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hey there,
i'm looking for a quality call filter application which has a white list and profiles (time/day related blocking) and actually works.
i'm running cm7 and haven't found a good one yet, call filter, afirewall, extreme call blocker droid, those are the ones i tested recently.
what i'd prefer too, is to get the application from a trusted dev, w/o handing over gps location data to some devs in asia.
if the filter has easy adding for contact groups it would be perfect.
have you guys discovered something that fits my needs?
thanks for taking the time to help me, i appreciate it!
B
Yep, the two best ones are made by the same company:
Root Call Blocker (for general use):
https://market.android.com/details?id=fahrbot.apps.rootcallblocker.beta
Call Master (for advanced users):
https://market.android.com/details?id=fahrbot.apps.blacklist
These are the only blockers that completely block everything without turning the screen on. Need to be rooted though.
:0 never heard of those two applications. seems the dev is quite an exzentrik person.
We make a couple of very useful applications for rooted users, some of you may know and use them. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in adding one or two of the free versions to their ROM builds. Its seems like a win-win situation.
I use 2 Inc Ss myself and all these apps are well tested and working flawlessly, so there should be no issues.
The ones i think would fit well are Call Master:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1291587
Its an advanced call and SMS manager (blocking, routing, private inbox, lots of other stuff). The free version has no ads and full functionality. The only restrictions are nag screens.
Screenshot ER:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17212860
I know this may seem superfluous, but this is a proper screenshot tool with lots and lots of features. Again, theres no ads in the free version, full functionality is only restricted by a short delay.
Maybe Prepay Widget:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1006487
A USSD balance manager with higly configurable text wisgets. Its completely free, no ads.
And finally Power Switch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1153788
This is something of a chimera app that does cool things like turn off the screen when you shut the case of your device. Free, no ads, only restricted by delays.
Please let me know if youre interested!
Any takers? We do make some of the coolest apps on android...
as for the power switch, does it shut the screen down upon placing the phone in your pocket? i'd like to give it a go =)
Screen off doesnt work for me on ice cold sandwich nutella
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using xda premium
Try a different sensitivity. It works fine for me.
Hey, i'm going to buy a new phone soon and im thinking to get a lumia. Is it worth it? Is it better than android and ios in someway? How about the dataplan? Is it much cheaper than the others? Really need an existing windows phone user to reply how they feel about their phone. Thank you very much for your cooperation
"Is it worth it" is a personal question - it depends on what you value, how much you can afford to spend, what phone you're thinking of (there are at least six Lumias in active production and at least one older model still being sold), what deal you can get it for... however, you're asking a forum full of Windows Phone users, so the general answer would be "yes".
Is it better than Android or iOS somehow? Yeah, a few ways. The interface is much more dynamic, presenting at-a-glance info and requiring less popping into and out of apps, plus the lock screen is pretty configurable. The battery life requires much less shepherding on WP8 than on Android, and there's also none of the malware found on Android. The built-in Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) are better than any that I have seen for either Android or iOS. Xbox Music Pass (formerly Zune Pass) is very sweet, although it's not available in all regions; check this. Similarly, Here Drive (formerly Nokia Drive) is better than other navigation apps (built-in or third-party) that I've tried, but may not be available, or at least not free, in all regions. Developing for WP8 is really easy and you can use a large number of languages. The software keyboard is excellent; I prefer it over the iOS one (massively) and over most Android ones. The integration of Skype calls is really nice. The ability to switch between Live messenger, Facebook chat, and SMS/MMS in the Messaging hub is very cool. The fact that you don't need to install iTunes is a plus on Windows (unless you already use it... eww). All Windows Phones are required to have a double-action camera button (half-press to focus, full press to shoot) although you can also use tap-to-shoot. There are lots of Xbox Live-enabled games, many of them quite good, which are not only fun but also earn you GamerScore on Xbox Live. The Xbox Live integration also lets you message and game with your Xbox Live buddies, although you can't generally play between phone and console directly. Xbox Smartglass lets you use the phone to control, view, and interact with the Xbox 360. Generally speaking, phones are updated faster than on Android. If you let us know what's important to you, we could possibly list other advantages...
The data plan is a carrier thing, not an OS thing, but will probably be the same price and features as other smartphones. That's something you will have to research yourself, though.
I like the Windows Phone devices I have (an HD7 running WP7, and an Ativ S running WP8). They do have some limitations - WP8 has not yet been hacked much at all, so there's a lot less homebrew for it than there was for WP7 - but overall they are nice. They get good battery life (the HD7 not anymore, but it's 2.5 years old), have good (if not all-encompassing) app selection, and have a number of nice features (WiFi tethering built in, for example). The main thing keeping me on Windows Phone is that I have a legacy Zune Pass (the kind that allows 10 DRM-free downloads a month) and therefore I really want a phone that will let me stream or download all the other songs so I can discover new stuff and decide what I want to use my credits on each month (before I use them).
hi people,
I'm looking to switch to WinPhone.
