Just got my G6 yesterday and so far liking it, although still getting used to it. Some things though just annoy me, and more so with the software, which I know I can just use alternative apps but it wouldn't have really been hard for LG to think about these things, see below:
Home UI
Swipe down to Notifications should be an option. I know you can have a nav bar shortcut for that, but come on.
The Smart Bulletin is not very smart. Has no integration for Weather, News, and Calendar events are only pulled from the LG Phone Calendar, not Google etc!
Calendar
No Month/Agenda split view in portrait mode, why not? Why have it landscape but not the other.
Colours
The default colours are not very nice. A dark flat shade. They should be more material like. I feel someone has just randomly picked them from the colour picker.
For the colours, you could try one of these themes:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g6/themes/mark-bencze-premium-theme-support-t3580199
I'm currently using the pixel 2 theme. These themes are well worth the money, they are very well done.
No matter what app or launcher you use there will be something that won't please everybody. There is no such thing as a perfect app, everything is compromise.
Use the app or launcher that suits you
Not much point in complaining about minor features of apps that you don't have to use...
L0cke said:
Just got my G6 yesterday and so far liking it, although still getting used to it. Some things though just annoy me, and more so with the software, which I know I can just use alternative apps but it wouldn't have really been hard for LG to think about these things, see below:
Home UI
Swipe down to Notifications should be an option. I know you can have a nav bar shortcut for that, but come on.
The Smart Bulletin is not very smart. Has no integration for Weather, News, and Calendar events are only pulled from the LG Phone Calendar, not Google etc!
Calendar
No Month/Agenda split view in portrait mode, why not? Why have it landscape but not the other.
Colours
The default colours are not very nice. A dark flat shade. They should be more material like. I feel someone has just randomly picked them from the colour picker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Related
Since the day the Galaxy s came I've fallen in with loved Touchwiz as matter of fact it is one of the reason i will not be trading in my Vibrant for Nexus s, well until touchwiz is ported nexus s at least.
But I've notice others with vibrant and other galaxy s phones hate Touchwiz and i want to know why? Please leave response as to why you love or hate touchwiz?
I like some things about TouchWiz...but...
its not customisable
the icons are too big and iphone-like
a lot of screen real estate is lost because everything on the homescreen is too big (should have grids of 5x5 instead of 4x4)
I like the app drawer...jumping to screens when clicking the small dots etc
and its quite fast for me
I really like touchwiz to. I tried launcher pro and adw and i really didnt like them. But i did just installed nero from tw and the gingerbread launcher is sweet.
Fear the beard...
For me it's not so much the TW Launcher as it is the widgets. I've found that I really use Feeds & Updates and Daily Briefing quite a lot, and though there are vaguely comparable ones, none of them have grabbed me.
The notification bar is also unique and extremely useful, so much so that Cyanogen largely copied it.
I think the biggest reason why people hate Touchwiz is because it has been blamed for much of the initial lagginess of the phone. Now we know this is largely not true.
It's childs play to use another launcher however, and people may prefer widgets that do not bind to TW. To each his own, which is the true beauty of Android.
What I don't like about TouchWiz:
-the page indicator on top can't be turned off or set to auto-hide
-the dockbar icon labels don't match the rest of the UI (they don't have black bubbles around the text, it looks mismatched)
-cannot change the number of rows on homescreens
-no swipe actions (ADW ruined me for swiping down anywhere on the screen to get the notification pulldown)
-no activities shortcuts (Wireless AP requires a shortcut!)
-seems to run slower/laggier than ADW or launcherpro
What I do like about TouchWiz:
-FEEDS AND UPDATES
-FEEDS AND UPDATES
-FEEDS AND UPDATES
Soooo much better than the Facebook widget...
Edit: I use ADW.Launcher myself and love it. I really miss Feeds & Updates though.
The app drawer can not scroll like a stock android launcher.
The docks can not be customizable to the level Android allows.
The icons look like an iPhone - AND I hate scrolling left to right (and I dont like the view for scrolling up/down)
I switch ROMs often, TW does not backup it's settings like LP/ADW can.
Other than those things, TW is great... I also prefer the widgets that come with LauncherPro Plus and the speed/customizations that it allows. TW COULD be able to duplicate those features..... but until it does, no thanks.
I love touchwiz. Love the left to right scrolling of the app drawer.love the look and feel. Love the icons. The dock icons are custamizable. This is one reason i dont like custom roms without touchwiz because i love it sooo much.
Things i hate. You cant hide the notification bar and it starts to Burn into your screen. Errrr
It's the iPhone clone look that turns me off. It was bad enough that the samsung made the phone look physically like an iPhone, but to skin Android to look like the iPhone's software was over the top. I don't want people to think I have an iPhone.
youre right
monstah_rain said:
It's the iPhone clone look that turns me off. It was bad enough that the samsung made the phone look physically like an iPhone, but to skin Android to look like the iPhone's software was over the top. I don't want people to think I have an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got tired of the ipod touch i had and it resembles the ipod touch iphone too much for me. plus i dont like lines on my screen. i use adw and minimalist theme with black background, totally awesome for me. i can do with out the non sense.
"I love that Google is innovating the Smartphone technology space at an amazing rate. Android is growing fast and holds so much promise. For instance Google voice actions which I am sure you are all familiar with is such a great idea and I cant wait to use it with 2.2. The updated Gmail client and services as well, Chrome to phone are both awesome ideas but will never work on 2.1 so I am looking forward to 2.2 or higher. I own a car and well I do take calls while driving and would like to use voice search or voice dialing to be hands free. Obviously Android can do this just not with 2.1 this is a pretty cool feature also available on 2.2 or higher. What Samsung has done with Touchwiz is pretty cool too. Let's face it Google is perhaps innovating the space a bit too fast. Samsung has developed Touchwiz not only to slow that hectic innovation down. But, perhaps stall it completely on Samsungs devices that way we can enjoy 2.1 with Touchwiz just a little bit longer. It also sets the Galaxy S devices apart from all the other Android smartphones in the market running Google's latest innovations. But also because we like it and it is so good.
That new android Keyboard for Gingerbread is just what the Doctor ordered isn't it? How about the new Google personalized voice recognition for Google voice? Nice, but no thanks I like taking it slow with Touchwiz and 2.1. Who needs location services and GPS anyway right? What are your favorite 2.1 features?" - by Countbunny from the other forum.
That is how I feel about it.
So, I've seen that there are a few nice widgets that allow you some control over the design of the widgets. BITS is very very customizable, Zoom looks amazing, so does Widgetsoid, and Beautiful Widgets are indeed beautiful.
I'm looking for one that allows a specific thing, though, and I'd rather not go through what I did with Beautiful Widgets (installing it, being very disappointed, uninstalling, finding I'm just a few minutes beyond the refund time period, emailing the very-helpful developer and asking for a refund anyway, and they're very nice people by the way).
Also, please be understanding; I've had a migraine coming and going for a week and a half, and I'm trying my best to distract myself from it. So this info is probably available but I just can't *find* it. I can't manage to brain properly, I just can't. Please excuse the rambling...
So. I like the size and look of the HTC Sense clock on my Sensation--the one that takes up half the screen but is very large and has nice contrast--and also the location/temperature/high-low predictions on it. I *love* the BITS ability to stick anything anywhere in the widget, and to have an app or shortcut launch from the anything.
Is there a design-your-own-widget that is as pretty as the Sense clock, with the same location/weather info, but will let me stick battery indicator and shortcuts all over it? And make, say, the location launch Maps, and the date launch my calendar, and so on? It doesn't look like I can manage that with Widgetsoid or BITS, Beautiful Widgets won't let me show all the info I want to show at the same time, and Zoom is just plain intimidating. I'm sure there are more make-your-own-widgets but these are the ones I've found so far.
Is this out there? Can it be done?
Thank you!
elfchick said:
So, I've seen that there are a few nice widgets that allow you some control over the design of the widgets. BITS is very very customizable, Zoom looks amazing, so does Widgetsoid, and Beautiful Widgets are indeed beautiful.
I'm looking for one that allows a specific thing, though, and I'd rather not go through what I did with Beautiful Widgets (installing it, being very disappointed, uninstalling, finding I'm just a few minutes beyond the refund time period, emailing the very-helpful developer and asking for a refund anyway, and they're very nice people by the way).
Also, please be understanding; I've had a migraine coming and going for a week and a half, and I'm trying my best to distract myself from it. So this info is probably available but I just can't *find* it. I can't manage to brain properly, I just can't. Please excuse the rambling...
So. I like the size and look of the HTC Sense clock on my Sensation--the one that takes up half the screen but is very large and has nice contrast--and also the location/temperature/high-low predictions on it. I *love* the BITS ability to stick anything anywhere in the widget, and to have an app or shortcut launch from the anything.
Is there a design-your-own-widget that is as pretty as the Sense clock, with the same location/weather info, but will let me stick battery indicator and shortcuts all over it? And make, say, the location launch Maps, and the date launch my calendar, and so on? It doesn't look like I can manage that with Widgetsoid or BITS, Beautiful Widgets won't let me show all the info I want to show at the same time, and Zoom is just plain intimidating. I'm sure there are more make-your-own-widgets but these are the ones I've found so far.
Is this out there? Can it be done?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend Minimalistic Text. I'm not sure it will do *exactly* what you're asking it terms of design (but the possibilities are truly endless). There's a slight learning curve if you've never used anything like it, but once you get it figured out... you're likely to never look back.
Also, it's been a while since I've used it, but have you tried Fancy Widget? Back in the day it was a mirror image of the Sense flip clock, but it's come a long way... it was pretty customizable last I checked. Both apps have a free and paid version in the Market. Good luck.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Well, hey, I didn't know that was what Fancy Widgets was That looks like it *almost* can manage everything I want. So very close, terrific! It only has fixed info it can display, but it can start any application I want from the info it does have.
I've edited one of the backgrounds to stick icons next to the places where I've selected them to start, and that'll do for now. Thank you so much!
Minimalistic text definitely didn't agree with the on-again-off-again migraine, though Maybe I'll futz with it again some other time. I'd really like a pretty 4x2 clock that also has actual shortcuts with relevant icons embedded in it.
I wish the battery indicator on Fancy Widgets stood out a little more, even were just a different color of text. I wonder if that's possible.
Hello all!
Been using Themer for some days now, and it's just great compared to other launchers out there. I tried GO launcher but hated the ads and 'chinese style'. Tried Nova too, but it was too similar to TW in my use. Themer is both original and not-pushy.
I use the HUD theme, which looks great and keeps the kids away from my phone (because it looks so weird ). One thing I don't really care about is the weather. I have a weather app I use daily to check the weekly forecast, I go out a few times a day, I have windows in my house so I can check the weather by turning my head... I really don't need Themer telling me the wrong weather anymore.
So, my request: could someone swap the weather widget to show something else, like core temp? I know I could do it myself, but it would take weeks and most of you can probably do it in a few minutes.
acmer77 said:
Hello all!
Been using Themer for some days now, and it's just great compared to other launchers out there. I tried GO launcher but hated the ads and 'chinese style'. Tried Nova too, but it was too similar to TW in my use. Themer is both original and not-pushy.
I use the HUD theme, which looks great and keeps the kids away from my phone (because it looks so weird ). One thing I don't really care about is the weather. I have a weather app I use daily to check the weekly forecast, I go out a few times a day, I have windows in my house so I can check the weather by turning my head... I really don't need Themer telling me the wrong weather anymore.
So, my request: could someone swap the weather widget to show something else, like core temp? I know I could do it myself, but it would take weeks and most of you can probably do it in a few minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there!
Having something like core temp is a bit tricky, as the widgets we provide don't really include that option.
Have you tried going into Themer Settings - Weather - then changing your weather provider - this might fix your temp problem.
You could always post the theme's wallpaper (found in Themer Wallpapers in your Gallery) and we could try Photoshop the "temperature" text and replace it with something else instead?
Changing the provider doesn't help. It still shows 0 all the time.
I can't think of much else to fill the empty space with. While I was quickly checking how the themes are built, I noticed that there's a line in launchersettings.xml that looked weird:
Code:
<string name="com.mycolorscreen.themer.wallpaper_transistion">slide</string>
Is it really supposed to be 'transistion' and not 'transition'?
Anyway, onto the request again. I'm starting to feel OK with the weather filling the space. I think I have figured out something though: I have all my location things off, so it mught cause a problem for the weather widget. Ideally I'd like it to work so that you have an option to lock your location (just use the one it has now and lock it or type it in) and then it just regularly sends weather data on the same location to the widget. Now it seems to try to fetch your location, then send it to the weather service and that sends the data back to widget. I don't travel much so having a locked location would be a nice thing to have in the widget. Only time the widget has chances of updating the temp is when I go geocaching
Does it even work like that?
Hi,
I wanted to get a sense of what others are using for their launcher interface for their TS.
I have tried a handful but nothing really seems to fit the bill all that well.
I have tried
Google Now Launcher
Launcher 8
Smart Launcher
Various "Big" and "Senior Phone" launchers
Nova Launcher
among others....
I seem to be constantly going back to the stock launcher (not OUI 2.0 as that is just crap)
What are you guys using or recommend trying?
One thing I seem to really hate about going to alternative launchers is the loss of the "real" status bar..... I have tried Swipe Status Bar, but that just introduces issues with having to swipe down when you need to access touch points that are near the top of the screen. (Plus the last version that was released completely made icons no longer clickable)
D.
Stock launcher for me seems fine.
I switch between stock Android launcher and GEL. I never use OUI2.
"OK Google ! Find me a smart watch like the TrueSmart was promoted to be during Kickstarter..."
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
trent999 said:
I switch between stock Android launcher and GEL. I never use OUI2.
"OK Google ! Find me a smart watch like the TrueSmart was promoted to be during Kickstarter..."
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart Launcher for me, Operative style.
I'm pretty happy with lucid launcher across all my devices.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I have used ADW EX on my other devices for a few years, so I installed it. After tweaking the icon/text sizes and a few Gravity box tweaks, seems to work quite ok.
I think pretty much any launcher will do, as long as you can customize it around the limited screen space.
Lightening launcher with x3 UI layout.
Just tried smart launcher 2 as mentioned on here. It's really good! all the elements fit perfectly on the screen almost like it's made for the TS.
I really use the OUI... But I only tried stock and OUI, didn't try any others yet, so this might change
nova for me just with the icons set very big like my status bar to much and not a fan of the status bar app that will give you access to it never worked quite like the stock status bar should.
I've been using Mini Launcher... although only for a few days and haven't tried many other options yet, so i might change if there's anything better
+Lokifish Marz. Can you please elaborate a little on your set up.
Thanks in advance.
Right now it based on Lightning but really needs to be a standalone.
Thank You Sir?
---------- Post added at 01:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 PM ----------
Would love to have this for my Watch!
Personally, I really liked the WP8 launcher. Could fit lots of useful info and apps on the watch screen.
jd
I keep falling back to the stock launcher. I've tried a few (nova, apex, and similar), but the status bar is the biggest issue. I'm really fond of the bar for easy overview of new notifications, and can't really live without one. Swipestatusbar solution works ok:ish, but not having the bar there after exiting apps and having the bar interfere with touch event at the top makes it a dealbreaker.
OUI is almost there - it has widgets, app drawer and screen sorting, and the status bar. It does however lack in other ways, like missing an indicator for which screen you are on, and everything looks very blurred, together with almost no customization. Some widgets looks as if they are rendered at like 50x50 pixels and zoomed to fit the screen. Also seems unstable, it has crashed a ton of times.
If the stock launcher could just get widget support, an app drawer and preferably a way to add/remove/sort your screens, I'd be happy with it. For now it works though, and seems fast and stable with status bar working..
EDIT: After playing around a few hours with different launchers today, I finally went back to Nova. It takes some getting used to, but the status bar issue now feels like an acceptable loss compared to all the gains. It works very well, and renders on small screens better than most other launchers (some have too much paddin in the grid, some render icons very pixelated or blurry, and so on). Nova does a good job, my only peeve is that icons are aligned to the top of their grid position, and widgets are aligned to the center. This means that if you place an icon next to a widget, they will not align, and also the icons come a bit too close to the top. However, it's still better than the alternatives I've tried, so sticking with Nova for now.
When?
Lokifish Marz said:
Lightening launcher with x3 UI layout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When will you be releasing it??? :highfive:
I am using launcher 8.
The tiles uses most of the screen at any given time, as opposed to a more regular android launcher.
Android launchers in general wastes a lot of screen real estate. This is because of the way the icons are organized, with lots of empty space between them.
The tiles you get in launcher 8 is quite tight, like in a proper windows phone.
I like this.
The tiles are also customizable in size, so stuff that is often used will have big tiles, while the lesser used programs get smaller tiles.
Launcher 8 also runs smoothly.
jdommer said:
Personally, I really liked the WP8 launcher. Could fit lots of useful info and apps on the watch screen.
jd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
am using this too
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
i use tsf shell for many years on all my phones and tablets.
now i use it on the truesmart and it really works great.
its smooth, it looks cool, you reach everything you want in short time.
shure i have to use swype status bar, but that is not really a problem.
ok it is not really cheap, but you only pay one time and can use it on all devices, so i think the price is fair if you have more devices
The Planner Pro app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appxy.planner looks like a good substitute but the layout rendering seems buggy on the landscape layout of the Gemini.
I've yet to try it but for a long time on Android devices I have used Tiny Calendar
I've not had an major problems with it and my father gets on with it as well on his android mobile so I shall try it when I get mine. Hopefully it will work well enough
Elwyn M3100 said:
I've yet to try it but for a long time on Android devices I have used Tiny Calendar
I've not had an major problems with it and my father gets on with it as well on his android mobile so I shall try it when I get mine. Hopefully it will work well enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice layout for calendar views. But Psion Agenda also allowed incorporation of To Do items.
For ToDo things I tend to use Google Keep now. With the benefit of it synchronising across all my devices with that account connected.
Thanks for the recommendation of Tiny Calendar. This is the best app I've seen for replicating the two-week custom view I use for Google Calendar on the web, and the widgets aren't bad either. It took me a while to find the customisation options (you have to force rotate to portrait using the Gemini App Bar) but now it's set up to my liking it's great.
I stopped using to-do lists years ago when I switched from EPOC to iOS and couldn't find a way to integrate them into calendar apps in the way Psion Agenda did. I generally use all-day calendar entries instead, so Tiny Calendar fits my use pattern perfectly. Anyone with similar needs might like to check out Calendar Widget which among other options gives a very nice semi-transparent agenda list on the home screen that makes very efficient use of screen real estate.
I have high hopes for the official Gemini Agenda clone when it finally sees the light of day. One of the joys of Psion Agenda, aside from its fantastic integration of calendar and to-do functionality, was that absolutely everything could be done without using the touchscreen. Android on the Gemini makes touch functions much more responsive than the old resistive hardware and stylus, but I'd sooner have the keyboard shortcuts back.
If Gemini Agenda can replicate that behaviour I'll be overjoyed. Those early screenshots certainly looked promising.
I can also recommend Jorte. It has a great Daily and Weekly layout including To Dos. Works well in the landscape layout.
This is probably the best Agenda substitute. It's the aCalender+ and even has an annual calendar view:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.withouthat.acalendarplus
The official Agenga app is now available.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pripla.gemagenda
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Pripla.PlanetSyncAdapter