my major launcher problems. I guess I might miss S-beam unless CM ports it but honestly, I've found it extremely tedious to use IRL and not encountered anyone else who uses it has outside of the two hipsters near the apple line and the oh-so-sweet wife of the traveler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most of what you said, yet touch wiz is growing on me.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
I much prefer Cm 10 as well but if it doesn't use the Spen then I'm gonna stick with touchwiz. Never thought I'd say that but I use the pen more than the keyboard by far now that I'm getting used to it. I just want a dark theme doesn't even have to be AOSP just not cartoony & imbelIished
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Been playing the the N2 and the S-pen. It would be nice to have the on-screen navigation buttons. I keep trying to press the back and home buttons with the pen!
guisar said:
As someone who's come from AOSP I can't see why anyone would keep this nonsense on the phone any longer than necessary. The calendar is a prime example IMHO- other the gimmicky S-Pen notes on a picture of the calendar, the calendar doesn't separate Sync and display like CM- so I can't keep track of what my wife is up to without having to see all her appointments. The screen palm/capture thing is also tied to media hub and the rest of the (as far as I can tell ) completely useless bloatware (samsung suggest? tied to yahoo? Please.). I can't figure out how to change the toggles on the notification bar (please, please tell me there's a way to put whatever you want like sound in there as a toggle).. Wifi tether or the lack of it is another issue. Then there's the amaturish and completely annoying startup and shutdown sounds. Really, you have to disturb a meeting to shut down your phone? There's no over/under clocking except via the somewhat vague "battery optimization". Rooting and Nova has taken care of my major launcher problems. I guess I might miss S-beam unless CM ports it but honestly, I've found it extremely tedious to use IRL and not encountered anyone else who uses it has outside of the two hipsters near the apple line and the oh-so-sweet wife of the traveler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung will release exnos 4 source code before the end of 2012. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929188
mrnamster said:
Been playing the the N2 and the S-pen. It would be nice to have the on-screen navigation buttons. I keep trying to press the back and home buttons with the pen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add this line to your system/build.prop
qemu.hw.mainkeys=0
Save and reboot
Sent from my t0ltespr
you can still use the Spen with CM10 i use it on the galaxy note 10.1 you just can't use the samsung apps like Snote, however there are many alternates that you can use that perform the same functions in the play store. so cm10 is definitely something worthwhile on these note devices if you are an aosp fan.
I want a nice stable version of MIUI and I'll be a happy camper. Keyword is STABLE...so I don't see that happening anytime soon.
epicnoob66 said:
Add this line to your system/build.prop
qemu.hw.mainkeys=0
Save and reboot
Sent from my t0ltespr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. Now if only it was possible to shrink the buttons down a bit, add the search button, and only have them pop up when the s-pen is out it'd be perfect
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
mrnamster said:
Been playing the the N2 and the S-pen. It would be nice to have the on-screen navigation buttons. I keep trying to press the back and home buttons with the pen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're rooted, try and app called "Button Savior (Root)"
You can toggle the buttons with a click of an on screen button.
Been using this for the past few days and I love it.
Thanks epicnoob66 and CECHOI for the tips.
Still can't wait for CM10 and PA. PA has the best boot animations.
---------- Post added at 11:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 AM ----------
I also miss being able to kill apps with the back button.
+1 for CM10. I really hate all the gimmicky crap on touchwiz, I still have my GSIII which is running CM10 and it is so much nicer. It also made the GSIII faster so I don't see how the same wouldn't apply to the Note2 (although it is plenty fast as is), it has to, all the stock roms that include touchwiz are upwards of 700MB and CM10 is about 150MB, that's a lot of bloat
mrnamster said:
Been playing the the N2 and the S-pen. It would be nice to have the on-screen navigation buttons. I keep trying to press the back and home buttons with the pen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock option just press the S-Pen button and draw a "less than" symbol "<" on the screen and that's your back function.
Also for menu just hold the S-Pen button and draw a "^" symbol and that's your menu command.
