I haven't installed or tested the app yet, but there is an app in the market called Visual Task Switcher that brings up an expose-like view of all running apps, in the form of cards. You may want to check it out.
Android coming from Palm Pre
- Thread starter jamex
- Start date
I haven't installed or tested the app yet, but there is an app in the market called Visual Task Switcher that brings up an expose-like view of all running apps, in the form of cards. You may want to check it out.
njbianco#AC
Well-known member
Another app that is better then the stock way of switching between the active applications is power strip great app.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.mobi-intuitit-android-powerstrip-jmEmD.aspx
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.mobi-intuitit-android-powerstrip-jmEmD.aspx
My experience moving from the Palm Pre to the Samsung Epic 4G
Ok, here it goes. I've had the Epic for a few days now having moved from the Pre. If you're a Pre user thinking about making the switch, here's what to expect:
Pros:
-Epic is faster. No lag.
-Epic reboots in seconds vs. Pre's minutes
-Battery life is longer, I can get through a heavy usage day on one charge.
-Soft and hard keyboards give the option that the Pre sorely lacked.
-More apps, more useful sought-after apps.
Cons:
-Notifications are not as useful or elegant, but get the job done. When it comes to notifications, Palm got it right.
-Epic is a brick compared to the Pre, but still remarkably sleek and slim on its own.
-Android does have multitasking, but it's not as intuitive as webOS. You'll miss the cards, but only for a few days.
-Epic takes f o r e v e r to charge.
I had a love/hate relationship with the Pre. I loved webOS for the most part and was happy to be patient waiting for additional features, but greatly disliked the hardware and the slow performance that came with it.
Plus, I went through three phones in eight months because the build quality was a joke.
After owning a Pre for 18 months, I was watching my friends "speak to text" on their Android phones and video chat on their iPhones and decided it was game over for the Pre.
If you own a Pre and are frustrated with it or just want to buy a really cool phone, I can't think of anything that should keep you from making the switch. The Epic is one cool phone.
Ok, here it goes. I've had the Epic for a few days now having moved from the Pre. If you're a Pre user thinking about making the switch, here's what to expect:
Pros:
-Epic is faster. No lag.
-Epic reboots in seconds vs. Pre's minutes
-Battery life is longer, I can get through a heavy usage day on one charge.
-Soft and hard keyboards give the option that the Pre sorely lacked.
-More apps, more useful sought-after apps.
Cons:
-Notifications are not as useful or elegant, but get the job done. When it comes to notifications, Palm got it right.
-Epic is a brick compared to the Pre, but still remarkably sleek and slim on its own.
-Android does have multitasking, but it's not as intuitive as webOS. You'll miss the cards, but only for a few days.
-Epic takes f o r e v e r to charge.
I had a love/hate relationship with the Pre. I loved webOS for the most part and was happy to be patient waiting for additional features, but greatly disliked the hardware and the slow performance that came with it.
Plus, I went through three phones in eight months because the build quality was a joke.
After owning a Pre for 18 months, I was watching my friends "speak to text" on their Android phones and video chat on their iPhones and decided it was game over for the Pre.
If you own a Pre and are frustrated with it or just want to buy a really cool phone, I can't think of anything that should keep you from making the switch. The Epic is one cool phone.
Most of what I think has already been said. WebOS is more intuitive, and its email and calendar are muh better. I'd love a port of some Pre gestures to Android. Unfortunately, I've been burned by Palm hardware problems too many times. It' a dead end. Android is a vibrant platform with many hardware developers and is moving forward. I'm not in love with the Epic yet, but we've just met.
Visual task switcher. Not just like the pre but has a card feel to it. Replaces your home launcher though
Pre home is a nice one also. Can keep your previous launcher ie launcher pro. hitting home gives running apps. Long press to kill apps
Last edited:
An interesting fact since no one brought it up.
Pre battery power storage: 1150 mAh
Epic battery power storage: 1500 mAh
Naturally the Epic will take ~30% longer to charge.
But, if you look at the AC adapter output, things get more interesting.
Pre AC adapter output: 5V 1A (1000 mAh)
Epic AC adapter output: 5V 0.7A
That's another 30% less than the Pre's charging power. I'm no math wiz, but my guess is the Epic takes at least 60% longer to charge. Certainly wouldn't mind if someone w/ better understanding of this stuff explain it.
Anyway, not sure if its a dumb move that will kill my battery, but I have been using the Pre AC adapter to charge my Epic. It seems like it is charging faster. But that I really don't know until I actually run a benchmark on both. It could be that the Epic limits out how much mAh it takes in during a charge but if there is some one w/ an iPad that is brave/stupid enough to charge their Epic w/ the iPad charger (not even sure if the cable would work, but if the cable is interchangeable like the Pre or Epic AC adapter, it will), which output at 2A, that will probably charge the Epic in like an hour.
