[Q] live tile toogle for WP8? - Windows Phone 8 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Sorry for another noob-ish question, but I knew that in windows phone 7 was impossible to make a live-tile toogler but it was possible only to create a live tile that acts like a quick shortcut in settings to turn on/off from there, and not directly from the live tile, due to a lack of APIs.
Has this thing changed in windows phone 8 or is there the same situation?

gigsaw said:
Sorry for another noob-ish question, but I knew that in windows phone 7 was impossible to make a live-tile toogler but it was possible only to create a live tile that acts like a quick shortcut in settings to turn on/off from there, and not directly from the live tile, due to a lack of APIs.
Has this thing changed in windows phone 8 or is there the same situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps can still not control the toggle switches of the settings directly. Only URI schemes to launch the appropriate setting screen ('ms-settings-screenrotation' for example) directly.
short answer: No, the situation has not changed.

All correct. It's worth noting, though, that I am still hoping to be able to create homebrew (for sufficiently unlocked phones) that will be able to do this...

GoodDayToDie said:
All correct. It's worth noting, though, that I am still hoping to be able to create homebrew (for sufficiently unlocked phones) that will be able to do this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it would be fantastic Good luck, the WP8 developing has just started, hope to hear good news during the next months :fingers-crossed:

Related

App request with bounty

slightly edited double posting from CDMA development (tangent from a conversation in there)
If you've used webOS you'll know what I'm asking for here. If you haven't used webOS there are plenty of videos on youtube to look at to get the general idea of how it multitasks which is where it excells.
Open a web browser, press menu>bookmarks and look, finger scrollable preview windows of webpages, now in your head replace that with preview windows of currently running processes... add the ability to swipe + drag a process down to bring to foreground or up to kill that particular process. Very fluid, very easy, very natural.
Very intuitive idea and well executed in webOS. I would love to see a general port of this function added to android in form of an app or possibly a homescreen replacement, most ideal would be replace the worthless "add to homescreen button" on the senceUI dock, as longpress on the homescreen is another way to do exactly the same thing. Shade out your homescreen and put these previews over the top of your homescreen, drag in a direction as mentioned above, or hit the "add to homescreen button" agian to return to your homescreen.
I will make a bounty of $50 USD (a fair amount IMO) to anyone who makes it exactly as I describe... guaranteed to be a killer app and in no way infringing on webOS patents, as it's only replicating a function provided inside webOS similar to their "synergy" that android has copied almost bit for bit in idea.
also after all designing and beta testing is complete ... you put it out on the market you will be getting even more money, pm me if interested and details on the bounty I am offering. (I don't ever check this side of the forum so be sure to PM)
will be paying with paypal, so please have an account before responding.
I think there is already an app out there very similar to what you described
Can't remember what it's called though.
all its missing is the "previews" i think
Lennyuk said:
I think there is already an app out there very similar to what you described
Can't remember what it's called though.
all its missing is the "previews" i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
taskOS, I'm aware of it... the previews and the drag to foreground is what I'm wanting, and a little better way of starting it
johnsongrantr said:
taskOS, I'm aware of it... the previews and the drag to foreground is what I'm wanting, and a little better way of starting it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would imagine (though admit, I don't *know* definitively) that application previews wouldn't be possible without support from the application itself.
The reason I say this is because Android applications are essentially "sandboxed", and all inter-application communication is via "intents". Therefore, I believe that it is probable that in order to display a preview running apps, those apps would need to be coded with an "intent" to supply that preview.
As I said before though, I don't know with 100% certainty, but I'm sure if I'm wrong someone will chime in!
Regards,
Dave
i see sort of what you're saying. Bookmarks in the web browser save thumbnails of the webpages bookmarked to your sd card, but like you said it's not inter-app.
Each app would probally have to supply that thumbnail, or try and make an additoinal app that creates thumbnails when an app is in a foreground for x amount of seconds would proablly be needed, and reading the taskOS thread it sounds like it's probally not supported by the sdk. Something to look into... my offer still remains if a solution is found for this and is implemented, he's the closest example and it sounds like it's his goal as well so he will probally get the pot if he implements this and a few other things.
also find a way to twist that into senceUI as mentioned as a "root only" update.zip version to remove the explicit need for a hardware button
App
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?
Wow that looks cool
deejay300 said:
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, thats actually what I'm looking for... guess I'll look into it thanks
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/android-software/
winmo version
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/
foxmeister said:
I would imagine (though admit, I don't *know* definitively) that application previews wouldn't be possible without support from the application itself.
The reason I say this is because Android applications are essentially "sandboxed", and all inter-application communication is via "intents". Therefore, I believe that it is probable that in order to display a preview running apps, those apps would need to be coded with an "intent" to supply that preview.
As I said before though, I don't know with 100% certainty, but I'm sure if I'm wrong someone will chime in!
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my idea would be to take a screenshot of the device every time you push the home button, then use this screenshot for the task. remember how the iphone does the animations when closing tasks?
deejay300 said:
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can tell from the video, that's more like a preview of live widgets rather than running apps which is going to be possible since widgets are by definition live on home screens.
Regards,
Dave
kendong2 said:
my idea would be to take a screenshot of the device every time you push the home button, then use this screenshot for the task. remember how the iphone does the animations when closing tasks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would probably work - the issue though (for me anyway) is that the screenshot wouldn't show the current status of the app, but the status just prior to shifting anyway.
If I'm running say Spotify, I'd want my live preview to show what I'm currently playing, not what I was playing when I put the app into the background. If it couldn't do that, I'm no better off with the screenshot than I am with a simple Spotify icon,
Regards,
Dave