Good stuff! Is there a a gesture for Home? I find it tricky to press the Home button with the pen.
I saw the samsung galaxy note2 n7100 has begun getting nighltlies. Does that mean we will get it soon?

New TouchWiz UI

Let me preface by saying that I have been a Nova prime launcher user since as far back as I can recall. My beautiful white Nova outfitted Note 3 is sitting right next to me still connected via wifi as I transfer my experience to my Note 4. That said, I committed to actually giving TouchWiz a chance with this purchase and so far so good. Granted, it's just one day in but thus far TouchWiz feels and works wonderfully. There are certain cues that are lost when going to a 3rd party launcher which drove my decision to really commit to giving TW a shot this time around. So far I have been able to avoid going to the play store and grabbing trusty ol Nova..lol
I'm interested in hearing the thoughts from those of you that are also using TW. Please share.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
I don't like the app drawer icon in the bottom right, nor the spacing of the icons. That being said, it runs nice on this phone. I too have been using Nova exclusively for years, but have been using Google now launder and really like it. Going to stick with it for at least a while.
I used Touchwiz for a bit but quickly switched back to GNL.
137 views. 2 comments. A clear representation of what everyone thinks of TW..lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
b3asty said:
Let me preface by saying that I have been a Nova prime launcher user since as far back as I can recall. My beautiful white Nova outfitted Note 3 is sitting right next to me still connected via wifi as I transfer my experience to my Note 4. That said, I committed to actually giving TouchWiz a chance with this purchase and so far so good. Granted, it's just one day in but thus far TouchWiz feels and works wonderfully. There are certain cues that are lost when going to a 3rd party launcher which drove my decision to really commit to giving TW a shot this time around. So far I have been able to avoid going to the play store and grabbing trusty ol Nova..lol
I'm interested in hearing the thoughts from those of you that are also using TW. Please share.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am with you 100%. I was a Note 3 user with my sexy Nova Prime since I got it, and I would never go back to touchwiz.... until now. So far I have made it 2 days on Touchwiz. I mean it is clean, and it looks awesome, but I miss having more rows for icons, and mainly for stretching my widgets. So I feel at some time I am going to switch back. I wanted to give Touchwiz 2 days to see the battery effect when switching to Nova. I definitely am with you I would like to hear other peoples views, if anyone is using Apex, and what features they are switching to a launcher to get, for me its:
- 5 rows of icons
- App drawer also shows widgets
- App drawer can scroll apps vertically and horizontally
- When pressing and holding an icon you have the option to remove, uninstall, all from the app, without having to click it, hold it, and drag to remove. And then going to the app draw, clicking, dragging, and dropping on uninstall.
joshklee said:
I used Touchwiz for a bit but quickly switched back to GNL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for posting about google now launcher, somehow I missed that one. I love it!
I was also pretty happy with touchwiz (I used TW the whole time with note 3), but GNL is still so much cleaner and I love the integrated full screen google now. Google has a much better sense for interface design.
I'm on day three with TW and haven't had any strange impulses to go grab Nova. This is good. No lag. Silky smooth. The only tweak I made this far was to change all of the animation settings to .5 in developer settings.
This phone is incredible. I didn't think it could get no much better coming from my note 3 but they've really stepped things up.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
I've always used launchers and roms to mimic stock android but since I got the note 4 I haven't even thought about it. I'm pretty impressed with TouchWiz on this phone.
Sent from my note 4 using xda app
I too am going on three days with Touchwiz. On my GS4 I used GNL modified with Xposed. I miss the swipe left for Google Now, but otherwise it has been a much better experience than Touchwiz on my Captivate, GS2 or GS4. Once/if we get root I may be convinced to switch, until then I will stick with Touchwiz.
I tried TW the first day and I did find it slightly laggy and hated the folder icons. I'm back to Nova Prime.
Sent from my Note 4
Been using TW without a hitch.
Me too giving TW a chance so far so good.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 4!
