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I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
Sent from my Sapphire/dream using XDA App
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.
As a long time android user (since the T-Mobile G1 so about 5 years) i decided to try the Lumia 920 a few days ago and so far i`am loving it, so here are my first thoughts :
- The speed and lagless performance of the OS powered by a dual core cpu instead by a quad- or octocore cpu that is required for android. Clearly the OS and hardware are far better optimized than android. Also i had no reboots or fc`s so far.
- Many specific Nokia apps like Drive that enables navigation without a data connection required as you can download and install maps from the country`s you need.
- Seemless integration and synchronisation with Google and great data/contacts/calender transference when setting up the phone.
- Though there are obviously less apps available than with iOs and android there are many more than i initialy thought and most good and important apps are available. Only Dropbox is limited imo as it doesn`t sync and add automaticaly.
- Great camera and speakers.
- Good call quality.
I didn`t think it was going to be as good as it turned out so far but atm i don`t miss android at all and so i might stick with WP8 for a long(er) while than i anticipated.
Hope the coming update planned for July will bring some more goodies
if any problem with Google sync, simple set Google account via advanced setup
settings - email+accounts - add an account - advanced setup
- add your account info
- select Exchange ActiveSync
- add other data (dont forget to enter full email address for username), for server use m.google.com
- Sign in.... that's all
for calendar's problems look Microsoft advises
http://microsoft-news.com/sync-google-calendar-events-to-windows-calendar-app-via-outlook-com/
P.S.
Also must have app for WP is Store Deals to check latest discounts and occasional free periods for pay apps
Don't know what you mean about seemless integration with Google Calendar. Can't edit it at all. I had to follow Microsoft's tip and subscribe to it via Outlook.com but you can't edit the Google calendar that way as it is read only. Email and contacts are great. Hopefully the update that includes CalDAV support will fix the calendar issues.
Spectre51 said:
Don't know what you mean about seemless integration with Google Calendar. Can't edit it at all. I had to follow Microsoft's tip and subscribe to it via Outlook.com but you can't edit the Google calendar that way as it is read only. Email and contacts are great. Hopefully the update that includes CalDAV support will fix the calendar issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use Google calendar which i don't changes you make on the regular calender on the phone will sync to the google calendar and vice versa if you change google calendar on the PC. Just use the normal calendar on the phone and it should sync with your other calenders linked through google or hotmail.
Solarenemy68 said:
If you use Google calendar which i don't changes you make on the regular calender on the phone will sync to the google calendar and vice versa if you change google calendar on the PC. Just use the normal calendar on the phone and it should sync with your other calenders linked through google or hotmail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I was getting my windows devices mixed up.....It is working for me on WP8 just not Windows 8
Agreed in everything.
worst problem I found in WP8? Whatsapp...not always updating, got the notification but not the message....and we really need a good video player with mp4, avi and srt support.....and a notification center.
Any MS guy ever read this forum?
ramping said:
Agreed in everything.
worst problem I found in WP8? Whatsapp...not always updating, got the notification but not the message....and we really need a good video player with mp4, avi and srt support.....and a notification center.
Any MS guy ever read this forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats app working fine for me... no missed or late notification....
also avi and mp4 files work fine... and dont except or hope for srt (or any other subtitle) player... f you hope for this, you not learn anything about WP....
dxdy said:
whats app working fine for me... no missed or late notification....
also avi and mp4 files work fine... and dont except or hope for srt (or any other subtitle) player... f you hope for this, you not learn anything about WP....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YXPlayer can play videos with srt subtitles....but it´s a crappy app.
Still waiting for the VLC official app.
Anyone expiriace any problems with whatsapp?
Mobtel063 said:
Anyone expiriace any problems with whatsapp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use it; I use Skype and MetroTalk. Skype's not free but I'm not going to worry about paying on average $60 a year; $5 a month. It doesn't require my universe to have the identical app on the other end.
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
steevio_uk said:
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the 920 to replace the xperia t I had, best thing I ever did
It's fast, fluid, no freezes or hangups, battery life is great for me, the camera is awesome and I love the wireless charging.
If you can live without the modding and just use your phone for what it is then I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Sent from the event horizon of a quantum singularity
steevio_uk said:
Quick question...
I really, really, really detest my Xperia S now, like really detest it.
The lagging, god-awful camera, the freezing, everything.
