Related
Okay, so I've been dabbling with app development for a while now but I haven't found the motivation to actually work on a sizable project. I just don't have any good or interesting ideas.
So, I'm turning to you, XDA. Are there any apps that you'd like to see exist? Or any apps that you use that you'd like to see a better version of?
I'm not promising to actually do these and release them, I'm just looking for ideas to motivate myself to start on a project. Obviously, if I actually get something worthy of release, I'll share it.
So, any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I have way too many ideas and lack motivation lol I also have a very screwed up memory, like right now I can think of 5 ideas I had but I can't place them. One had to do with location but until I get home and find the notebook I write all my ideas in I couldn't tell you. Hell I can't even remember what happened 5 minutes ago with out seriously focusing on what happened 5 minutes ago
This is just my add kicking in but I wondered if I could parse an md5 checksum in android terminal emulator and it turns out md5sum utility is built it...neat!
The first app I ever wrote was born by asking myself, "What do I want my phone to do that it can't currently do?"
This made development much more enjoyable as it was something I was interested in and that kept me going and gave me the will to follow thru until it worked.
If you're looking to make an app for someone else, here's my suggestion:
I'd like a 1x1 toggle widget that does the following:
Toggle On (potato mode):
Screen Brightness at lowest
Bluetooth off
GPS off
Mobile Network off
WiFi off
AutoSync off
Toggle Off (radsauce mode):
Return to whatever settings I was using before pressing Toggle On
Nice.
I have a bunch of baby videos (baby Einstein and whatnot) in avi format that I use a third party player to play when traveling. The problem is that I can't give the phone to my daughter because she presses a button or something that stops the video. Same with YouTube vids. So i have to hold the phone the whole time.
Would love a kind of baby lock that disables the touchscreen and buttons but allows third party apps to run behind it (like third party media players and YouTube) so that she can hold the phone herself while her videos or music is playing. It should then be able to be unlocked by pressing a combination of buttons at the same time or something like that. This would be ideal on those long car rides. You parents know where I'm coming from...
There's an app out there already that does something similar, but it's limited to the stock video player only.
How's that for an app idea?
fachadick said:
I have a bunch of baby videos (baby Einstein and whatnot) in avi format that I use a third party player to play when traveling. The problem is that I can't give the phone to my daughter because she presses a button or something that stops the video. Same with YouTube vids. So i have to hold the phone the whole time.
Would love a kind of baby lock that disables the touchscreen and buttons but allows third party apps to run behind it (like third party media players and YouTube) so that she can hold the phone herself while her videos or music is playing. It should then be able to be unlocked by pressing a combination of buttons at the same time or something like that. This would be ideal on those long car rides. You parents know where I'm coming from...
There's an app out there already that does something similar, but it's limited to the stock video player only.
How's that for an app idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a pretty interesting idea. Sadly, I won't know if anything is possible until I give it a try, because I'll be learning a lot as I go (I already know Java and I've studied some guides to making apps, as well as a book that I have, but it isn't enough to just magic a useful app together). I'll keep a list and I'll give each thing a try to see if I can pull anything off.
Thanks!
louched1 said:
The first app I ever wrote was born by asking myself, "What do I want my phone to do that it can't currently do?"
This made development much more enjoyable as it was something I was interested in and that kept me going and gave me the will to follow thru until it worked.
If you're looking to make an app for someone else, here's my suggestion:
I'd like a 1x1 toggle widget that does the following:
Toggle On (potato mode):
Screen Brightness at lowest
Bluetooth off
GPS off
Mobile Network off
WiFi off
AutoSync off
Toggle Off (radsauce mode):
Return to whatever settings I was using before pressing Toggle On
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will consider this one as well. On the surface, it doesn't seem like it would be overly complicated.
fachadick said:
I have a bunch of baby videos (baby Einstein and whatnot) in avi format that I use a third party player to play when traveling. The problem is that I can't give the phone to my daughter because she presses a button or something that stops the video. Same with YouTube vids. So i have to hold the phone the whole time.
Would love a kind of baby lock that disables the touchscreen and buttons but allows third party apps to run behind it (like third party media players and YouTube) so that she can hold the phone herself while her videos or music is playing. It should then be able to be unlocked by pressing a combination of buttons at the same time or something like that. This would be ideal on those long car rides. You parents know where I'm coming from...