Is turn-by-turn nav part of Win8..or just Nokia Lumia?

As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
Rekzer said:
As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nokia announced that they would provide Nokia Drive for other OEMs as well but it is up to those wether they will deploy it through the Marketplace. Currently we don't know for sure bit I guess the feature will show up.
For Notifications there are PopUp Messages at the top of the screen (Toast-Notifications) but unlike Android they vanish from there after a set time (a few seconds). Aside from that there are Tile notifications. Depending on the App that can range from simple counters (which can also be configured to be shown on the Lock screen (but a limit numberbpf apps can reside there at the same time)) to textual representations or full images. Those show up on Tiles that are pinned to the start screen.
Concerning the Turn-by-Turn functionality I would suggest to wait until we have a statement by HTC and Samsung on the situation.
No voice turn by turn on any WP8 device except Nokia.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nokia Drive is coming to all Windows Phone 8 devices if other manufacturers/carriers choose to offer it.
Nokia Drive+ is exclusive to Lumia devices and has some fancy features and enhancements.
prjkthack said:
Nokia Drive is coming to all Windows Phone 8 devices if other manufacturers/carriers choose to offer it.
Nokia Drive+ is exclusive to Lumia devices and has some fancy features and enhancements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This
Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2
On the Nokia Drive + BETA app as it is listed, I went to download the USA map, and it was 2.4GB. I cancelled the download and just got Indiana instead. That was 140MB. It does warn/maybe require to download maps over WiFi rather than using cell data.
There are several turn by turn GPS apps in the marketplace. None of them really stack up to Google Maps on Android - or Nokia Drive on Lumias for that matter. But as other have said, Nokia is making Drive available to others.
As far as a notification center goes, thats a questions that always makes me grin. Your entire homescreen is a notification center really. If youd like a more centralized place for all of your social media updates and such, you can pin yourself to a tile. Then your "me" tile will auto update with all of your personal notifications.
I don't understand how OEMs get a say in what you can install from the Windows Phone Store. Either Nokia Drive goes in the store or of doesn't. What am I missing?
Cant we grab the XAP file. I have the xap for drive 3 but it is having issues with the signature but could we not resign it with a test one?
Rekzer said:
As per title, i cant figure this out. My carrier seems to only be getting the Samsung ATIV S, and i use turn-by-turn alot on my Android device. Im worried about losing too many features such as Turn by turn, and a proper notification center?
Second question, how do WP8 users see notifications, do they have to open the app to check?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nokia Drive is good, and you should be happy with it when it goes live for other devices. It's not as good as Google Maps, but I expect it will be getting better quickly. The only two real drawbacks to Nokia Drive is that it does not show an mage of your destination when you arrive, and the blocks are empty of buildings. Other than that it gives timely notice of when to turn, runs happily when gps signal drops, warns you when you speed, and is responsive when you pan around on the map.
The notification center is sadly missed. Hopefully something like it will be quickly implemented. What is even more missed is the quick setting in the notifications menu, or a quick settings tile.
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
DoogieDC said:
I don't understand how OEMs get a say in what you can install from the Windows Phone Store. Either Nokia Drive goes in the store or of doesn't. What am I missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are carrier- and OEM-specific subsections of the store, where they can release their own apps only to users of their phones. Nokia could, if they chose, let other OEMs offer Drive in their sections of the Store as well, rather than releasing it in the public area.
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------
Dr.Paul said:
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kids Corner is a distinguishing feature that will sell phones. A notification center is a nice touch that people won't notice until after they've been using it for a while. Microsoft is prioritizing the former.
