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Home screen clock - I don't get it.

J

jfoust

Newbie
It seems like everyone uses a home screen clock of some sorts, so I figured I was missing out...

I tried a few, but can't get over how much screen real estate you lose! What's the point of losing 4 icons just to see the time, which is plainly displayed on the top of the screen already??? I have the stock Moto power bar up there, which is very helpful, but it takes up 4 spots too. Am I missing something, or do people just need to have the clock that big in their face all the time?

BTW, I went from a Palm OS Treo to a WinMo Treo (and iPod touch) and then finally got the Droid back in January and I couldn't be happier!! Android is everything I thought it would be and then some :)
 
jfoust said:
It seems like everyone uses a home screen clock of some sorts, so I figured I was missing out...

I tried a few, but can't get over how much screen real estate you lose! What's the point of losing 4 icons just to see the time, which is plainly displayed on the top of the screen already??? I have the stock Moto power bar up there, which is very helpful, but it takes up 4 spots too. Am I missing something, or do people just need to have the clock that big in their face all the time?
Click to expand...
It sounds like you just have different preferences.

Though keep in mind that not everyone uses a clock. Most people that post their screen shots use a clock widget because it looks cool and works well with their overall theme. How great would a screenshot of a home screen look if it was just plain with 16icons?

If find one you like, use it. If you prefer efficiency, then don't use it. However, keep in mind that some of those clock widgets also include the instant current weather viewing, a 1-touch 3-day forecast, 1-touch alarm clock setting access, and 1-touch calendar access. So those widgets may not be as much of a waste of space as they look.
 
Which one has one touch access to all that? I would be down for something like that, but the ones I've looked at are just big clunky clocks that seem like a waste of space... Something with some additional function to it would be great. Right now I have a weather widget, calendar link, etc, so if all that could be rolled into something cool looking and functional, I'd be all for it!
 
jfoust said:
Which one has one touch access to all that? I would be down for something like that, but the ones I've looked at are just big clunky clocks that seem like a waste of space... Something with some additional function to it would be great. Right now I have a weather widget, calendar link, etc, so if all that could be rolled into something cool looking and functional, I'd be all for it!
Click to expand...
Beautiful widgets. There are many different skins to choose from, and they all display current weather, date, and time, and I think they all have options for 4x1 or 4x2 viewing.

If you touch the clock image part, it will open the alarm clock access. If you touch the weather pic of the sun/moon/clouds/whatever, it will pop of your 3-day forecast. And if you touch the date it will open the calendar.:)
 
I just love the look of my homescreen clock. Plus it has an alarm, countdown timer, and weather integrated in it.
 
Thanks CriticalCritic! I looked at that one once upon a time, but they didn't have a trial and I wasn't sure I would like it. I guess at $1.50 it's not that big of a deal to take that hit if I absolutely hate it!
 
jfoust said:
Thanks CriticalCritic! I looked at that one once upon a time, but they didn't have a trial and I wasn't sure I would like it. I guess at $1.50 it's not that big of a deal to take that hit if I absolutely hate it!
Click to expand...
NP. Keep in mind that all purchases on the Market have a 24hr trial period in which you can return it for a full refund.
 
Just bought it - ended up being about two bucks with the crappy exchange rate. Still not bad. I like it so far.. Not so much for the clock, but for the weather display, date, and quick access to alarm, forecast, calendar, etc, all from within.

I added the brightness widget too, which was the main thing I used on the old Power Center or whatever it's called, and I still had a free space on my Home Screen to add AK Notepad, which I seem to use a good bit, so I actually gained space from what I thought was a "waste of real estate"! :)
 
BTW, is there a way to change settings/skins without having to trash the widget and then put it back on the hone screen? Doing that every time I want to try out a new skin or something kind of sucks!

Edit - google is my friend! "Tap on the weather icon on the widget... the animation will pop up.... then just press the menu button. Settings/Skins/Refresh will all be right there".
 
jfoust said:
It seems like everyone uses a home screen clock of some sorts, so I figured I was missing out...

I tried a few, but can't get over how much screen real estate you lose! What's the point of losing 4 icons just to see the time, which is plainly displayed on the top of the screen already??? I have the stock Moto power bar up there, which is very helpful, but it takes up 4 spots too. Am I missing something, or do people just need to have the clock that big in their face all the time?

BTW, I went from a Palm OS Treo to a WinMo Treo (and iPod touch) and then finally got the Droid back in January and I couldn't be happier!! Android is everything I thought it would be and then some :)
Click to expand...

Seem like im not alone... i do too think you loose to much of space for the clock widget (yeah it looks cool tough), and since i dont like to unlock my phone to just look at the time, i do not use a clock widget.. besides theres a clock on the noti-bar:D
 
jfoust said:
It seems like everyone uses a home screen clock of some sorts, so I figured I was missing out...

I tried a few, but can't get over how much screen real estate you lose! What's the point of losing 4 icons just to see the time, which is plainly displayed on the top of the screen already??? I have the stock Moto power bar up there, which is very helpful, but it takes up 4 spots too. Am I missing something, or do people just need to have the clock that big in their face all the time? :)
Click to expand...

Funny I was just thinking the same thing this morning and got rid of my home screen clock. As you say there is already on on the notification bar and on the lock screen.
 
CriticalCritic said:
A countdown timer? That's awesome! What are you using:confused:
Click to expand...

HTC Clock

htc-sense-UI.jpg


If you click on the clock it brings up options for Alarms, Countdown, Timer and world time.
 
I don't have a clock on my home screen...but I do have one all the way over on my 7th screen. That way I can get to my alarm easily.
 
TheSultan said:
I don't have a clock on my home screen...but I do have one all the way over on my 7th screen. That way I can get to my alarm easily.
Click to expand...

Why not just have a shortcut to the app 'Clock', it takes you to the same place but won't use the resources that the Clock widget does.
 
jfoust said:
It seems like everyone uses a home screen clock of some sorts
Click to expand...
I don't.

jfoust said:
I tried a few, but can't get over how much screen real estate you lose! What's the point of losing 4 icons just to see the time, which is plainly displayed on the top of the screen already??? I have the stock Moto power bar up there, which is very helpful, but it takes up 4 spots too. Am I missing something, or do people just need to have the clock that big in their face all the time?
Click to expand...
It's like anything else -- if you don't get the point then why fret over it? Don't use it. Easy.

Life's too short to worry about every single thing out there that you don't get IMO.
 
bluenova said:
HTC Clock

htc-sense-UI.jpg


If you click on the clock it brings up options for Alarms, Countdown, Timer and world time.
Click to expand...

I really like that clock - is there a way to get that on the devour?

If not, can anybody point out a good, large homescreen clock in a digital format, or one like pictures above?
 
You're looking for Beautiful Widgets or Weather Widget Donate. The HTC clock widget is not portable to any other UI or even stock Android, since it's got dependencies on HTC's rosie framework.
 
grainysand said:
You're looking for Beautiful Widgets or Weather Widget Donate. The HTC clock widget is not portable to any other UI or even stock Android, since it's got dependencies on HTC's rosie framework.
Click to expand...

I have sense ui on my moment >.>
 
Try clearing defaults and switching back to vanilla Android launcher; you'll suddenly find you can't use HTC's widgets anymore.
 
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