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Hello everyone!
I've got some questions about my galaxy S2.
I have my device for about a month now and decided to root it (ICS).
I installed GO launcher and for some reason it appeared in my task manager and i swiped it away by accident and thats where the ~ started
Got a black homescreen, rebooting didn't help so i thought well this is some kind of brick?
Yesterday i downloaded the pre-leaked 4.1.2 jelly bean (as belgium still doesn't have the official update) and put it on my device. I think it's dated from early november 2012.
Everythings working fine now but i have a few questions about changing some settings i don't seem to find or that don't work.
1.) Text message app:
The chat bubbles seem larger and the text in it too compared to ICS (if i remember it correctly). Is there any way to make make the font size even smaller than the default "extra small" which is quite large in my opinion. I don't want to use another messaging app and i tried a few apps to change font size but they didnt change it inside the messages app.
2.) Message buzzer:
When recieving a message my phone buzzes very hard and loudly for about a whole second eventhough i put it on heartbeat :s
Any idea how to fix this?
3.) Notification bar:
When sliding down the notification bar the upper row of switches always is in the middle position and then scrolls sideways to the first switch automatically, is this normal? and is there a way to change this?
4.) Go Locker:
When pressing a button to open the lockscreen my touch doesnt always respond. Need to lock it again, light up the screen again and then i'm able to swipe the screen. Normal?
Thanks in advance
I'd answer your questions one by one but i'm gonna make an aseveration instead.
It's normal, you'll get used to it, use the vol rocker to change the size.
You're on the leak, you can flash the netherlands ROM if you like, it's jb final.
Some of the apps that worked so well on ICS won't work the same way because of the different OS and lack of app upgrade.
Sent from the little guy
dun use go launcher/ go locker if u feel that it is the cause. go launcher is known for it's big memory hogging/ overeater. try buzz launcher :cyclops:
@gastonw i know about the volume button but it doesn't go as small as before
@cyelanius i have no trouble with the memory usage, dont see much diff in batery life and i'm not a gamer on this device
Thanks for the replies anyways
Trust me, you'll get used to; I did.
Sent from the little guy
Hello. I'm a long time lurker, first time thread creater.
I have an Evo V from VM that's rooted, s-off, hboot 1.50 that was running CM10.1
Randomly it seems out of nowhere, the bottom strip stopped working. In other words I couldn't hit the calls button, the app drawer button, or the other 3 buttons on the homescreen. The hardware buttons still worked, and directly above the line of the homescreen dock worked. When in an app like greenify I couldn't hit the button to allow an app access, or in messaging I couldn't hit the text box to bring up the keyboard and start typing. When I went to do something that automatically brought the keyboard up I couldn't hit the spacebar, etc. At first I figured it was a hardware problem but now I'm not sure. This is because I enabled the dev option that shows you the input the phone is receiving. The little white dot came up exactly where I was touching, I just wasn't getting a response and I can't figure why. Tried the DU rom and the same thing. Tried the pacman rom and had the same problem. Yet the phone says that there is input there, things just aren't happening. This is further validated with the fact that when in 4ext, anything at the bottom of the screen where the dead zone would be, still works. Restored my CM backup when nothing else worked and for now the dead zone seems to be actually gone. But Idk how long that will last. Any ideas?
I'm guessing it's the pie controls getting in the way.
Go to settings>system>pie settings>trigger area>none
See if that fixes the problem.
I recently bought the HTC One X+ and decided yesterday to install a screen protector on it. I took the phone to a mobile store where the employee used some liquid to install the screen protector, I thought that it was no big deal, I've seen them install it this way a lot of times. The screen protector was installed and everything was fine, but about an hour of using the device.. the screen started glitching as if the notification shade was being rapidly pulled down and up, so I rebooted the phone because I thought that it may have been a bug with the ROM I was using, but after the phone fully booted, I couldn't access the notification shade by pulling it down, so I flashed Cyanogenmod (still thinking it might have been the ROM) but that didn't work...
Now the touch on the top edge of the screen is broken and I have no idea on what or who to blame.