A notification center would be quite welcome - I will be quite happy if they add it. But I will say that all my messages/emails/etc. show up on tile counts anyway, so the point of a toast there is just instantaneous notification of what's going on right now. Once it's not immediate any longer, I'll still see the tile count/lockscreen notification. That doesn't apply to things like Foursquare checkins via 4th & Mayor, but that's about the only app I can think of that pops up toasts at me without also throwing a tile count on there, and I don't necessarily need a log of all my friends' past checkins. That's not to say I don't want to see a notification center, but it's really at the level of an extra that would be nice to have, but that I only rarely miss not having.
Dr.Paul said:
Love comments about the lack of a notification being a good thing because the main screen is a notification centre. What nonsense. What is the point of toast notifications if you don't have a notification centre? There isn't one.... Its a major omission and yet ms find time to add rubbish like kids corner that is good for how many people? Microsoft really need to get a grip.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I for one am very pleased with the lack of a notification center. It was unnecessary on Android with counters, and I find it unnecessary on WP7 and WP8.
There are other phones that offer it and if you need it then you go with one of them. I left Android after 3 years to get away from the clutter, the flash-a-holic I became, constant adjustment of my home screen, etc. I just wanted clean and usable - exactly what WP is. My favorite part...all the apps look like they belong! Android apps were all over the map in design.
WM 6.5
LudoGris said:
I for one am very pleased with the lack of a notification center. It was unnecessary on Android with counters, and I find it unnecessary on WP7 and WP8.
There are other phones that offer it and if you need it then you go with one of them. I left Android after 3 years to get away from the clutter, the flash-a-holic I became, constant adjustment of my home screen, etc. I just wanted clean and usable - exactly what WP is. My favorite part...all the apps look like they belong! Android apps were all over the map in design.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear Ludogris, I think you should have stuck to Windows Mobile 6.5....
the windows phone team has admitted that a notification center is on their list of things to implement but they simply ran out of time with wp8, it will probably come in an 8.5 or similar update. while the system works okay without one, a catch all would be nice to be able to glance at in case you miss a toast.
as for the OP, like others have stated, nokia has stated they will release their drive app to the whole ecosystem with some extra features in the drive+ app being exclusive to their lumia line.
i love the addition of the tts for street names they added to the new app, and the new speech in wp8 is so much nicer than the siri sounding one in wp 7.5, more like the natural speech that is in google now.
how did a Nokia Drive thread turn into a notifications request thread? Seriously, though, i got HTC8x for family members to replace their HD7 (tmobile upgrades, I thought they'd be more familiar with HTC instead of the lumia810, wrong choice?). I myself am using Android/HD2, and know nothing about WP7/8, and just rely on threads like this to update my other phones. nevermind, somebody wake me up when the htc 8x gets nokia drive or some flavor of it... subscribed.
on a side note, anyone know how to move the SMS Texts and call history from WP7(HD7) to WP8(htc8x) ? stock phones, no dev unlock, so I'm relying solely on the marketplace and whatever free desktop sync MS has to offer. doesn't seem possible via skydrive either. oh, i don't have outlook on the desktop, if that matters. wish I could just use PIMbackupCAB like on my trusted hd2... why did microsoft have to mess with a good thing? pardon me, i digress. carry on... so, how did you guys migrate your SMS?
Bad news: you don't - not from WP7.
Good news: starting in WP8, the phone will back them up to the cloud, so it'll be seamless going forward.
I like this one:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/navigon-europe/da8734ed-666a-4227-81ea-8fc937752d98
all the others have ****ty maps where i live (including google, nokia and bing maps) compared to garmin...

New to WMP 8. Some basic questions.

