Home instead of Sense?

[hallstevenson]

For toggle widgets, look at OneClick Widget from "WeDroid". It includes GPS, WiFi, Brightness, Airplane mode, and more.

Wanted to add add'l information about these. They are one-click, just like the HTC widgets, and unlike some others that simply take you to the "settings" menu. One widget's info in the market even said "blame Google" for the lack of one-click ability...

 

[n2imagination]

OK I need some feedback... After loving sense for several months now the novelty has worn off and I have purchased widgets that i am very happy with that I feel are better than the sense ones. So recently I killed off sense to try home out with the widgets I have to see if I could hang with 3 screens vs 7. I found that 3 is more than enough as I can use folders to group apps in on one screen which acts just like another screen. I was never using my far left and right screen anyway and after the 2.1 update we will get 5 with stock android. I have noticed definite response time increase in the dialer as well as load times for music and photos. The response from these were already optimized a bit as I had purchased a 16Gb class 6 card so load times for music and photos were helped by that but general phone response wasn't affected much by the addition of the class 6 card.

So my question is I have made the switch to having home as my default vs sense and gone to astra tm to kill off sense, freeing up 10.57Mb of memory (yes i have heard the arguments that free memory doesn't matter to Linux bases systems) but it keeps restarting the sense process within 5-10 min. Is there a way, without and actively searching task killer to keep processes like sense and footprints killed off permanently? Below are m screen shots running home and the process monitor with the memory sense uses.

 

[deathratlehead]

This is what I've been wondering. Seeing as Sense keeps turning itself back on, how can there be a benefit to using Home?

 

[deathratlehead]

Wanted to add add'l information about these. They are one-click, just like the HTC widgets, and unlike some others that simply take you to the "settings" menu. One widget's info in the market even said "blame Google" for the lack of one-click ability...

GPS takes you to settings.

 

[smacky]

This is what I've been wondering. Seeing as Sense keeps turning itself back on, how can there be a benefit to using Home?

Those three icons on the very bottom for phone, settings, and widgets? Those don't load up as do neither of the crap associated with them that we don't really see. Like most of us have mentioned, it isn't a world of a difference, but it is a difference. You may do it and see nothing at all. It varies. The same way someone who is a "heavy user" makes a phone last 8 hours, and then another that makes it a day, and then the rarer one who makes it two days on a charge. The user, as well as the phone, is different and these things vary accordingly.

At the end of the day, it's "do what you wanna do." No one has proof, just anecdotal evidence.

 

[hallstevenson]

This is what I've been wondering. Seeing as Sense keeps turning itself back on, how can there be a benefit to using Home?

Hmmm, Sense is NOT running on mine. I checked for it as a service too and made sure Astro's task manager wasn't hiding any items.

Did you do a "Force Stop" on it ? Seem to recall that I did. I also haven't rebooted my phone in a few days and I wonder if when I do, Sense will re-launch.

 

[MOS95B]

Been trying home for a day or tow, and just thought of this...

http://net.madringtones.org/new/12/434076/files/434076.mp3

 

[OfTheDamned]

I tried it and just couldn't do it. Tried a couple of home replacements and just plain Jane Android and I missed Sense too much. I had to go back.

 

[pjwren13]

Agree with OTD, sense just makes to much sense. Home is ok but I like the extra real estate.

 

[n2imagination]

so just wondering... would you both feel the same way if/when update comes and we get 5 screens on stock eris? That is if HTC doesn't update sense in any other major way (which I hope they do give us some cool sense updates for as long as it has taken to get it done).

 

[OfTheDamned]

so just wondering... would you both feel the same way if/when update comes and we get 5 screens on stock eris? That is if HTC doesn't update sense in any other major way (which I hope they do give us some cool sense updates for as long as it has taken to get it done).

It isn't really the number of screens that Sense offers. I do like having seven screens, but I could live without 2 of them. The widgets and the way it all works together is what makes the difference for me. I like what HTC did with Sense and it is one of the things that really made me want the Eris.

 

[n2imagination]

@OTD
I defiantly agree. That is why I have "sold" several friends on the sense devices also. I am only giving this a shot in an attempt to gain a bit more snap from the device. I truly hope that THE GREAT UPDATE (as it should be called in my op) cures some of the dialer lag, and trims enough fat that sense feels as quick as home. If that is the case I will be back on sense pretty quickly.

To each his/her own and thanks for the input.

 

[terigox]

You can't post these and not expect questions on what you're using!!

Is the calendar widget you're using the same as the OP?

Also I see both of you guys have the same toggle widgets, unless I missed something in the thread, which widgets are those?

Love this setup BTW.

 

[pjwren13]

The sense was why I bought the Eris. If I wanted a phone that looked like the moto droid I would have bought the moto droid.

 

[ChiTownJim]

I'm on day 2 of a sense-less Eris , and I am missing the widgets a lot.. I've found a couple that are good, I have weatherbug widget but I Really liked the stock Clock/Weather widget that came with Sense.. n2imagination has one that is very similar , where di you get that?

I'm going to go the whole week on home and then make my final decision.. I do notice it is much quicker but last night I swithched back to Sense (using homeswitcher) and it was faster then before

(just to note I didn't have any lag on my eris until last weekend at it really aggervated me, which cause the home switch )

 

[Frisco]

The sense was why I bought the Eris. If I wanted a phone that looked like the moto droid I would have bought the moto droid.

I wonder if you did what I did: annoyed the guy in the store by playing with one for quite a while, then on to the other one.

I found the Eris to feel better in a lot of ways, it is only after trying the "home" tweak to disable Sense yesterday that I realize why I liked the Eris in the store that day more than the Droid: it's Sense all around that makes the Eris what it is.