There's an app out there already that does something similar, but it's limited to the stock video player only.
How's that for an app idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as media players go, Mx player locks so u have to press the unlock on screen icon to unlock touch buttons.
While it doesn't work for YouTube app, u can use it as default streaming and to watch downloaded movies.
Issue ?partially? solved..
Ask me about my ability to annoy complete strangers!
Touch block comes to mind, last I checked it didn't offer a hardware unlock solution. It disables the touch screen, except for the notification bar. You lock and unlock from there
Thank both of you - I had no idea those were out there, I'll check both of them out!
How's about an app that let's you keep your extSDcard in your phone so that when flashing roms, said app would protect it from being reformatted. It's a pain in the arse having to unmount it/pull it out.
The U.S government wouldn't lie to us...would they?
I don't pull my external sd card when flashing ROMs and I've never had it get formatted. Do you use TWRP?
no app will protect you from recovery since there is no android environment to run the app. Theres also no reason to pull sd card from phone when flashing a new rom.
Iv actually been a lil preoccupied to do anything w/my phone. The only thing Iv done w/it is Zedomax's root method and have yet to flash any roms
The U.S government wouldn't lie to us...would they?
---------- Post added at 12:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------
SoraX64 said:
Okay, so I've been dabbling with app development for a while now but I haven't found the motivation to actually work on a sizable project. I just don't have any good or interesting ideas.
So, I'm turning to you, XDA. Are there any apps that you'd like to see exist? Or any apps that you use that you'd like to see a better version of?
I'm not promising to actually do these and release them, I'm just looking for ideas to motivate myself to start on a project. Obviously, if I actually get something worthy of release, I'll share it.
So, any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My other idea wasnt gud so how's about this one. There are quite a few games still floating about that were pre android. I guess this would be an emulator for pre android games. One that comes to mine is a game by glu 'Transformers'.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=muOBTLXUmqM&desktop_uri=/watch?v=muOBTLXUmqM
The U.S government wouldn't lie to us...would they?
There's a full java me port of that game, you just need to convert the jar/jad files and run it in an app called j2me player. Can't guarantee it will run but a lot of java games do
With JB android has started to meet expectations of using tablets and cells for audio engineering apps. I'm a comm engineer by day and run a recording studio by night and hate to admit the integrations of apple iPad etc work very well with multi track audio apps, up until now, android latency issues have preventd good audio multimedia apps so I would love to see more of that development. There is an app called audio evolution now which is amazing and touches the surface of android JB potential.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Wasn't the latency due to the fact that android didnt use a realtime kernel? Every distro on the PC side that I've used, I've had to patch or replace the kernel to get realtime support for audio
How about a working Bluetooth keyboard and mouse software? One that actuallys good pairing and better features.
Side stepping the Bluetooth connection would challenge you a little. The kcm and no file with matching dictionary would also be a good challenge.
an app that can decompile and recompile apk
How about an app that let's you download apps that you know will run on your phone but the playstore says your device is not supported for that app. App device support bypass?
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
The U.S government wouldn't lie to us....would they?
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
Ok so. I've been really wanting so much to like this new Nokia Lumia 920. I've had been waiting to get rid of this IPhone 4 because I remember the days of my brick HTC Tilt and how customizable Windows 6 phones were. So far, I'm am disappointed. It isn't that I hate the phone. It is just that I expected more. I was expecting a lot out of this phone and it has not met the high standard that I (they) set for it.
The first major complaint is the camera. Are we being fooled into thinking it is that much better in low light. Yes, from what I've seen in reviews, it is better, but in my own experience, it isn't that much greater (I have tried auto and night mode). Am I too used to SLR pictures? The camera was supposed to be a big selling point! We have already been fooled once by Nokia about their "Pure View." (http: // articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/06/business/la-fi-tn-nokia-fake-ad-20120906) I wonder if all of this is just a scam. Now it seems that Nokia is owning up to more camera flaws (http: // pocketnow.com/2012/11/05/nokia-lumia-920-camera-fix). I really hope that this isn't a hardware issue and that they fix it right and not try any tricks. It isn't that the pictures/videos I take are bad, but they aren't that much greater(if they are greater) than the competition. Duped?