Finally after four long years with ios i have thought of trying windows phone 8 and have taken a Lumia 820. Now some basic things i am not able to find and am really having problem.
1) How do i do a rotation lock? Every time i pickup the phone, the screen will rotate. I cannot read while laying down in bed as the screen constantly will rotate.
2) How do i take screenshot?
3) How to find out how much data is used?
4) Is it only me, i feel the app store is very kiddish and unprofessional
5) I am sure more question will follow as i explore.
Thanks in advance.
I don't know if has an rotation Look,
For an screen shoot press Windows Button an on/off. To find out the Data was used going to the settings/info.
Sent from my Lumia 930 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
xtrose said:
I don't know if has an rotation Look,
For an screen shoot press Windows Button an on/off. To find out the Data was used going to the settings/info.
Sent from my Lumia 930 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was the Windows button + the camera button?
I ve got a UC Browser it has a "Lock" option. When you set it on the screen doesn't rotate. I also use phone in example in bed and this option is very useful
Sent from my Lumia 820 using Board Express
Sent from my RM-826_im_india_201 using Board Express
the_rahul_009 said:
1) How do i do a rotation lock? Every time i pickup the phone, the screen will rotate. I cannot read while laying down in bed as the screen constantly will rotate.
2) How do i take screenshot?
3) How to find out how much data is used?
4) Is it only me, i feel the app store is very kiddish and unprofessional
5) I am sure more question will follow as i explore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Not implemented at OS-level. Applications can do rotation lock on their own via application-specific settings.
2) Press start (button with windows logo) + power buttons at same time. Screnshot will be available from "Photos" app.
3) "Settings" -> "Phone storage"
4) Yes it is. Short development time, lack of QA etc. They will improve over time, probably.
eyeofhell said:
3) "Settings" -> "Phone storage"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was looking for internet data usage.. I have not found any app yet :|
the_rahul_009 said:
I was looking for internet data usage.. I have not found any app yet :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, Windows 8 do not provide any functionality or public API for this. You can use your carrier's commands (like "*100#" etc) to get details on traffic usage, costs etc.
Data Sense
the_rahul_009 said:
I was looking for internet data usage.. I have not found any app yet :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows Phone on the Nokia has an app called the Data Sense to keep track of your data Usage check it out!!
eyeofhell said:
1) Not implemented at OS-level. Applications can do rotation lock on their own via application-specific settings.
2) Press start (button with windows logo) + power buttons at same time. Screnshot will be available from "Photos" app.
3) "Settings" -> "Phone storage"
4) Yes it is. Short development time, lack of QA etc. They will improve over time, probably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure you are trolling or not with #4. There is more QA than Android.
In my Lumia 920, take a screenshot is Windows button and power button!
Not Windows button and camera button!
I can´t find the Nokia app names data sense!
Is this app not available in Germany, T-Mobil???
xtrose said:
In my Lumia 920, take a screenshot is Windows button and power button!
Not Windows button and camera button!
I can´t find the Nokia app names data sense!
Is this app not available in Germany, T-Mobil???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even i can't find.. looks like its verizon only app.
xtrose said:
In my Lumia 920, take a screenshot is Windows button and power button!
Not Windows button and camera button!
I can´t find the Nokia app names data sense!
Is this app not available in Germany, T-Mobil???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use counters from nokia.
Same Boat.....additional questions
I'm a long time Android user and looking to move over to WP8 after my experiences w/ my Surface Pro. Thinking using W8 on my comp and laptop, it would only make sense to use the same interface on my phone. That being said, I've searched the WP8 store and find the bulk of what I'd need in apps, but I know I'll miss the customizing aspects of Android.
I have a few questions that maybe some experienced WP users can answer for me to ease my concerns......
1. How different is WP8 from W8? I know they look the same, but do you control them the same? Do you swipe down for menus, from the left for last app, etc? I'm hoping they do work the same, I'm beginning to really like W8.
