[Q] Using i717 as in car GPS/mp3 player - AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717

I've got 2 Notes to play with as my gf and I both got new phones last week. One is going up for sale but the other is staying around as a backup device incase one of us (her) breaks our phone. I wanted to repurpose it to act as GPS and audio source in the work van. It currently runs Liquidsmooth 4.4 which I was happy with as a phone ROM.
Question is does anyone know of an even slimmer ROM since I do not need phone functions at all? Would it even make a difference if I was to strip it down to the functions I want to lighten it up?
Pretty much all I need is tablet functions, my S5 will provide wifi for streaming. Even the browser is extraneous, beyond Pandora and Play Music I won't need much besides Maps.
The device will work fine for me with full LS, but I was curious how light I could get the ROM. I've never tried such a thing.
Drew

delawaredrew said:
I've got 2 Notes to play with as my gf and I both got new phones last week. One is going up for sale but the other is staying around as a backup device incase one of us (her) breaks our phone. I wanted to repurpose it to act as GPS and audio source in the work van. It currently runs Liquidsmooth 4.4 which I was happy with as a phone ROM.
Question is does anyone know of an even slimmer ROM since I do not need phone functions at all? Would it even make a difference if I was to strip it down to the functions I want to lighten it up?
Pretty much all I need is tablet functions, my S5 will provide wifi for streaming. Even the browser is extraneous, beyond Pandora and Play Music I won't need much besides Maps.
The device will work fine for me with full LS, but I was curious how light I could get the ROM. I've never tried such a thing.
Drew
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have TiBu, you could freeze anything you dont use. Dont want to delete as you dont really know what itty bitty things you may need for functionality.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using xda app-developers app

captemo said:
If you have TiBu, you could freeze anything you dont use. Dont want to delete as you dont really know what itty bitty things you may need for functionality.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was thinking the same. I was hoping someone had built a ROM off the media player Samsung made but no evidence of it. For the time being I'm just gonna run LS with no unnecessary apps added. I may reinstall it with the bare minimum of GApps to further clean it up but I kinda like the idea of having a mini tablet for the work day. Because the S5 and Nexus 7 I carry just aren't enough!
It might even be a good reason to try to learn to build a ROM myself although very few people would need it. I've always wanted to try it.

So my experiment in repurposing a Note as my GPS isn't going very well. It has a fresh 4.4 install with almost no unnecessary apps. I've disabled all the apps that I can.
I use the S5 as a hotspot to feed data, since although you can cache Google Maps apparently you can't search them without data. Other free GPS apps have not panned out well either. The open source maps they use are often missing street addresses and/or whole streets. I may spend a few $ on a prepaid SIM to to solve this.
1st - Battery Life is horrible, I can't figure out why. I'm running LiquidSmooth which gave me great battery life as a phone, even using GPS didn't drain like it does now. I even bought a new battery to try to rule that out. 1 hour of driving up to Seattle today killed 50% of the battery. Perhaps the lack of cell connection is a problem here but even wifi with airplane mode enabled (yes you can do this) this setup eats battery at a rate faster than the charger can supply. I can use a 2A charger but am low on outlets and work would dislike a hardwired charger.
2nd - Frequent reboots when using any music player while using GPS. I've tried Apollo, Play Music, PowerAmp and a few I don't recall. Players work OK; GPS works ok; but together... I rarely get more than 15 minutes with no reboots. If I can't have music and GPS it defeats the point of this.
3rd - The screen just isn't bright enough, in the few sunny days we've had it is difficult to see the maps in some lights. I dislike spoken directions (see #4) so this is a real problem and likely what will doom this plan since I can't change this.
4th - Spoken directions are the same volume as whatever media I am listening to, so they regularly blare out repetitive instructions at high volume.
5th - I need a better keyboard to operate the device at a distance since Google voice search is not good at understanding addresses.
Any ideas to mitigate these issues are welcome; I especially dislike the battery and reboot problems. Perhaps I'll install the mini or micro GApps package to dump some unneeded Google Apps?
It's only been a few days but if this stuff continues I will not keep using it as I already opt to not turn it on sometimes because it likes to reboot at crucial times. Unfortunately I modded my proper GPS cradle to hold the Note so a new GPS may be in order.

Related

[Q] Awesome setups and must have apps?

