Develop Bugs

[Q] can the search bar be removed ?

Nearly every picture of this phone I've seen it has a rather large search bar at the top of the home screen. Can it be removed? If not - could it be removed with root ?

jake21 said:
Nearly every picture of this phone I've seen it has a rather large search bar at the top of the home screen. Can it be removed? If not - could it be removed with root ?
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P3Droid has done it...

by far my biggest gripe with ics

Hum. But he didn't say how Hopefully google rethinks this feature of the software. I mean I don't mind it being optional and default but ...
oscillik said:
P3Droid has done it...
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Click to collapse

If you remove that ... you need another hack to enable "search".
Because there is no search "key" (virtual key).

gogol said:
If you remove that ... you need another hack to enable "search".
Because there is no search "key" (virtual key).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They could bind it to long-press task switcher key for example. My x10 did also come without search button but it was bound to long-press menu key. Should be possible with software keys as well, right?
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

I wouldn't mind so much if they let me resize the damn thing. I know it's important but I really want it a quarter of it's current size.

I think P3Droid did it by modifying Launcher.apk and pushing it back to the device.

gogol said:
If you remove that ... you need another hack to enable "search".
Because there is no search "key" (virtual key).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thye could let us at least be able to move it.. say to one of the other 5 screens, so its not on the main one

I believe its constant across all 5 homescreens, but I understand what you mean. I assume you mean have only one, and make it available to move around right?

If you are willing to root, then you can do many UI customizations as per P3Droid's mods or Paul_Brian's ROMs. You need root because most involve editing the launcher or framework-res.apk and other system components.

Yea. For me anyways I would rarely use search; so stuffing it in a place where it doesn't take prime space would be nice....; alternatively it could just be an ap that you can put on a screen as desired; or a menu option to enable / disable. Lots of solutions that doesnt' require it to be on every screen at the top...
DDRFAN said:
I believe its constant across all 5 homescreens, but I understand what you mean. I assume you mean have only one, and make it available to move around right?
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Click to collapse

Considering that you can't use the space that is left when you get rid of the search bar, I personally don't see what all the fuss is about.
You cannot place homescreen shortcuts or any other widget there, since as soon as you pick up an icon or widget to place on the home screen, that area is reserved for the Remove/App Info/Uninstall prompt.
So the only result of getting rid of the search bar would be a blank space that can serve no function at all. If I had to choose between a blank space that cannot be utilised, over a search bar...I'd choose search bar.

Or just download a different launcher. My HC tablet has the Google Search widget at the top-left corner that is static. A quick ADW EX download and bada-bing, bada-boom.
I'm running ICS CM7 theme on my G2x and I kinda like the search bar's location. Eventually I'd like to replace it with a clock or weather widget, but I don't stick with the stock launcher very long.

Ack I though the space could be used (I do not yet have the phone). That is also sad
oscillik said:
Considering that you can't use the space that is left when you get rid of the search bar, I personally don't see what all the fuss is about.
You cannot place homescreen shortcuts or any other widget there, since as soon as you pick up an icon or widget to place on the home screen, that area is reserved for the Remove/App Info/Uninstall prompt.
So the only result of getting rid of the search bar would be a blank space that can serve no function at all. If I had to choose between a blank space that cannot be utilised, over a search bar...I'd choose search bar.
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Click to collapse

When you disable google search it doesn't remove the permanent widget?

oscillik said:
Considering that you can't use the space that is left when you get rid of the search bar, I personally don't see what all the fuss is about.
You cannot place homescreen shortcuts or any other widget there, since as soon as you pick up an icon or widget to place on the home screen, that area is reserved for the Remove/App Info/Uninstall prompt.
So the only result of getting rid of the search bar would be a blank space that can serve no function at all. If I had to choose between a blank space that cannot be utilised, over a search bar...I'd choose search bar.
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Click to collapse
Your absolutely right but the trouble is it just looks ****e so I'd rather it wasn't there.
I'm sure someone will work out how to reclaim the space.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

I find its design rather pointless, as soon as you click in the search box you're taken to another slightly smaller search box which has none of the transparency of the first...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

pnnorth said:
Your absolutely right but the trouble is it just looks ****e so I'd rather it wasn't there.
I'm sure someone will work out how to reclaim the space.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about a complet transparent search bar? You couldn't see it but it's there and if you know it you can use it.

The search bar should remain a widget, as it used to be. That would give users the most options, which is what Android is about.

[APP][LAUNCHER] TasKarou Launcher Overlay

Tired of moving your fingers up/down your tablet to switch applications? Try out TasKarou!
TasKarou is a multitasking launcher overlay.
Taking inspiration from the 'Quick Controls' feature in the android browser, TasKarou provides a multitasking layer on top of a launcher on tablets.
By swiping anywhere on the left or right edge of your tablet screen, you can activate TasKarou's UI.
It gives you access to a quick, smooth, and intuitive interface to facilitate app launch, transition, and management for the user
The user interface brings a more responsive, and enjoyable level of interaction to your tablet.
Notes:
To use TasKarou, set it as the default home launcher, and from TasKarou's settings, select the actual home launcher you want to overlay.
TasKarou user interface is then triggered by swiping from either the left of right edge of your tablet screen, while still allowing access to the overlaid home launcher through the home button.
The app is also available in the android market.

nice app, but how do i use the browser controls? when im in the browser and put my finger to the side the taskarou menu opens...

kendong2 said:
nice app, but how do i use the browser controls? when im in the browser and put my finger to the side the taskarou menu opens...
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It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.

ne0fhyk said:
It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
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Click to collapse
that sucks, because it basically makes the browser unusable.
ne0fhyk said:
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some ideas from the top of my head:
- disable taskarou menu completely when in browser
- disable one side of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
- disable the upper/lower/middle half of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
on another note, the notification HAS to go. at least make it optional.
that being said, i really do like the concept of the app :good: i found myself regularly swiping in from the screen edges when not in browser, and then being disappointed that nothing happened.

kendong2 said:
that sucks, because it basically makes the browser unusable.
some ideas from the top of my head:
- disable taskarou menu completely when in browser
- disable one side of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
- disable the upper/lower/middle half of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
on another note, the notification HAS to go. at least make it optional.
that being said, i really do like the concept of the app :good: i found myself regularly swiping in from the screen edges when not in browser, and then being disappointed that nothing happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestions. I have a few other ideas along with the ones you suggest that I will try to integrate, and test in the following days.
In the meantime, I updated TasKarou to also support android phones. I duplicated this thread in the 'Android Apps and Games' section to make it more visible: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1984010

I like this. Definitely a nice addition to my current launcher.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Definitely slick in some aspects. Can't say I really like it as it messes with my LMT set up and takes up more RAM on top of it.
There's a lot to be done like distinguishing different "hotspots" and designating right side only or left side only. Overall though I really enjoy the transitions and how the menu auto-switches based on which choices you're hovering over. Very intuitive choices too that I agree with about which things go where.
Looking forward to the potential this holds in the future. I may just abandon my LMT setup if done right.
Edit: And of course the ability for users to add/edit the options, potentially switch the color for mere superficial reasons. Something like my screenshot.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

ne0fhyk said:
It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.
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Click to collapse
Maybe ask SwipePad's developer.
(I'm not being sarcastic)

Really useful. Love the idea, but it does cause a few conflicts with apps that rely on swiping from the sides of the screen. Having said that, when I set the margin to 13 pixels I can use the Dolphin browser (for example) without too many issues by not swiping from the outer edge, but by placing the finger a little more away from the edge and then swiping inwards. Other apps are less forgiving.
What about a button in the notification area, which is visible at all times anyways?
EDIT:
If swiping has the preference, then it would be more logical to align the available programs/tasks to the side from which was swiped. Swiping and selecting can be done with one hand then, regardless of which hand was used to swipe with.

The recents button is useless, I never use it, ever.
I'd like the option to use this instead and just disable the side activation altogether.

Nice idea. However on TF101 after getting the quick control moving the finger to one of the options too fast causes the quick controls to disappear. I have to move the thumb really slow in order to select any option. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon:fingers-crossed:.

ppl get over it, the man is trying to make ur life simpler, so if u don't like some stuff about the app then tell him your opinions in a decent way so he can make a proper development for the app instead of trashing it, otherwise f*** off

I like this!
1. I only see it from the right edge in portrait.
2. Might have a user selected area(s) for its swipe. This would allow those with conflicts to fix them. There is a similar app on Play which just gives a row running/recent apps icons which is not a bad interface. I found its use of the bottom obtrusive.
3. The home key does not go home in the base browser (I am using Trebuchet on a CM10).
4. There is a difference between "running" and "recent" (exited, cached, and still available.) !!
Long press of home gives a vertically tiled thumbnail view of both.
Taskarou shows only icons of running apps, not recent.
Taskarou should show both, either in two panes or in one with some distinction?, i.e. frame around one or the other. I sort of like having the thumbnails and they could be tiled or cascaded. If cascaded, should be focus-able, if tiled, scroll larger view like the app list. Best eliminated the number of apps option or make that for the pane (but that would be scroll-able for more). Cascading the main webOS motif. Flick down to kill?