2. My phone is my central hub for daily life, the alarm clock is no exception. I've gotten used to my phone going silent every weeknight at 10 except for the phone and alarm (emails, texts, etc make no noise and the LED doesn't blink). Can this be done on WP8? Somehow the thought of my phone beeping all night as emails come in is a turnoff.
3. Speaking of notifications, do most of the WP8 phones have LED's? The one I'm looking at now (Nokia Lumia 920) never mentions the lack of one or it's presence.
4. Another notifications question. Can you have dedicated ringtones for contacts or companies? Seperate tones for different emails (exchange, gmail, yahoo, etc.)?
5. How integrated are things like Box or Dropbox and sharing? I see SkyDrive mentioned each time, which makes sense because it's the MS equivelant, but others in my company will be sticking with their iPhones or Android devices, so Dropbox is a must and Box is really needed. Can I upload from within each program as convienlently as Android? As example, I take a picture of a reciept for expenses with MDScan, when I'm done labeling it, I can upload it from within MDScan to any of these: Bluetooth, Box, Drive, Dropbox, email, Gmail, etc.
Is there anything else a business phone user will miss coming from Android to WP8?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to doing some more reading and hopefully taking the plunge!
MonkeyTime said:
I'm a long time Android user and looking to move over to WP8 after my experiences w/ my Surface Pro. Thinking using W8 on my comp and laptop, it would only make sense to use the same interface on my phone. That being said, I've searched the WP8 store and find the bulk of what I'd need in apps, but I know I'll miss the customizing aspects of Android.
I have a few questions that maybe some experienced WP users can answer for me to ease my concerns......
1. How different is WP8 from W8? I know they look the same, but do you control them the same? Do you swipe down for menus, from the left for last app, etc? I'm hoping they do work the same, I'm beginning to really like W8.
2. My phone is my central hub for daily life, the alarm clock is no exception. I've gotten used to my phone going silent every weeknight at 10 except for the phone and alarm (emails, texts, etc make no noise and the LED doesn't blink). Can this be done on WP8? Somehow the thought of my phone beeping all night as emails come in is a turnoff.
3. Speaking of notifications, do most of the WP8 phones have LED's? The one I'm looking at now (Nokia Lumia 920) never mentions the lack of one or it's presence.
4. Another notifications question. Can you have dedicated ringtones for contacts or companies? Seperate tones for different emails (exchange, gmail, yahoo, etc.)?
5. How integrated are things like Box or Dropbox and sharing? I see SkyDrive mentioned each time, which makes sense because it's the MS equivelant, but others in my company will be sticking with their iPhones or Android devices, so Dropbox is a must and Box is really needed. Can I upload from within each program as convienlently as Android? As example, I take a picture of a reciept for expenses with MDScan, when I'm done labeling it, I can upload it from within MDScan to any of these: Bluetooth, Box, Drive, Dropbox, email, Gmail, etc.
Is there anything else a business phone user will miss coming from Android to WP8?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to doing some more reading and hopefully taking the plunge!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cant answer #1, don't know W8 yet, but wanting to!
Regarding #2, there is no setting or app that I know that schedules a sound setting time (do not disturb) I have to go in and tell my phone to silence whenever I go to bed. The alarm will still work even if silenced, just notifications won't make any noise.
#3, yes, they have LED's, but not to notify you of anything more than your phone is charging. At least thats so on the 8X.
#4, yes and no. You can have individual ringtones for people in your contact list, but not individual text or emails.
And don't know about #5, I use skydrive exclusively.
jerrya said:
Cant answer #1, don't know W8 yet, but wanting to!
Regarding #2, there is no setting or app that I know that schedules a sound setting time (do not disturb) I have to go in and tell my phone to silence whenever I go to bed. The alarm will still work even if silenced, just notifications won't make any noise.
#3, yes, they have LED's, but not to notify you of anything more than your phone is charging. At least thats so on the 8X.
#4, yes and no. You can have individual ringtones for people in your contact list, but not individual text or emails.
And don't know about #5, I use skydrive exclusively.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, those are all good starts. I know I'll be fine without a lot of the little customized tweeks I've gotten used to, but have this ingrained fear of the unkwown. I am looking forward to a phone that works, consistantly!