I've had my gtab now for over a month and I just installed my first ROM last week. I went with the Calkulin+Clemsyn V6 for the 1.2 BL. So far I have to say I love it but I don't know what it really excels at. Therefore, I thought maybe you guys could help a noob out and at the same time be able to do a bit of bragging about how bad a$$ your tablet is. What I would like to know is:
1. Share with the community about your bad a$$ setup. What do you have? What can it do? What makes it so bad a$$? And what are its cons?
2. What are some of the must have apps? What makes them a must have?
3. Can someone tell me what my ROM really excels at doing? Every ROM is especially good for something? What can mine do other than just being really fast and stable?
Just thought this would be fun for everyone to see what each of us have done with such a powerful blank slate and at the same time maybe get some ideas from each other on how to improve our own setups. Not to mention maybe a bit of bragging, which we all like to do, especially when you have an audience that can appreciate it. I try to brag to my gf about how bad a$$ the gtab is but since she knows nothing about tech toys, it is lost on her. So everyone whip out there metaphorical "you know what" and let's start measuring lol.
Well, speed and stability really is a universal need for you to do anything. I use mine for presentations, showing people autocad sketches, and reading and writing stuff at work. It really is a cheap and light weight way for me to achieve most of the things I'd normally do with a laptop.
My "girlfriend" just finished her graduate degree in something medical (trying to keep a level of anonymity here). She's a tech dummy, so I got her a transformer with a docking station for her to deal daily with her patients.
I use mine for research and school. I use adobe PDF to review lecture notes, I use Droidiris to search the web for pictures of medical $hit I have to learn (and just searching images too, searching "lazers" gave me an hour of solid lolz)
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
I'm running a red&black theme with a red glowing Keyboard, black&white background and black and white app icons. Its a simple mix of black,white,and red that to me is sassy as hell.
I use wiimote controller app to play snes and GBA games with a wiimote through Bluetooth. (Which blows people away when they see it)
I got Netflix, I got hulu and I got xda access, I am in love with this 2lb piece of plastic almost as much
as I am my wife. Luckily my wife has the specific ports needed to mount my other tab and transfer
data to internal SD.
Yes... we have a kid...
That's why that last part is funny.... not just because I said "mount" in a non technical refference but that I referenced her lady bits as internal SD and my genes as data.
Sounds pretty sweet
Mantara said:
I use mine for research and school. I use adobe PDF to review lecture notes, I use Droidiris to search the web for pictures of medical $hit I have to learn (and just searching images too, searching "lazers" gave me an hour of solid lolz)
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
I'm running a red&black theme with a red glowing Keyboard, black&white background and black and white app icons. Its a simple mix of black,white,and red that to me is sassy as hell.
I use wiimote controller app to play snes and GBA games with a wiimote through Bluetooth. (Which blows people away when they see it)
I got Netflix, I got hulu and I got xda access, I am in love with this 2lb piece of plastic almost as much
as I am my wife. Luckily my wife has the specific ports needed to mount my other tab and transfer
data to internal SD.
Yes... we have a kid...
That's why that last part is funny.... not just because I said "mount" in a non technical refference but that I referenced her lady bits as internal SD and my genes as data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your gtab sounds pretty sweet. The Netflix and Hulu are a couple of the things that I would like for mine to do. It may do those things now, but I haven't tried them yet. I like the customization with the colors that you did. It sounds like you have taken yours in a direction similar to where I would like to see mine at some point. I'm trying to learn which ROM does what, and what makes one better than another. Once I get that all figured out, I'll make my customization a bit more permanant. This is awesome. You guys keep posting your own bada$$ gtablet setups and customizations. I look forward to reading about them.
Mantara said:
My gtab is badazz because I'm running the latest compile of cm7, I have used system app remover to cut all bloatware out of the os. This has resulted in an average 5% drain per hour in active use and a 2% per hour drain in stasis and a quadrant of 3450.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a list/remember what you removed?
diablokicks said:
Do you have a list/remember what you removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this as a guide,
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Barebones
It tells you what's safe to remove and what's not from cyanogen mods. It also tells you the free way to remove apps using terminal. I personally use system app uninstaller, it was a buck and is a worthwhile investment. Sets up a slick UI for deleting both system apps and normal apps.
In most cases if you have a favorite browser(I use dolphin 5.1) you can delete stock. Same with keyboard(I use better keyboard 8), launcher(I use VTL), video player(I use FLV player), music player (I use power amp).
Other things like private virtual network or stock live wallpapers that most don't use can go in the bin as well.
Hope that helps
As far as customization goes cm7 has a good theming app stock and free themes in the market. Vegan 5.1 has some sweet themes made by GTO777 in the apps and themes thread.
When I was shopping for ROMs GoodIntentions suggested that I might like Calkulin/Clemsym 1.5 V6. He was right. I like it for what I've been able to do with it. I didn't want to start customizing my tab just willy nilly without knowing what my ROM's capability was. Maybe you guys could point me in the right direction if I tell you what I want to do. Then you could tell me if it's even possible to do it with this ROM. I would like to be able to run the dolphin browser but was unable to find it in the market. I would aso like to be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, and various formats of video (Xvid, Avi, Mp4, etc.). The swype keyboard found on my cell phone would also be awesome. I'd like to be able to connect to my cell via bluetooth so that I could put the pictures and video from it on my gtab. This blows my mind why this simply doesn't work out of the box. Finally I would like to tether to my cell via USB. The reason I want it USB is because my phone gets really hot when tethering with wifi, which will cause the phone to shut down. Not to mention it can't be good for it. Please help me out guys and keep posting your setups too. Mantara has some great ideas he used in making his tab personal and it gets me thinking of stuff to do to mine.