I still haven't removed the screen protector because I'm not sure whether I should return the phone to the mobile store or just remove the screen protector and hope for the best.
What should I do?
UPDATE: I removed the screen protector half way and wiped the top of the screen but no luck :/
UPDATE 2: I give up! it seems that I have a dead zone (a perfect rectangle on the top edge)
right now I'm looking for an app that will allow me access to the notification shade by pressing the power button or long-pressing the home/back button. Anybody knows any?
Well to test if it is really a dead zone at the top of the phone underneath the earpiece, go to an app that has a horizontal orientation. Rotate your phone, and the status bar should then be along one of the sides of the screen instead. See if you can pull it down from there. If not, then for some reason you have a defunct notification shade.
If it does work, then see if there is an app that you use that will show that the zone is dead (again in horizontal orientation; you'll basically just need to change what the parts of the screen does to troubleshoot).
In the mean time, there are launchers such as Nova Launcher that allow you to add icons and set gestures to access a variety of options, including bringing down the notification shade. I personally use a down swipe on any part of the home screen to bring down the whole notification shade without having to reach to the top for it.
If you really have a dead zone on your screen, see if you can't get some help with that, because it is beyond me.
ProfLayton said:
Well to test if it is really a dead zone at the top of the phone underneath the earpiece, go to an app that has a horizontal orientation. Rotate your phone, and the status bar should then be along one of the sides of the screen instead. See if you can pull it down from there. If not, then for some reason you have a defunct notification shade.
If it does work, then see if there is an app that you use that will show that the zone is dead (again in horizontal orientation; you'll basically just need to change what the parts of the screen does to troubleshoot).
In the mean time, there are launchers such as Nova Launcher that allow you to add icons and set gestures to access a variety of options, including bringing down the notification shade. I personally use a down swipe on any part of the home screen to bring down the whole notification shade without having to reach to the top for it.
If you really have a dead zone on your screen, see if you can't get some help with that, because it is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually can access the notification shade in landscape mode, with the help of an app I confirm that there's indeed a dead zone at the top edge of the display. My problem was that i couldn't access it in portrait mode in apps other than the custom launcher. Right now I'm using GMD Gesture Control and with a two finger swipe down I am able to finally access it but my current problem is using the device with only one hand (I can't swipe down with two fingers while using the device with one hand you see)
wouldn't removing the screen protector be the easiest way to discover if the protector is the one causing lack of sensitivity or if the device has truly been damaged?
NasaGeek said:
wouldn't removing the screen protector be the easiest way to discover if the protector is the one causing lack of sensitivity or if the device has truly been damaged?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did remove it...
I also did some research and it turns out that pressing too hard on the screen was the main cause, so I'm going to return to the store again because of that goddamn idiot
woops, didn't see your updates. Sorry!
I finally figured out how to expand the status bar by long pressing a button thanks to this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.friedflow.statusbarexpander&hl=en
bump this thread up.
just had this problem and tried searching for a solution, only managed to find this thread. running a fully stock phone.
software 1.17.707.2, android 4.1.1. tried rebooting, shutting off phone and leaving it off overnight and turning it on in the morning.
the only app i installed within the last week was castle clash(and since uninstalled it, doesn't work).
using the developer tools(pointer location), realised the dead zone was across the whole drop down notification bar (y coordinates of 0-98 out of 1280)..
anyone has encountered a similar problem and has a solution?
How do you feel about the size of this phone? I have small hands where my thumb sits easy where the power button is on the S3 but struggle one handed to get the notification bar. Almost 100% sold on getting this one and noticed the dimension differences but would like some feed back from the rest of you.
Sure I can go into the store but those dam security things mess with figuring out how the phone would really feel. Of course finding a sales rep at VZW that is willing to let you hold a real one is rare now of days.
Thanks for feedback! If all sounds well I will grab mine Friday.
Ckamc said:
How do you feel about the size of this phone? I have small hands where my thumb sits easy where the power button is on the S3 but struggle one handed to get the notification bar. Almost 100% sold on getting this one and noticed the dimension differences but would like some feed back from the rest of you.