A list of features that lacks in Windows phone 8

Hi everybody, I would like to make a list of those features that lacks on windows phone, even if we are only at very early stages, maybe with the arrive of unlocks some of them could be added, in future..If you have any suggestions I can edit the list
P.S. I consider the GDR3 improvements alredy achieved (like a decent task manager, FM radio..)
-A FILE MANAGER
(yeah, I know that on the market already exists something, but they are definetly FAR from a real file manager. Anyway nokia/microsoft said that in the next months would come out http://www.tuttowindowsphone.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nokia-lumia-file-manager.jpg , we will see..)
-FLASH PLAYER
(on windows RT exists and works, as in future the WP8 kernel would be almost the same of WinRT, probably we will se it..or at least I hope so)
-LIVE TILE TOOGLE
(Right now we have only shortcuts to settings, would be more useful if the live tile would act directly as a toogle. Maybe someone will give it an attempt :fingers-crossed: )
-A NOTIFICATION LED
(some phones does have the windows logo acting as a led, BUT it works only to notify some battery status (a bit useless..). If it should be used as a proper notification led would be amazing..or at least the camera flashlight could be used for that (ok, this is a desperate suggestion LoL)
-COSTUMIZABLE RINGTONES AND ALERTS RELATED TO THE APP
(A different sound for whatsapp, sms and e-mail. I personally use the phone at 90% in vibration/silent mode, But I know that it could be useful)
-A CUSTOMIZABLE LOCKSCREEN
(I mean lock-patterns and some other useful features..I mean, windows phone 8 lockscreen can be used better, you know..)
-A QUICK WAY TO MANUALLY ADJUST SCREEN BRIGHTNESS
Sometimes the Authomatic sensors don't work well and is necessary to switch the brightness manually.
-A BETTER PUSH NOTIFICATIONS MANAGEMENT (thank's to @Life'sGood for reporting and to @GoodDayToDie for explainations)
Sometimes are delayed
This really belongs in General; it is neither a question (or answer) nor related to troubleshooting.
With that said...
The only thing really standing in the way of an on-device file browser is the need for somebody to write it, but that doesn't mean it'll be worth much to do so right now; until I or somebody else gets more permissions working (ideally, all of them), the amount of the file system which is readable (never mind writable) is extremely small from an app's perspective. To get an idea of what I mean, take a look at my Webserver Native Access app - the all-capabilities version, if you have a Samsung phone - and see for yourself just how little of the system is accessible.
Even completely leaving aside the permissions issue (ha!), Flash player support is somewhat unlikely. First of all, it struggles a little even on the Surface RT, which has nearly twice the CPU power of any WP8 model right now (GDR3 opens the path for quad-core WP devices, but they aren't here yet). Second, the kernel may be the same but the user-space libraries are not; a lot of system components that Flashplayer depends on are probably missing from WP8.
Believe me, such toggles have been attempted, and they will go on being attempted. It'll happen eventually...
Some phones actually have a notification LED, even. There are (unofficial) APIs that could probably be used to control it, too... I wouldn't hold your breath on this one, though. In any case, you won't get colors unless there's actual multiple color elements there to work with; the best you could di is different flash/fade patterns.
Update 3 (GDR3) brings some additional controls over notifications. However, I believe you're right that they still don't offer per-app sounds (though you can set the sound for apps, as a class, I think).
Lock patterns are pretty darn weak and easy to break, but in general I agree with the concept of having more control over the lock screen, and additional features.
Not a problem that I've had, but I can see how it could be. This probably falls under the toggle tiles request, actually; have the ability to create tiles that increase or decrese the brightness.
Sorry for the bad section, I was looking at the same moment at general section and at Q&A and I chose the wrong browser tab, my fault (don't know how to change section)
Anyway thank you for the reply I think that the main problem for indipendent developers is time, because every 18 months windows stops the support on the actual OS and switches to another new (WP8 support is planned to be killed in july 2014, after that it will be an update to extend "phone life" of 6 months, in total: 2 years). After that date will come out another OS but nobody knows if it will be "similar" to WP8 or something totally different (probably the latter option)..and everything probably would start from the scratch. I think that all the OSs producers are making BIG efforts to make you change phones after exately two years LoL
P.S. When I talk about brightness control, I can't figure out how a live tile could directly make it (swiping on it?), it can only turn on/off. My idea was that could be useful something like a swipe on the status bar on the top of the screen, like cyanogenmod does (I don't want to compare android to windows because they are totally a different concept, so I generally don't want to mention functions present in other OSs that could be ported, IMHO it's quite useless thinking in this way.) but I suppose that this is quite impossible on a programmative side :s
You'd have two (small) tiles for brightness control, one to increase and the other to decrease. It would be a little messy and would need to go in significant steps, but it's possible.
I think it's not a bad idea I've just found out that on offical WP8 site exists a section dedicated at suggestions about features to add to windows phone, and many pepole voted on that site..but Microsoft NEVER listened to them LoL probably the task manager improvement in GDR3 will be the first feature accepted by Microsoft from that lists. Anyway the requests on the officiale site are quite the same on my post (file manager is STRONGLY requested)..nobody is asking for flash player or for led notification (quite strange IMHO but that's it).
P.s. any idea about how to reach bootloader (I'm talking about ativ s)? I suppose that with a simple boot is impossible, even pressing a combination of buttons will not work..
There have been multiple items implemented from uservoice, although the custom SMS tones and application closing are certainly notable for having been long-requested and taking until now to be provided.
