Database Develop

Sexy applications, widgets

Hey guys,
I bought a sexy gadget, the Hero. IMO, the UI is slick.
I like the way I can setup the 7 screens, but I only use the HTC widgets.
Why ?
Not because there are not better alternatives. But most of them are ugly.
Of course, this is my opinion.
So I am looking for nice looking, sexy widgets and applications that can compete with what is running on the iPhone.
Examples of what I think is good (what follows is my opinion, yours can defer) :
- Flyscreen
- Cardiotrainer
- most of Googles applications, I like the minimalistic interface
- IM+ (I switched to the full version, to get rid of the ads).
There are also other good applications, but (again in my opinion) the interface can be improved.
They do the job, and usually very well, but I would not trust my dad with them, he would get lost.
So what do you think ? I just read an article stating that the polish of a program is as important, if not more important, then to add extra functionallity. I 100% agree, I need 1 app to do 1 thing, maybe 2, not 20.
Usually it just gets bloated, ugly and unresponsive.
So share with the rest of us your list of sexy applications with nice looking interfaces.
Or maybe you do not agree with me ?
Jan

although we have the hero's built in widgets, I love koxx's message widget, which pulls email and sms together, and his calender widget, both of which are fully sinkable.
Also, there is the Sony Erricson AmbientTime app that was floating around, which is pretty

Metro UI apps

Hi. I am a graphics guy not a coding guy to start out, and i love zune home and metro ui launchers for my droid 2. And i wonder if it is possible to program a new contacts, text, gmail, phone, etc.. app that looks like metro ui but still has all the functionality of the origional app? Idk if this is a coding issue or a hardcore theme making issue? Any insight would be appreciated

I really like the WP7 interface. As far as my ability I could help, but I can not programming, but only to do simple graphics. It's my thread. at least I tried
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=826888

ColorNote

Hi,
Am pretty new to Android and came across this really nice App/Widget called ColorNote. An all in one package that has a lot of features and comes in a reasonably sized package.
I'm sure many of you are already using this. The reason for the post however is not to promote this, but to ask if anyone either knows of a way to contact the author or know of an alternative to this.
What I need is an app with all the features of the above, but with a widget that is NOT a sticky post, but with something like a flip pad. That is the widget shows page 1 of the notes and then I either click an up/ down arrow to move between pages or click on the tip of a page to move between them as in the app here -> http://www.appbrain.com/app/simple-notes/hu.monsta.simplenotes
Can someone help me?
Thanks

Evernote is one of the best note taking apps. You can do voice notes, text notes and pictures. Web, desktop and phone apps. My only real complaint is that you can't write checkable lists on the phone app, but they are adding new stuff all the time. Oh and it doesn't have a widget, but you should still check it out.

springpad is also pretty good.. has awidget where you can scrol through different notes...

I use colornote for checklists. I like it. Its very clean and easy to use.

I have been trying to embrace the cloud using Springpad on my phone, CR-48 (meetings/note taking computer at work), my W7 work desktop and my Macbook Pro personal laptop. It's been working out well so far.

Colornote is nice for taking quick notes, like during a meeting or something.
For everything else, I also use Springpad. In the past I've gone through Catch (formerly 3banana) and Evernote both but I feel that Springpad is superior to all of them.

Just to add an extra choice, I've been liking Simplenote
Andronoter is a free Android client of it, www.simplenoteapp.com is the web interface.

SwipePad and themes!

Since we all love our Android devices, I figured I would bring a bit of a recommendation to those who may not already know.
For a couple years now, I have been using an app called SwipePad on all of my android devices. This app allows you to launch apps with a quick swipe from the edge of the screen. You choose a swiping "Hot spot" (location for the gesture to begin), determine which apps should appear there, and viola! You can either set specific apps to appear, or you can have it set to recently opened apps. The app is free, but there are a couple of bonus add-ons for $1 each. I personally only purchased the dynamic pad add-on, which lets you change the amount of apps that appear when you swipe.
Now, I know that this is a really popular app already, and im sure most of you have heard about it before. There are 2 reasons i bring it up though. For those who dont know about it, this app is INCREDIBLY handy, especially on a bigger device like the Z Ultra.
The second, and in my opinion more important reason, is that swipepad has introduced a theming engine for this already awesome app. I just so happened to stumble upon some themes made by dev FlyingRhinoCMG. I also happened upon his Google+ community for swipepad themes. He does AMAZING work. Not only that, but he takes requests. I asked him for a Super Mario theme as perhaps an idea, and he had one made by the time i got home from work the same day. He only charges a buck for the themes, and they are well worth it. If you havent used swipepad, or you have but wanna spice it up, please take a moment to check both out. Links Below.
SwipePad - https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ipepad.android
SwipePad Themes - https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...FlyingRhinoCMG
Theme Community on Google+ - https://plus.google.com/u/0/communit...77419262658145
TL;DR? Click these links, try these apps. Cheers!

Opinions on the Microsoft Launcher

I'm interested in your opinions on the Microsoft Launcher, especially if you are on it or were. This looks pretty good to me: Microsoft Launcher Review
In the past, I tended to return to the phone's native launcher because:
1. It ended up being actually better all around for what I wanted to get done.
2. It's easier to leverage other people's experience.
My reasons for going with 3rd Party launchers have been:
1. OEM was not as flexible. I can't seem to get the dark theme even with LWP+. All of my Setup screens are still black on white. It's a checkbox on the Microsoft Launcher. I can lay things out with as many icons on a row as I want and can even get my own icons for the things that have icons that make no logical sense.
2. After a factory reset you can restore your setup. With OEM you cannot unless you have root and restore from TWRP. I don't have root for the first time with my Note 9.
3. You can bring the same interface it to any Android phone such as from a Samsung to a Pixel 2 (LG) with no costly layout time and learning curve.
I don't know if it affects battery life or not. I'm used to having root so I don't know if there are apps that let me see what sucks on the battery and what doesn't.
I'm also interested in the best way to put to sleep battery suckers for processes I don't use.
Thanks!

Been on it for a while now.... And honestly I love it. It really is so useful. It has time-line built in. It has loads of customization like for example probably the best implementation of adaptive icons I've ever seen. Every last one of my icons are the shape I choose without that stupid white background. It actually convinced me to switch back to using outlook as my main client and it's been so long since I had some of the most basic email features on mobile I forgot how nice it is. I hope they continue this project. I also started testing using edge as my browser by forcing it as default and my battery usage while online seems to be better... Could be placebo. Gotta say aside from some optimization issues/ redraws here and there I've been super happy with my decision to try it out. I have religiously used pixel Launcher or the open source version here on xda called rootless launcher for years. It's been eye opening for sure... I previously used Nova and a few others but so far I'm sticking with this new Microsoft project to try and diversify my digital footprint considering I've spent the better part of my adult life freely giving away my personal info to Google without a single thought.

bobby_digital234 said:
Been on it for a while now.... And honestly I love it. It really is so useful. It has time-line built in. It has loads of customization like for example probably the best implementation of adaptive icons I've ever seen. Every last one of my icons are the shape I choose without that stupid white background. It actually convinced me to switch back to using outlook as my main client and it's been so long since I had some of the most basic email features on mobile I forgot how nice it is. I hope they continue this project. I also started testing using edge as my browser...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just figured out I forgot to subscribe to my own thread.
That thing is a lot more than a launcher. It's an environment administrator that seems to have forgotten what Android and Samsung say are impossible.
Question: I have all of my apps organized into folders. If I try it out, will it blow those up?
Thanks!

I have all mine in folders but I don't know for sure if it will allow them to import. It did import all my widgets and settings though so I'd assume the same for the folders.

bobby_digital234 said:
I have all mine in folders but I don't know for sure if it will allow them to import. It did import all my widgets and settings though so I'd assume the same for the folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it! I'm not sure if I'll do Microsoft, Nova or stock.
The more I work with the new TouchWiz, the more I think when they say TouchWiz is getting pretty close, my response is close to what, infuriating people? Just trying to get a black theme with the TouchWiz is a challenge while with Microsoft and most apps it's a checkbox. TouchWiz has zero control over icon size, spacing, shortcut text, behavior, gestures, or anything else. I have multiple file managers that all are labeled File Manager and I can't even rename one of the to Asus File Manager. TouchWiz on KitKat even works better. I can get black anytime I want to and with folders, I can see enough of the cascaded icons to know what is in it, and I can arrange them so the most important one is in the forefront. With Oreo, I can download a black theme if I set up a Samsung account and give them rights to everything but the 3 digit codes on credit cards, and allow them to use the information for any purpose and give it to anyone. Their privacy policy makes Google look like a saint.
Thanks for your feedback!