Sure I can go into the store but those dam security things mess with figuring out how the phone would really feel. Of course finding a sales rep at VZW that is willing to let you hold a real one is rare now of days.
Thanks for feedback! If all sounds well I will grab mine Friday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was too big to go from S3 to XZ, but i got use to it, and I thought it was too big to go from XZ to G2 but it actually felt like its the same size as the 5in XZ phone, point is I have small hands and I really dont like the Samsung note so this is why I picked this phone. I like to text and drive with one hand what can I say, dont judge me....
Ckamc said:
How do you feel about the size of this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not a former S3 owner, but I also struggle with the notification bar. Other than that I seriously love this phone comming from the Note 2.
It would be nice if LG added a hardware button shortcut for the notification bar. But until then, there is the possibility of using the software button. Some of the combinations have a notification bar short cut:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Unfortunately those are all the combinations.
Since i like to have the back button to the right, I find it easier to move the phone in my hand and pull down the notifications rather than reaching all the way across the screen to get the software button short cut.
Yes the note Series is too big for me. I have a coworker who has one and I just can't wrap mmyself to get one, plus price and audio specs appeal to me and the camera is nice. I love how small the moto X is but wow the camera is terrible as always with Motorola.
I really haven't looked back since I switched from the G3. 1)Raw speed- My S3 is insanely slow compared to the G2, not marginally slower. 2)Form factor bigger nicer screen in a not much bigger phone. 3)Not missing the side buttons on the S3, too easy to accidently hit. You will love the knock on feature. 4)Camera- Not even close OIS is nice.
I could keep going, but hopefully these items will help you make a decision.
This phone is quite difficult if not impossible to use with one hand (and I have large hands), for example compared to my former Nexus 4. However LG tried their best to facilitate this (for example by placing the menu on the bottom bar instead of on the left top corner - it seems that none of the reviewers realized why and just bashed LG), You can try to facilitate one-hand use by placing the icons within reach on the home screen, by placing shortcuts to most used web sites on the home screen, etc.
I came from an S3 and I love this phone. Knock On will be the savior for you when you get the phone. One handed use is no problem. I use it all the time and it's quite manageable. You'll love the refreshing screen technology coming from the S3 and the battery is loads better.
I suggest taking on for a test run and returning it if you aren't happy - but I assure you, you will be
Ckamc said:
How do you feel about the size of this phone? I have small hands where my thumb sits easy where the power button is on the S3 but struggle one handed to get the notification bar. Almost 100% sold on getting this one and noticed the dimension differences but would like some feed back from the rest of you.
Sure I can go into the store but those dam security things mess with figuring out how the phone would really feel. Of course finding a sales rep at VZW that is willing to let you hold a real one is rare now of days.
Thanks for feedback! If all sounds well I will grab mine Friday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was surprised but even though the screen is larger, the actual footprint is just about the same as the S3. I thought I would never get rid of my SGS3, but I love this phone.
Gnarfsan said:
I'm not a former S3 owner, but I also struggle with the notification bar. Other than that I seriously love this phone comming from the Note 2.
It would be nice if LG added a hardware button shortcut for the notification bar. But until then, there is the possibility of using the software button. Some of the combinations have a notification bar short cut:
Unfortunately those are all the combinations.
Since i like to have the back button to the right, I find it easier to move the phone in my hand and pull down the notifications rather than reaching all the way across the screen to get the software button short cut.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to say the same thing but you beat me to it.
LG thought ahead on this issue (bigger screen makes it harder to pull down the notification bar) so they implemented a software button that you can add to the navigation bar that can be used for expanding and collapsing the notification bar. At first I didn't think I would like the idea of adding more buttons to the nav bar, mainly because I am used to the stock android approach where you have the back button on the far left, home button in the middle and the menu/multi task button on the far right. But I find it really handy to have the button for the notification bar on the nav bar and have pretty much gotten used to having 4 soft buttons instead of the default 3.