I found slightly laggy so I went back to Nova, but I might give it a second chance. The thing I definitely find not as smooth as expected is the recent apps, it takes a bit for the phone to show them once you tap the button, and a it to switch to the newly selected app. Nothing huge but with the phone's specs I expected a bit more
back to nova prime after 10 minutes lol
lebertian said:
I found slightly laggy so I went back to Nova, but I might give it a second chance. The thing I definitely find not as smooth as expected is the recent apps, it takes a bit for the phone to show them once you tap the button, and a it to switch to the newly selected app. Nothing huge but with the phone's specs I expected a bit more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^ this
I was just about to ask about this. Is there any alternative or possible fix? It's quite laggy with the 2-3sec delay at first pull up.
My only complaint / wish for future fix
On my note 2 I was an avid Nova user, I am trying to use the stock touchwiz, but find myself annoyed that I cannot alphabetize apps in a folder.
I might give it a week then jump back to Nova, le sigh.
Jennygirl said:
^^^ this
I was just about to ask about this. Is there any alternative or possible fix? It's quite laggy with the 2-3sec delay at first pull up.
My only complaint / wish for future fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fix for this is allegedly the update that is floating around for the Note 4. The international versions have it, and the TMo version got it yesterday (I think). It fixes the recent applications button and improves the battery life. So it is said at least.
Not sure when AT&T is going to release it. I would expect it any minute, but thats just an opinion, no one really knows.
That's great to know!
Looking forward to that update x2 now
boufa said:
The fix for this is allegedly the update that is floating around for the Note 4. The international versions have it, and the TMo version got it yesterday (I think). It fixes the recent applications button and improves the battery life. So it is said at least.
Not sure when AT&T is going to release it. I would expect it any minute, but thats just an opinion, no one really knows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear that! Hopefully AT&T won't take forever, but that might be wishing too much lol
TW isn't bad at all, but I like Nova because I can change the icon size/spacing and also take the padding out of widgets and fit a LOT more on my screens.
The one thing I freaking HATE is all the white in TW now, the settings menus, etc. WHY!?!?!?!? Don't devs understand that we have this thing called darkness? Man they should at least give us the option of a dark theme.

Which is the best 3D launcher for GNote PRO 12.2?

Hello, as of today, which is the best 3D launcher for the GNOTE PRO 12.2? I used TSF Shell and SPB Shell 3D on my Note 2. The transition effects looked very cool. However, they don't look good on my large screen Note PRO 12.2. Probably the effects were developed with small screens in mind. I tried Next Launcher 3D and EX, there seems to be a bug as my device got long pauses. On two occassions, I had to force boot my device.
petercohen said:
Hello, as of today, which is the best 3D launcher for the GNOTE PRO 12.2? I used TSF Shell and SPB Shell 3D on my Note 2. The transition effects looked very cool. However, they don't look good on my large screen Note PRO 12.2. Probably the effects were developed with small screens in mind. I tried Next Launcher 3D and EX, there seems to be a bug as my device got long pauses. On two occassions, I had to force boot my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought SPB Shell over 3 years ago and it's been abandoned for well over a year now. Can NOT recommend using it. I've also bought TSF, and the others, and Next Launcher looks the best so far if you want a 3D'ish environment.
tdetroit said:
I bought SPB Shell over 3 years ago and it's been abandoned for well over a year now. Can NOT recommend using it. I've also bought TSF, and the others, and Next Launcher looks the best so far if you want a 3D'ish environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, bought SPB years ago when it was probably the only 3D Launcher on the market. I think the company that developed it was bought out by Yandex because for a while they changed the name. I haven't checked out the Yandex Launcher in a while, it was the updated version of SPB.