No idea on the bootloader. I haven't been looking for it in particular, though; not my area of interest.
Technically, you can implement a media stream source to support flash (i believe there is one already on the interwebz).
However, flash is really not meant for mobile devices (which is why very few mobile OSes support flash out of the box), because it wasn't intended to be used on devices with such low computing power. So even if you were to have a flash player, you wouldn't be able to do much with it until your battery drops dead or your phone starts turning into plastic(or aluminum in some cases) soup.
There is also an increasing abuse of flash advertisement all over the internet (which is bad from many points of view), which hurt mobile internet browsing quite a lot on devices with flash support. I just wish google & adobe would stop supporting this dark ages format and move on to HTML 5
Yeah but..just to make a famous example, look at youtube. Many videos are locked down for mobile devices. Combining a flash player and a browser that supports desktop as user agent, you can go beyond this limit. Ok, the result is that it works quite bad, but at least it works..
gigsaw said:
Yeah but..just to make a famous example, look at youtube. Many videos are locked down for mobile devices. Combining a flash player and a browser that supports desktop as user agent, you can go beyond this limit. Ok, the result is that it works quite bad, but at least it works..
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I don't think that the format (flash) is the problem here, you can always watch these videos with an unofficial app, like Metrotube or Tunetube. And I doubt they use some kind of flash player, it's just not allowed on mobile devices by the uploader/youtube I think.
To the OP, what do you mean with "features that lacks in Windows phone 8", something MS should fix or hackers should provide as features? Because a file manager would completely be against windows phone's locked OS, every app is sandboxed and can't access other app's storage, which has its reasons for security. A file manager will never be possible, except for th case they change the whole OS. On iOS, it's pretty much the same, and with a jailbreak you get a file manager (if you want to). And you can brick the whole system, can make apps crash or even modify them, which would cause a lot of trouble for Microsoft.
I have to try those unofficial apps, I've never considered to use them Regarding the lacking of features I mean that with a system well locked down like WP8 is, I think that microsoft should put more effort to provide some features that nowdays are considered basic (you know, a notification led is useful and doesn't require any particular effort from microsoft or manufacters. Even (real) toogglers are essential but they are not in here..don't know why ) Of course I understand that not all the features can be provided by microsoft due to security reasons, and here comes developers' work
P.S. regarding file manager I suppose that, if it will would ever come out, would have been thanks to developers, but as I said in OP, nokia probably would provide it. Don't know if it's true, but let's see what comes next! Some hours ago at Abu Dhabi, at lumia phablet presentation, came encouraging signals to encrease the number of the apps for windows phone. Ok, it doesn't mean anything and Personally I don't use instagram but more apps means more people that will adopt WP8..and more people will call more developers (hopefully) and micosoft ecosystem would finally start (even if there's to solve the "problem" of Windows RT/Windows Phone, first).
As you said even iOS is closed-source but (even if I don't like making comparisons between OSs because they aren't meant to work in the same way) I think that the interest in that platfom made possible to create the powerful mobile substrate, to make even heavy modifications to the system.
But even without moddings, I mean..iOS now has quite al the essential features that a phone requires (quick and real toogglers, a camera flash that tries to act as a notification led..ok, not a file manager but it has a download folder, a quite "useful" lockscreen, battery percentage..), so IMHO is quite usable out of the box because apple now provides many of the basic features expected to be on a phone. So I think that for apple devices jailbreaking is not as necessary as was in the past. WP8 on the contrary strongly needs a jailbreak because is not a fully mature OS..
ANOTHER FEATURE THAT LACKS (IMHO): the new versions of office are not as useful as office 2010 in windows mobile. Who remembers WM, office 2010 was so similar at the desktop version (even fonts could be changed and added!!!)..but since then, the most part of features disappeared, so office mobile stopped being as useful as it was before for business people nobody will care about that (developers can't do anything for this, and microsoft will never provide those features..but I miss it. So I didn't put this in the list because it's more a "personal" thing.
And I was thinking that even a windows phone with the stylus would be useful especially with one note, that on PCs and tablets is ready to be used with a stylus and I found this fantastic. But even this is a "personal" desire that will never come LoL
::facepalm::
snickler said:
::facepalm::
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Click to collapse
Why? I don't think I'm that wrong, there's no real possibility to have a fully featured file manager on WP, is it?
th0mas96 said:
Why? I don't think I'm that wrong, there's no real possibility to have a fully featured file manager on WP, is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my inner eyes i see next user/professional developer asking if there was a patch to adjust screen brightness to personal needs in more than just the dictated three steps.
Answer: Buy an other phone or program your own OS.
A very simple feature is missing, App update notifications from Store.
WP8 now doesn't seems to be telling me when the apps on my phone has been updated unless I went to look for them. Its only then that the tile shows 1 update available. HELLO???!!!
So that means I have to list out the apps I've downloaded and look for each and every single one of their updates?
How can Microsoft and OP miss this one out?
And my clock isn't synced even if I set it to auto, sometimes it jumps AM/PM or even months!
Life'sGood said:
A very simple feature is missing, App update notifications from Store.
WP8 now doesn't seems to be telling me when the apps on my phone has been updated unless I went to look for them. Its only then that the tile shows 1 update available. HELLO???!!!