I friggin love this phone lol i used all the galaxy series starting from s1 to s4., as well as note 1 and 2.
Personally, im not a big fan of hardware keys. ( home and volume)
After while, they would become somewhat loosened up and make squeeky sounds whenever i press on them on my samsung phones.
For the physical home buttons, it feels like ur double clicking the key after while.
G2 has hard keys on the back, but it feels like more rigid and solid than samsung phone's.
Sent from LG G2
Cst79 said:
This phone is quite difficult if not impossible to use with one hand (and I have large hands), for example compared to my former Nexus 4. However LG tried their best to facilitate this (for example by placing the menu on the bottom bar instead of on the left top corner - it seems that none of the reviewers realized why and just bashed LG), You can try to facilitate one-hand use by placing the icons within reach on the home screen, by placing shortcuts to most used web sites on the home screen, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude my hand measure 8" from thumb to tip of middle finger...thats a small hand, I can hold it one hand easily...U must have really small hand or ****ty grip
get in the gym and do some deadlift bro...it'll help u grab all 150 gram of the phone...
so went and tried it at the store today... corporate stores are getting nice now with these "smart stores".
one handed texting isn't quite as easy... when reaching to left side. noticed I held the phone different so reaching notification isn't as bad.
wish corporate had a model that didn't have that dumb "smart cover" on it. took a bit away from giving a solid yes or no.... then I thought of my cousin who's thunderbolt doesn't even let them get online so I am going to pull the trigger on this tomorrow and root it Thursday lol *must have flash and restore all my text and dress up my phone the way I like it*
thanks for all the feed back, took it into consideration as I was playing with the phone. Wish Verizon didn't mess with the rocker on the back but still feels goodish.
I made the switch from my S3 to this phone because I actually wanted a bigger screen. I have pretty large hands so getting to the notification bar isn't difficult at all. What I do miss however is running Nova Launcher. I had the gesture setup so if I swiped down from anywhere on the screen it would pull the notification tray down. I don't use Nova on the G2 because it disables the knockOn feature, which I can't seem to live without now
Vertigo06 said:
I made the switch from my S3 to this phone because I actually wanted a bigger screen. I have pretty large hands so getting to the notification bar isn't difficult at all. What I do miss however is running Nova Launcher. I had the gesture setup so if I swiped down from anywhere on the screen it would pull the notification tray down. I don't use Nova on the G2 because it disables the knockOn feature, which I can't seem to live without now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still use Nova launcher for exactly that reason - swipe up opens my app drawer and swipe down expands my notifications bar. Here is a tidbit in case you didn't know... you can still use knock off as long as you tap on the notification bar. Also if you want full knock off you can assign the double tap feature in Nova to tasker and task it to turn the screen off. I just use the notification bar to tap off and am in heaven
dajmanjt said:
I still use Nova launcher for exactly that reason - swipe up opens my app drawer and swipe down expands my notifications bar. Here is a tidbit in case you didn't know... you can still use knock off as long as you tap on the notification bar. Also if you want full knock off you can assign the double tap feature in Nova to tasker and task it to turn the screen off. I just use the notification bar to tap off and am in heaven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. Trying to tap the notification bar though is annoying for me. What's tasker? I don't have that an an option to assign to the double tap gesture.
Vertigo06 said:
I made the switch from my S3 to this phone because I actually wanted a bigger screen. I have pretty large hands so getting to the notification bar isn't difficult at all. What I do miss however is running Nova Launcher. I had the gesture setup so if I swiped down from anywhere on the screen it would pull the notification tray down. I don't use Nova on the G2 because it disables the knockOn feature, which I can't seem to live without now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Nova Launcher too; I've always liked swiping down from anywhere on the screen to bring the Notification bar down.
Nova Launcher doesn't disable the Knock On feature, it disables the Knock Off feature.
But, there is a workaround. Just go the Play Store and download this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.katecca.screenofflock
You can set it as a double tap gesture to make the phone go to sleep. It's working great for me.
bouchigo said:
I use Nova Launcher too; I've always liked swiping down from anywhere on the screen to bring the Notification bar down.