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
Netflix only works on cm7 with some slight modifications and vegan 5.1 with a patch that breaks YouTube to get Netflix.
Hulu is available by using a modified flash apk. You can find the most recent modified apk on this thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1077914
you just need to turn flash to always on and user agent to desktop in your browser.
Here is dolphin 4.6, not the newest but its stable and plays well with hulu. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7828279/Dolphin Browser HD_4.6.1.apk
I heard there is a swype designed for tablets. Haven't used it yet but I know there is a thread in apps and themes all about getting swype to work.
That's all I can think of now, I wil edit if I think of anything more
Using Easytether
Mantara said:
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
I've been able to tether my laptop to my phone using Easytether. It works really well eventhough it's a free version. The thing is that requires software to be loaded on both the phone and the laptop. That software on the phone is for Windows so I haven't figured out how to make it work in the gTablet. Is Barnacle different in how it functions? Is there software for both the phone and the tablet? Explain how it works if you don't mind. I would love to figure this out.
As a side note, I would love to see a picture of your tablet homepage and keyboard. Could you get a screen shot? I gotta check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DarkHorse281 said:
Mantara said:
Have you used barnacle to tether? Using barnacle to tether through wifi on my OG mytouch 3G never overheated and battery drain was reasonable. It was the only one that worked for extended periods of time.
I've been able to tether my laptop to my phone using Easytether. It works really well eventhough it's a free version. The thing is that requires software to be loaded on both the phone and the laptop. That software on the phone is for Windows so I haven't figured out how to make it work in the gTablet. Is Barnacle different in how it functions? Is there software for both the phone and the tablet? Explain how it works if you don't mind. I would love to figure this out.
As a side note, I would love to see a picture of your tablet homepage and keyboard. Could you get a screen shot? I gotta check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's some quick shots. Color Is odd because the crap free screen shot app is crap and couldn't get shots of red browser theme or the red and black Google Widgets and powerstrip because said crappy app only allows 3 free screen shots. But you can get the point from the pics I did get.
I see,your phone is win mob, barnacle is for android phones. No software on recipient end, only on parent phone. Works good though, I used to play Xbox 360 online through my barnacle adhoc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, I went back and reread my previous post. I made no sense. I have a Samsung Galaxy Indulge a la MetroPCS. So it is an Android phone. The problem is the software that I suppose I would need to load on the tablet to tether it to the phone. I had to do it to the laptop so it would connect to the phone, so it only make ssense that I should have to do it to the tablet as well. I have Easytether on my phone, no problem. What about software for the tablet? The laptop software is for windows so I can't load it on the tablet, and the software on the phone isn't what I need for the tablet even though they are both android. Seems really confusing, but it's really quite simple. Maybe it would be easier if you told me how you were able to make this connection using a barnacle USB connection. No wifi. Make sense lol?
Nice looking tablet by the way. I looked for some themes or skins for mine but I'm using VTL launcher and everything in the market says it's for ADW launcher. My name must have been Murphy ina previous life lol. Thanks for your help and input.
Most adw themes work in vtl. Vtl is built around adw source.
Barnicle makes a wifi connection available for your gtab to use. It links to your phones wifi and passes on its 3g signal. Only need to have barnacle on the phone. I have never actually "physically" tethered an android so I can't offer any advice on that.
I'm kinda screwed there I guess. I haven't rooted my phone yet, so it won't act like a wifi hot spot. Power control plus will do it but no one can break the wp2 encryption. Therefore I'm limited to the usb tether but those that have rooted their phones report extreme heat coming from it while in wifi tether mode. Not sure what to do about an internet connection since there appears to be no usb software at this moment. Thanks for the help though.
Are there no more cool gtabs out there that you guys would like to share. I can't believe that you guys aren't more proud of your work and that you aren't will ing to share your efforts with the Android community.
I replaced the viewsonic 3 birds logo with a united federation of planets in star trek logo. And for the boot animation, I made my own star trek computer console look-alike animation that says establishing link to main federation database.
DarkHorse281 said:
Are there no more cool gtabs out there that you guys would like to share. I can't believe that you guys aren't more proud of your work and that you aren't will ing to share your efforts with the Android community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to be a thread crapper, but there are tons of threads here on these forums with apps, etc. For example, there's one which has peoples' home screens. Perhaps you should check those out.
read that thread...not what I'm looking for
TarheelGrad1998 said:
Not to be a thread crapper, but there are tons of threads here on these forums with apps, etc. For example, there's one which has peoples' home screens. Perhaps you should check those out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read through that thread and it only focuses on themes and home page screen shots. I want to know what people have been able to make their tablets do as well as seeing some of the visual stuf they've come up with. An example of what I'm talking about is some have synced their SMS with google voice and are able to use their tables to text. Some are making phone calls, using skype, watching hulu and netflix, and some have even turned their tabs into mobile nostalgia gaming devices. There are tutorials on how to do some of this stuff, but not all of it. I am interested in meeting these people and seeing how well these operations function, and how they did it. The other thread doesn't share this information and rreally doesn't go beyond the visual aspect of the homescreen. I hav noticed one thing for sure in these forum and that is that people love to brag about what they can do with thier tablets. I was merely offering them an opportunity to do so. What can yours do?