So that means I have to list out the apps I've downloaded and look for each and every single one of their updates?
How can Microsoft and OP miss this one out?
And my clock isn't synced even if I set it to auto, sometimes it jumps AM/PM or even months!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added in OP
@Life'sGood and @gigsaw: That's a problem with your phone, not the OS as a whole. I guarantee you that WP8 fully supports app update notifications and clock sync. If yours doesn't, that's a problem with your phone, specifically. Blaming Microsoft for it is nonsense and won't help you fix the problem.
Now, as for fixing the problem... do you have an active SIM card in the phone? If so, does it have a data connection? That's most logical reason I can think of for the app update notifications to not appear; no connectivity when the phone tries to check. The clock can sync off the towers as well (also needs a SIM, I suspect) but it can also sync off GPS satellites (which have extraordinarily accurate clocks, and broadcast time signals that anything with a GPS receiver can pick up even if it can't get an accurate locations fix).
The most likely solution, honestly, is to hard-reset your phone. You might want to call support or take the phone in to a Microsoft store or something first, though; hard-reset will wipe the data (though that's most likely what they'll tell you to do anyhow).
GoodDayToDie said:
@Life'sGood and @gigsaw: That's a problem with your phone, not the OS as a whole. I guarantee you that WP8 fully supports app update notifications and clock sync. If yours doesn't, that's a problem with your phone, specifically. Blaming Microsoft for it is nonsense and won't help you fix the problem.
Now, as for fixing the problem... do you have an active SIM card in the phone? If so, does it have a data connection? That's most logical reason I can think of for the app update notifications to not appear; no connectivity when the phone tries to check. The clock can sync off the towers as well (also needs a SIM, I suspect) but it can also sync off GPS satellites (which have extraordinarily accurate clocks, and broadcast time signals that anything with a GPS receiver can pick up even if it can't get an accurate locations fix).
The most likely solution, honestly, is to hard-reset your phone. You might want to call support or take the phone in to a Microsoft store or something first, though; hard-reset will wipe the data (though that's most likely what they'll tell you to do anyhow).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let me explain why I though it was microsoft's fault: I had an WP7 with a different SIM (but same phone number) and those problems were there for almost Every app I had to update and clock often changed hour. After that I had an Android, at least with date and time no problem..with store of course I can't say after a year of android I switched back to WP8 and the market/time problems happened only a couple of times..but I thought that was something wrong in my phone because here on xda nobody has never talked about it. But I notoced that even whatsapp sometimes misses or delays some notifications with wp8 (with android never happened), and, at least in my country, this is a common problem with many users that complain abouth that, so at least for whatsapp I'm sure it's not my problem. I contacted the support of whatsapp and they said to me, if I remember well, that whatsapp notifications pass trough Microsoft servers, so in their opinion the fault of this problem was microsoft's. So I was thinking that even the other problems are related with Microsoft server's sync..so when another user said to have almost same problem As mine (but As I said, with WP8 happened to me only a couple of times, I don't know if other user has those problems more often), I convinced myself about my theory LoL of course I can imagine I am totally wrong because I don't know how those syncs works and if they work alla in the same way..what do you think about it? Before re-editing the OP I wanted to explain to you the whole situaton because you have for sure better knowledge about that
Push notifications for apps are completely different from update notifications. The latter are polled for, by the OS, at pre-determined times and without the app in question being involved at all; you'll get the update notifications even if you've never run it.
That said, push notifications on WP (7 or 8) are not as quick or reliable as on Android, it's true. The battery impact of push-using apps is lower, though.
Thank's, anyway I will hard reset my device. I have just realized right now that if the glance screen could be ported in future on other devices, a led notification becomes useless (of course, I don't know what is the battery impact on an AMOLED screen..and it's VERY important)
GoodDayToDie said:
@Life'sGood and @gigsaw: That's a problem with your phone, not the OS as a whole. I guarantee you that WP8 fully supports app update notifications and clock sync. If yours doesn't, that's a problem with your phone, specifically. Blaming Microsoft for it is nonsense and won't help you fix the problem.
Now, as for fixing the problem... do you have an active SIM card in the phone? If so, does it have a data connection? That's most logical reason I can think of for the app update notifications to not appear; no connectivity when the phone tries to check. The clock can sync off the towers as well (also needs a SIM, I suspect) but it can also sync off GPS satellites (which have extraordinarily accurate clocks, and broadcast time signals that anything with a GPS receiver can pick up even if it can't get an accurate locations fix).
The most likely solution, honestly, is to hard-reset your phone. You might want to call support or take the phone in to a Microsoft store or something first, though; hard-reset will wipe the data (though that's most likely what they'll tell you to do anyhow).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
afaik i'm not seeing these features. I did a hard reset but I've yet to see the Nokia Camera, network+ (call filter) update.
I googled and found out this is a system wide issue with almost everybody having this issue. So does a half f'ed apple still counted as an apple?
App update notification this feature is simply not available.
I have a SIM and data connection for my 1020, on Wifi most of the time. Clock doesn't sync at all neither.

[Q] Looking to switch

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.

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