Nova Launcher doesn't disable the Knock On feature, it disables the Knock Off feature.
But, there is a workaround. Just go the Play Store and download this app:
You can set it as a double tap gesture to make the phone go to sleep. It's working great for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That did it! Thank you very much. I just might make the switch back to Nova after all once I do some tweaking with my widgets.
Vertigo06 said:
That did it! Thank you very much. I just might make the switch back to Nova after all once I do some tweaking with my widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool! Glad it worked out for you. If you have Tasker, you can set it up there too if you prefer that option.
bouchigo said:
Cool! Glad it worked out for you. If you have Tasker, you can set it up there too if you prefer that option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what dajmanjt mentioned. I looked at Tasker a while ago but figured it wasn't for me. Now I'm starting to think it may not be a bad investment.
I have small, wide hands and i have no issues with one handed use. If you're on stock rom you can make the dialer flush to the left or right. Thumb keyboard has one handed operation available.
I either hold the phone a little higher up for one handed use or it lays near the end of my fingers. No issues. Adaptation is all that matters.
This is probably the last in my collection of Android Wear media players. I'm trying out making a mobile app as well. If this works out, I may make something similar for NavMusic and NavCasts. Make sure your Audiobook has the same name and author to sync between devices.
Play Store Link
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Thanks! -Joel
Hello Joel,
thank you for your offer. I only had the chance to test the app on my phone but I like the design. Some buttons are not as self-explaining, as they could be. The left top drop, the timer on the right, but I like the clean look and the audio recognition worked flawless, even through my tes file had problems before with some apps. So that was perfect.
For now, I had two bugs.
My phone is a z5 compact Android 7.1
If I only select one audiobook and by accident press the next file button, the app crashes.
The second bug happens if I have an audio file active and close the app from the app drawer. The controls still pop up from time to time. It's a little weird if the task manager doesn't show the app anymore, but I still have the control panel.
The next days I'll try the app with my Huawei watch 2 and come back with feedback. I hope that helped.
Vegatta said:
Hello Joel,
thank you for your offer. I only had the chance to test the app on my phone but I like the design. Some buttons are not as self-explaining, as they could be. The left top drop, the timer on the right, but I like the clean look and the audio recognition worked flawless, even through my tes file had problems before with some apps. So that was perfect.
For now, I had two bugs.
My phone is a z5 compact Android 7.1
If I only select one audiobook and by accident press the next file button, the app crashes.
The second bug happens if I have an audio file active and close the app from the app drawer. The controls still pop up from time to time. It's a little weird if the task manager doesn't show the app anymore, but I still have the control panel.
The next days I'll try the app with my Huawei watch 2 and come back with feedback. I hope that helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He Vegatta,
Thanks! That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I changed the skip button so it does nothing on the last file instead of stopping the media player. I also updated the Media Player Notification so hopefully won't appear randomly, though it should act separately from the app. Just dismiss it when paused to stop the media player.
Would a tutorial screen on the now playing help to describe button functions or are there better icons that could be used?
Looking forward to hearing what happens with the watch app.
Thanks!
-Joel
Hello Joel,
I can confirm that the app is now working without any crash. Thanks for the update. I tried everything I could think of and standalone the app works flawlessly.
The symbols are absolutely fine. I would either show a tutorial at first opening or a help button, which shows the button functions.
I also discussed the layout with my wife. In our opinion, the play button should be a little bigger, as its the most needed one. Aditional we would leave a little more space between the lower buttons and the menubar. Such a player is often used in a hurry, so you could prevent miss presses and with a bigger play button, a quicker stop is possible if someone speaking suddenly.
The phone app I tested a little as stand alone. I like the layout. Actually its one of the best I had on the watch. It played some test files without a problem, but I had no time to copy the same audiobook over yet for synchronizing.
What I noticed is that I sometimes scroll up and end up at the top of the list suddenly. For long lists that might be useful, but somehow it's too sensitive for my taste. Esp. with limited space on watches, I don't need to reach the top so fast.