Battery life: I just switched from an IPhone 4 with no 4G LTE so i'm unaware of the battery consumption of 4G LTE but I have noticed that the battery sure does drain a lot quicker. I'm used to being able to go a couple of days without having to charge. I have noticed ways of getting the phone to last longer. Ff you run Nokia Drive beta, the GPS stays on in the background even when it is closed (you will notice a target at the top status bar remains on). You can turn the background option off, or you have to restart your phone to turn off the GPS and it can consume your battery. Yes, this should be an easy fix, but think about all the people that have to deal with this. Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
Here are some other small complaints (Maybe some XDA developers could help cook up some changes.... I have paypal ).
No separate volume for ringer and music.
Internet explorer is limited when you search through Google
It is easy to accidentally press the back or the search when using the phone with one hand and reaching across the screen.
No apparent way that I have found to get the Nokia Drive Beta to repeat the last spoken direction.
No seeking option in visual voice mail. You have to listen to the whole thing all over again to get to one point in the voicemail.
Bottom line. This phone seems rushed and unpolished. I got it that some of these issues are OS issues, but come on! Am I expecting too much or isn't this the phone that Nokia was making such a large deal about? 10 more days to give this a try before my return policy expires. Come on Nokia and Microsoft. Change my mind!
Camera taking blurry pictures is a SW issue, as you probably know from having read about it, which hopefully theyll have sorted out fast in an SW update. The nighttime pictures Ive taken are very nice, though, so I dont know whats going on there.
Battery for me is fine, Ive only had my phone for a day, so I cant really say much, but the way its worked so far it seems about the same as my SGS3 in that department. Which is quite good. But of course, I need more time for that.
Voice commands I never was a big user of, since I feel like a moron walking around yelling commands in english (especially when Im in a non-english speaking country). But Im sure its annoying.
Volume thing I agree on, that should be an easy fix for MS to make, really.
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
The accidental pressing is much like on the SGS3, really. Just a habitual thing, youll get used to handling the phone so you eventually dont mispress.
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
i'm not sure what you were expecting from the camera, but the low light shots are some of the best i've ever taken with a smartphone. and i've had my share of smartphones (this year i've probably had between 8-10 different handsets from various oem's) the daytime shots are a little bit soft, but on par with some of the better smarphone camera's i've used, and it's something that is completely possible to fix via firmware updates (as in, it's not a hardware flaw, but rather a software one)
battery is pretty good for me, on par with my SGS3, it's so much better than my 4s on iOS6 though. there are a couple quirks that are causing the battery to drain rapidly, but people haven't been able to point the blame completely yet. some people have had google accounts getting stuck on syncing constantly and that is killing the battery and the only solution for now is a hard reset. it's an odd issue since it wasn't present in wp7.x and afaik the method wp8 uses to sync is the same as before. it's something that will most likely be fixed via software updates as well
limited voice commands are something that wp8 has the ability to deal with but i'm also bummed they didn't add more voice controls to the built in apps. music in general seems like a really rushed revamp in wp8 which is surprising since the zune software was quite well done in 7.x and was also a major feature which i liked a lot about windows phone. they're changing a bunch of stuff though so it's something that will probably be updated over time. personally i don't like voice commands outside of when i'm driving because i feel like it's faster to just use my fingers, but i understand your disappointment.
volume is something i agree on as well, why microsoft hasn't figured out this is something people have been wanting since 7.0 is beyond me, it really seems like a pretty simple change to make, especially when one is rewriting the entire OS.
accidental pressing is something that will lessen with muscle memory, i always have a lot of issues with button presses and a lot of typos when switching phones, but after a couple weeks you learn to do it a lot less.
i remember getting drive to repeat the last direction, but for the life of me right now i can't figure out what i did. if i figure it out, i'll post it.
the OS isn't for everyone, but for people who like the curated user experience a semi-closed system provides, but don't like apple's 1 handset philosophy it's a good platform.
i admit, i get bored sometimes and end up going to android, but almost always, after about a month of whatever the latest and greatest android handset, i always come back to windows phone. once you figure out your workflow on it, it's really the most efficient and fluid mobile OS out there.
Slai said:
Not sure what you mean by "limited" when searching through Google?
Iunno, I have a single real annoyance and that is wordwrapping in IE10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
vangj said:
Word wrapping is exactly what I mean when I say searching through Google is limited. If you use IE and search through google, at the top of the page, you get a: "This page adapted for your browser comes from...." If you search through through the built in Bing search, you don't get the word wrap. You get the actual page. This is very lame and I think its Microsoft's way of getting us to use Bing instead of google.