[Q] Android version of iTouch.. Will a used Fascinate fit the bill?

I live in a poor radio reception area, so I'm thinking of streaming internet radio stations over WiFi while doing yard work. Sort of a WiFi walkman.
An iTouch would work, but I have tons of android apps & games.
The galaxy player is nice, but that's kinda overkill.
So I thought a used smartphone would be a perfect choice.
One that has good WiFi range, and enough power to run games.
Nothing heavy gaming wise, I have a Nook Color running 99% of the games I like just fine, so anything comparable would do.
After looking around, the Galaxy S family seemed to be a pretty good choice, and lots of used Fascinate phones are on ebay for around $100.
So here I am, with a few questions...
Is the (Verizon) Fascinate a good choice, or are there better (or cheaper) versions from other carriers? Keep in mind I'm not ever going to use this as a phone, so even a bad ESN would work for me, right?
How about wifi range?
Are there any problems I haven't thought of.... if I flash something like CM7, can I run apps, media, etc. without Verizon ?
In other words, will this run apps, Market, like my CM7 Nook Color?
Is there a better place than ebay to look for one?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Howdy!
First off, I use the Galaxy S Fasciante, and it is a pretty decent phone. I picked it up for $90 used, had some scratches on the screen, and dings, but not too shabby. [Ended up having to get the main board replaced a week b4 the warranty ended, but that is another story]
Unfortunately, from what I've experienced so far [owned the fascinate for maybe 1.5 months], my fascinate does not seem to do as well for wifi as my previous Droid X2, and, I am not sure, [Need to do a side-by-side comparison] my iPod touch 4.
That being said, I would suggest flashing either JT's vanilla GB, or maybe TSM Pool Party [I am still experimenting with the latter as of last week], because the stock is bloated.
You can still use the Market, Gmail, and all that by flashing the gapps package after flashing the rom. But if you decide the stock rom is good enough, I believe it should be fine as far as using it without a cell phone plan.
One thing though, if you wipe the data, and it's not on a plan, it will prompt you to "activate your phone"
Of course, it will fail, and will not let you into the os until it's active. So what I did when I was in this situation was look up the code to bypass activation. Just google "fascinate bypass activation" and you will find threads with the number you dial. cool beans
oh and as far as where to look for one, yes, ebay is fine, also you might check Craigslist. That's where I bought 2 android phones, and 2 laptops within 12 months.
and one more thing on the wifi, I am not sure if my wifi is just abnormally weak, or if that's how it is. anyone else care to elaborate how their wifi experiences have been?
Thanks mvmacd, that's just the info I needed!
I just went ahead and ordered a Fascinate on eBay a couple hours ago.
Reading other posts, the weak WiFi was mentioned, but I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue, and can be improved with a ROM.
If all else fails, I might get by with dusting off an old Linksys WRT54G router and using it as a repeater.
That tip on the activation bypass is something new to me, as this is the first phone I've messed with. All WiFi tablets up till now.
I assume that only applies to the stock Fascinate, so if I flash CM7, I won't have to worry about activation, right?
cm7 based Roms which were ported mostly by jt1134, have a lot of reverse engineering hacks for the phones hardware because there is no source code for that type of stuff. There are also Touchwiz based roms which run on the stock hardware configuration from Samsung, and are rooted, debloated, and there are kernels for those roms with voodoo Lagfix which make the phone about 3x faster than factory. It could have better wifi range with the stock hardware drivers than with jt's. With what you're going to use it for a Touchwiz ROM is best imho as the battery life was also superior when compared to CM7 roms on this phone.
Also the fascinate has very good headphone hardware, which supercurio turned into a audiophile quality experience with voodoo sound. When I move on to the galaxy nexus I will be keeping my fascinate for music.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
Wow! you guys have given me a lot if good info.
I'm getting a clearer picture of the Fascinate/Samsung hardware ROM development now.
Like I said, I'm new to phones. Different animals from the WiFi tablets I'm used to (Viewsonic Gtablet and BN Nook Color).
I'll look for a Touchwiz ROM with lagfix then.
BTW, other posts concerning the weak WiFi mentioned an app called WiFi Fixer.
Looks promising. Lots of positive reviews.
Makes me wonder, does this have to do with the ROM choosing to switch to 3G, and apps like WiFi Fixer just lock on to WiFi?
Maybe I'm cynical, but knowing Big Red, maybe their software is partial to a paid data plan over WiFi.
My Fascinate has a weaker signal.compared to 2 of my iPod touch 2g and 4g, My iPod touches would have 4 bars while my fascinate would only have 2. Never tried using any app or hacks to boost the signal since I use 3g but I know that EH03 gave me better signal as a phone compared to the older radios.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Also. If you want to pack a sd card full of music, and don't care what version of Android you have. I will suggest the dj05 superdark ROM. It is eclair "before Froyo". But I would go a full 8 hour day at work listening to music and still have 80% battery when I got home. wifi would drain a little faster, but any ROM in the dj05 service release is well known to have seemingly impossible battery life. at least by anyone who had the phone that early. If it was not for the want of running apps that require newer versions of Android I would still be on that ROM.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
SpinKix said:
Thanks mvmacd, that's just the info I needed!
I just went ahead and ordered a Fascinate on eBay a couple hours ago.
Reading other posts, the weak WiFi was mentioned, but I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue, and can be improved with a ROM.
If all else fails, I might get by with dusting off an old Linksys WRT54G router and using it as a repeater.
That tip on the activation bypass is something new to me, as this is the first phone I've messed with. All WiFi tablets up till now.
I assume that only applies to the stock Fascinate, so if I flash CM7, I won't have to worry about activation, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you probably won't need it, but just for reference, here's how to bypass activation on stock rom:
press emergency call button,
then at the dialer,
press *#83786633,
then press the Home key
As far as the rest of the roms, I do believe the other roms have a "Skip activation" button, so you do not have to worry about it.
Oh, one more thing. Developers are working on an ICS port [Android 4.0] for the fascinate! They released Build 6 just two days ago, and I am seriously considering trying it out.
edit: the ICS rom is epic. Not sure if I am getting worse battery life or not, but it is stable and looks way cooler.
Just got the phone... and it turns out I needed the code right off the bat.
Also every time I power it back on.
You saved the day!
Now I'm trying to get my head around all the Roms, Kernels, Voodoo, Red, Blue, GEEWIZ, KGB, ODIN, Heimdall, DJ05, EH03, Deodexed......... ARRRRgh!!
Like cramming for a final, I've been through glossaries, acronyms, guides, tutorials, faq for days.
Tablets were easy, just load a file on the sd card and restore.
I never knew you could mix roms, & kernels.
I'm going to start with ODIN, get rooted and load CWM and do a nandroid backup.
Also get ADB tested just in case. I also have a rough idea about voodoo rewriting the file system to ext4, and not flashing non voodoo stuff.
I'm a noob at this stuff, so I'm sure I'll take me a while.
As for the phone, I'm really impressed with the screen and how smooth it operates. Nice hardware. It can stream CNN video where the Nook stuttered. Can't handle CNN HD though.
All in all, the used phone is in pretty good condition for $89. Couple scratches on the screen, but not too bad. Naturally, the chrome bezel looks rough, but the headphone jack is perfect, and the sound is impressive.
Still take this over an itouch any day.
I can tell this is going to take up a lot of my spare time, but it's fun.
Thanks for all your help... off I go!
Ahh you know I was kind of wondering if you would need to enter the code after each reboot..
Yeah, at first I was really confused about android, roms, kernels, and all that.. Just take it easy, and eventually you will have it all down.
If you like bleeding edge software, you might wanna take a look at this Android 4 [Ice cream sandwich] rom here. I have it running on my fascinate, and I like it
Some friendly advice..
Never use anything marked for Telus
When using Odin, always use PDA PDA PDA..... Never phone!
Nandroid only when you get a sweet setup, before flashing something new.. If the new theme, kernel, etc messes things up. nandroid restore to the rescue.
Never mix Mtd stuff with BML (Touchwiz) stuff.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium

[Q] I want my S3 to act like a real phone

Please bear with me on this - it will end up with me asking which rom to use (so, mods - if you must delete it, I've been honest up front) but I do have a specific need.
I have had my S3 since August 2012. It's been on Android 4.1 until the recent update to 4.3. All that time I have been really unhappy with the performance. I've not rooted it or changed any kernels/roms - I've been a good boy and stuck with Samsungs TouchWiz and their interpretations.
But the performance is diabolical. It can take 7 seconds (I've timed it) from when I touch the phone icon on the main screen to when the number pad appears so I can actually phone someone. Sometimes its quicker - but never less than 2 seconds. Other apps are equally as bad.
I have tried everything I can think of to speed it up. I've got no animation (I've enabled developer mode) and done anything I can see to try and make it work at a reasonable speed. I've even done a complete wipe and reset and re-loaded my apps - no difference.
OK, you say - but what are you running? Well, not much. I use my phone as a phone, to check emails (my works email, so I have to have Afaria as a security app) and to read Kindle books. Occasionally I will use it to surf the internet using Dolphin. I have a 16Gb microSD card with my music on it which I listen to when I am in the gym. I've put on MicroCPU Monitor so I can see if the CPU is clogging up (it's not). That's about it. I don't play games.
So, now we come to the question. Is there anything I can do without putting a new ROM on to make it work at what I consider a good speed? If not (and here is where the mods will get me), which ROM will give me speed? I'm not after fancy features, I just want a ROM that makes my phone work like a phone - not a lump of electronics with a mind of its own. [I do know how to root and upgrade as I have a Nexus 10, Nexus 7 and an HP TouchPad]
I would appreciate some answers or at least ask me more questions that I can go and investigate.
Thanks for any advice.
Alan
alan sh said:
Please bear with me on this - it will end up with me asking which rom to use (so, mods - if you must delete it, I've been honest up front) but I do have a specific need.
I have had my S3 since August 2012. It's been on Android 4.1 until the recent update to 4.3. All that time I have been really unhappy with the performance. I've not rooted it or changed any kernels/roms - I've been a good boy and stuck with Samsungs TouchWiz and their interpretations.
But the performance is diabolical. It can take 7 seconds (I've timed it) from when I touch the phone icon on the main screen to when the number pad appears so I can actually phone someone. Sometimes its quicker - but never less than 2 seconds. Other apps are equally as bad.
I have tried everything I can think of to speed it up. I've got no animation (I've enabled developer mode) and done anything I can see to try and make it work at a reasonable speed. I've even done a complete wipe and reset and re-loaded my apps - no difference.
OK, you say - but what are you running? Well, not much. I use my phone as a phone, to check emails (my works email, so I have to have Afaria as a security app) and to read Kindle books. Occasionally I will use it to surf the internet using Dolphin. I have a 16Gb microSD card with my music on it which I listen to when I am in the gym. I've put on MicroCPU Monitor so I can see if the CPU is clogging up (it's not). That's about it. I don't play games.
So, now we come to the question. Is there anything I can do without putting a new ROM on to make it work at what I consider a good speed? If not (and here is where the mods will get me), which ROM will give me speed? I'm not after fancy features, I just want a ROM that makes my phone work like a phone - not a lump of electronics with a mind of its own. [I do know how to root and upgrade as I have a Nexus 10, Nexus 7 and an HP TouchPad]
I would appreciate some answers or at least ask me more questions that I can go and investigate.
Thanks for any advice.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u rly wan speed over features. Aosp roms. Cyanogenmod is one of them tat has the most similarities to stock android on ur nexus.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
alan sh said:
Please bear with me on this - it will end up with me asking which rom to use (so, mods - if you must delete it, I've been honest up front) but I do have a specific need.
I have had my S3 since August 2012. It's been on Android 4.1 until the recent update to 4.3. All that time I have been really unhappy with the performance. I've not rooted it or changed any kernels/roms - I've been a good boy and stuck with Samsungs TouchWiz and their interpretations.
But the performance is diabolical. It can take 7 seconds (I've timed it) from when I touch the phone icon on the main screen to when the number pad appears so I can actually phone someone. Sometimes its quicker - but never less than 2 seconds. Other apps are equally as bad.
I have tried everything I can think of to speed it up. I've got no animation (I've enabled developer mode) and done anything I can see to try and make it work at a reasonable speed. I've even done a complete wipe and reset and re-loaded my apps - no difference.
OK, you say - but what are you running? Well, not much. I use my phone as a phone, to check emails (my works email, so I have to have Afaria as a security app) and to read Kindle books. Occasionally I will use it to surf the internet using Dolphin. I have a 16Gb microSD card with my music on it which I listen to when I am in the gym. I've put on MicroCPU Monitor so I can see if the CPU is clogging up (it's not). That's about it. I don't play games.
So, now we come to the question. Is there anything I can do without putting a new ROM on to make it work at what I consider a good speed? If not (and here is where the mods will get me), which ROM will give me speed? I'm not after fancy features, I just want a ROM that makes my phone work like a phone - not a lump of electronics with a mind of its own. [I do know how to root and upgrade as I have a Nexus 10, Nexus 7 and an HP TouchPad]
I would appreciate some answers or at least ask me more questions that I can go and investigate.
Thanks for any advice.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe this Afaria thing is causing the problem. It is a security app, so maybe it is running scans, checks etc on the background.
Since you are unrooted i dont know how you can check if it is the culprit... maybe checking your battery statistics can give an idea.
Other option would be to start fresh. Root the phone and install whichever ROM you like and check the performance without installing your apps.
Then install the apps one by one and check which one is the culprit.
*** Dont forget to Backup***
alan sh said:
Please bear with me on this - it will end up with me asking which rom to use (so, mods - if you must delete it, I've been honest up front) but I do have a specific need.
I have had my S3 since August 2012. It's been on Android 4.1 until the recent update to 4.3. All that time I have been really unhappy with the performance. I've not rooted it or changed any kernels/roms - I've been a good boy and stuck with Samsungs TouchWiz and their interpretations.
But the performance is diabolical. It can take 7 seconds (I've timed it) from when I touch the phone icon on the main screen to when the number pad appears so I can actually phone someone. Sometimes its quicker - but never less than 2 seconds. Other apps are equally as bad.
I have tried everything I can think of to speed it up. I've got no animation (I've enabled developer mode) and done anything I can see to try and make it work at a reasonable speed. I've even done a complete wipe and reset and re-loaded my apps - no difference.
OK, you say - but what are you running? Well, not much. I use my phone as a phone, to check emails (my works email, so I have to have Afaria as a security app) and to read Kindle books. Occasionally I will use it to surf the internet using Dolphin. I have a 16Gb microSD card with my music on it which I listen to when I am in the gym. I've put on MicroCPU Monitor so I can see if the CPU is clogging up (it's not). That's about it. I don't play games.
So, now we come to the question. Is there anything I can do without putting a new ROM on to make it work at what I consider a good speed? If not (and here is where the mods will get me), which ROM will give me speed? I'm not after fancy features, I just want a ROM that makes my phone work like a phone - not a lump of electronics with a mind of its own. [I do know how to root and upgrade as I have a Nexus 10, Nexus 7 and an HP TouchPad]
I would appreciate some answers or at least ask me more questions that I can go and investigate.
Thanks for any advice.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try two things.
First: root your phone.
Second: find and apk called Seeder, this apk increase your phone speed reducing the lag and really works.
Here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1987032
Standard reply first factory reset .
knarfyo said:
You could try two things.
First: root your phone.
Second: find and apk called Seeder, this apk increase your phone speed reducing the lag and really works.
Here's the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1987032
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the replies.
So far, I have done a hard reset and loaded only AI keyboard plus (my favourite keyboard). I'll have a look at Seeder as well.
Alan