The second problem is the next file button. That only works with added folders. I actually thought that it also selects the next audiobook on my list, if I added more than one and if I am done with all chapters, but I have to go back one step for that. Probably a matter of taste though.
As an idea, you could make the cover pressable, which would show it on the screen and hides the controls, till I press the picture again. I would like that sometimes if while biking I want to avoid pressing a button by accident.
Synchronising Ill try at the weekend. I hope to have time then to test that feature, but otherwise, the app is nicely stable and already working really well. Thanks!
Vegatta said:
Hello Joel,
I can confirm that the app is now working without any crash. Thanks for the update. I tried everything I could think of and standalone the app works flawlessly.
The symbols are absolutely fine. I would either show a tutorial at first opening or a help button, which shows the button functions.
I also discussed the layout with my wife. In our opinion, the play button should be a little bigger, as its the most needed one. Aditional we would leave a little more space between the lower buttons and the menubar. Such a player is often used in a hurry, so you could prevent miss presses and with a bigger play button, a quicker stop is possible if someone speaking suddenly.
The phone app I tested a little as stand alone. I like the layout. Actually its one of the best I had on the watch. It played some test files without a problem, but I had no time to copy the same audiobook over yet for synchronizing.
What I noticed is that I sometimes scroll up and end up at the top of the list suddenly. For long lists that might be useful, but somehow it's too sensitive for my taste. Esp. with limited space on watches, I don't need to reach the top so fast.
The second problem is the next file button. That only works with added folders. I actually thought that it also selects the next audiobook on my list, if I added more than one and if I am done with all chapters, but I have to go back one step for that. Probably a matter of taste though.
As an idea, you could make the cover pressable, which would show it on the screen and hides the controls, till I press the picture again. I would like that sometimes if while biking I want to avoid pressing a button by accident.
Synchronising Ill try at the weekend. I hope to have time then to test that feature, but otherwise, the app is nicely stable and already working really well. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Vegatta,
Thanks for the feedback. I just released an update that should address most of theses issues. I adjusted the button sizes a bit to make the play/pause button larger as well as the skip buttons and left the timer and invert buttons the same. There is also a tutorial when a book is played for the first time.
You can also tap the cover to make it cover the now playing screen. The skip buttons are working as intended.
Hey, sorry that it took so long to get back to you.
I tested your app some more and also got your navmusic app, as I really like the book one.
As reminder watch is HW classic watch os update 1.0, watch os app 2.10/ Phone Sony Z5 compact 7.1.1.
Things I noticed as problems:
Phone app: I don't reach the play screen since one or two updates. I click it and it opens and minimizes directly. Interesting enough, I can start the file then through the navbar controls.
Watch app: Same problem. I click a file and it directly goes small to the bottom. If I am fast enough to click the small bar I get the play window and can play the file.
Feature request:
For the watch app, Is it possible to get the same player layout like in the music app? Like two screens, either it shows the cover and if you slide you get the controls. I listen while riding a bike with the watch speaker and sometimes I hit some controls. I imagine with the same method like in the navmusic app that could be prevented. Maybe I would even start with control mode but make it so that if you want, you can hide the controls via sliding (basically opposite to navmusic which starts for me in cover mode and you slide for controls).
The sync option I couldn't test as of yet, sorry. The explorer app and my watch os hw2 don't work together sadly. It connects and shows my watch and even copies files over. But in the end, nothing changed on the watch. Same from the watch, a while ago I copied music files into a folder fav and not into music. I click copy in the app, go to the music folder and paste and nothing happens. Its a really weird problem and I am not sure how to give a better bug report fo that one.
Thanks again for your fast changes and hard work. Even with some problems, I really enjoy your apps. Navbook is my go to on phone and watch for audiobooks now and the music app is working great too (even though I wish there would be also a search bar for finding a position in the song, sometimes I just want to hear a part of a song again).
Vegatta said:
Hey, sorry that it took so long to get back to you.
I tested your app some more and also got your navmusic app, as I really like the book one.
As reminder watch is HW classic watch os update 1.0, watch os app 2.10/ Phone Sony Z5 compact 7.1.1.
Things I noticed as problems:
Phone app: I don't reach the play screen since one or two updates. I click it and it opens and minimizes directly. Interesting enough, I can start the file then through the navbar controls.
Watch app: Same problem. I click a file and it directly goes small to the bottom. If I am fast enough to click the small bar I get the play window and can play the file.
Feature request:
For the watch app, Is it possible to get the same player layout like in the music app? Like two screens, either it shows the cover and if you slide you get the controls. I listen while riding a bike with the watch speaker and sometimes I hit some controls. I imagine with the same method like in the navmusic app that could be prevented. Maybe I would even start with control mode but make it so that if you want, you can hide the controls via sliding (basically opposite to navmusic which starts for me in cover mode and you slide for controls).
The sync option I couldn't test as of yet, sorry. The explorer app and my watch os hw2 don't work together sadly. It connects and shows my watch and even copies files over. But in the end, nothing changed on the watch. Same from the watch, a while ago I copied music files into a folder fav and not into music. I click copy in the app, go to the music folder and paste and nothing happens. Its a really weird problem and I am not sure how to give a better bug report fo that one.
Thanks again for your fast changes and hard work. Even with some problems, I really enjoy your apps. Navbook is my go to on phone and watch for audiobooks now and the music app is working great too (even though I wish there would be also a search bar for finding a position in the song, sometimes I just want to hear a part of a song again).
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Thanks for the feedback!
I just pushed an update that hopefully addresses most of these issues. I added the cover resize on wear and fixed the bug where the audiobook stops when it starts.
Keep it up!
-Joel
Hello Joel,
thanks for the fast update. All my problems from above are solved now. I'll try to test the synchronizing feature as soon as possible. Thanks again for your hard work.
Hi Joel, Just got NavBooks from play store and also a Google Play Books audiobook, which I downloaded to my phone. I have Navbooks installed on both phone and watch (Ticwatch E). How do I add the audiobook to NavBooks? What folder do I navigate to? Have you posted instructions anywhere? I also got NavCasts and it is syncing with my Pocket Casts.
NewCapVikram said:
Hi Joel, Just got NavBooks from play store and also a Google Play Books audiobook, which I downloaded to my phone. I have Navbooks installed on both phone and watch (Ticwatch E). How do I add the audiobook to NavBooks? What folder do I navigate to? Have you posted instructions anywhere? I also got NavCasts and it is syncing with my Pocket Casts.
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Hey,
Thanks for showing interest in the app. Currently you have to use NavExplorer or something else to transfer audiobooks to the watch. Also, I believe Google play audiobooks might be drmd and are definitely in root, so I haven't looked into automatic syncing with that yet. I am out of town right now, but I may be able to find a solution for root users. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Thanks!
-Joel
Joel, thank you for this app. I desperately needed this for paddleboarding this summer!
Are you taking requests for future improvements? These are for the watch app only, as I could not test the phone app.
Bookmarks: Could I ask that you add some way to add and navigate bookmarks from the watch, maybe add it to the play screen or a second screen if you swipe right? This is very much needed for audiobook apps.
Accessibility/usability: Blue icons on red background are very hard to see even for me, and I have perfect eyesight. Chances are many users will use this app outdoors, where visibility is even worse. Any chance you could make the icons white on black background, and also increase the size of all but especially the skip buttons?
Thank you in advance and thanks for even creating this app in the first place!
PS: app crashes on my phone - can’t at all use it there, Xiaomi MiA1. Will send report over Play store. Would be great to have the synching option, though having this work in stand alone on the watch is so much more important for me.
Hi Xendula,
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I am definitely looking for feedback and improving the app. Bookmarks sound like a great idea. The colors for the playback screen are dynamically generated based on the cover art of the book. I could pretty easily add a setting to just use white instead of getting an accent color though.
I thought I had the Xiaomi crashes fixed, but probably people with those phones just stopped using it.