P.S. I do notice my Epic is slightly hotter when charging w/ the Pre AC adapter. But not screen ruining hot like how the Pre gets when charging and o/c'ed to 1 Ghz.
Last edited:
After using android for a while, I feel that webos gets shortchanged. It really does a lot of things much better.
Hopefully gingerbread brings it up to speed.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Hopefully gingerbread brings it up to speed.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
The pre doesn't need 1000mah, but the touchstone is inefficient so it needs that charger to make up for it.
I carged my epic with the ipad charger, and it was slower than the samsung one. I think apple limits it to 500mah if something other than an ipad is connected t I. It didn't do a very good job with my pre either.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
IcerC
Well-known member
I want to be able to listen with regular headphones and still be able to pick up a call.
Swipe to delete.
Be able to play pause anywhere on the phone.
Have a charging cardock
Swipe to delete.
Be able to play pause anywhere on the phone.
Have a charging cardock
I just rooted my Epic 4G and installed adfree and wireless tether on it. It was nowhere near as fun/hard as setting up homebrew for the Pre (and the flipflops app) prior to QI and Preware.
Yes. The current script to root should be more thorough in explaining the steps (like the Samsung drivers took forever to load, a collection of error messages like "device not found" and how to troubleshoot, and how to determine if you are rooted). But I feel like there's a certain expectations from the programmers that write the scripts that other people that runs the scripts already have some knowledge of Linux. Or maybe they are just so busy writing/adding stuff to their scripts that they don't have time to explain it in details.
Either way, because there are so many devices created for the android OS, unlike the Palm Pre and Pixi, I doubt there will be that singular focus on perfecting the rooting process and providing clear documentation on it for the Epic 4G (or most other devices running android).
That does not mean I will switch back to the Pre anytime soon. I just needed to get wifi tethering to work w/o paying $30 extra and it took me less than 3 hours to do that (adfree was bonus). But knowing me, I will be left behind as I don't like modding the OS for the sake of modding the OS (changing boot animation, themes).
But in the mean time, I might be able to help out any Pre ex-pats that wants to get tethering on their Epic 4G like I did but have questions about it.
Yes. The current script to root should be more thorough in explaining the steps (like the Samsung drivers took forever to load, a collection of error messages like "device not found" and how to troubleshoot, and how to determine if you are rooted). But I feel like there's a certain expectations from the programmers that write the scripts that other people that runs the scripts already have some knowledge of Linux. Or maybe they are just so busy writing/adding stuff to their scripts that they don't have time to explain it in details.
Either way, because there are so many devices created for the android OS, unlike the Palm Pre and Pixi, I doubt there will be that singular focus on perfecting the rooting process and providing clear documentation on it for the Epic 4G (or most other devices running android).
That does not mean I will switch back to the Pre anytime soon. I just needed to get wifi tethering to work w/o paying $30 extra and it took me less than 3 hours to do that (adfree was bonus). But knowing me, I will be left behind as I don't like modding the OS for the sake of modding the OS (changing boot animation, themes).
But in the mean time, I might be able to help out any Pre ex-pats that wants to get tethering on their Epic 4G like I did but have questions about it.
Addie_Goodvibes
Well-known member
I do not doubt that. I am sure WebOs is here to stay I just am not willing to wait them out.
HP/Palm has not leaked or hinted any info about a new Mobile smart phone so that would be a sign that we will not see one hit the market before 2QTR 2011.
Just switched 3 days ago. I really miss gestures and rarely ever having to pull up a menu (bottom left Epic button). WebOS is amazing. I miss it everyday.
However, the lack of speed and crappy hardware build on my pre was causing me to lose time/money. Taking 3 minutes to launch Google Maps and just as long to start up was a deal breaker.
I LOVE Swype. I may get rid of the Epic and get an EVO and just wait for Swype to go to that. I think swype is the future...its a must for a tablet IMO.
Overall, I am happy with the Epic...moreso than I thought I would be. I bought it because I HAD to get rid of my Pre. I couldn't take another day with it. BB was sold out of Evo's so I got an Epic.
However, the lack of speed and crappy hardware build on my pre was causing me to lose time/money. Taking 3 minutes to launch Google Maps and just as long to start up was a deal breaker.
I LOVE Swype. I may get rid of the Epic and get an EVO and just wait for Swype to go to that. I think swype is the future...its a must for a tablet IMO.
Overall, I am happy with the Epic...moreso than I thought I would be. I bought it because I HAD to get rid of my Pre. I couldn't take another day with it. BB was sold out of Evo's so I got an Epic.