Also if you just enter the URL, there is no text wrapping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will happen if you have the 'defaul view' as desktop, if you select 'mobile' they will display fine, it is annoying, what I did was install the Google app and I just use that for my search and browsing.
Slai said:
Okay? Ive set Google as my default search engine in IE10, and while word wrapping doesnt seem to exist and double-tap to zoom isnt really working perfectly, I havent seen a big change from searching with google and searching with bing or just using a bookmark or directly typing in the url :s ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so it does text wrap well if you choose the mobile option for internet explore. I for one do not like the mobile version and chose to set my settings to desktop (sorry still a newbie so i can't post links)
ht tp://postimage.org/image/w6w5t09ml/
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option. If you search with Google in Desktop mode, you can scroll to the bottom to get to the desktop site but it can be a hassle.
ht tp://postimage.org/image/5zuyx1rct/
Like I said, I like the desktop mode because I can zoom in and out and make great use of this huge screen.
Hoping google releases Chrome.
Yeah normally I like using desktop mode myself, but my most visited website works really well in its mobile form, so I figured "what the hell".
Would be interesting to see Chrome for WP8. I dont see why not, it is available for W8.
vangj said:
If you set your IE settings to desktop and search with Google, you get a funky altered website that looks like this at the top.
http://postimage.org/image/j1gnmwfr1/
It seems like the phone is sending to Google that it wants to still be a mobile phone. When you search with Bing you don't get this option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the URL of the page in your sample image, the URL is one on Google.com. It seems that Google recognized that you're on a phone and gave you a search results page that contains modified URLs that point back to Google itself (not to xda-developers.com) and that Google then proxied it for you, reformatting things to fit your phone.
Your complaint seems to be with Google for forcing you in to a "mobilized" view. Unless Google can't tell which "website preference" you're set to (mobile or desktop). I don't know how that preference gets conveyed in HTTP requests. Sorry.
vangj said:
Also there is not way to switch off 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Rogers variant has the "max speed" option to shut off LTE. The AT&T one doesn't seem to have that... so this is an AT&T issue, not a Nokia one. And if AT&T is doing this on Windows Phone, I'd assume they are customizing their Android phones similarly, no? (I have no experience with Android.)
vangj said:
Limited voice commands: I'm a big user of the voice commands to play my music. One of the first things I've noticed about this phone is that there are no voice commands from the touch and hold windows button that allow you to play your music. I get it that you can get the "Hey DJ" app and use voice commands for music, but why didn't they just integrate this into the OS so that I don't have to unlock my screen, and tap a few places. Isn't the point of voice commands so that you don't have to look at the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
EShy said:
This is an OS issue, so not too much to do with Nokia. The voice commands in WP8 are extensible. That means 3rd party developers can easily create apps that support it. I think Urbanspoon, Hey DJ and Audible are already out and support voice commands (meaning you can launch the apps by long pressing the windows button).
I expect a lot more apps will add that feature because it's so easy to implement. That makes the lack of voice commands for the built in apps really strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm, you could always launch ANY app with your voice, even on WP7.
Those new apps support voice commands for other things. For example, from your start screen you might be able to say, "Urbanspoon, find nearby burgers" and it'll launch and go straight to finding burger restaurants around you. I have no clue what their apps actually support, but I know that it's possible to make an app that does that!
Hello. Today I a friend of mine gave me his Dexim Click Stik since he didn't need it anymore. It's a simple bluetooth clicker for taking pictures with iOS or Android phones.
I don't take many pictures with my phone, much less ones that need me in them. I was hoping I could use the clicker as a remote activator for some shortcut or app.
I've been googling and searching around for hours without much luck. The only thing I've been able to do so far is find an app that lets me open an app upon the Click Stik connecting to my phone, but not when I specifically press the button on the device itself. Not very practical, in my opinion.
I found a tutorial I thought was helpful in somewhat understanding what I might need to do in order to get the functionality I'm looking for here: http://chris.boyle.name/2010/08/android-keymaps. However, the KeyTest.apk he links to in order to obtain the KeyEvent from the bluetooth device does not display any input events when I hit the button on the clicker.
I also haven't been able to find any similar apps to what KeyTest seems to say it does.
Any help or insight is greatly appreciated!
Edit #1: I was able to install the KeyTest.apk via ADB by "adb install KeyTest.apk". Not sure why it worked this way when it wouldn't install normally. That said, now that I have the program open, pressing the button on the bluetooth clicker doesn't result in the KeyTest program telling me anything. Kind of disappointed. Not sure where to go from here.
I'd like to control an Android mouse cursor with the camera and hand-tracking (or a colored LED), just moving my hands, it should work as if I had plugged in a real mouse.
After a long extensive search, I only found this app that does exactly what I want, but it's head tracking based, so it's no use for me: [MouSense for Android]
The funny thing is that there're a pletora of hand tracking solutions like this for PC/Mac/Linux with full source code avaible, I'm surprised no one has ever made one for Android, I found some hand gesture recognizers, but I need to control the whole device, not just detect a limited amount of hand gestures.
I bet many disabled people would benefit from it, like controlling an Android device connected to a tv. Can anyone help me or find a solution (I tried REALLY hard), please? I'd be very grateful if you can help me or even just suggest a solution, thanks!
I made a standalone navigation app for Wear OS! Here's the link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.onibaku.standalonewearmap
Here's the full description on the app so you can get a glance at the features:
Users can type in a location, or long press on the map to input a destination. They can choose to travel via walking, cycling or car.
The app will navigate the user from their current location to the destination using turn-by-turn navigation. Each step is highlighted on the path, with text to show you what action to take, and how long until you reach that step. The map rotates along with the device, so will follow the forward-facing direction of the watch.
The app only needs an internet connection for the initial retrieval of the directions. After that, it solely relies on GPS until the user arrives at the destination.
This (obviously) only works on watches that have GPS.
If you have any suggestions at all, I'd love to know them.
The next feature I plan to implement is importing a GPX file in from Google Drive, so you can navigate a more unorthodox/scenic route, which would suits cyclists. I initially developed this for when I go cycling, as we don't usually want to take the fastest route somewhere.
Let me know if there any burning features that are needed in this, and I'll do my best to deliver. This is a small side-project, so I don't have too much time to work on it, but I find it quite useful personally, and I hope others will, too.
Someone suggested I release a demo version so people can try it and see if they wish to buy it. I have released one here
It only has the dropped pin functionality, and only allows walking as a navigation mode. The zoom is also locked.
Gentatsu said:
I made a standalone navigation app for Wear OS! Here's the link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.onibaku.standalonewearmap
Here's the full description on the app so you can get a glance at the features:
Users can type in a location, or long press on the map to input a destination. They can choose to travel via walking, cycling or car.
The app will navigate the user from their current location to the destination using turn-by-turn navigation. Each step is highlighted on the path, with text to show you what action to take, and how long until you reach that step. The map rotates along with the device, so will follow the forward-facing direction of the watch.
The app only needs an internet connection for the initial retrieval of the directions. After that, it solely relies on GPS until the user arrives at the destination.
This (obviously) only works on watches that have GPS.
If you have any suggestions at all, I'd love to know them.
The next feature I plan to implement is importing a GPX file in from Google Drive, so you can navigate a more unorthodox/scenic route, which would suits cyclists. I initially developed this for when I go cycling, as we don't usually want to take the fastest route somewhere.
Let me know if there any burning features that are needed in this, and I'll do my best to deliver. This is a small side-project, so I don't have too much time to work on it, but I find it quite useful personally, and I hope others will, too.
Someone suggested I release a demo version so people can try it and see if they wish to buy it. I have released one here
It only has the dropped pin functionality, and only allows walking as a navigation mode. The zoom is also locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is looking really good. I want true standalone navigation on my Huawei Watch 2 4G. It has a sim so loads the route standalone and seems to be able to do everything expected...i'm trying the demo version now.
One question though...unless i'm missing something..how do you exit the app? I'm currently having to force close it.
(And as a side note have you checked out the Wear OS app Ghostracer? You can import a gpx file and follow your progress on a map on the watch. Maps are downloadable to the watch, although ive never tried that. My watch has a sim so updates the map as im riding using the watches data. Heavy on the battery though.)
ruggs1234 said:
This is looking really good. I want true standalone navigation on my Huawei Watch 2 4G. It has a sim so loads the route standalone and seems to be able to do everything expected...i'm trying the demo version now.
One question though...unless i'm missing something..how do you exit the app? I'm currently having to force close it.
(And as a side note have you checked out the Wear OS app Ghostracer? You can import a gpx file and follow your progress on a map on the watch. Maps are downloadable to the watch, although ive never tried that. My watch has a sim so updates the map as im riding using the watches data. Heavy on the battery though.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had not realised that the app does not cease to use GPS whilst it is in sleep mode, so I have added a button to exit the app properly when you drag down. I've just released it now.
I have had a look at it, but it doesn't seem to work unless you have an android phone. I am currently looking into offline maps and importing GPX files. Do you know if it does that via the android app, and how it imports it? I was looking to use Google drive, as that seems to be the only viable storage solution supported on Wear atm.
Gentatsu said:
I had not realised that the app does not cease to use GPS whilst it is in sleep mode, so I have added a button to exit the app properly when you drag down. I've just released it now.
I have had a look at it, but it doesn't seem to work unless you have an android phone. I am currently looking into offline maps and importing GPX files. Do you know if it does that via the android app, and how it imports it? I was looking to use Google drive, as that seems to be the only viable storage solution supported on Wear atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thankyou for the exit button, works great. Having tested the demo app i'm happy, and I will purchase. One further comment, the battery drain is heavy, as expected. Any chance of an ambient mode while the map is running to save battery? I may be pushing my luck, but I can only ask!
Ghostracer does indeed need a companion Android app on the phone. The gpx file is loaded into the app on the phone (using a file manager) then passed to the Ghostracer app on the watch. Maps are treated the same, but I just use the data from my sim in the watch to load maps as I ride when needed. You can follow a gpx route standalone on the watch in a similar way to following the route on your app. I am not connected to Ghostracer in any way, I just think its a wonderful app for cyclists and runners (within the watches battery limitations). And the free version allows you to test all its features. It might not be right for you, but it was worth a mention based on what you said earlier. (And the map screen has an ambient mode.... )
ruggs1234 said:
Thankyou for the exit button, works great. Having tested the demo app i'm happy, and I will purchase. One further comment, the battery drain is heavy, as expected. Any chance of an ambient mode while the map is running to save battery? I may be pushing my luck, but I can only ask!
Ghostracer does indeed need a companion Android app on the phone. The gpx file is loaded into the app on the phone (using a file manager) then passed to the Ghostracer app on the watch. Maps are treated the same, but I just use the data from my sim in the watch to load maps as I ride when needed. You can follow a gpx route standalone on the watch in a similar way to following the route on your app. I am not connected to Ghostracer in any way, I just think its a wonderful app for cyclists and runners (within the watches battery limitations). And the free version allows you to test all its features. It might not be right for you, but it was worth a mention based on what you said earlier. (And the map screen has an ambient mode.... )
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Great . I did play around with the ambient mode, but it was just the same as the standard google maps ambient mode. It takes away the turn-by-turn, location, and path. If I could persist these, and set the GPS to update every 30 secs - 1 minute, I'd probably keep it, but I'm not sure how. I'd like to stick in options to set the GPS update frequency, or have the screen turn back on only for upcoming turns.
That's really cool! That's essentially what I would have liked on my watch but standalone. I really don't like the idea that you HAVE to use a companion app, especially when it's not available for iOS. I know they're competing watches, but I love the price point of android watches compared to Apple's, and their features shouldn't pale in comparison by way of hardware.
How does their ambient map work, if you don't mind me asking? I'd like to look into it. What does their paid version allow you to do? I only had a paid version before someone mentioned to put the free one on, just to give people a flavour of it. I tried to emphasise the main bit, which was the turn-by-turn navigation. The search and other transportation modes were secondary.
Cheers for the feedback and suggestions, though! I really do appreciate it! Let me know if there's anything else you'd like.
Gentatsu said:
Great . I did play around with the ambient mode, but it was just the same as the standard google maps ambient mode. It takes away the turn-by-turn, location, and path. If I could persist these, and set the GPS to update every 30 secs - 1 minute, I'd probably keep it, but I'm not sure how. I'd like to stick in options to set the GPS update frequency, or have the screen turn back on only for upcoming turns.
That's really cool! That's essentially what I would have liked on my watch but standalone. I really don't like the idea that you HAVE to use a companion app, especially when it's not available for iOS. I know they're competing watches, but I love the price point of android watches compared to Apple's, and their features shouldn't pale in comparison by way of hardware.