I would try to install a custom Rom, but my Bootlocker unlocked allowed is: no.
I'm really not a high-end user. No interest in games, or intensive apps.
Camera, browsing, travel apps are the main interest for me.
I can get rid of it and pay approx £60-£100 to get the Lumia 920
Would you guys advise it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been an iPhone user and then a multitude of android phones user (Samsung) before embracing WP8.
My opinion: iPhone is fine if you just want a phone that works - although Apple lost me after the release of the iPhone 4: I was obviously holding it wrong when I wanted to make a call so it mostly wouldn't iOS is simple to use and has lots of apps, but is a walled garden.
Android, while open and extremely customizable, really annoyed me: at first the phones were fine, then became laggy over time. I also found I was frequently rebooting the phones daily. You shouldn't have to install a custom ROM for it to work smoothly. While there are a lot of apps, they are mostly poor quality compared to their iOS counterparts.
So I decided on trying out WP8 around 4 months ago and bought a Lumia 920. First off the build quality is excellent, it's a solid lump of a phone, not tacky plastic feeling like the Samsungs I had. The operating system has NEVER lagged on me...EVER. I only found out a few weeks after I'd had it how to reboot it, and I only did that to find out how to, not that it needed it. Although not nearly as customizable as the androids, I personally got bored doing so with the Samsungs anyway. I love the Live Tiles on the Lumia 920. Again there are nowhere near the amount of apps as iOS or Android, but those there are I find to be as good as iOS apps.
The camera is excellent. So good in fact that when my other half wants pictures taken she asks me to do so - she has an iPhone 5.
At first I was worried by the fact you cannot use a memory card, but honestly I find the 32gb onboard to be plenty - never had to go through and delete stuff to make more room. An added bonus is the wireless charging - I still think it's witchcraft :laugh: no idea how or why it works but it does lol
So in summary, yes - I thoroughly recommend the Lumia 920 for your needs: the camera is great, the stock browser is quick and I never had a problem with it and navigation is top notch.
Thanks so much for your replies.
I have had the phone for 4-5 days now and I am absolutely delighted by the decision. Possibly the best hardware change/update I've ever made.
I am finding excuses for taking pictures, such is the quality of the camera, enjoying getting to grips with the new layout and O/S, trying to find decent apps for certain things I used on Android, the main one being the notes app, which was sat on my Android home screen and I used regularly as a 1 click solution to add a note and remind me of things.
Something like that, as a simple live tile would be great, but haven't found such an app yet. (Any you guys suggest?)
I was initially very concerned by the battery life. I took it out with me after an initial charge and found the battery draining away at an alarming rate, even with it in my pocket!
But as I'm sure you're well aware, there's the changes to remedy this;; turning NFC off, location, background apps, getting used to exiting an app with the back button etc.
Great battery life now.
Just ordered a case and I'm one happy bunny!
My god, the Xperia S seems like a distant nightmare now! :victory:
Ok, I wouldn't call myself a fanboy but I'm pretty in to the Samsung ecosystem. Note 2, 3, 4. Original Galaxy Gear, Tv's and now the Gear S. Coming from the O.G. Galaxy gear, I thought the Gear S was a worthy upgrade. Water resistance, bigger and brighter screen. I have been very patient with Samsung and them rolling out apps to there watches. The Galaxy Gear never really got the apps I wanted unless I hacked it and cracked it with android apps made for phones. That kind of held me down for a bit. Then it just got too cumbersome for a watch. Especially with Nova Launcher and the battery drain was horrible because it just wasn't optimized to run like a phone. Here comes the Gear S, to solve all our problems. It just seems like the same old crap to me. Don't get me wrong, I really like the watch. For notifications and an occasional news feed it works awesome. Even the pedometer and the fitness functions seem to work better. But with the looming release of the Apple Watch I have to ask. Where the hell are the apps?!! I'm already hearing about all the different apps and developers working on the Apple Watch apps. I have a feeling its going to be another lopsided battle like it used to be with Android and Apple in the appstore a few years back. But why?! Samsung has had, damn near, a 2 year head-start in this category. You mean to tell me after releasing 5-6 Smart watches that they still cant conjure up any app support? I see the same old half baked apps in the app store everyday. No popular apps like facebook, youtube, instagram (there is a fake one that might be ok). It just seems as though samsung doesn't follow all the way through.
I know they are working on the next big thing, but I feel like we have all been left in the dark by buying another Samsung experiment. Its not fun being the guinea pig anymore.
Have a look down the back of the sofa... you'll be amazed what you can find there.
It's a watch, with the addition of gear notification extender installed I'm struggling to think of anything more I need/want it to do. My note 4 is superior in every way so the watch is just for a glance or a response on the fly.
Happy to hear what you're missing though?
---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 PM ----------
.....oh I would like a voip app though.
I still think it's better than the Apple Watch because you don't have to have your phone with you. All those stupid apps mean nothing when you're working with a 2 inch screen.
Apps
Hi,
I agree with OP, I would like more apps. In fact, I already gave up checking for new ones.
If I receive a notification that a friend posted something on facebook, I want to see what they posted. If they uploaded a picture, I want to see that too.
I want to respond to what's app messages and not just receive them!
I do love the smartthings app that let's me turn on/off lights from my wrist, that is awesome !
Google is working on iOS compatibility for android wear devices, I so wished the Gear S could be fully compatible with my work iPhone6 and my Note 3... Sort of have the Gear become the hub manager for all my devices...
Gear Notification app
In the Google Playstore lets u reply with many apps, whatsapp is one.
I agree that they need more apps, but there are some good ones out there that you can get:
Xenozu Player for Youtube, works well. click on pic to play, and text for info
GearTweet for Twitter, much improved lately
GearGram for Instagram and plays video as well as shows pics
Basic Video Player, load videos to your Gear through PC to play on app
Wearable Widgets, I can use it to control my lights at home that on on my WeMo switches, using WeMo widgets; I can see my outside surveillance cameras using the IP Cam Viewer Basic widget
IPCameraViewer, I can see my indoor home surveillance camera feed through Gear S app
OperaMini for web browsing
Milk music for streaming to my bluetooth headset at the gym, without having to carry my phone.
S Health, I have used very well to track and motivate myself to move and exercise more. I lost 85 lbs. last year and it gets some credit. Program finally much better than it was.
I too hope they push for more, but in the end it will be up the the other companies and developers and they will probably go to Apple due to shear volume of sales alone.
Good luck.
Cheers,
Mark
I have the same extra apps as you. I have wemo switches and a foscam camera outside. The ip camera app is great because it doesn't need to be paired to a phone
Sent from my SM-N915V using XDA Free mobile app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pacosal.gear.notificationsgears
For responding to whatever the F you want!
Another Great APP! GEARAM MUSIC ID.
Just like Shazam and has gotten over 10 songs in a row correct from my phone playlist.
I agree with the original post. The watch falls short of its potential. I generally use my phone for most types of communication. There are times, like in my car, when grabbing a phone is impractical. This is particularly true if my wife calls and reminds me of something I need to do in the future. With my Gear 1 I could double press and add a calendar reminder, no problem. I could controll Pandora which was great with a headset in my Miata with the top down. Cousin Sammy is trying to make Tizen into their version of i-something and they are losing sight of the consumer. Stop giving me watch faces and give me some interaction with my phone apps. That would fulfil my interpretation of their promise when I bought it as a companion device. Sammy watch should work well with a Sammy phone.
beermebeerme1 said:
I agree with the original post. The watch falls short of its potential. I generally use my phone for most types of communication. There are times, like in my car, when grabbing a phone is impractical. This is particularly true if my wife calls and reminds me of something I need to do in the future. With my Gear 1 I could double press and add a calendar reminder, no problem. I could controll Pandora which was great with a headset in my Miata with the top down. Cousin Sammy is trying to make Tizen into their version of i-something and they are losing sight of the consumer. Stop giving me watch faces and give me some interaction with my phone apps. That would fulfil my interpretation of their promise when I bought it as a companion device. Sammy watch should work well with a Sammy phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is off topic, but how did you control Pandora on your Gear 1?
On the stock setup, I turned on Pandora via my phone and put it away. The music control on the watch would control volume and I could skip songs. Couldn't change favorites but it worked OK otherwise.
Great to know. I have been thinking about selling my Zenwatch for the Gear S
Klokker for the Samsung Gear S
Hi everyone,
I'm very excited to announce my Klokker app for the Gear S in the Samsung Apps Store.
The Gear S is an impressive hardware masterpiece that the only thing it needs are fancy apps.
Klokker is an information safe repository especially designed for Samsung Gear S smartwatches.
You can store in your Gear S valuable information sometimes difficult to remember like your car insurance number, your passport number, your VISA card number or your bank account number. This information is protected under a password or passcode to avoid non-authorized access.
I really like my Gear S and I'm working very hard on several ideas to bring new apps to this smartwatch. I'm not only working hard, I'm working with illusion. I'm posting this announcement here because I know I will receive feedback about my work. I want to make the Gear S something really useful in our lives, something that can help us or solve some of our daily life problems.
I'm focused primarily on standalone applications. Companion apps are cool, but I wanna make the Gear S as much independent as I can. In fact, the Gear S is the most independent smartwatch of all. So I'm not following a wrong approach right now.
I will populate my Facebook page, my blog in Tumblr and my Youtube channel with more information in the next days. If you would like follow me on Twitter to keep in touch with all my projects.
Take a look at my support site at ayalawilson.com or look for Klokker in the Samsung Apps store.
Your feedback will be really valuable for me.
Thank you very much in advanced and I hope you like my app!
JMAW
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wER6BtIMDyY
Blog: http://jmawapps.tumblr.com
Support page: http://www.ayalawilson.com/klokker.html
Facebook page: JMAWapps
Twitter:[URL="https://twitter.com/JMAWapps" @jmaWapps[/URL]
Email:[email protected]
jmaw2015 said:
Hi everyone,
I'm very excited to announce my Klokker app for the Gear S in the Samsung Apps Store.
The Gear S is an impressive hardware masterpiece that the only thing it needs are fancy apps.
Klokker is an information safe repository especially designed for Samsung Gear S smartwatches.
You can store in your Gear S valuable information sometimes difficult to remember like your car insurance number, your passport number, your VISA card number or your bank account number. This information is protected under a password or passcode to avoid non-authorized access.
I really like my Gear S and I'm working very hard on several ideas to bring new apps to this smartwatch. I'm not only working hard, I'm working with illusion. I'm posting this announcement here because I know I will receive feedback about my work. I want to make the Gear S something really useful in our lives, something that can help us or solve some of our daily life problems.
I'm focused primarily on standalone applications. Companion apps are cool, but I wanna make the Gear S as much independent as I can. In fact, the Gear S is the most independent smartwatch of all. So I'm not following a wrong approach right now.
I will populate my Facebook page, my blog in Tumblr and my Youtube channel with more information in the next days. If you would like follow me on Twitter to keep in touch with all my projects.
Take a look at my support site at ayalawilson.com or directly look for Klokker in the Samsung Apps store.
Your feedback will be really valuable for me.
Thank you very much in advanced and I hope you like my app!
JMAW
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wER6BtIMDyY
Blog: http://jmawapps.tumblr.com
Support page: http://www.ayalawilson.com/klokker.html
Facebook page: JMAWapps
TwitterJMAWapps
Email:[email protected]
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Don't know that I need such an app. But I love your standalone way of thinking. I see no reason why I should need a companion app.
Hope you come up with some cool apps. Good luck.
Reason why we need a companion app
Medic97 said:
Don't know that I need such an app. But I love your standalone way of thinking. I see no reason why I should need a companion app.
Hope you come up with some cool apps. Good luck.
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The main reason why we need a companion app is that the smartwatch is a very limited computing platform so far: reduced screen, no keyboard (the Gear S is a big exception to the rule with the Fleksy keyboard and its 2" screen), tiny speakers, few memory and limited storage in general.
In a companion mode, the main app processes information on the smartphone using its power and connectivity capabilities (again the Gear S is another exception to the rule with BlueTooth, 3G, Wi-Fi and USB). The smartwatch app only displays information or performs some interaction with the user.
The Companion design is very useful for many apps where the smartwatch lacks of the power or interaction needed. But it drains battery at the same time to the watch and to the phone. The Wi-Fi connection is better in saving power especially in idle mode. You are lucky again if you have a Gear S and you can synchronize your smartwatch via Wi-Fi!
Because, the Gear S exhibits a tremendous autonomy as a computer platform, I choose it for my future standalone apps!
jmaw2015 said:
I really like my Gear S and I'm working very hard on several ideas to bring new apps to this smartwatch. I'm not only working hard, I'm working with illusion. I'm posting this announcement here because I know I will receive feedback about my work. I want to make the Gear S something really useful in our lives, something that can help us or solve some of our daily life problems.
I'm focused primarily on standalone applications. Companion apps are cool, but I wanna make the Gear S as much independent as I can. In fact, the Gear S is the most independent smartwatch of all. So I'm not following a wrong approach right now.
JMAW
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wER6BtIMDyY
Blog: http://jmawapps.tumblr.com
Support page: http://www.ayalawilson.com/klokker.html
Facebook page: JMAWapps
Twitter:@JMAWapps
Email:[email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with needing stand-alone apps. Can you create an audiobook app with bookmarking and 15 second forward/backward skip functionality? I go running with my Gear S and gave up on trying to listen to audiobook because I keep losing my place in the books
I also agree with OP? The app store is a big let-down.
Hi xendula,
Create that app is not a big problem for me. But before starting a new app project, I would like to ask if there is no any other music or audiobook player on the Samsung Gear Apps with bookmarking and 15 forward/backward skip functionality.
The idea is not bad. Something simple, useful, easy to use.
Which app do you use right now to play your audiobooks?
Do you copy your audiobooks in a particular folder or just in the music folder?
Which average size your audiobooks are?
Are your audiobooks in mp3 format?
JMAW
jmaw2015 said:
The idea is not bad. Something simple, useful, easy to use.
Which app do you use right now to play your audiobooks?
Do you copy your audiobooks in a particular folder or just in the music folder?
Which average size your audiobooks are?
Are your audiobooks in mp3 format?
JMAW
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Click to collapse
There is not one audiobook app in the app store, and other Gear S owners have asked for the same type of app, with the addition of sleep timer functionality within the app.
My books are all MP3 (between 7-14 files per book) that I copy into the music folder. Since each file is around 50 mins long, bookmarking and skipping back and forth is imperative. The app would need to know to play back files within a subdirectory as one book.
I tried to use the regular music app, but gave up, because I kept losing my place in the books
Introduction
I've been working on a project to incorporate Amazon's Alexa into an Android application as a standalone. It started as an Android TV project, and then got ported over to Android mobile. This weekend I finally got the project to work on Android Wear, so now you can speak to (and listen, if you have speakers or connected Bluetooth speakers) Alexa from your wrist. Because I only have access to an LG G Watch, for the moment, I would love to hear any feedback you all have on issues you find or how you think the project can be made better. The more Wear hardware that it's tested with, the better.
Download
You can get the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.willblaschko.android.alexalistens or download the APK from the Android TV link above.
More Details
If you want to read a little more about the code behind the implementation, I've done a write up for the TV/phone app here and will be putting together a piece on the Wear app.
Thanks!
Do I need to have an Alexa unit in order for this to work?
Great app, thanks. Ran into a persistent crash issue quickly though. If I uncheck the "Android Wear Preferences"->"Play on mobile" option and try anything from my Huawei watch it shows a message on the phone saying that Alexa Listens has crashed and it does not work. If I leave the option checked it works fine especially where I can hear the voice response on my phone, it was pointless to hear the response from the mobile also which is why I wanted to disable it.
is there a link for a version of this that will install on KitKat? this app looks exciting and I tried downloading earlier apk versions of this app but just get the "error parsing package" pop-up ... really want to try it out but upgrading from android 4.4 on my note 3 probably isn't gonna happen ... this looks awesome thanks
still really excited to try this. i have a Huawei Watch and my phone is Samsung galaxy note 3 on android 4.4 ... my note 3 hasn't exploded yet so I can't risk an upgrade to a newer android version but still really want to try your app!
Wow, this is great. Good work!
oh man this looks like something I really really want ... does anyone know how to alter the apk so I can install this on a Samsung note 3 with android 4.4.2? (modifying build.prop didn't work)
Enjoying the possibilities with this app. I have it on a oneplus 3 with a Huawei Watch. When it works it is great, but quite often from the watch it will not respond. I can then go into settings on the phone app and deactivate the always on listener then reactivate it. After that it works from my watch again for a while... until it doesn't and I have to do the deactivate/reactivate all over again. Any ideas?
works perfect for me, Voice response and all. But i was wondering could u add the option for the mic to auto listen on launch? as oppose to having to click the mic when u want to talk to it, would make it easier to use without all those screen taps
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also this app literaly breathes NEW LIFE into my huawei watch, this feature alone single handly makes my android watch a must have, " Turn off lights " on the wrist and " request a uber" a is exactly what the google claimed the android watch would be bale to do, but until this app was unable to do
Works well, thanks for this. I did remove it but for some reason it still shows up on the watch even though it is not on the phone. Any idea why?
Hi will,
thanks for the great app, I really love it! I just picked up an Asus Zenwatch 3 and this is a Must-Have
As I'm using it quite often now, I tought I should share my experiences.
The ZW3 comes with two mappable buttons, I put Alexa Listens on one of those, that's really convenient. I'd love if Alexa would listen automatically after starting the App, I think this would be a nicer UX.
Alexa Speech Output has some minor flaws. I did some German Skills, which I used for testing. One replies with SSML - audio and speech afterwards (e.g. on Echo Dot), Alexa Listens only plays the audio (but this could be a flaw in my Skill too).
When Alexa isn't understanding my input, there's no real feedback, it just remains silent (or maybe I'm missing something). Echo Dot usually replies with "I didn't understand that" or similar, that's nicer.
@will.blaschko You aren't open sourcing this, are you? Personally, I'm a huge fan of TuneIn on all devices - I'd love to write the player support for the app, just to get it
Thanks again for the great app!
Working on a new version now, so hopefully that'll be available soon --including support for UK/DE.
If you want to look at the source that powers most of the app: https://github.com/willblaschko/AlexaAndroid
New version is in the Play Store, I can post here as well if you want .
will.blaschko said:
New version is in the Play Store, I can post here as well if you want .
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Updating right now, will give feedback asap - thanks a lot
Hello!
(Please Forgive my not so good English!),
I use this awesome Skill/App now for a couple of weeks, and it is exactly what I'm looking for, but I have a little Problem!? - I have a Sony-Smartwatch-3, and after Using the App on it, the App starts/reopens itself again and again!? - I must everytime make a Reboot on the Smartwatch to solve this!
Please take a look at it!
Thanks!
RoseL.
Listener Sensitivity!
Hello!
The App is Awesome, but far to Sensitive!? I have Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S (LTE) with Stock-Android-6.0.1 rooted, and the App reacts all few Seconds!? When I set "Not Sensitive" in the Sensitivity-Options, I can Yell, but the App don't reacts at all, and when I set "Normal", it reacts all the time all few Seconds!? Can You Please add a Possibility to set the voice-sensitivity in percent!? Or a Option between "Not Sensitive" and "Normal"!? I really want to use this App every Day, and I will Donate to, but how it is now, a cannot use it, because it reacts not at all, or every few seconds!?
Thanks!
Problem installing app
Hi I tried to install this app on my Zenwatch 3, however, if I go to the app-store, it says the app is not compatible. What am I doing wrong?
Hello. First time posting here - please forgive if wrong section.
Trying to use android boxes as hardware to run client android app for a security camera system I install quite regularly.
The app they have for iphones, macs, windows, android phones and tablets all work quite well, however, recently I thought "hey, why not use android boxes instead of $300+ computers to use as auxiliary displays and save customers some money".
It's a great idea I thought. Well... Turns out, I'm always wrong about Something...
So i've tried this on Android 7, it installed, but I can't get passed some screens like the "accept" and "Skip" screens.
On Android 9, I can install it as well, but I can't do things like get into the menu, scroll down certain areas.
Basically, it doesn't let me use a mouse and use it as a touch device.
Now, where I've had some better luck was using my Nvidia Shield. That one worked quite well, but again with this one, I couldn't "Drag" menus or even use a keyboard to see next screens or down menus.
I'm not going to get into a LOT more details, because I'm sure if somebody here is really going to help, they'll test this app to see what I mean. It's just REALLY weird!
Anyway, the app name is Provisioncam2.
I'd love to test things out with someone who may know more about android OS and these boxes. Please hit me up.
Good time of the day! It's cool that there are such applications. I myself use a similar application from ajax, which was so let's say bundled with this security system. I really liked the functionality. You can set up sensors and remotely monitor the apartment online. This is a very innovative solution just for the 21st century. Not like all the wired alarms from the last century, right? I'm always for progress! Therefore, I rate this app highly regardless of how well it works. Anyways, mine is better.