Hello,
There's one function on Android crucial to me that I have yet to find a perfect solution for, and that's variable speed audio playback. I'm a big audio podcast fan (using the excellent Pocket Casts app), and to get through hours upon hours of podcasts I like to play them back at a faster speed than normal. 2x speed, for example, sounds absolutely fine (not quite Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks fast) and as you would surmise cuts the normal podcast play time in half.
Pocket Casts uses an external app called Presto Sound Library to accomplish variable speed functionality, but this app appears to have been abandoned. The user forum, for example, hasn't been posted to since August, and the developer hasn't got back to my emails. Basically, the problem is that if you get a phone call when listening to something in Pocket Casts/Presto, upon completion of the call Pocket Casts force closes (although sometimes the audio just keeps on going uncontrollable). I've figured out via a helpful Play Store comment that force-closing Presto saves you from having to reboot, but needless to say this bug is extremely annoying. Problem started in Ice Cream Sandwich as I recall having it also on my CM9 Galaxy S II.
Anyone else out there have an alternative app for variable playback that works better on Jellybean? Cheers
kitecarl said:
Hello,
There's one function on Android crucial to me that I have yet to find a perfect solution for, and that's variable speed audio playback. I'm a big audio podcast fan (using the excellent Pocket Casts app), and to get through hours upon hours of podcasts I like to play them back at a faster speed than normal. 2x speed, for example, sounds absolutely fine (not quite Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks fast) and as you would surmise cuts the normal podcast play time in half.
Pocket Casts uses an external app called Presto Sound Library to accomplish variable speed functionality, but this app appears to have been abandoned. The user forum, for example, hasn't been posted to since August, and the developer hasn't got back to my emails. Basically, the problem is that if you get a phone call when listening to something in Pocket Casts/Presto, upon completion of the call Pocket Casts force closes (although sometimes the audio just keeps on going uncontrollable). I've figured out via a helpful Play Store comment that force-closing Presto saves you from having to reboot, but needless to say this bug is extremely annoying. Problem started in Ice Cream Sandwich as I recall having it also on my CM9 Galaxy S II.
Anyone else out there have an alternative app for variable playback that works better on Jellybean? Cheers
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Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem!!
Have you found a better alternative? I especially have the problem when listening to my bluetooth headphones, lots of times the podcast just keeps playing uncontrollably. I've started rejecting calls just to quit the podcast, and then call people back, which is terrible! The whole program is quite glitchy and seems to freeze at the end of every podcast--for me at least.
I love the program interface, etc. I just wish it worked better.
I haven't been able to find anything else really. What was the tip about force quitting presto? It doesn't show up in my task manager, am I missing something?
Thanks!
I use Dice Player https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inisoft.mediaplayer.a to play lectures at increased playback speed. Works great for that purpose. I dont think it has a podcast downloader ability though, but if you have the files on your phone, this app works great for variable playback
Keep contemplating this to replace my TomTom Multisport. Really miss the motoactiv when it worked, and it would be nice to transfer a Playlist, pop on the bt headphones and go. Will I regret the purchase? I have some amazon points and a gift card I can get it for about $80 or so.
I use mine mainly as a GPS device to keep track of my tracks. Ghostrunner is great for mapping your runs. GPS is very quick and accurate in my opninion (owner for 3 weeks, bought it for the GPS)
Overall i'm happy, used it with Ghostracer, Strava & Runkeeper some of the apps can be flakey but other than that i love it.
Love it! Ghostracer / endomondo to track runs while listening to music with Google play music - works very very well.
Good to hear. I just want to transfer a playlist to the watch and be able to go... 128gb card on the phone so I can store quite a bit.
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Golf and running watch
Hi. I just bought the SW3 for running and golf. Was tired of lugging my phone along to listen to music. I tried Runkeeper but it stopped working a few times in the middle of a run. Have switched to Ghostracer and it has performed flawlessly. I put some music on the SW3 and it worked well with my Plantronics BT earbuds. I wasn't so happy yesterday on the golf course as the SW3 ran out of battery on the back 9. Could have been because I was using Golfshot and the SW3 was connected to my phone the whole time. I might try Hole 19 and put the SW3 into Airplane Mode. Still early days for me though. I rooted the SW3 yesterday and put on crpalmer's tetra kernel to see if that will help out with battery life.
Yes overall the GPS on this device has been great, especially with the Ghostracer app others mentioned. The only challenge comes in when the metal backplate gets really wet from a lot of sweat or if you get stuck running in a good rain. I had a 7 mile run in September that stopped logging at 4.1 miles when the drizzle coming down became a solid downpour. Ghostracer kept tracking time, but GPS coordinates gave up. It seems to be a known issue to many users.