I've got a few quite good features on Android that I'd like to make sure I can have/reproduce on WinPhone too. May you help me with those ?
- Have ringer/notifications volume to get adjusted to ambient noise and/or calendar events automatically
- have a car mode
- have an event/place actions system (like Tasker or OnX)
Many many thanks
Fabio
- for ambient no...
- all this (car mode, task manager with close X) is available with upcoming GDR3 update or today for developer or via WP AppStudio...
notice: car connection with BT for hands free calls and audio reproduction is available long time ago in WP but with upcoming GDR3 come additional settings
I'd say it depends on what type of android user you are. If you just user the phone, sms, browsing and occasional app then you're fine. If you're a power user then you'll just get annoyed and frustrated at simple things that you use yo be able to do but now can't.
As I've said in the windows 1520 thread, its undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of hardware and is the prime drive for me to keep looking into windows phone. Dare I say it and definitely not trying to be a troll, but if it did run android, I'm sure myself and others would buy it in a flash.
Sticking with realities though, I don't think WP8 is quite there yet for the advanced android user. I'm still very concerned that without DPI settings/apps with phablet UI, that the 1520 is just going to be running blown up phone apps, like first gen android tablets, which is not ideal.
File browser is key and offers so much flexibility. Copying and sharing photos off your DSLR, sending whatever file you want through gmail, deleting downloaded files etc. Skydrive is not a suitable replacement, especially if you're not always on wifi/limited 4G data plans.
Apps is becoming less of an issue with most of the core apps there in some shape and using 3rd party official apps is not something I worry about. It is still an issue however for niche apps. Eg Niche medical apps, a reliable CHM file reader (reference text books), advanced pdf reader/editor with the ability to underline/comment/draw in.... I can go on. Even office 365 functionality that is supposedly a huge selling point is largely replaceable with Kingsoft office which is superb sans the synching (you just need the extra step of google drive).
Then there are the core google services which have really exploded in functionality to become more than just gimmicks in the past 12 months. – Chrome browser with its desktop session synching, google now with its local contextual searches, automatic G+ photo uploader (full size backups with auto enhancement unlike dropbox).
Lets not mention 3rd party accessory compatibility with Windows Phone...ie. there APIs are so closed that no BT keyboards work with it for example.
There's a lot which is being fixed and is "promised" to be fixed in upcoming updates from MS – unfortunately thats always been the story with WP as they play catchup, which I understand being a new OS. However, 12 months on, even basic things like notification centre, screen rotation lock, separate notification ringtones, separate notification/system volumes are still yet to be fixed/only being patched now.
In terms of positives of the windows phone os, to be honest there isn't anything that appeals to me that I'm not already experiencing in android. Metro UI I don't mind but can be hit and miss with no notification centre and when you're relying on 3rd party live tiles which don't always update frequently enough for your liking (and wit no option to change). Simplicity is always touted as a windows phone advantage, but to be honest I find android simple enough if you know what you're doing and the appeal is more for perhaps people new to smartphones. As an android user, the simplicity actually feels limiting as I can't get things to work exactly how I want it to. In short it's a matter of how much I can compromise when coming from Android to wp on the software side unfortunately.
Having said all this I'd still keep looking at WP due to Nokia's hardware and their general nailing of the camera (which android hasn't accomplished fully yet), but there needs to be a lot of improvement on the software side from MS and 3rd party developers before I can fully see myself changing platforms. As good as the hardware and camera may be, my smartphone is my mobile computer replacement and the OS needs to be able to function like that.
Perhaps when RT merges with 8.1 and a few more MS and Nokia updates roll out it'll get more capable and phablet friendly. But until that time I'm keep jealously watching and admiring in awe at the camera and hardware but deep down knowing I just can't do what I want to do on it right now.
YMMV.
Good luck!
Something like Tasker or automatic volume adjustment will require homebrew, or at least an OEM app; third-party apps aren't allowed to run continuously in the background (it's bad for performance and battery life) on WP.
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
chareos12 said:
thank to you all so far
is it possible to have voice driving directions in car (thinking of Here Drive) AND listen to music from another app at the same time ? Or view a Youtube video ? Is WP8 really multitask these days ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
dxdy said:
yes you can listen music and working here drive+ navigation in same time... music temporally get lower and pause when navigation give voice direction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
chareos12 said:
Youtube too ?
Man, I'm getting really impatient to make the switch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youtube no, because when you switch to start screen or other app automatically stop playing (but only tried in official YT app and SuperTube)
Here Drive will run fully in the background (battery warning: don't forget to stop it if you take a break somewhere short of your destination!) and will override other audio playback to give directions. Start Here Drive, enter directions and start navigation, then hit Start (or press-and-hold Back) and go to your media player app. You should continue getting turn-by-turn prompts. It doesn't actually pause the audio, which is annoying - you'll miss bits of songs or audiobooks, for example - but it works.
Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.
Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I
I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.
The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!
My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.
@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.
The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast