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I don't like to hold the home button to get the task manager. Are there other options like double clicking or maybe a gesture? I'm using Go Launcher EX.
I had Apex Launcher on captivate and saved my settings from there where swipe up would bring up my task manager. It worked on my S3 as well but if i reset my settings to blank i wouldnt be able to save it...
the best thing to do that might work which im gonna try since i just switced to Go Launcher is to bring my settings over to my captivate and then use the task manager as the swipe up gesture and then load the settings saved from there back on my device.
I'm using nova prime and I have double tap to open up recent apps works perfectly
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Check out this app called task changer in the market. You can set swipe gestures to open ics switcher.
os91 said:
Check out this app called task changer in the market. You can set swipe gestures to open ics switcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BEST RECOMMENDATION EVER.
Back in the Nexus S days I'd always hope that a dev would switch out the search key for recent apps, but this app totally makes up for the lack of that hardware key!
THANKS
os91 said:
Check out this app called task changer in the market. You can set swipe gestures to open ics switcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't find that app?
task+manager search results:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=task+changer+&c=apps
edit: N/m, Google Play buried it on the second page.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mNvbS5mdXRvbnJlZGVtcHRpb24udGFza21hbmFnZXIiXQ..
edit 2: I see why now.
* This app is no longer supported. It will be taken off the market in a few months. Thank you for your support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this is how I run my phone. I gesture everything from the right side of the phone since my thumb is always there. Lower half leads to 12 shortcuts that I always use. Swipepad beats going to the homescreen. And top half has multitasking options. Remember to hit the thanks button if you use either of these apps. Both are free
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pacosal.taskchangertitanium
try apex. I have double tap on homescreen to open facebook. Should work for the task manager too
Sent from my SGH-T999
You could always put a shortcut to the taskbar onto your desktop.
I put all my favorite apps into folders on my launcher.
The stripe at the top left is a slider for my screen brightness.
This keeps my desktop clean for when I use my animated fishtank desktop.
You can also use wave launcher btw. You can just swipe to bring it up
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Thanks everyone. I went with Wave Launcher. Very easy to set up.
CZ Eddie said:
I can't find that app?
task+manager search results:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=task+changer+&c=apps
edit: N/m, Google Play buried it on the second page.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mNvbS5mdXRvbnJlZGVtcHRpb24udGFza21hbmFnZXIiXQ..
edit 2: I see why now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app is called Task Changer, and search for it by:
"task changer"
With the quotations. Otherwise the stupid play store doesn't give you the exact hit.
I got the Samsung task manager to be a gesture when I swipe up in Go Launcher ex
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
grkmaster said:
I got the Samsung task manager to be a gesture when I swipe up in Go Launcher ex
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahhhh i use apex launcher which also supports gestures but theres no way for it to take me to the built in samsung task manager, i also use swipepad and cant find a shortcut to take me to the samsung task manager....very frustrating =/
I'm not sure if its considered a task manager, but my newest app does contain a Recent Apps feature.
Here's a link to a preview video I made http://youtu.be/UIEIqQYU0ZI
You basically create gestures to do all kinds of things and you're also able to move the little Trigger to quick-activate a gesture.
In the video, you'll see that if I drag my Trigger icon up and release, it'll launch out Recent Apps even if I didn't create a Recent Apps gesture. You can customize that part however you want.
Besides Recent Apps, other features are
Launching Apps
Changing Settings, including a whole Profile
Creating and launching App Panels (In the video I set the drag right action to be launch an App Panel that holds all my apps, so I can access all my apps no matter where I am)
Pulling Notification Bar
Opening a Webpage
And just... a whole lot more. The beginning of the video is a preview of the gestures that can be created.
The app will be released as soon as I am able to fully test out all its features on my Galaxy S III that is arriving tomorrow. Release date should be in the next 2-3 days and no later than the 15th.
erikikaz said:
The app is called Task Changer, and search for it by:
"task changer"
With the quotations. Otherwise the stupid play store doesn't give you the exact hit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all,
the Task Changer Titanium is better http://market.android.com/details?id=com.pacosal.taskchangertitanium
Try it for several days and you will see.
BTW, I am the developer.
Thanks
MMontanez347 said:
ahhhh i use apex launcher which also supports gestures but theres no way for it to take me to the built in samsung task manager, i also use swipepad and cant find a shortcut to take me to the samsung task manager....very frustrating =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you can do that i did is you can save your Launcher settings to your SD card and go back to your previous galaxy S and load it there.
I had Slim ICS on my Captivate and had gotten Task manager to install on the phone. Since it became a actual app it showed on my list for gestures. I saved the settings back to the SD and transferred back to the S3 and works .. just dont remove the gesture in the options in your launcher on your S3 or youll have to reload the settings again !
how to input license number?
pacosal said:
Hi all,
the Task Changer Titanium is better
Try it for several days and you will see.
BTW, I am the developer.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mr "Task Changer Titanium" Developer
I just bought a license and gave 5 star reviews on the app and the license app .... I got the thank-you pop up with the license number, telling me to enter it into the settings ... but I don't see anywhere in the TCT settings to enter it and I am still getting the periodic pop-up saying "you need to buy a license to run this ...."
JUST SO happy to have a touch/capacitive HOME solution again !!!
Thanks for you help
Alice the Brit - in currently sunny, steamy & wet Florida
- wanting to get above minimum posts so I can post pics of home screens and such
Also guy's there's a app made just for the Galaxy S III to provided this shortcut. It's in the Play Store https://play.google.com/store/apps/...5kcm9pZGFoZWFkLmdhbGF4eXMzX3Rhc2ttYW5hZ2VyIl0.
Is there a method by which we can change the 4 icons of the recomended apps when a headset is plugged in (Earphones homescreen page) or when the SPen is pulled (S Pen homescreen page)?
I've noticed the list has changed based on some apps I've loaded, but several are lame choices. I woul like my headset page to display audio / video player apps and not the Play Store, Flash Player, Chrome that it currently has on mine now.
The SPen homesceen is likewise useless with Play Store again.
Tap and hold on these "recommended apps" >>> cannot edit...
The recommended apps list is based on the frequency/most popular apps you use. I saw that as a tip somewhere when I was setting everything up. So launch the apps you want a few more times and they should start showing up down in the bottom row.
Solved
chongl said:
The recommended apps list is based on the frequency/most popular apps you use. I saw that as a tip somewhere when I was setting everything up. So launch the apps you want a few more times and they should start showing up down in the bottom row.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As simple as that? I've confirmed that the page buddy will update those "recommended" based on your usage.
Now if only I can change the content of the page, like replacing the S Pen buddy page display with a roll-your-own.
Thanks for the response chongl. :good:
I'm going to give my son my Epic, he's a toddler and he's all about playing on my phone..well, of course I want to disable certain features, password lock settings and play store etc, is there any 'kids corner' like apps or setups that I could use?
I'm on CM10.1 with it right now, one thing he loves doing is dragging apps from the drawer and making folders with tons of the same app in them..lol so want to cut that out, maybe require rolling back to GB where folders were not able to be created..of course having the ability to stop him from dropping shortcuts on the home screen at all would be best..
Any ideas?
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
I believe adw launcher has the option to lock the desktop
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
Nova and Apex can do it as well
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
Here's my current issue, if I could get around this I've got the perfect setup..
I want to use a password locker app to lock settings, which I can do, but I cannot lock nova settings, the app does not show up in the list on app lock apps even though it's in the app drawer. Doesn't make sense honestly.
The only other hurdles are disabling the long press home key/recent apps, although if I lock everything but his games it won't matter..just need to lock nova settings and if possible wallpapers, system settings and manage apps both require pin from the menu touch key.
I removed the notification bar and all quick toggles and the dock, going to add all games to desktop and lock it and delete the app drawer icon as well as hide and/or lock all apps like play store etc. Then putting on the otter box and putting some tape around it so he can't open the keyboard. I think he will enjoy having his own phone to play with, he loves the puzzle apps
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
luna_c666 said:
Here's my current issue, if I could get around this I've got the perfect setup..
I want to use a password locker app to lock settings, which I can do, but I cannot lock nova settings, the app does not show up in the list on app lock apps even though it's in the app drawer. Doesn't make sense honestly.
The only other hurdles are disabling the long press home key/recent apps, although if I lock everything but his games it won't matter..just need to lock nova settings and if possible wallpapers, system settings and manage apps both require pin from the menu touch key.
I removed the notification bar and all quick toggles and the dock, going to add all games to desktop and lock it and delete the app drawer icon as well as hide and/or lock all apps like play store etc. Then putting on the otter box and putting some tape around it so he can't open the keyboard. I think he will enjoy having his own phone to play with, he loves the puzzle apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova Settings is not an independent app, so...
Sent from HTC Incredible S @ CM10.1
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
Hmmmm...no way to lock or hide it...or disable the hardware keys (or at least the menu key)?
I just don't want him fiddling with the settings
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Re: Best setup for a kid on the Epic4G
luna_c666 said:
Hmmmm...no way to lock or hide it...or disable the hardware keys (or at least the menu key)?
I just don't want him fiddling with the settings
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A more unpleasant news: even you disable hardware menu key somehow, Nova Settings is still accessible via the app list - 3-dot button on the top right corner
Sent from HTC Incredible S @ CM10.1
AndyYan said:
A more unpleasant news: even you disable hardware menu key somehow, Nova Settings is still accessible via the app list - 3-dot button on the top right corner
Sent from HTC Incredible S @ CM10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, there's no app list button there I can delete the only shortcut to the app drawer. Not sure which version you are running or if you are thinking of ADW or Apex, one of which I do recall has the app list persistent on the homescreen as such. Novaprime does not have that..you can add one, but if I can lock the settings with a pin and lock desktop it will be quite locked down. Amy ROMS that have Navbar added in and disable the hardware keys?
Aha found a way to disable the Hardware keys....
"delete the text in /system/usr/keylayout/sec_touchkey.kl and then save changes in a root explorer app."
Now to figure out how to build a flashable file to replace said file with original file so touchkeys can be re-enabled so I can further modify the device...figure I could get it where I needed it and push a blank file via ADB or use a flashable zip like villianROM theming flash files to disable/enable them from recovery.
I could make a step-by-step once I figure this out, I'm sure there are lots of homeless (deactivated) Epics that would love to be cuddled by some toddlers lol
Well I gave my Epic to my son several months ago and it is still running strong the only thing he's managed to change is the wallpaper (I'm not sure how, but he did it from within the game 'Where's My Water' somehow, that is currently the background).
So step by step what I did was- Downloaded a favorite app blocker tool that requires a PIN to launch apps (the Audio Manager secret app is a great one IMO) and removes them from the app drawer (so far he's not been able to access it once anyway). I have another app locker that prompts with a fake 'Force Close' screen, you have to long-press OK to access the PIN entry dialogue, just another layer of security.
Put Google Play and any other app possibly triggered by a game/link into the 'Locked' section of your app locker.
Install Nova (I have the Prime version, it will likely be required) and in Settings, hide dock with a swipe gesture (I use two fingers rotated counter-clockwise), put 5 pages on the dock.
Place links to the app drawer and the Nova Action Hide/Show Notification Bar on the far right page of the dock (or far left will work as well), to hide the dock, slide over to the far-left page and use your swipe gesture. That way the dock can only reveal the app drawer and Hide/Show Notifications if you use your swipe gesture and then scroll 4 times to the right- something my son is almost certain not to accidentally do.
Next, navigate to the aforementioned folder (/system/usr/keylayout/ or similar) and delete both the menu touchkey line and the search touchkey line in the layout file. This will disable the actions, but will still respond to touch and blink/vibrate.
Remove any quicksettings accessible via notification menu- some apps are still programmed to be in regular view mode instead of fullscreen and a toddler will occasionally be able to access the notification menu- like Netflix, for example. Remove any actions and block any apps that can be triggered from the notification menu.
Finally, set up your desktop with all games and links your child would use and lock it from within Nova settings and lock desktop. You will still be able to access your dock, but you will not be able to add/delete apps or move them around on the desktop without long-pressing the lock icon, which doesn't resemble a button so my son hasn't figured that out yet either. (I'm screwed when he learns how to read, and he already knows his letters so it's only a matter of time now!)
I also used a piece of 3M double-stick adhesive strip (1/8" thick foam) and cut it so it covers both menu/search buttons and leaves home/back exposed- I didn't want him to get frustrated trying to tap the buttons and nothing happens since they still react to touch- I could have hidden the buttons, disabled them, enabled a navbar and only added those two buttons (home/back) but that would take up valuable screen real-estate for his movies and games. Then I finished by installing an OtterBox cover and taping the sides so that the phone will not slide open any longer.
He has access to one main screen and anything the phone can do, at least that he knows it can do, is located on that main screen, and he can't customize anything but the background image, apparently, lol.
It's pretty much like an iPhone now.
As a long time Android user, I (like most others) had a bit of a hard time getting used to using the Fire Phone's FireOS. Having used the OS for a couple of weeks now, it's not quite so bad once you get used to a few things and learn a few new tricks. Just wanted to start a thread for collecting these types of things that will help others making the transition to FireOS. I'm purposely omitting the fact that google play store can be side loaded whenever possible (sideloading the play store is something I highly recommend everyone with this phone do) so that I can focus on tips and tricks that actually relate to transitioning to FireOS.
Side panels Most everyone at this point is probably aware of the extra info panels that can be accessed by swiping in from the left or right edge of the screen. I have mixed feelings on this myself, as it's used well in some apps (like swiping from the right edge while typing a text message to add pictures), and not very well in other apps (and yet not at all in some apps). Additionally, it's not always obvious if an app does support this feature, or if a certain app will put these options in either the left panel, right panel, or both.
Back Button There is no back button on the Fire Phone. This was a cause of confusion at first. The back button has been replaced with a "swipe up" from the bottom of the screen to go back. This can be a bit finicky at times, but I've found that if I start a short swipe up from the top edge of the home button, it works nearly every time. Additionally, some apps seem to treat this a little differently, as from time to time I will see "back" and "menu" soft-buttons appear at the bottom of the screen when this gesture is used.
Screen Shots You can take a picture of whatever is on the screen by pressing the power and volume down buttons at the same time
App Switcher This is usually accessed on a NORMAL Android phone by long holding the home button. In FireOS, the same is accomplished by double-tapping the home button (the long hold in FireOS brings up voice search). This is the fastest way to switch between apps and gets you around having to navigate the carousel. Also, while in the app switcher, you can swipe individual apps up to kill the process AND remove them from the carousel. I like the Fire Phones implementation here much better than stock Androids. You can double-press the button very fast and this is much less disruptive to workflow while multitasking than pausing for a long press. I think Amazon implemented the switcher and action of the home button beautifully.
Home Button I initially found the behavior of the home button weird. On first press (from a running app), it will take you to the carousel. Additional presses from this point will cycle between the Carousel and the app tray.
App Tray Aside from subsequent presses of the home button, the app tray can be slid up by touching and dragging the bottom row of quick launch icons upward while in the carousel. Likewise, you can continually drag the app tray downward to eventually reach the carousel at the top. It will seem more logical if you picture in your mind that the Carousel sits at the top of the app tray.
Another App Tray annoyance is the lack of alphabetical sorting of apps. While I've found no way to do this automatically, apps can be dragged and dropped in the app tray in any order you like. Apps can either be dragged on top of eachother to create collections (folders), or dragged in between other apps for changing the sorting order. A bit of a pain initially, but pretty easy to keep up with once you get your current collection sorted initially.
Lastly, to get the most from your 4 quick launch icon slots - you can use collections (folders) there as well! This is a feature I'm really using a lot lately to make navigating and the lack of a normal launcher much easier! For example, currently I have the following 4 quick launch collections: "Communication","News","Organize" and "Media". Within the "Communication" collection, I have Phone, Contacts, Messaging, Email, Facebook, Messenger, and Snap Chat. Within the "News" collection, I have Yahoo, Silk Browser and Weather. Within "Oganize" I have Notes, Calendar, and Our Groceries. Within Media I havePhotos, Music, Prime Music, Instant Video, Plex and Netflix. Since using collections in the quick launch area, I find that I rarely ever use the app tray, as my most frequently used apps are right there, easily accessible from the Carousel.
Facebook Mesenger If you're used to using the floating chat heads, and missing them in FireOS, here is a tip. Go to messenger, and enter the settings. Navigate to "Chat heads", ensure the switch is set to "On" and that the "Hide when using apps that take up the full screen" checkbox is NOT checked. For some reason the FireOS launcher/carousel is treated like a full-screen app.
Music Fire phone comes with a "Music" app. But don't confuse this with Amazon's own "Prime Music" app - they are actually two different apps! For those that use the prime music service, do yourself a favor by installing "Prime Music" right from the Amazon App Store. Why this isn't on the phone by default is beyond me!
Cellular usage data As most of us have to keep tabs on our data usage, I find this to be a nice built-in feature (though not the easiest to find). You can set your monthly limit and view current usage under "Settings->Wi-Fi & Networks->See your cellular data usage"
Carousel I'm not a huge fan of the carousel, though I'm finally starting to adapt to it.
EDIT: I'm starting to become a huge fan of the carousel. It has forced me to become organized, and the ability to do simple actions (delete emails for example) without opening an app is just awesome once you get used to it.
There is one cool feature, and that's "pin to front". You can make any number of apps appear at the beginning of the carousel by long-pressing and selecting "pin to front". This has limited utility, as this is only efficient for pinning a few frequently used apps to the front of the list, but still useful once you start using it.
Also, the dragging and dropping apps from the app tray works to replace the default quick launch apps that appear at the bottom of the carousel.
For non-app items (books, music, etc) that appear in the carousel, long-pressing will reveal an addition option of "Pin to app grid", which will pin the book/music/whatever into the app grid for easy access just as if it were an app.
For Pinned items, you can reorder them kind of crudely with a long press and using the "Move to front" option
Status Bar By default, the status bar auto-hides. You set it to always be visible in Settings->Display
Lock Screen This actually has a very little-knows and very cool feature called a "Locket". This allows you to add a number of photos that can easily be accessed from the lock screen. The utility of this isn't immediately obvious, so consider this scenario:
You bump into an old friend in the mall and they ask how your family is doing. Instead of pulling out your phone, getting to the app tray, pulling up the "Photos" app and searching for pictures to show - you can use the locket feature to do this much more efficiently.
To setup and/or access the photo locket feature, from the lock screen, simply swipe from right to left (instead of swiping up to unlock). This enters the photo locket, where you can add more photos, or swipe left and right to view the collection of photos in your locket. It's actually a really neat feature and has some real utility (I can't count how many times I've had to fumble through navigating through my entire photo collection to show pictures of my kids to someone I haven't seen in a while. This really makes it easy)
Silk Browser Another thing I'm not very keen on - though if you plan on using stock FireOS, learning to properly use the app will help.
EDIT: Ok, the browser is growing on me now.
It can be a bit confusing since there is a menu button in the upper-right hand corner, a different menu in the left panel (accessed by swiping in from the left edge of the screen), and other options such as tab switching that are only visible at the bottom of the screen only at certain times. I'll try to detail some of the common functions here:
Bookmarking pages Bring up the page you want to bookmark, then use the menu button in the upper-right hand corner to add the bookmark
Desktop View Use the menu button in the upper right-hand corner and navigate to "Request another view", which will allow you to select the desktop view
Clearing browsing history Access the menu in the left panel, and go to settings, then "Your Data" -> "Clear Browser Data". From here you can clear just history, or anything else such as cookies, etc. You can also clear sites from the history list one at a time by using the left panel menu->History and long pressing the entries you wish to delete.
Tab Management This took me quite some time to figure out. Sometimes I would notice the tab switcher at the bottom of the browser, other times I wouldn't. To make these tab controls visible again, simply start scrolling the current web page back towards the top of the page and the tab controls will appear.
Private Browsing Mode This keeps websites from saving to your history, saving cookies, etc. Like other options, it's not easy to find in the Silk browser. To go into private browsing mode, use the Tab Management above to enter the list of tabs. On this screen you will find the option for private browsing.
Offline Reading One interesting feature that is useful (but poorly implemented) is "Reading Lists", which stories/web pages for offline reading. It's confusing, because you use one menu system to save to the reading list, and yet another menu to access the saved items. To save a page for later viewing, use the menu button in the upper right-hand corner and choose "Save to Reading List". To access the actual reading list to either read, or remove items, use the left panel menu->"Reading List"
Default Search Engine The search engine can be changed from the default (Bing) to either Google or Yahoo by going to the left panel->Settings->Search Engine
Cloud Photos Prime members get unlimited storage for backing up photos. Unfortunately, it's poorly implemented in FireOS and ONLY allows for automatic uploading of ALL new photos at this time. But what if you want to be able to specifically select only the photos you want stored on the cloud? Unfortunately in stock FireOS this isn't yet possible. However, if you have installed the Google Play Store or are familiar with side loading, look for the "Amazon Cloud Drive Photos" app - which oddly enough is published by Amazon for general Android devices, but not available to their own Fire Phone via their own App Store. At any rate, this is how to get around the limitation of the default implementation.
I'd love to hear tips from others and continue learning to use FireOS more efficiently. The tips I outlined above have made this a very usable OS for me, even though I flat out hated it at first. I'll try to keep up adding tips and tricks from others to this master list.
Edited the first post a bit. FireOS is really starting to grow on me and I'm actually more productive now on my Fire Phone than I was on my Galaxy Note II. Amazon still has some work to do on FireOS - but once you get the hang of it its a nice efficient OS
Found another tip. I'll add it here and to the original post:
For non-app items (books, music, etc) that appear in the carousel, long-pressing will reveal an addition option of "Pin to app grid", which will pin the book/music/whatever into the app grid for easy access just as if it were an app.
Thanks. Your tips made a real night and day difference between using Fire phone.
jondecker76 said:
Found another tip. I'll add it here and to the original post:
For non-app items (books, music, etc) that appear in the carousel, long-pressing will reveal an addition option of "Pin to app grid", which will pin the book/music/whatever into the app grid for easy access just as if it were an app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks JonDecker. Your tips made a difference of actually liking and using Fire phone. Couldn't find such information anywhere else.
Not a problem
After being with the phone for quite some time now, I actually cringe when I have to use my wife's LG G2 for anything. Once you learn a how to use FireOS , it's really pretty good!
Good stuff!!! I personally think that the interface is not that bad... and it is very smooth and quick... i like the phone. No tricks from me at the moment but i will share if i found any ?
Sent from my SD4930UR using XDA Free mobile app
If you have NFC turned on and tap it against your PC (with NFC as well) you can share the whats currently on your phones screen. I found this by accident. The screen shot pop's up in your pc's browser.
Increasing Battery Life
I have found that disabling Dynamic Perspective increases the duration of my phone charge significantly. This can be done by going to Settings (swipe from top) > Display > Configure low motion settings > Dynamic Perspecitve.
I'm glad to see a thread dedicated to this. I'd like to share a review I wrote on this phone a while ago as I feel it adds to the already terrific thread topic.
Below, in no particular order, is a list of things I hated out of the box. Following will be my feelings, along with tips & tricks, on the same items.
1. The Home Screen - I didn't like how the apps were randomly scattered on the home screen. It was difficult for me find what I was looking for.
2. No Google Play Store - I understand the logic behind this from a business prospective. However, from a consumer prospective, there are apps I use on a daily basis that were not available in the Amazon App Store. As bad as this sounds, it means I'd have to change my life style to accommodate this device. One thing that kind of floored me on this is that Google doesn't block the Amazon App store on their OS.
3. The grid - It scrolls up and down, where I've been used to scrolling left to right. Also, there is no way to easily sort the applications by alphabetical order. It simply displays them as they are installed.
4. The lack of soft keys - I've been accustomed to soft keys to open the menu, go home, view recently used apps, and to go back.
5. Notifications - The notification bar doesn't keep a log of icons of notifications. For example, if I get a KIK message it drops down, previews it, and vanished. Unless I open up the notification panel there is nothing to remind you of this. This bothers me as I often don't review them straight away and forget it even happened.
6. Keyboard - There is absolutely no way to install another keyboard. I've been a long time user of Swift Key and I keep find myself hitting the period instead of the space bar.
Due to the above I decided to try to make the phone a bit more what I'm used to. This was easy as I simply had to side load a few apps. This mainly included the apps that were not in the Amazon App Store along with a launcher to replace the Amazon Home screen. After installing several launchers I found one that I was happy with as it permitted me to use custom Widgets. I used it this way for a week or so and was happy to have my old Style back.
Now that I didn't feel held back, or limited by the device, I wanted to give it a go on how it was intended to be used. I changed my default home launcher to the Fire OS launcher. After using it a bit, and exploring it, it's my default launcher with no plans of going back to the standard Android Launcher! Below are the same 6 items listed above, but including how I feel about them now. It will also include what I consider to be tips & tricks, things I wish I knew out of the box.
1. The Home Screen - The use of Dynamic Perspective to access menus is amazing! The apps that are created for this OS have beautiful home screen widgets that I'm not sure I could go with out now. I love the fact I can read SMS messages on the home screen, emails on the home screen, a flip of the wrist shows me the current weather, my upcoming appointment and reminders, and much more. Although there is no easy way to change the apps listed, you can pin apps to the front. So simply pin the app that you want listed last first, and the first app last. This will put them in the order that you'd like.
2. No Google Play Store - As others have mentioned, installing the Google Play Store is very simply on this device. There is no downgrading required. Simply side load a few APK files. I won't go into detail on this as it can be found in a lot of other places.
3. The grid - I don't mind scrolling up and down now. It's second nature now. However, you still can not sort the apps. You must go through the tedious process of moving them one at a time by clicking and dragging it. I did this so they are sorted alphabetically. If I install a new app I now simply drag it where I feel it should be.
4. The lack of soft keys - I'm so used to swiping up now it's odd to use a traditional Android phone's back button! The physical home button works fine, especiall8y now that I discovered the "Quick Switch" menu by double pressing the home key.
5. Notifications - I've toggled all the options regarding notifications in the settings. My original complaint still exists. This was a HUGE set back for me with this device. Luckily, with a lot of trial and error, I found an app that works well for me. It's call NotifierPro Free. I configured it so a bar drops down and stays under the status bar. I also configured it so these notifications remain until I swipe them away. This has been a HUGE help in allowing me to adapt to this device.
6. Keyboard - There is still no way to change the default keyboard, even after side loading one. Amazon told me they made an update to their Kindles which allows the use of changing keyboard applications, so there will be an update that allows the Fire Phone to do the same.
Tips & Tricks / Q & A
1. Switching between running apps quickly.
- To do this simply press the home button twice quickly. You will be presented with a menu called "Quick Switch" where your most recently used apps can be found.
2. How do I quit apps that I'm not using at the moment to extend battery life and free resources?
- If you double click the home button to access the "Quick Switch" menu you can swipe up which will close the app, remove it from the quick switch menu, along with removing it from the cluttered home carousel.
3. Can I group applications together?
- Yes you can! Inside the home menu click and drag an application over another. It will ask you to give the new collection a name and they are then in a group. This is a great way to keep things together and sorted. You can also drag these "collections" into the home screen dock.
4. Any tips for the Camera?
- Yes! I've read about this "best shot" feature, but it didn't seem to do anything for me once I enable it. However, which viewing the photos you already have taken you will have a "best shot" option you can click on. This will show you the 3 photos the camera took, allowing you to select the one that you like the best.
- Burst Feature - The Amazon pages states you can click and hold the camera button to take a burst of photos. This doesn't work for me as it opens up Fire Fly. However, if you press and hold the soft key this feature works.
5. Amazon App Store or Google Play Store?
- I suggest you use the App from the Amazon App Store if available. Some of these apps are created specifically for the Fire Phone and give home screen widgets that the standard app does not support. For example, if you install KIK from the Amazon App Store it allows you to read messages on your home screen, where if you install it from the Play Store it does not.
6. Is the battery really as bad as people say?
- Maybe originally prior to the newest update. The newest update bring out amazing battery life, compared to my old phone at least. I can easily get through an entire day on a single charge. This is under moderate use such as messaging, emailing, browsing eBay, the web, and normal app use. I do not use the device to watch movies or television shows.
As I continue finding things about this phone that I feel are worth mentioning, I'll be sure to update this review. Outside of that, if you have bought this device but initially installed the Google Home Launcher, I strongly suggest you open your mind and give the Amazon Home Launcher a shot. It's truly amazing.
Can you post a link to "notification pro free"? I can't find it in the amazon store and my google-fu is failing me.
ractar28 said:
Can you post a link to "notification pro free"? I can't find it in the amazon store and my google-fu is failing me.
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I'm not sure if it's against any site rules, so I'll PM you.
---------- Post added at 05:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:40 AM ----------
ractar28 said:
Can you post a link to "notification pro free"? I can't find it in the amazon store and my google-fu is failing me.
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My apologies, and thanks for pointing this out. I had the app name wrong. It's actually NotifierPro Free!
Look at alternative markets or use a website to remotely download apks from the google appstore.
I have 1mobile market installed on my phone and it has it and it works.
Btw. Go Launcher Ex + Go Notifier works for notification badges (unread count at the app icon) and all widgets (you have to pull them onto the screen after every restart though) but has not wallpapers.
I use it, since I disliked the huge bar that Notifier used.
Now it almost feels like normal Android, I just wish I could deactivate the standard lockscreen... I already tried a lot of stuff via ADB, but I guess it needs root for it.
Since I do not want to root my phone as long as there is not notification bar like in stock android, I am fine now.
ractar28 said:
Can you post a link to "notification pro free"? I can't find it in the amazon store and my google-fu is failing me.