mosta_9741 said:
ppl get over it, the man is trying to make ur life simpler, so if u don't like some stuff about the app then tell him your opinions in a decent way so he can make a proper development for the app instead of trashing it, otherwise f*** off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, as far as I can see, no one is trashing his app. So maybe lower your tone a bit and at least pretend to be able to communicate in a proper way.instead of telling people to "F-off".
The developer probably appreciates the feedback as he responds to it. Feedback (be it positive or negative) is valuable for both him and the app he works on. The end product can benefit from any kind of feedback as it points out flaws and strong points, and it can give the developer some different perspectives and experiences from different users and from different devices.
The day a developer stops listening to his/her targeted market is the day the product will begin its downfall.

Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?

360porcento said:
Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That'd be cool, thanks.

Was having issues on my Nexus 7 running SmoothRom 4.1.2. Updated to 4.2 and no more disappearing quick controls as soon as my finger leaves the border. To get them to stay I had to leave my finger there for at least 1.5 seconds. Now all is well. Really liking it. I look forward to extended and customizable menus
Update:
Scratch that. Conflict was gesture control. Had it set to consume events in starting zone. So a touch on the edge first went to gesture control. Just an iD10t error.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

ddlooping said:
That'd be cool, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you the the same guy as the OP?

360porcento said:
Are you the the same guy as the OP?
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Click to collapse
No but it'd cool regardless as I'd be interested in seeing it in action.
(the app that is)

360porcento said:
Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would loved one, that'd be greatly appreciated... thanks! (i am the op)

FireOS tips and tricks

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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.

[Q] Few Questions!

Hello, I just bought Note 4 and me previous phone was Note 1! Its a big change but some stuff isn't in Note 4 or maybe i dont know how to use it yet
First I want to use customized widgets on lock screen, I could do that in jellybean but in kitkat i cant put any widgets on lock screen and there I tried to Google it but couldn't find any options called "enable lock widgets" in security settings, its not there!
and I dont want to use and thrid party softwares like lockgo
2nd question is about S-Note software, in Note 1 I could type some mathematical equations, i dont see this option anymore in Note 4, and I could make Squares and Circles manually which isn't available too

That is a huge leap!
I don't know about lockscreen widgets, as I never liked, nor used, them, but my guess is Samsung ditched them because they won't be in Android 5.0. Instead, we'll get notifications on the lockscreen, which I think will be infinitely more useful. I do know how to get S Note to recognize formulas, though:
Open S Note. Write a formula with the S-pen (or your fingers). Then, select it using the selection tool at the top. (It will tell you which tools are which if you hover the S-pen over them.) Then, click Transform Into when the menu pops up. Finally, click formula.

Ok thanks for the answers, i have one more question
I could use a wide wallpaper and when you move your home screen it extends to far right and left so you could see more of the wallpaper but now its always fixed picture,I tried to use some other software from Play but none of them worked

filthydani112 said:
Ok thanks for the answers, i have one more question
I could use a wide wallpaper and when you move your home screen it extends to far right and left so you could see more of the wallpaper but now its always fixed picture,I tried to use some other software from Play but none of them worked
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You're welcome, and as far as I know, it would take root to change that. Maybe someone else knows something, though.

Add extra home screens (?)

As a long-time Samsung girl, I've usually had 3 home screens on the go. Setting up my new Pixel XL last night, I just couldn't find out how to add any more screens, nor see anything mentioned about it online.
Undaunted, I grouped up apps in tidy folders on the (one) home screen. Then, despite having spaces still on that, I downloaded some new app - and the Pixel promptly created a second home screen and put the shortcut there. So now I do have 2 screens, except I haven't the faintest idea how I managed it. Nor can I create any more (I don't really need any more but it bugs me when I don't know how to do something).
Am I going mad? Is there a way of choosing to add extra screens?

Grab an app and slide it over to the right edge of the screen. This adds another screen.

st3ph3nbr!tt said:
Grab an app and slide it over to the right edge of the screen. This adds another screen.
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I thought it was probably me being an idiot. That works! Thank you