How many of you are still using a Rezound?

How many of you are still using a Rezound?
I still am and it's my first and only smartphone I've ever owned. Still working great! Of course I wish some things were better (like the battery and lag) or that I had a better phone, but the Rezound has been good for me. I may get an S5 or might wait it out a little longer until the 64-bit chips come.
Still rockin' the Rezzy
I'm in about the same boat. The Rezound is my third smartphone. I had a Touch Diamond and an Ozone before, both HTC. I really like the build quality of HTC, but I'm hesitant to get another one because of the update timing questionability and the nonremovable battery trend. I am happy they added the external SD card option back with the M8, though. I don't want to risk my unlimited data and I can't afford to buy a new phone at full price right now, so I'll be sticking with the Rezound for a good time (probably at least until the end of the year) longer. Mine i is working fine still, so no worries here.
I just retired mine after a 2 1/2 year run, picked up a G2 on swappa to keep my unlimited. My Rezound was still working fine, just got tired of the poor battery life on it.
Still using my rezound, can afford to replace it but don't want to, so long as it's still usable.
Sent from my Rezound on Tachyon using xda app-developers app
mjones73 said:
I just retired mine after a 2 1/2 year run, picked up a G2 on swappa to keep my unlimited. My Rezound was still working fine, just got tired of the poor battery life on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought an extended battery for my Rez and running a custom build of LiquidSmooth 3.0, I'm quite happy with it for now. Yes, there's more capable hardware out there. But this still meets my needs for now.
We have two Rezounds that are about 2 years old and we still love them. These are our first smartphones and with the developer community doing such fine work to keep them up-to-date I can see no reason to change. The battery life has been decent enough and switching to larger screen phones isn't something we want to do. I like the extra screen real estate, but don't want the larger form factor when lugging it around.
Bill
Still using the rezound here. I too is trying to stick with this phone as long as I could with my unlimited data. But at the same time I'm long over due for a new phone.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
I still use the Rezound. Not for calling+texting+data-ing like I did for a while not so long ago, but just as my game phone for games that are too laggy on my Rugby Smart (my current actual phone for calling, texting, etc.). On a good day I can get about 1.5 hrs of battery in game play, but It's plugged into either the wall or the computer most of the time anyway so that doesn't really bother me. If my Rugby were to ever break (HIGHLY UNLIKELY, it was designed to do QUITE THE OPPOSITE), the Rezound would be my next option for a backup until I would either fix the Rugby or replace it with a device that has better battery life compared to the Rez (everyone else has nicknames for it, this is mine).
I could just get an extended battery for it, but that's like 10 whole dollars. That is 2/3 of what I paid for this phone, so it's not even worth it to me to replace anything that still works (the camera glass was a different story, i just HAD to replace that). I originally got the thing as a see-if-I-can-fix-it phone from a friend who thought it was broken forever and was able to fix the darn thing with the help of XDA. And of course, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out GSM was a hidden feature on it. Anyway, if I got an extended battery my rubber case I got with it would be too small and I'd hate to see such a nice case go to waste.
Still using the rezound and hoping to get an xperia z2 soon. Might switch carriers to T-mobile, anyone have opinions on t-mobile?
I am happy with tmobile. I got the unlimited everything plan for 45/month and coverage is great. They even let you tether to other devices! Tmobile says you only get like 500mb of tether data, but if you root your phone and use an app like Barnacle Wifi Tether you can get around that limit.
Sent from my Rugby Smart SGH-I847 on the official XDA app!
Still using my Rezound, kind of fed up with it but nothing seems worth committing to yet. The M8 is close to perfect but I'm still hesitant.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
I just upgraded to the S5 (keeping unlimited plan). I'm not holding my breath on getting a root for it - seems like the guys over there are panicking already.
I just really feel like my ReZound is still up and running because I was able to swap out the battery - the original isn't lasting much more than 8 hours on minimal use today. I feel the next phone I get needed to have a battery I could swap out as well - and the only one that currently meets that need is Samsung (unfortunately). Here's hoping that in two years, when I'm eligible for upgrade again - that HTC brings back a phone with an interchangeable battery and expandable memory or maybe even whatever Google ARA comes out as.
I am still using my rezound and plan to for a little longer right now I cant decide between htc m8 and the galaxy s5 Im trying to figure out how to keep my unlimited data. I just went to best buy and they said I cannot do the line swap to keep it so I am exploring other options. I might have to upgrade sooner than I thought though because my screen just died on my phone. I took it apart and looks like I missed some corrosion from when I dropped it in a lake 6 months ago. I ordered a replacement screen so I hope that will fix it.
it was a great short run
moved on from the rezound after only 5 months of owning it (just died in my pocket no bump on over clock normal cm11 )
great phone doe other wise in every way thank you neo and suzzo for all your works and sun dream .Got me the g pro and i am pleased with it in all areas except camera picture saturation fixed by fv5 anyway
I'm still on mine and went to Sun Dream's Rom running sense 4+4.1+5 and it is super snappy,solid and beautiful...I tried AOSP ROMs that were running 4.3+ but they were too buggy for me.
I have a hairline crack across my phone but I'm trying not to be anal and replace it...thinking about upgrading but see no good options for data plans...
Huachipato said:
I just upgraded to the S5 (keeping unlimited plan). I'm not holding my breath on getting a root for it - seems like the guys over there are panicking already.
I just really feel like my ReZound is still up and running because I was able to swap out the battery - the original isn't lasting much more than 8 hours on minimal use today. I feel the next phone I get needed to have a battery I could swap out as well - and the only one that currently meets that need is Samsung (unfortunately). Here's hoping that in two years, when I'm eligible for upgrade again - that HTC brings back a phone with an interchangeable battery and expandable memory or maybe even whatever Google ARA comes out as.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you like the S5 compared to the ReZound?
It is different - but I like it. The screen is beautiful. The interface is different - not bad or good - just not what I'm used to. I do like the home button though - long press to get Google Now and double press to get S-Voice. There are quite a bit of Samsung apps that I'm enjoying. S-Health is nice, but there is a widget that shows how many steps you have taken in the day - and for some reason it motivates me to walk more. The Smart Remote is very complete - including remote codes for my WD-Live box and drop down for every room I have in the house. There is another app call BeepNGo - where you can put all your club/membership cards on (Tom Thumb, AutoZone, etc...). The screen will show the bar code and it can be scanned at the register. There are coupons in that app as well.
NFC actually works. Verizon activates ISIS - which is like Google Wallet. There are deals on it and where it can be used. Google Wallet works as well - which is nice. I've heard in the past that Verizon locked it down - so it is nice to see it up and running.
Camera is absolutely amazing IMO. It struggles a bit in low light, but it really is a champ everywhere else. The software allows you to download more picture taking options - including now the sphere mode. The effects sometimes take a little time to correct - but at least the camera works to it's fullest (yes - taking a little jab at ReZound camera issues in Kit-Kat)...
Everything I wanted in a phone - it has it. I managed to drain the battery one day of really heavy use - but otherwise the battery does a great job. I'll be getting a spare at some point.
The root is still not found - and as a result I'm missing the native WiFi Tether - which was really cool to have on the ReZound. There is a way to get the connection using the USB cable and PDA+Net software - but it really is a backwards hack to get it up and running.
A lot of people complain about the look & feel of the phone. Quite honestly - I don't care for - the first thing I did was buy a case for it. If I had the M8 - I'd do the same thing. I will always want a cover to keep the phone from getting scuffed and better protect the screen and camera lens.
Bottom line - I like the phone a lot. I'm not going to trade the replaceable battery for the ability to root (which I feel is the current trade off at the moment).
Huachipato said:
It is different - but I like it. The screen is beautiful. The interface is different - not bad or good - just not what I'm used to. I do like the home button though - long press to get Google Now and double press to get S-Voice. There are quite a bit of Samsung apps that I'm enjoying. S-Health is nice, but there is a widget that shows how many steps you have taken in the day - and for some reason it motivates me to walk more. The Smart Remote is very complete - including remote codes for my WD-Live box and drop down for every room I have in the house. There is another app call BeepNGo - where you can put all your club/membership cards on (Tom Thumb, AutoZone, etc...). The screen will show the bar code and it can be scanned at the register. There are coupons in that app as well.
NFC actually works. Verizon activates ISIS - which is like Google Wallet. There are deals on it and where it can be used. Google Wallet works as well - which is nice. I've heard in the past that Verizon locked it down - so it is nice to see it up and running.
Camera is absolutely amazing IMO. It struggles a bit in low light, but it really is a champ everywhere else. The software allows you to download more picture taking options - including now the sphere mode. The effects sometimes take a little time to correct - but at least the camera works to it's fullest (yes - taking a little jab at ReZound camera issues in Kit-Kat)...
Everything I wanted in a phone - it has it. I managed to drain the battery one day of really heavy use - but otherwise the battery does a great job. I'll be getting a spare at some point.
The root is still not found - and as a result I'm missing the native WiFi Tether - which was really cool to have on the ReZound. There is a way to get the connection using the USB cable and PDA+Net software - but it really is a backwards hack to get it up and running.
A lot of people complain about the look & feel of the phone. Quite honestly - I don't care for - the first thing I did was buy a case for it. If I had the M8 - I'd do the same thing. I will always want a cover to keep the phone from getting scuffed and better protect the screen and camera lens.
Bottom line - I like the phone a lot. I'm not going to trade the replaceable battery for the ability to root (which I feel is the current trade off at the moment).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback.
How is the data and voice reception compared to the Rezound? I've been thinking about getting the S5, but I don't want reception issues, especially with data because where I work, the overall phone reception is less than other places, but my rezound does ok at work depending on where I place myself.
sdsubball23 said:
Thanks for your feedback.
How is the data and voice reception compared to the Rezound? I've been thinking about getting the S5, but I don't want reception issues, especially with data because where I work, the overall phone reception is less than other places, but my rezound does ok at work depending on where I place myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's about the same. Maybe slightly stronger, but not much of a difference.
Still using mine, hope it lasts until I get a OnePlus One.