Been using Nova launcher on all my devices and am really happy with it. Nice smooth effects and lots of customization available. Liked it so much I paid for it. Active development on it.
rhricik447 said:
Been using Nova launcher on all my devices and am really happy with it. Nice smooth effects and lots of customization available. Liked it so much I paid for it. Active development on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a question about that one for I've been thinking about installing it on my own Galaxy Note Pro because it looked like one a beginner with launchers can manage and not too heavy on resources - and it supports icon packs. Sorry if this 'should' be self-explanatory. The Nova website does not offer me even a FAQ, let alone a complete tutorial for beginners. I want to use my own wallpapers, not theirs and I don't want to be stuck with just a choice of ready-made themes. I just want to customize what I want where I want. Will the Nova launcher allow me to do this? I have spent the last 2 days with my search engines trying to get the answer to this one question, so I'm afraid to install any launcher at all until I know.
Just install it and try it. You're not going to hurt anything, and if you decide you don't like it, then uninstall it and you'll be right back where you started. Using a 3rd party launcher doesn't do anything different except change the look and feel of your device. It's not going to mess anything up, if you don't like it you can uninstall it to go back exactly like it was previously, but be sure you go through all of the settings and mess around with it first. Look and see exactly what you can do differently. Don't just install a launcher like Nova, come to the first screen you see, and then decide you don't like it. It's kinda like taking a car for a test drive before buying it. There are tons of launchers available today, probably 10 times as many as 2 years ago. I've tried many of them. Some people like certain effects, some people like a minimalistic launcher, some people like tons of widgets, different icons, etc. Everyone likes their launcher for different reasons, but like I said, I've used many, I still try something new if I see it, but I've always gone back to Nova.
Rolldog said:
Just install it and try it. You're not going to hurt anything, and if you decide you don't like it, then uninstall it and you'll be right back where you started. Using a 3rd party launcher doesn't do anything different except change the look and feel of your device. It's not going to mess anything up, if you don't like it you can uninstall it to go back exactly like it was previously, but be sure you go through all of the settings and mess around with it first. Look and see exactly what you can do differently. Don't just install a launcher like Nova, come to the first screen you see, and then decide you don't like it. It's kinda like taking a car for a test drive before buying it. There are tons of launchers available today, probably 10 times as many as 2 years ago. I've tried many of them. Some people like certain effects, some people like a minimalistic launcher, some people like tons of widgets, different icons, etc. Everyone likes their launcher for different reasons, but like I said, I've used many, I still try something new if I see it, but I've always gone back to Nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for such an encouraging message. (just got told I reached my limit for the thanks button today) If an experienced and knowledgeable user comes back to Nova so consistently, I feel yet more confident about trying it. I don't suppose there's any point in asking you, since you know that launcher so well, if you were able to use your own wallpapers? Because you're not going to tell me! :laugh:
I really do have to get over being a chicken about this and dive in. It's too easy to get into real states of apprehension when I spend all my time by myself on this mountaintop and have such a vivid imagination for disasters and doom - well, alone except for my dogs and cats, who've been thinking me an idiot already for years and won't offer me any advice.
My internet connection in this least-populated county in the state isn't stable or fast enough to deal with widgets that need to update online. I like looking at them but I can't run them, same problem with news feeds. I have the stock weather and still end up checking it on my phone mostly since that is faster. System widgets only tell me what it would be little bother to go check on myself. I even wasted my money getting windowblinds on my PC because I never remembered to use it much. I put weird icons on document files so I can find them when my eyes blur on text titles late at night; it's never just for looks. I change colors to relieve my eyes when I'm staying up on the computer and tablet too long, like now. I do like to be able to find things easily and put them where they're handy for that's what I do in my house too, so I can reach for them in the dark and grab them without mishap. So that's what I'll shop for in a launcher: compulsively neat organization for doomer hermits who already spend too much time looking at a monitor.
Yes, you can use any wallpaper you wish.