I will try to fix these issues and get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks again!
-Joel
Thanks, Joel!!!You rock!
Gotcha about the colors, I just had the bad luck that the book I tried has a bright red background and baby blue icons. Someone with red/blue color blindness would not see the icons.
Any chance you could also add a way to override the generated background and add an option make it default to black? Otherwise there my not be enough contrast with lighter colored covers. I just listened to this book, and neither the generated, nor the white icons on beige background would give it enough color:
Don't worry. Got you covered. The latest update adds a high contrast option as well as fixing some bugs. Please try the mobile app again to see if I've fixed the bug. I will try to add bookmarks soon.
Joel, MUCH better on the watch side since the update! Thank you! When you implement the bookmarks, any chance you could also make the skip buttons larger? I think you may need to get them closer to the play button, otherwise they may be too close to the progress bar and accidentally hitting that bar would suck, with no way to go back. Or maybe flipping the progress bar and the chapter header may help prevent accidental hits. Would it help if I sent you pics of of what I see?
Phone app update success: it now opens and plays back. How would I make it synch book location with the watch?
I can’t thank you enough for this app and your continual support of it!
xendula said:
Joel, MUCH better on the watch side since the update! Thank you! When you implement the bookmarks, any chance you could also make the skip buttons larger? I think you may need to get them closer to the play button, otherwise they may be too close to the progress bar and accidentally hitting that bar would suck, with no way to go back. Or maybe flipping the progress bar and the chapter header may help prevent accidental hits. Would it help if I sent you pics of of what I see?
Phone app update success: it now opens and plays back. How would I make it synch book location with the watch?
I can’t thank you enough for this app and your continual support of it!
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Okay. I added bookmarks in the latest Beta update. You can opt in here:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.turndapage.navbooks
Please let me know how this works so I can push it to public release.
joelphilippage said:
Okay. I added bookmarks in the latest Beta update. You can opt in here:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.turndapage.navbooks
Please let me know how this works so I can push it to public release.
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Wonderful. Tested on New Balance RunIQ and works! THANK YOU!
Is it possible to have navbooks play all files in a directory in order? That way, when one part ends the next plays? That’s how audiobook software usually works, and maybe there is a way to already do this in Navbooks and I don’t know how? That way, the bookmark would carry over no matter which part of the book you are in.
I went paddleboarding with Navbooks this weekend and it was AWESOME, until my battery died.
xendula said:
Wonderful. Tested on New Balance RunIQ and works! THANK YOU!
Is it possible to have navbooks play all files in a directory in order? That way, when one part ends the next plays? That’s how audiobook software usually works, and maybe there is a way to already do this in Navbooks and I don’t know how? That way, the bookmark would carry over no matter which part of the book you are in.
I went paddleboarding with Navbooks this weekend and it was AWESOME, until my battery died.
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It should play the files in order. How did you select the audiobook? You should be able to long-press on the directory that contains the files to open them as a single audiobook and seek through the whole thing.
joelphilippage said:
It should play the files in order. How did you select the audiobook? You should be able to long-press on the directory that contains the files to open them as a single audiobook and seek through the whole thing.
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Sorry so late. I had to return the watch I had bought for this due to a few defects, and I can’t make NavExplorer work on my Vapor. Not a problem on My other watches, but the friggin Vapor won’t accept files. At the end of my witts. Do you have any pointers or have heard of this issue before?
xendula said:
Sorry so late. I had to return the watch I had bought for this due to a few defects, and I can’t make NavExplorer work on my Vapor. Not a problem on My other watches, but the friggin Vapor won’t accept files. At the end of my witts. Do you have any pointers or have heard of this issue before?
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There has been a bug on the Huawei Watch 2 with Wear OS where the app is not granted write permissions even after the permission has been granted. The only solution I have been able to find is to open the permission settings in the Watch settings and toggle the storage permission off and back on. Could you try this and see if this fixes the issue. If it does, I will probably add a warning for vapor watches.
Please let me know if this works!
Thanks.
-Joel