Overall, I think the move from Blackberry to Android/Note was the right one but the transition has been painful in a few areas. I'll list them in this one post instead of inundating the forums with single posts with only one question.
Phone Application -
Admittedly, this is the most frustrating part about going with the Note (outside of the loss of a physical keyboard). The phone application is ridiculously inefficient compared to Blackberry.
Is there a way to prevent the phone from locking (PIN required) when I navigate away from the phone application while on a call? There is nothing more frustrating than having to enter my PIN to simply hang up a phone call. Also, while on a phone call only (meaning I don't navigate away from phone), the screen times out and turns off... forcing me to press the side key to get back into phone. Is there a program that can map the capacitive search key while on a phone call so I can hang up a call?
Regarding "Contacts", is there a way to default to keyboard entry upon opening Contacts? Does Android think the average person has only 6 contacts??... Because that's how many contacts show up when you enter Contacts. This forces me to press "search contacts" every single time I enter Contacts... and the magnifying glass is all the way at the tip top of the screen. Using one hand, it's impossible to comfortably extend my thumb all the way to the top of the screen after pressing my Contacts application icon on the very bottom of the screen. Then I am forced to pull all the way back down to the keyboard just to enter the first letter of the person I'm searching for! I call out of my Contacts list 50-100 times a day so this gets very, very cumbersome and time consuming.
Is there a way to change the text size in my contacts list? I'd like to see more than 6 contacts per page... the phone screen is HUGE!
Now this complaint I'm sure a lot of ex Blackberry people can relate with... Blackberry (via an available OPTION) would consolidate call logs into each individual contact. Android, for some strange reason, does not consolidate history to each individual contact. So when I pull up recent history, the top 100 entries can be from only 10 or 15 people Wouldn't it make more sense to have ONE entry PER CONTACT? I wouldn't have to go into Contacts as often if Android actually consolidated phone call logs into one log per contact because I could go into the phone log and call out people from there... instead of seeing a sea of missed, outgoing, incoming calls... from the same person. I really hope there is a way to consolidate these logs.
S Memo -
There is an option to pull up the S Memo pad in phone but for some strange reason, it always defaults to "drawing" mode instead of entering text. I'm often in a flustered state when on a phone call and/or listening to voicemail and trying to jot down notes... so having to punch that tiny little "T" at the very upper left hand corner of the screen is a pain.
Is there a way to decrease the font size? I never did understand why some native programs have no adjustments for font size... not everyone is 80 years old w/bad vision. I mean... what's the point of having such a high res screen if the font size is a quarter inch tall? Blackberry allowed text size to be adjusted in ALL native applications.
I'm assuming there is no way to increase the amount of text I can enter onto one S Memo page? It seems extremely limited (about ~100 words max).
Am I the only one that seems to have notes that don't save? I recall entering text into several notes and backing out supposedly automatically saves what was inputed... but often times the text is not there when I return to the note. Are others having this issue?
Finally, is there an alternative memo program that anyone could recommend that is as simple and easy to search as Blackberry's memopad?
Alarm Clock -
I realize that there are a ton of alarm apps out there but I've heard horror stories about apps that crash and/or don't work properly. I need a reliable alarm clock so would prefer to stick with the native application. It actually works perfectly... except that the alarm lasts for only 60 seconds. I've slept right through the alarm several times already. Is there any way to make it loop for a longer period? Say 5 or 10 minutes?
I have a ton of other questions but if anyone can help with these for now it would be much appreciated!
U have a button dedicated to search at the bottom. I use dw contacts. Not the cheapest solution but very customizable
There's an app to increase/decrease font size, I haven't used it but I saw someone mentioning it here the other day, the alarm is fine, I have never had any issues with any android alarm, and you can add as many alarms as you want, I get up at 3am to go to work and I can't ever be late so I have set like 4 alarms to go off in set times in order so if I don't hear one the others will follow.
As the issue with being able to reach the full length of the screen one handed , it is what it is, a big a$$ screen that for the most part demands two handed control.
Sent from my awesome Galaxy Note!
Do you have to use a PIN?
Go to settings, display, screen timeout. You can change how quickly or slowly your screen times out on you.
On your contacts app, just hit the magnifying glass at the bottom right and it'll pull up your keyboard and search function. Or there's teh alphabet running down the right hand side, just click on the letter the name starts with. Or for more customization and ease, install exdialer. It looks good, easy to use, font is small, etc. Exdialer also consolidates your call logs.
There are a ton of memo apps in the market. Personally I love Gnotes. It syncs with google, saves everything, is easy to use, and you can inbed pics, etc.
I don't know about the spen. So far I've only used it to make cute pics to send to my wife and to draw up soccer drills and practice plans.
esincho said:
U have a button dedicated to search at the bottom. I use dw contacts. Not the cheapest solution but very customizable
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll give it a try. Does the phone still maintain its ability to keep a log and back up the calls to my computer?
roloracer said:
There's an app to increase/decrease font size, I haven't used it but I saw someone mentioning it here the other day, the alarm is fine, I have never had any issues with any android alarm, and you can add as many alarms as you want, I get up at 3am to go to work and I can't ever be late so I have set like 4 alarms to go off in set times in order so if I don't hear one the others will follow.
As the issue with being able to reach the full length of the screen one handed , it is what it is, a big a$$ screen that for the most part demands two handed control.
Sent from my awesome Galaxy Note!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the program Big Font but unfortunately while the font size decreases, it does nothing to decrease the size of the useless silhouette image next to the contact name. So I still only get 6 contacts per massive page. I'm hoping there is another solution.
kiltedthrower said:
Do you have to use a PIN?
Go to settings, display, screen timeout. You can change how quickly or slowly your screen times out on you.
On your contacts app, just hit the magnifying glass at the bottom right and it'll pull up your keyboard and search function. Or there's teh alphabet running down the right hand side, just click on the letter the name starts with. Or for more customization and ease, install exdialer. It looks good, easy to use, font is small, etc. Exdialer also consolidates your call logs.
There are a ton of memo apps in the market. Personally I love Gnotes. It syncs with google, saves everything, is easy to use, and you can inbed pics, etc.
I don't know about the spen. So far I've only used it to make cute pics to send to my wife and to draw up soccer drills and practice plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, unfortunately I do need to use a PIN or some other form of security. I just don't think it makes any sense to require a PIN if I already entered one and then make a phone call. It's just silly that Android would require a PIN if you're clearly using the phone (on a call). Apparently Google thinks that using the phone does not include being on a phone call. Absurd.
As for your advice about using the magnifying glass, it doesn't work. Because if you pull up the contact via the magnifying glass, you cannot dial from it (swipe right for dial, left for text like you would if you clicked the text box at the top of the phone). You have to click on it and then click once again on what you would like to do. Not sure why it's like that but there are a lot of Android "features" that leave me scratching my head.
I'll give Gnote a try. Thanks!
pj737 said:
I tried the program Big Font but unfortunately while the font size decreases, it does nothing to decrease the size of the useless silhouette image next to the contact name. So I still only get 6 contacts per massive page. I'm hoping there is another solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't mix up Google and Samsung. You see Samsung customizes the Android OS, and the stock contacts app is different than the stock Google one. Everything you see is what Samsung did not Google.
If you don't like it I suggest you switch phones or you try third-party apps like exdialer(excontacts comes with it), and it is a very popular choice people use as an alternative. Also, I if you have rooted your phone you can change the DPI, so everything will be smaller and more things can fit on the screen, but like I said you will need ROOT. Download a DPI changer app and go for 240dpi.
Sent from my GT-i9220 using Tapatalk
Or if you're brave enough you can always change the lcd density in the build.prop but beware if you make a mistake editing It will brake the rom and unless you have it backed up like in cwm you'll be forced to flash it to bring it back to life.
Sent from my awesome Galaxy Note!
roloracer said:
Or if you're brave enough you can always change the lcd density in the build.prop but beware if you make a mistake editing It will brake the rom and unless you have it backed up like in cwm you'll be forced to flash it to bring it back to life.
Sent from my awesome Galaxy Note!
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Click to collapse
Just use LCD resolution from the market. Much simpler for a novice
So, can anything be done with the Small Apps? (I think that's what it's called - the little buttons @ the bottom that you can use to bring up the calculator or the remote control?)
I wouldn't mind it being there if I could select what it did - personally, I have not planned to use my tablet as a giant calculator and do very little arithmetic while using it. Also, I don't really need to use it as a giant remote control (though it's cool that I could, I guess). And the browser would actually be handy if it didn't only open to a tiny blank window.
Anyone know of a way to change the apps that this offers, or failing that, to turn it off altogether? Haven't seen anything except some implications that you can't remove it, but I'm always optimistic...
Hi, how is it for all the years android has now been around. In what must be millions of iterations and formats.
Regardless whether it be on a small device or large touch screen.
One constant has been universal.
Whenever we try to type on the screen, whether its a dedicated app or a text box in facebook, the designers and developers have seen fit to grace us with the most painfully idiotic text select tools and the most ridiculously small box to type in that could ever possibly be imagined.
What you think is half a screen of real estate to compose your master piece, once clicked, a text box magically pops up a tiny java esq stamp sized patch, and an infuriating scrolling box that lets you read three whole words at a time.
Does anyone know a reason why this is? or what can be done about it?
I would surly love to know. And is it due to android interpreting the requirements of the app/webpage.
Or the other way around.
Thankfully xda is one of the very few exception websites
And sorry if this isnt the correct section to ask.
I am late to the Dell Venue 8 7840 party as I just bought mine three days ago. What a beautiful tablet and absolutely gorgeous display. However, I think that the text is just a little too small for my likings so I wanted to do something about it. Well, you first have to root your device which is kind of a nightmare if you ask me (after updating to Lollipop 5.1).
My first attempt at changing the resolution was through editing the build.prop and adding a value of "ro.sf.lcd_density=360" since the default density is 320. Anyways, every time you reboot it just is completely ignored.
I take no blame for anything that goes wrong with this.
So here's how you change the DPI:
1) Get root by following this most recent root tutorial. You will need to install "Busy-Box" as mentioned in that tutorial.
2) Install a terminal emulator such as "Terminal Emulator" or "Termux" from the Play Store
3) Start the terminal program
4) Type "su" and press enter. NOTE: You will need to grant your terminal emulator root access after you press enter.
5) Type "wm density" and press enter. You will see the default density of "320".
6) Type "wm density xxx" where xxx is the density you want to switch to such as 360. Basically anything above 320 is larger, anything below 320 is smaller.
Once you type the command such as "wm density 360" it instantly applies it. It also survives a reboot so please be careful to type the command exactly as it is supposed to be typed and do not use too small or too large of a change. If you change the density to 390 and utilize Google Now you will see that it changes format from a dual column to a single column. I prefer this look and feel plus tabs in Chrome are more normal sized to myself. Some DPI's cause text to shift off the sides of the display so it's just a matter of trying to increment or decrement by one until you reach the sweet spot.
If you want to reset it back to normal you can simply type "wm density reset".
Good luck and hopefully this helps someone.
Awesome. Looks a tad bigger but still sharp. So that's a plus.
Quick question. Do you know how to swap the menu and back soft keys? I tried switching with the..kl files and no luck.
joeminati said:
Awesome. Looks a tad bigger but still sharp. So that's a plus.
Quick question. Do you know how to swap the menu and back soft keys? I tried switching with the..kl files and no luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't looked into this myself and couldn't be of any help. I'm use to the positioning and never tried to swap them on my own.
With other high-res tablets such as the Samsung Tab Pro it is much easier to do this with one of the many apps available on the Play Store. However Texdroider and some of the others do not work; the change is not applied on reboots. By trial and error I stumbled upon Easy DPI changer, which works perfectly. It is probably applying the same change "automatically" that the op applied manually.
Hi folks,
after long searchs, compares, thoughts and headaches, my decision went for a brand new Xperia Z5c. It is my first ever just-touch phone.
I am on Android 6.0 Marshmallow now.
I guess most of you have gained some experience already, so I would be glad if someone could give me some advices on my issues:
1. I would like to have more grids on home screen, smaller icons, spaces and texts, as well as applied to all apps. Just would like to "increase" the "resolution". that "small" from settings is not small enough for me. I can reduce the icon sizes by using the Holo launcher though, but still the apps are in big sizes, like calendary, emails, status bar, settings etc.
2. I was told by the seller that I should better avoid using the quick charger, but he seemed for me like not sure. If sony offers that, why should it be bad? Is that true?
3. When I start the radio it does not end, even I try to close it through the right app button (where all the running apps are listed), it closes there but still runs in background. when I put off the ear plugs, and plug it in again, it still continues with radio. Only restarting the phone helps. What can I do that I can run it normally and close whenever I want? Or what could be the reason for that problem?
4. What simple music player can you suggest for me?
5. is it possible to record a video with HD (ready) instead of FullHD with 60Hz ? How?
Thank you in advance!
1. You can try change the dpi. If adb is installed on your computer, then connect phone to pc. Make sure USB debugging is turned on in Developer Options. Open a command window in the adb folder, and type "adb devices". If you see a device listed, you are good to go.
Then type adb shell
Then type wm density 260 or any value less than 320 (which is the default dpi). The lower, the smaller everything becomes. Then restart. You can always revert back to 320 dpi through the same process.
2. Use the quick charger
3. There is a switch off button in radio and that must be used
4. Phonograph
5. Swipe up in camera till you get to "Video". Then tap the gear icon at the bottom right. Select any resolution you want
Sent from my E5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Sadman Khan said:
1. You can try change the dpi. If adb is installed on your computer, then connect phone to pc. Make sure USB debugging is turned on in Developer Options. Open a command window in the adb folder, and type "adb devices". If you see a device listed, you are good to go.
Then type adb shell
Then type wm density 260 or any value less than 320 (which is the default dpi). The lower, the smaller everything becomes. Then restart. You can always revert back to 320 dpi through the same process.
2. Use the quick charger
3. There is a switch off button in radio and that must be used
4. Phonograph
5. Swipe up in camera till you get to "Video". Then tap the gear icon at the bottom right. Select any resolution you want
Sent from my E5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Click to collapse
Sadman Khan! Thank you ALOT for the help, and quick and direct reply!
For these 2 points:
1. dpi is ok now, worked like a charm, icons and texts on apps got smaller as I wished. so simple! Since I can not set grid size and reduce the spaces between the icons with Xperia Launcher, is it ok that I am using Holo Launcher (which is probably old? I am careful in installing apps to avoid high memory usages and slow down) just because of that? (I admittedly do not know other way, and I don't know whether it is normal. just pity that the weather widget is not so beautiful anymore, but is still ok.)
5. I didn't write correct, excuses. I mean: I can use 60 frames per second only on FullHD, I wished I could use for normal HD also 60. On the camera app it is just for FullHD available. What app can you suggest me to make use of it on a one lower resolution if there is no way with the current app? (I prefer more frames to resolution, in order to save a bit from file sizes.)