Rolldog said:
Yes, you can use any wallpaper you wish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, dear. I installed Nova this morning. Now, I'd like to put another launcher on my Note 4, so I can learn about that one at the same time, perhaps something a bit lighter. Slowing down the operation of my phone could be considered more directly dangerous to my security out here than hanging up my tablet so I'll go for simpler there. Have you a recommendation? That CM Launcher advertises itself as 'light and fast' but it also comes laden with 'security apps' and cleaners that I'm not so sure I want to bother with. I don't do much online browsing with the phone, at least not for long and I don't use social media on it. I also never share my devices because there's nobody around for miles anyway. I'd rather a launcher just be a launcher.
One Launcher that I like a lot, I use it on my phone but it won't work on my tablet because I use my tablet in landscape mode, is Buzz Launcher. Using this Launcher, you can go into their Buzz Launcher themes and download from about 500,000 different themes that other people have created. You can have as many as 9 different screens, all with different themes, and you can use their layout, their widgets and/or icons, and customize it to work with your apps. So, if you download a theme someone on the other side of the earth developed, you click on the icons they have, and if they used an app that you don't have, like if you use a different browser, the after you press on an icon, you can select the browser you use. This way, you can customize their entire themes to work with your specific phone and your specific apps. I change my themes fairly regularly, since it only takes a couple of minutes, and I feel like I have a different phone everyday.
Rolldog said:
One Launcher that I like a lot, I use it on my phone but it won't work on my tablet because I use my tablet in landscape mode, is Buzz Launcher. Using this Launcher, you can go into their Buzz Launcher themes and download from about 500,000 different themes that other people have created. You can have as many as 9 different screens, all with different themes, and you can use their layout, their widgets and/or icons, and customize it to work with your apps. So, if you download a theme someone on the other side of the earth developed, you click on the icons they have, and if they used an app that you don't have, like if you use a different browser, the after you press on an icon, you can select the browser you use. This way, you can customize their entire themes to work with your specific phone and your specific apps. I change my themes fairly regularly, since it only takes a couple of minutes, and I feel like I have a different phone everyday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I had seen your post before I got misled by all the complaining in the reviews for that one! In fact, they ought to be paying you to write about their app's features for you've done a much better job than they did at the playstore. There seemed to be an issue of things 'disappearing' for no good reason, themes and icons and such and people were annoyed after having spent hours to download them. Then, 'folder contents get changed every time the phone restarts.' And then there's the 'upsidedown heart butt' icon that apparently no one can get rid of that has caused some consternation, lol. Oh, and multiple 'crashes' too. As usual, few indeed even say what kind of phone they have. I'm inclined to try it anyway now, since you like it and I rather liked their community-based approach to begin with.
So, what I downloaded to the phone yesterday, just to check it out, was one I haven't seen mentioned yet, (maybe just because I don't know where to look) Microsoft's Arrow launcher. I won't mind the howls of laughter. Just plain curiosity, for I haven't tried any of their stuff for android. This is another one that will only work on my phone, not for tablets. I know how annoying they can be on PC's, like everyone else who spends a lot of time on one. They remind me of certain supermarkets that like to constantly rearrange things so that every time I go in, I can't find anything and we all know Microsoft plays the same game with every new OS. They don't really want us getting to know the guts of their systems too well, do they? I was interested in finding the launcher to be free, since their Office apps clearly are anything but and in seeing if they can build an android app that isn't a resource-hogging monster. We'll see.
I've never used Arrow, but sometimes, it's necessary to go into a widget that has been designed and change the settings to customize it to your layout, your location, your calendars, etc, and I'm pretty sure the people who complain get frustrated because they can't figure out how to scale the widget, customize the information, change the icons, update the location, etc, and then they just give up. I usually try to save a couple of homepacks with widgets I like, and then I might try combining them into my own layout and custom icons too.
Getting recommendations isn't worth much, most of the time you have to try it out for yourself. For example, if you asked someone about a new movie that was just released because they just saw it, they might say it was horrible. You might go see it anyway, you find out it's scary, you love scary movies, the person who's advice you got hates scary movies, so it boils down to personal opinion.
Rolldog, may I hear more about 'homepacks and widgets?' If you have a few widgets that you like, do you, and can you, generally keep them with most other launchers you try out? Something you said before, I think it was you, about, if I got tired of a new launcher, I could go right back to Touchwiz and find my widgets and layout just where I left them, stuck in my mind and has me wondering about that little detail: why wouldn't the widgets still be there anyway, no matter what launcher I used? I ought to know all that already but I've had some 'rural life' issues keeping me too busy to spend much time with my devices or even read about them online. But I sure did a lot of shopping on the playstore, paid apps too and pretties for Nova! I'll have to watch that; it's too easy to do when I have a card on file and my budget will suffer. I have managed to discover that the ads in 'free' apps were draining my resources much more than getting the widgets I would like so if I really want something, I support the developer and ditch the ads with the constant 'phoning home' they have to do.
That 'Next' launcher has some nice 3-D effects doesn't it? But it isn't cheap, I notice.

[Q] Trying to find out which is best for what i need

So i'm trying to figure out what would work the best for my 10.5 tablet,
Main thing's i'm wanting is it Rooted, Basic enough design that work's pretty good, and has the Samsung app, not sure if i can get this off google play or not but. will obviously find that out soon. lol
but yeah, if anyone can give me their suggestion's for what i'm after (Might be looking for better performance as well) that would be awesome.
Damob99 said:
So i'm trying to figure out what would work the best for my 10.5 tablet,
Main thing's i'm wanting is it Rooted, Basic enough design that work's pretty good, and has the Samsung app, not sure if i can get this off google play or not but. will obviously find that out soon. lol
but yeah, if anyone can give me their suggestion's for what i'm after (Might be looking for better performance as well) that would be awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you would get a more valuable response if you stated why you want root. I've just upgraded to a Tab S from a rooted Nexus 10 and so far have not found a "must have" reason to root and loose my warranty. That does not mean I'll never root though. I've already replaced the launcher with Nova launcher and changed the icons with an icon pack but neither required root. The one root apps I miss are Viper4Android and GMD Gestures but Nova Launcher provides an acceptable alternative to GMD for now.
So what do you require root for?
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app
Im mainly wanting it for a couple of apps that use it, one for modding a game, another for moving apps to sd, full files and all not just a 16th of the app. Just tried an app called kingroot but unfortunately it didnt work.
Damob99 said:
Im mainly wanting it for a couple of apps that use it, one for modding a game, another for moving apps to sd, full files and all not just a 16th of the app. Just tried an app called kingroot but unfortunately it didnt work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What model tab s do you have? Kingroot V4 rooted my kitkat t805 just fine. Doesnt work on lollipop though.
Sadly did it on my normal tablet before having any root access what's so ever without installing another rom on it. lol. wanted to test it to see if it would work, sadly it didn'. i have a Galaxy Tab S SM-T805Y.. it's the 10.5 samsung tablet.
Damob99 said:
Sadly did it on my normal tablet before having any root access what's so ever without installing another rom on it. lol. wanted to test it to see if it would work, sadly it didn'. i have a Galaxy Tab S SM-T805Y.. it's the 10.5 samsung tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes it takes more than once. Did you let it reboot and then continue?
Yes and unfortunately it didn't want to work.

Best Current Advice for new Fire Phone user? (battery life, reduce heat, carousel)

Just starting out with the Fire Phone, unlocked version being used with T-Mobile.
Found the YouTube instructional video for loading the Google Play Store and got it to work fine after about 27 updates to the phone and store downloaded.
After trying a half dozen different launchers, went back to the stock version as seemed to work the smoothest and couldn't get any others to do what I wanted anyway.
Questions for current users:
1. Phone gets warmer than any phone I've used before. Is this normal?
2. Any way to dock a useful time/date widget and a weather widget on the home screen (or front of the Carousel)?
3. Any way to get rid of or minimize the mostly useless Carousel without using a different launcher? I'd rather see my wallpaper and place a few icons around the screen, then it'd be perfect.