 

[ChiTownJim]

The sense was why I bought the Eris. If I wanted a phone that looked like the moto droid I would have bought the moto droid.

Sense was only one of the reason I switched from the Droid (probably the smallest)

The biggest reason was the form, feel and look.. It was just uncomfortable , the keyboard was too small and flat (this was all brought back to me when playing with a friends new droid I just really don't like it)

IMO the Eris is a better device with or without sense then the Droid (eventhough I am the first to admit the Droid is faster and has the nicer screen)

 

[n2imagination]

@terigox

No problem.

The calendar widget and music widget are called pure calendar and pure music. Made by Francois DESLANDES. They are in the market. He is a great dev that truly pays attention to what his clients want. They are both skinnable and come with many preset skins. Oh yeah, he is almost done with integration of gtasks in the pure cal also. It already supports Astrid but I prefer gtasks.

The weather/time and the toggle widgets are beautiful widgets (also in market) made by LevelUp Studio. I use the smaller home, which is the time/weather. It comes with a larger home also and both have beautiful animations for the weather effects. Being a graphic designer I have gone in and replaced the bkgnd of the home widget with a graphic that matches my background (which btw is from an amazing artist here yuumei's Gallery). Check out his latest comic Knite. It is beautiful.

The lock screen is lockbot by JackDoIt (in market). It is fully customizable so you can use Iphone, Hero, Eclair, or Flan type unlocks. It also allows you to create your own skins and looks with your own gfx. I also like it because it allows you to wake your device with the volume rocker and even unlock it via shake. Too many more options to even list here.

 

[terigox]

@terigox

No problem.

The calendar widget and music widget are called pure calendar and pure music. Made by Francois DESLANDES. They are in the market. He is a great dev that truly pays attention to what his clients want. They are both skinnable and come with many preset skins. Oh yeah, he is almost done with integration of gtasks in the pure cal also. It already supports Astrid but I prefer gtasks.

The weather/time and the toggle widgets are beautiful widgets (also in market) made by LevelUp Studio. I use the smaller home, which is the time/weather. It comes with a larger home also and both have beautiful animations for the weather effects. Being a graphic designer I have gone in and replaced the bkgnd of the home widget with a graphic that matches my background (which btw is from an amazing artist here yuumei's Gallery). Check out his latest comic Knite. It is beautiful.

The lock screen is lockbot by JackDoIt (in market). It is fully customizable so you can use Iphone, Hero, Eclair, or Flan type unlocks. It also allows you to create your own skins and looks with your own gfx. I also like it because it allows you to wake your device with the volume rocker and even unlock it via shake. Too many more options to even list here.

Awesome info n2imagination, thanks! I didn't realize that was the same PureCalendar as the OP, it's very different looking on yours.

Thanks for the response, this developer is making some money off of this thread

 

[n2imagination]

No prob. I love referring devs that do good work and care about their buyers. Hopefully more sales = more cool stuff from them. I hope to be a functioning dev soon but am still playing with the SDK getting to know it. I could use a crash course or two.

 

[doogald]

I wonder if you did what I did: annoyed the guy in the store by playing with one for quite a while, then on to the other one.

Heh, that's exactly what I did. Two days in a row. But, nobody was bothered at all; the first time a saleswoman asked if I needed any questions answered, wasn't bothered at all by the fact that I said I wasn't buying yet, and volunteered some of her opinions. The next night we started the process of upgrading our four phones while I was trying to decide; the sales guy had already started the Eris (he was trying to talk me into the Droid.)

For me, I liked the feel of the Eris more. It wasn't so much Sense (though I liked that) as it was the fact that I was far more adroit with the onscreen keyboard on the Eris (for some reason), the Droid's keyboard reminded me too much of the Psion Revo keyboard I once owned that drove me crazy and which I never got used to, and the fact that the Droid wasted so much weight on the hardware keyboard that I knew I'd never used. I also tend to distrust hardware that slides; I've known plenty of people who've had bad luck with handsets after several months of use.

Back on topic; I switched to regular home last night after reading this thread. I am finding the phone far snappier than before. I was only using a few widgets before (calendar, battery, messages, plus toggles for the radios). I found a battery widget (Battery Widget from mippin.com) that, when clicked, gives radio controls (so that replaces all of those widgets), plus a calendar widget (Pure Calendar Widget), and I just have a folder with people shortcuts for sending quick texts to people. I was using only four home screens before (one had the messages widget), so three isn't that big a deal.

The one thing I notice is that swiping between home screens is different - you really have to do it like you mean it with regular home compared with Sense UI.

 

[n2imagination]

@doogald

You should give swype a try for keyboard. I use it and it is amazing. Took a bit to get used to but now i can do paragraphs in no time flat. Once you figure out the tricks and shortcuts it is amazing. BTW not in market yet but on this forum somewhere.

YouTube - Swype for Android demo

Sorry mod if too of topic. Just thought usefull for him.

 

[MOS95B]

I am definitely missing some of my Sense apps and widgets. but, for the most part, I have found reasonable replaments. Gonna play with Home for a few more days and see how I feel.

Tell yopu what, though, for all the people that couldn't handle the soft phone buttons "butt dialling" people, Home is definitely for them. No soft buttons to confuse them....

 

[Caddyman]

dxtop just added a fifth screen, sweet.

 

[smacky]

If the Eris and the Droid had a love child, it would be very close to the Nexus One. It has the build and feel of an Eris, with the power (more, actually) of the Droid, and is running the most up-to-date stuff.

The N1 needs to come to VZW now. T-Mobile was the worst choice Google could have made.