I feel you... I miss webOS too, but the Pre was unusable.
I wish Palm would get its act together. The Pre is more than two-years-old considering it debuted in Jan, 09 and was probably close in its final stage at the end of 2008.
Since no one has leaked news of the next handset, to me that means there is no next handset from Palm until after CES in January. Big mistake waiting, Palm.
I came to the realization that this phone isn't going to work out for me so i returned it today for a full refund. Hardware wise the keypad is just too big and I can type much faster on the Palm Pre.
Software wise I think Android isn't as good as I thought it would be. For one it looks really dated almost like I am looking at Windows 3.1. I don't understand why a modern OS would be built like that. The applications have some horrible UI and the colors look washed out. It's almost like they are on a thin piece of paper with low color. Another thing is the stock apps are not good at all. On webos the email client, calendar, and messaging is top notch but the email client that came with the phone cannot display HTML and the calendar is nothing to write home about . I tried another App from the market but that was also no good. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be missing much by not having this phone and I now realize that Webos isn't bad at all.
Software wise I think Android isn't as good as I thought it would be. For one it looks really dated almost like I am looking at Windows 3.1. I don't understand why a modern OS would be built like that. The applications have some horrible UI and the colors look washed out. It's almost like they are on a thin piece of paper with low color. Another thing is the stock apps are not good at all. On webos the email client, calendar, and messaging is top notch but the email client that came with the phone cannot display HTML and the calendar is nothing to write home about . I tried another App from the market but that was also no good. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be missing much by not having this phone and I now realize that Webos isn't bad at all.
Last edited:
Addie_Goodvibes
Well-known member
Android is built on Linux. If you have ever used Linux OS you would understand why android is stock the way it is, there is unlimited amount of customization you can do with linux/android. I agree that webOs was very polished with its stock apps ( e-mail, Im, and contacts) however android can have similiar if not better UI than what plam had for those. And Not everyone would like WebOs UI for those core apps. You can't please everyone so why not leave it to the user to customize al carte to taste.. That is Android. That s Linux.
The main gripe I have about my Epic is I can't change the default message app or claendar app to one i grab from the market place. Insead I have to work around the stock messaging App turn off its notifcations and us the App
(handcent) that is WAY more customizable in the UI than the pre was.. I have got my notifcations so customized that each of my main contacts have a different notifcation sound, and different colored Icon. So in a way its better for me than the Pre.. Less intrusive.. i see the notifcations, know who they are and a few lines from the message yet it doesn't pop in my face where I have to slide it out of the way..
The Pre felt finsiehd in UI of core fucntions , but so behind the pack with apps and ability to really take advantgae of what WebOs could be capable of handling.
I rooted my pre,installed patches & and customized things as much as I could, it still did not have the apps or hadware to keep up... Pretty Ui is not enough on a phone. Function trumps looks for me every day.
2nd!
And unfortunately, there aren't any stand-alone sms agents out there as they still need the core Android SMS to function entirely.
You have to admit, the galaxy s series is much nicer in the GUI side than most (if not all) other android devices. HTC Sense had nice features, and some great GUI parts, but bogged down my hero too much. I get a linpack of over 5 on it now with 2.1, JIT and OC.... still no match for the Epic though.
WebOS is also built on linux and there is nothing much you can do to change the overall look of Anroid because of the sdk. It lacks graphics, gradients, polish and shading and that cannot be changed. It also looks like it runs in 8 or 16bit color. My main complaint isn't really how ugly it looks but the apps that are most important to me.The email client for non Gmail is just horrible and the calendar.
Last edited:
Ironic since the calendar was one of my biggest gripes about the Pre. Sure it looked nice, but functioned like crap. Lots of hacks to get it more functional that should have come out of the box. Not to mention it was SLOW! My gf's pre doesn't even display my appointment's on the correct time! She keeps asking me if I'm going into work at 3AM (as I work some overnight shifts) but its supposed to read 3PM. It shows fine on my phone and computer, just not her Pre.
And the programmer can choose to add their own GUI to apps. Most of my apps on my phone use very little of Android's stock GUI. Check out Evernote, DirecTV, DoubleTwist, ScoreCenter, UrbanSpoon, Trapster. None of these apps use much of Android's buttons, or user interfaces.
Similar threads
Trending Posts
-
[Chatter] "Where everybody knows your name ..."
- Started by zero neck
- Replies: 53K
-
S24 pictures... show us how they look!- Started by Walter Wagenleithner
- Replies: 385
-
News A recent update just brought AV1 support to your Android phone- Started by AC News
- Replies: 2
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram