The reason I DON'T have an Android phone yet is because of a failing in Android navigation on a website that is important to me. Let me describe the situation.
A website that I frequent returns a display with a scrollbar on the far right side. Within the same display is a smaller "box" that also has a scrollbar. For those of you who are "show me" types, go to tvguide.com, click on "What's on TV", put in a zipcode, cable, pick a cable provider, select "all premium channels" (or whatever) then Go. The resulting "small box" is the one with the individual channel listings on it. Tell me what's on channel 45.
How do I navigate within the smaller box? If you touch the screen and move your finger "down" the big display moves down. I want the small display to move down.
The iPad, on the same website, has the same problem. But I accidentally discovered that if I touch the screen inside the small box with TWO FINGERS, spread a little apart, (like I am going to zoom in or zoom out), but keep the fingers exactly the same distance apart, and move BOTH of them down or up at one time, the small display moves up and down, while the big display stays the same.
Does that make sense? I have tried the two-finger method on TMo's newest Android phone, but can't get the bottom of the small box. TMobile says "tap the small screen first" but all that does on either of the two websites is "select" that line/television show.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
TonyMo
Is the site optimized for mobile devices?
Try doing a double tap in the small box. That's what I do in situations like this. It usually works.
Sent from my DINC2
I would suggest trying a different browser. I know you may not have that option (since you don't own and Android device? Guessing you're borrowing?) but I use Dolphin HD and it works flawlessly. When I open the page you mention (tvguide.com) the scroll inside and outside the smaller widow work independently. This on a device running Android 2.3
No, neither website is (apparently) mobile-friendly. Then again, I'm not a fan of mobile-direct websites. They usually lack the content that I am looking for. Not a fan of "apps" because I don't want to have to have an app for every website I visit. I want a mobile browser that does whatever an immobile browser does! I want it all. And I want it now!
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$$ screen that for the most part demands two handed control.
Sent from my awesome Galaxy Note!
Do you have to use a PIN?
Go to settings, display, screen timeout. You can change how quickly or slowly your screen times out on you.
On your contacts app, just hit the magnifying glass at the bottom right and it'll pull up your keyboard and search function. Or there's teh alphabet running down the right hand side, just click on the letter the name starts with. Or for more customization and ease, install exdialer. It looks good, easy to use, font is small, etc. Exdialer also consolidates your call logs.
There are a ton of memo apps in the market. Personally I love Gnotes. It syncs with google, saves everything, is easy to use, and you can inbed pics, etc.
I don't know about the spen. So far I've only used it to make cute pics to send to my wife and to draw up soccer drills and practice plans.
esincho said:
U have a button dedicated to search at the bottom. I use dw contacts. Not the cheapest solution but very customizable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll give it a try. Does the phone still maintain its ability to keep a log and back up the calls to my computer?
roloracer said:
There's an app to increase/decrease font size, I haven't used it but I saw someone mentioning it here the other day, the alarm is fine, I have never had any issues with any android alarm, and you can add as many alarms as you want, I get up at 3am to go to work and I can't ever be late so I have set like 4 alarms to go off in set times in order so if I don't hear one the others will follow.
As the issue with being able to reach the full length of the screen one handed , it is what it is, a big a$$ 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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use LCD resolution from the market. Much simpler for a novice
I am relatively new to Android so my first exposure is via this Motorola Photon 4G. I've had an iPhone for years and I have become so accustom to typing on it. It seems a lot more fluid and responsive. I can type paragraphs of text relatively error free. But with Android (or maybe its this Photon), I barely can get through two sentences.
I don't know if it is the stock dictionary installed or what, but the suggestions are always off, and it frequently puts periods in the middle of my sentences. That could be just a layout thing, but I don't know? Granted, I know you can download different text apps (like Chomp) to get iPhone type themes, but I'm talking about just basic typing more so than a theme. Like if I'm in an email, typing a note, editing a Word doc, anything.
Is there something I can install that would help? Forgive me for the noob-ness of that question.
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marriedandwhatnot.wordpress.com
Yeah, I get the random periods as well, but I've never used an iOS soft keyboard. Stock and SwiftKey do that. Google Swype, sign up for the beta (it's free). It's a whole different kind of typing. It's got its own faults, but it's far more efficient than any tapping solution I've seen. Though the ICS keyboard is a little better in knowing where you want your fingers to go than in GB, but you don't need ICS just to type.
I tried Swype and just couldn't get into it. Didn't seem natural.
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marriedandwhatnot.wordpress.com
Hi,
This is a thing that has annoyed me with Android from the start, but after a lot of searching, I have not found a way to disable or stop the behavior.
So my problem is that with all versions of Android and all the web browsers for Android I have tried, web pages always zoom in when you select a text entry field on a web page.
So for example on my Note 3 and Nexus 7 I go to, say theregister.co.uk. The phone /tab is in landscape mode and the page is set to a zoom where all the article titles are legible. There is a search field at the top right hand corner of the web page which is also a a legible size. I select it to enter text and the screen is zoomed in so that the field fills the whole of the screen, that is not filled by the keyboard.
If any of the text I start to enter brings up any suggestions, due to the zoom level, they are lost behind the soft keyboard. I zoom out to look at them and they dis-pear. I select the text field again to add or delete text, to make those suggestions come up again and I get zoomed in to far again. I then give up put the phone or tablet down and use a windows laptop etc instead.
Now I understand why this would have been desirable initially in Android, when phones had small screens and on ones with small screens today, but why is this needed on larger screens or even tablets?
It makes things like posting this forum post very frustrating on an Android device. I know there is an App for XDA, but is is not a powerful as using the forum direct through a web page. So I cannot replace having a windows etc PC around as Android does not give comparable web page interaction experience.
So I wanted to know if anyone knew of a way of disabling this behavior if so desired? Or if there is a browser out there where this does not happen?
I am running Android x86 (therefore, rooted by default) on my laptop, with a Desktop Mode launcher installed, this allowing me to running multiple app instances on-screen at the same time in the form of little windows.
I managed to install the same game three times and have them each open as if we're three individual apps.
Now, I wish to fully automate my tap farming by perfectly aligning these three app windows on top of one another, and then commanding a macro to continuously click on the given XY screen position.
With my initial question above, my goal is to have the three identical games farm at the exact same time, with a certain button within the games each being pressed at the same time regardless of which window is at the front or back the screen.
I hope this question makes sense. I want to know if this is all possible with the way Android is designed, and if there exists any software that does exactly this. If possible, but no available app, I am ready for negotiations from a dev.