How does their ambient map work, if you don't mind me asking? I'd like to look into it. What does their paid version allow you to do? I only had a paid version before someone mentioned to put the free one on, just to give people a flavour of it. I tried to emphasise the main bit, which was the turn-by-turn navigation. The search and other transportation modes were secondary.
Cheers for the feedback and suggestions, though! I really do appreciate it! Let me know if there's anything else you'd like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ghostracers ambient map is black background with white markings until you lift your wrist...but that might not work when using your app while driving (watch off the wrist?).
I've now purchased your app (Google made that hard work!)...all still good. One question...when I zoom the map in the map un-zooms straight back. Any way to make the zoom stick?
ruggs1234 said:
Ghostracers ambient map is black background with white markings until you lift your wrist...but that might not work when using your app while driving (watch off the wrist?).
I've now purchased your app (Google made that hard work!)...all still good. One question...when I zoom the map in the map un-zooms straight back. Any way to make the zoom stick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do the markings include the path/trail? I've used the black background one before, and the building outlines are (kinda) white. Yeah, I do have my watch affixed to my handlebars on my bicycle.
Great - Thanks! It's much appreciated! How come it was hard work, if you don't mind me asking? Ah, yep. That was one of the first things I forgot to change! I completely forgot about it! I've made it so that if you zoom/pan, it'll stick unless you press the "my location" button again.
Huawei watch 2 built-in GPS not working anymore
ruggs1234 said:
Thankyou for the exit button, works great. Having tested the demo app i'm happy, and I will purchase. One further comment, the battery drain is heavy, as expected. Any chance of an ambient mode while the map is running to save battery? I may be pushing my luck, but I can only ask!
Ghostracer does indeed need a companion Android app on the phone. The gpx file is loaded into the app on the phone (using a file manager) then passed to the Ghostracer app on the watch. Maps are treated the same, but I just use the data from my sim in the watch to load maps as I ride when needed. You can follow a gpx route standalone on the watch in a similar way to following the route on your app. I am not connected to Ghostracer in any way, I just think its a wonderful app for cyclists and runners (within the watches battery limitations). And the free version allows you to test all its features. It might not be right for you, but it was worth a mention based on what you said earlier. (And the map screen has an ambient mode.... )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ruggs1234, it was a long time since you wrote your experience with this app. I downloaded the demo today and I tested it. Looks like since last Google's update, the huawei watch 2 doesn't use its built-in standalone GPS. Please, would you mind to check whether you are having this problem now? The only way I got it work was by connecting the watch to a phone through Bluetooth.
Kind regards, Angel
angelrc96 said:
Hi ruggs1234, it was a long time since you wrote your experience with this app. I downloaded the demo today and I tested it. Looks like since last Google's update, the huawei watch 2 doesn't use its built-in standalone GPS. Please, would you mind to check whether you are having this problem now? The only way I got it work was by connecting the watch to a phone through Bluetooth.
Kind regards, Angel
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Click to collapse
Hello Angel,
The app still works ok on my watch, I tested it yesterday.
With my phone switched OFF I use my watches inbuilt sim to start the route (the app needs data to download the initial route, it can use the connected mobile but mine was switched off). I then switch off the sim in my watch and follow the route using only the gps in the watch. The app worked as it always has.
HOWEVER, my watch isn't running the latest version of Wear OS (it's running Wear OS 2.0, Home app 2.16). I never update anything Google if i'm not forced too, their updates often break more things than they fix. Everything I use on the watch works great and i'd like it to stay that way....
Hi,
well, I gave it a test (full paid version) - TicWatch 3 Pro 4g/LTE (all up to date). It doesn't work. All tested in standalone mode (no phone involved).
- app crashes when there is no GPS fix (GPS is on, but no fix yet)
- when I set an route to navigate (pin or search) it just endlessly shows progress circle and nothing else happens (GPS on with fix, LTE on and working)
So...
BR, Doman.
I installed the Demo version on my ticwatch 3 pro gps (updated everything to current versions and no modifications (yet))
App is starting, map is not showing, just the gps location button on the left and a white/grey screen. I can pin a location on the white screen and its actually getting a location next to me and tries to route there - but without any map showing.
Any app for Gear S3 ?