So much better after factory reset... Lollipop LG G3

OK, so this probably won't come as a surprise to anyone, but since there's a lot of complaints about the LG G3 after Lollipop update I figured I'd share my experience.
I got a first run LG G3 from Sprint. I had certain issues with it from the start, including volume problems, knock code responsiveness issues and lag with switching screens or between apps at times, connection issues when plugging the headphone jack into other devices and overall clunkiness.
I figured I just got a dud, since most people were happy with the device and didn't experience all these issues together... separately maybe, but not together. I lived with it. I stopped using knock code and went to a pattern. I got used to the volume being abysmal and didn't plug my phone into my car or mixing board at the studio... I stopped using certain apps. Even with all the gripes this was still a far superior device to my (once beloved) Galaxy SIII.
Then I got the lollipop update and was haunted by crazy amounts of lag as well as the aforementioned issues. I was hoping it would get better, but instead it got worse... and you can add crazy battery drain to the mix. I mean, ridiculous amounts of battery drain.
I decided it would be best to download the LG Sync software to my Mac and install a clean version on Lollipop. I remember with the Samsung Kies application I was able to install a clean version that would remove all older versions of the software and install the latest version.
Unfortunately, no matter what I did I couldn't get the mac to recognize my G3... and from what I could tell, it actually wouldn't let me install a software version anyway.
I finally decided to do a factory reset and full backup. I used the stock LG Backup that's native on the device. It worked easily and before long everything was backed up to my SD card. Then with fingers crossed I did the factory reset.
I reinstalled my backed up items and everything looked as it should. Even the desktop folders and wallpapers were right on! The only thing I had to setup again were my gmail accounts and my lock screen settings.
I can't tell you how awesome my phone is working now! Battery is lasting a full day (more or less) with normal use and the screens are buttery smooth.
Apps are opening fast - even Spotify which used to really take forever to load - even with music downloaded on the device.
The volume issues are a thing of the past... only gripe is I would love a native EQ - I digress.
Even my network seems to be quicker... not sure how/why that would be. Could just be things loading quicker giving the appearance of faster network.
Anyway, this really did solve my issues. As a rule of thumb from now on I'm going to do a factory reset whenever I get a brand new device... just in case.
I probably could have solved all the issues I had prior to Lollipop had I done this sooner.
Hope this is useful to some... if not, sorry to waste your time.
Thanks for this XDA site. It's been super helpful to me.
Rick
Great story. I am sure lots of people will find this information useful. I have been very lucky with my G3 and have not had any issues at all. I have been rooted and running a custom ROM since we got recovery, but even still, it is nice to know that end users/power users are finding solutions to problems and are willing to share. Again... Good write up.

Categories

Resources