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Click to collapse
I like having found this thread, I had my fire phone for about a month now and I still can't get used to not having the back and menu soft buttons. Otherwise I do like the phone quite a bit and that is having to use it along with my Galaxy Note 3 work phone.
I just updated to official 8.0 and I noticed that I can't get PIP to work by pressing the home key. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?
I'm not having any luck with it either.
What are you guys testing on? Youtube? Do you guys have youtube red?
No luck here either....tried it on YouTube and Chrome.
It only works on YouTube Red or Google Music paid subscription. I have both and running pip with no issue.
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Works for me too. Read somewhere uninstall and reinstall might fix it too.
I can't seem to get it to work on my pixel either, updated to the official 8.0 today, can't see what I'm doing wrong, does it have to be enabled?
Demolition49 said:
I can't seem to get it to work on my pixel either, updated to the official 8.0 today, can't see what I'm doing wrong, does it have to be enabled?
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I wondering the same thing! I did a clean install of oreo so you can rule out any kind of bug from not doing a clean install and I have youtube red...
Pip is app related. So for now only as ppl mentioned above YouTube red(which is not available worldwide and also needs a paid subscription) and a few paid apps have the ability to work with it. Soon we will see more developers attaching pip mode in their apps, all we have to do is wait I guess
It works for me in Youtube (Red), Chrome Beta and whatsapp
It works just fine in chrome.
1. Launch Chrome app
2. Find a video to watch and tap on it so that it is playing in full-screen
3. Simply select the home button and the video player should shrink down in size
4. With the smaller player, you can move it around your display, play and pause the video, or tap on the headphones icon to have the video play in the background
5. At any time, you can select the smaller player and tap on the center icon to reopen the Chrome application
6. When you’re done watching, simply move the player to the bottom of the display and it will close
I don't think you need YouTube red to use PIP. I didn't have any issue in developer preview. If you look at my attachment, you can see that chrome and YouTube were given permission.
jimmmysil said:
Pip is app related. So for now only as ppl mentioned above YouTube red(which is not available worldwide and also needs a paid subscription) and a few paid apps have the ability to work with it. Soon we will see more developers attaching pip mode in their apps, all we have to do is wait I guess
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Go to settings>apps and notifications> special app access >picture in picture ... You will see all the apps turned on, none seem to work for me, so I don't get it
Demolition49 said:
Go to settings>apps and notifications> special app access >picture in picture ... You will see all the apps turned on, none seem to work for me, so I don't get it
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Yeah that seems ok. Your Android version is ready for pip but the apps yet are not ready to perform this way
I did a video call in Duo with DP4 and PiP worked without issue. I haven't had it work though with Youtube however I don't have Youtube Red.
Both PIP and Splitscreen work fine for me (I do not have YouTube Red).
I had been on the 8.0 beta for a while and remember reading a guide that showed us how to add the 4th (far left circled in red) button that acts as the PIP button. If I can find the write up again, ill link it.
EDIT:
This is how I got it, so might be a little different, but it works.
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/enable-android-os-picture-picture-mode-right-now-0176848/
The navigation bar section in System UI Tuner was removed back in DP3. This method seems to still work https://www.xda-developers.com/desp...av-bar-lockscreen-in-android-o-dp3-heres-how/ to add a PiP button.
We should be able to use a built-in system feature without the need of a 3rd party application.
Took this from Android o introduction guide
pyroclasticmayhem said:
The navigation bar section in System UI Tuner was removed back in DP3. This method seems to still work https://www.xda-developers.com/desp...av-bar-lockscreen-in-android-o-dp3-heres-how/ to add a PiP button.
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I'm rooted and installed custom navigation bar per the link. If I go to add an extra right or left button, pip does not show up as an option. I'm on the official oreo release. How does this work? Thanks
Update - by following instructions here: https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/enable-android-os-picture-picture-mode-right-now-0176848/ was able to create an extra button for pip. Custom navigation bar pretty much provides the same functionality as the now missing sytem ui tuner. My issue now is that if I go to full screen the navigation bar is hidden, if I double tap to get them back then I'm out of full screen. This happens in Chrome using the desktop version of youtube. I still get a pip but it is of the whole chrome youtube page, not the youtube video.
Nevemind - still learning oreo. If in portrait mode with full screen, I can swipe right to left and get the nav buttons back, then I can use the extra button I created to do pip. Just discovered that the feature that hides the button is called "immersive" mode which I suppose is great if you want to watch videos or anything else full screen without the nav buttons showing.