4. If no way to remove the Carousel without using a different launcher, is there a launcher that gives a simple, clean interface and the ability to have your own wallpaper, a date/time and weather widget on home screen, and standard icon and icon folder placement ability? None of the ones I tried gave me that. I find it bizarre that custom wallpaper is not a standard option on every single launcher.
5. Battery life is pretty bad. Walking around for just about two hours yesterday playing Pokemon Go drained my 100% battery entirely. Is that normal?
6. I'm seeing people mention "turning off fancy stuff" and the like in threads here to improve battery life, but cannot find where anyone says what specifically to turn off or how to turn it off...help?
7. Any way to customize the left-hand tilt menu? It is mostly useless links...the "Music" link doesn't even go to Prime Music -- what's up with that? I'd like to customize what gets launched from the links, but it seems impossible.
8. The "swipe up" back button feature is really annoying as it is so picky and just plain doesn't work in some situations and some apps. Any way to improve it?
9. Any way to tell what apps are currently running to close some? My last phone would show the list if you held down the main button, but this phone just brings up a microphone service when I do that.
10. Is Alexa on the Fire Phone a junior version? It can't do anything I ask it and I'm used to Alexa from my Fire TV. I want to do stuff like "Alexa Play Adele" or "Alexa What Time is It?" but it just shows the "I can't do that" text. (On a related point...any way to get the "Okay Google..." talking function?)
11. Is the GPS a bit weak? Maps don't always load, rather annoying.
12. When I'm talking on the phone, I can't figure out how to get the screen to turn on again if I have to enter numbers, change speakerphone, or check something. Others phones just automatically turn on when I take it away from my ear, but the screen just stays off with this one. Is there a button to push to get it turn on again?
My primary uses for the phone are Prime Music, the Camera, and texting, so it is really a great phone for me. With more reliable mapping, better battery life, and a good back button, it'd be an excellent phone despite the other above gripes.
If you can help with any of the above questions, that'd be great. Thanks!
Stock launcher very restrictive you'll need a third party one to have custom options. That's not as easy as it sounds as not all support widgets on fire phone. I use lucid launcher which does. Mine doesn't heat up much, and battery life is the best I've had on a phone. Double click button for running app display.
try install custom rom like MIUI, I am using MIUI in my fire phone and its really fun... apart from few minor bugs like switching camera it's a great rom, boost battery time, heat up problem solved and very fast rom as compare to stock rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-phone/general/miui-7-6-3-20-fire-phone-t3412344
ratbags said:
Stock launcher very restrictive you'll need a third party one to have custom options. That's not as easy as it sounds as not all support widgets on fire phone. I use lucid launcher which does. Mine doesn't heat up much, and battery life is the best I've had on a phone. Double click button for running app display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll look at Lucid Launcher -- wasn't one of the ones I tried.
kingtymur said:
try install custom rom like MIUI, I am using MIUI in my fire phone and its really fun... apart from few minor bugs like switching camera it's a great rom, boost battery time, heat up problem solved and very fast rom as compare to stock rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-phone/general/miui-7-6-3-20-fire-phone-t3412344
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, if I'm understanding other threads, camera function is iffy for everything except FireOS. Since the most important part of this phone is the camera for me (tied with messaging), it looks like I need to stick to stock on that.
Frustrating though as I really like the look of that MIUI 7 you linked. I wish I had time to give it a shot just to see if the camera is still good enough.
Thanks.
FeuerFon said:
Thanks, I'll look at Lucid Launcher -- wasn't one of the ones I tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using nova and widgets work fine as long as you move the app to /system, but you'll need root for that.
dato02 said:
I'm using nova and widgets work fine as long as you move the app to /system, but you'll need root for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which unfortunately means camera issues on the Fire, so not good for my situation. :/
FeuerFon said:
Which unfortunately means camera issues on the Fire, so not good for my situation. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root itself doesn't cause issues with the camera, it's roms other than stock.
Try Nova Launcher With Hd Packs...

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