Wifey has one and it's complete garbage. You have to start music and running app in a particular order, it takes forever to get a GPS fix and it invariably either loses GPS or freezes/crashes mid run. Sony don't even seem to have bothered to make a GPS tracking app, so users had to wait for the rest of the developers to catch up.
I normally take my phone with me when I walk or run so I can stream Pandora and, thus, use the phone's GPS. But a couple of days ago I decided to leave my phone behind and listen to the music I had downloaded to my watch. I had a big problem getting the music (Play Music) and tracking (Ghostracer) to stay on. I started with the Ghostracer and then turned on the Play Music, but the play music stopped the Ghostracer. Then I restarted the Ghostracer (which began recording as a new run), but this stopped the Play Music. I went back and forth a few times before I was able to get them both to stay on. It seems like everytime I left the Ghostracer display, it would stop the current run. Runkeeper (which I normally use when I am running with my phone) does not do this. For this reason, once I got them both to stay on, I left the display on the Ghostracer app.
Once I got them both to stay on, everything was fine, but this was almost a quarter of a mile into my run (which was supposed to be 5 miles). So I ended up going somewhat over 5 miles for my total run that day. I think the trick is to start the Play Music first, but I'm not sure. If anyone has any advice on this, please let us know.
As for the GPS, once I got Ghostracer to stay on, it worked flawlessly. It was at least as accurate as my phone's GPS is.
I should also point out that I was using Jabra Sport Pulse BTLE earbuds. I like it that the Ghostracer app displays both the average and current heartrate from the Jabra Sport Pulse on my watch along with the pace, distance, and time.
I don't like it that I can hear each step reverberate in the Jabra Sport Pulse earbuds as a heavy background BLOOMP, BLOOMP, BLOOMP... sound. The SMS BioSport earbuds that I use with Runkeeper when I run with my phone do not have this problem (and they don't have to be recharged).
So for now, I'll continue running with my phone, streaming Pandora thru the SMS BioSport earbuds, using the Runkeeper app on my watch to display the time, distance and pace, viewing the Pandora notifications on my watch for the artist and song title (and to control volume and skip tracks), and listening for the Runkeeper audio cues on my earbuds that give me my current and average heart rate (along with pace, distance, and time) every 5 minutes. This is not an ideal arrangement, but the best one available for now.
Strange about the Play music and Ghostracer interfering - I use both of those for each run and don't have any issues... Chrisinleedsuk - I do start Ghostracer about 2 minutes before running to get a good signal without the phone.
I have a pair of BT headphones but I usually use this BT adapter so I can use my nicer Dunu headphones:
http://www.myblueant.com/products/headphones/ribbon/
Cheers.
JavaGP said:
I normally take my phone with me when I walk or run so I can stream Pandora and, thus, use the phone's GPS. But a couple of days ago I decided to leave my phone behind and listen to the music I had downloaded to my watch. I had a big problem getting the music (Play Music) and tracking (Ghostracer) to stay on. I started with the Ghostracer and then turned on the Play Music, but the play music stopped the Ghostracer. Then I restarted the Ghostracer (which began recording as a new run), but this stopped the Play Music. I went back and forth a few times before I was able to get them both to stay on. It seems like everytime I left the Ghostracer display, it would stop the current run. Runkeeper (which I normally use when I am running with my phone) does not do this. For this reason, once I got them both to stay on, I left the display on the Ghostracer app.
Once I got them both to stay on, everything was fine, but this was almost a quarter of a mile into my run (which was supposed to be 5 miles). So I ended up going somewhat over 5 miles for my total run that day. I think the trick is to start the Play Music first, but I'm not sure. If anyone has any advice on this, please let us know.
As for the GPS, once I got Ghostracer to stay on, it worked flawlessly. It was at least as accurate as my phone's GPS is.
I should also point out that I was using Jabra Sport Pulse BTLE earbuds. I like it that the Ghostracer app displays both the average and current heartrate from the Jabra Sport Pulse on my watch along with the pace, distance, and time.
I don't like it that I can hear each step reverberate in the Jabra Sport Pulse earbuds as a heavy background BLOOMP, BLOOMP, BLOOMP... sound. The SMS BioSport earbuds that I use with Runkeeper when I run with my phone do not have this problem (and they don't have to be recharged).
So for now, I'll continue running with my phone, streaming Pandora thru the SMS BioSport earbuds, using the Runkeeper app on my watch to display the time, distance and pace, viewing the Pandora notifications on my watch for the artist and song title (and to control volume and skip tracks), and listening for the Runkeeper audio cues on my earbuds that give me my current and average heart rate (along with pace, distance, and time) every 5 minutes. This is not an ideal arrangement, but the best one available for now.
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So I'm looking to snatch up a smartwatch on BF or maybe treat myself this xmas if nothing goes on sale. But I don't see the point of a smartwatch if it can't track my runs with an independent gps to save me from running with my note 5 ( no armband in the world can stop it from rubbing my underarm) . Looks like I have to choose between the urbane 2 and the Sony smartwatch 3? Also, does anyone know do I have to have a cellular plan to use the urbane 2's gps?
Just wanted to make sure these are the only two choices so I can make an informed decision.
I'm not seeing gps on the urbane 2.
http://www.lg.com/us/smart-watches/lg-W200-Opal-Blue-lg-watch-urbane-2nd-edition
ConnectivityLTE / 3G, Bluetooth® Version 4.1; Wi-Fi® Connectivity and Offline Music Play
Sensor9-Axis (Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass) / Barometer / PPG (Heart Rate Sensor)
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dbpaddler said:
I'm not seeing gps on the urbane 2.
http://www.lg.com/us/smart-watches/lg-W200-Opal-Blue-lg-watch-urbane-2nd-edition
ConnectivityLTE / 3G, Bluetooth® Version 4.1; Wi-Fi® Connectivity and Offline Music Play
Sensor9-Axis (Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass) / Barometer / PPG (Heart Rate Sensor)
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Click to collapse
I have read on androidcentral and https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidWear/comments/3ss9lf/lg_urbane_2_does_it_actually_have_gps/ states that it does. Forums have confirmed that even without cellular activation that they can get GPs lock. So I guess that means these are the 2 devices I should look at
Not seeing where anyone confirms it has gps. The 2nd guy says yes to a video of gps in action, but that doesn't tell me squat. And there's no proof. The last guy owns one and can't tell if it has standalone gps because it makes him turn on his phone to use maps.
So what are you reading that I'm not?
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dbpaddler said:
Not seeing where anyone confirms it has gps. The 2nd guy says yes to a video of gps in action, but that doesn't tell me squat. And there's no proof. The last guy owns one and can't tell if it has standalone gps because it makes him turn on his phone to use maps.
So what are you reading that I'm not?
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Click to collapse
http://m.androidcentral.com/first-five-things-know-about-lg-watch-urbane-2nd-edition-lte
Ctrl+f gps
Edit: after some googling looks like moto 360 sport has gps too. Something to consider.
People confirm it in this thread...
http://www.androidcentral.com/first-five-things-know-about-lg-watch-urbane-2nd-edition-lte
Seems like android wear needs an update though to fully take advantage of it all. I'll wait for a deal to pick one up, and I'm sure by then someone will have tried it with ghost racer and posted results.
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dbpaddler said:
People confirm it in this thread...
http://www.androidcentral.com/first-five-things-know-about-lg-watch-urbane-2nd-edition-lte
Seems like android wear needs an update though to fully take advantage of it all. I'll wait for a deal to pick one up, and I'm sure by then someone will have tried it with ghost racer and posted results.
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Click to collapse
Lol identical post times. But yeah I'm with you. I am looking for something with better battery life and screen based on common complaints from the sm3. Independent gps is a must to justify androidwear for me tho.
Yeah. I'm trying to avoid getting the Garmin, and I don't really "need" a smartwatch. Living with my TomTom multisport and carrying my Sansa clip with wired buds. Would love to ditch the combo. Not as concerned about battery life. Just want a seamless experience.
And with the way they update androidwear, I think it's the time to jump in with this generation of devices.
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I'm happy user of SW3. As many people here, I use Ghostracer for GPS tracking. It 's not perfect, but quite good. Battery life may be an issue for long runs. GPS fix sometimes takes a long time, but otherwise GPS is quite accurate.
Do you get a GPS signal without connecting the watch to your phone? I am testing a smartwatch 3 and it need to be connected to my phone to find the place where I am. I am testing with Maps and Viewranger and none of them finds a signal.
Hi!
I have tried two headphones (Sennheiser M2 IEBT and Focal Listen Wireless) and two audio players (Youtube Music and BlackPlayer) and got the same result: after toggling a pause on headset any attempt to resume a playback after a couple of minutes results in nothing. That is Bluetooth control is lost. I'm forced to take a phone, unlock, start player and start playing back.
It is interesting, with Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4 I don't have the problem regardless headphones and players: Bluetooth control is kept at any case.
The most performant mode is selected in battery settings. The last official firmware (169) is installed.
Please, help me to resolve this very annoying issue!
I've noticed that when I play media content using a third-party app and then pause it from a Bluetooth device, sometimes that app gets terminated in the background and when I try to resume, it starts playing from the stock EMUI music app instead.
Although I haven't tried this, disabling battery optimisations for your music apps might prevent them from being terminated in the background.
Yes, all battery optimisations for players are disabled. Also, a lock was activated for players on recent apps screen.
I have tried a couple of settings on the developer configuration list (amount of background processes and amount of Bluetooth devices), but was not lucky.
Ok, can you, please, share your experience in having or not-having described problem?