Galaxy Note 10.1 - Blocking the back button? Getting around the left handed issue with writing...

[ashbashbonkfan]

Hey all!

Does anyone know of a way to get around the fact that the Note is optimized for right-handed people? Whenever I write or draw, my wrist hits the back button- super frustrating!!

Is there a way to make it so that when the pen is out, that's all the device responds to? Or is there some way to block the back button altogether?

Any help would be appreciated; this is really driving me bonkers.:-\

 

[bryan_cfii]

So, there are some things you can do. You'll notice in pictures of the new Note 10.1, it has the system bar at the TOP of the screen... There is a reason for that (maybe myself and others incessant emails to Samsung about it)! Who knows if Samsung will push the 4.3 update to our Notes.

You're a lefty, and so is a friend of mine that tried my Note out. He instantly had issues. I'm a righty, and my wrist and knuckle drive me nuts in class with notifications and mini apps popping up constantly. At first, I made a special "note taking" glove to block my skin from touching the screen. It helped much of the time.

I hope Samsung push their version of 4.3 to us, but until then, you're going to have to root your device and download some apps to solve the problem. Samsung have that system bar on lock down unfortunately. There are some options in some apps that say they will block any hand inputs, however, I have never seen them work.

Depending on what you do with your tablet (drawing only???), your needs will dictate which apps will solve your problem.

Personally, I started with a youtube tutorial I could forward to you for rooting the various Note 10.1's. It wasn't hard.
Then I eventually ditched sNote for Lecture Notes app for school which on a rooted device has a hide the system bar option. Lecture Notes doesn't need a rooted device to work, but that particular option does need root permissions.

However, what I found was that I like using an app called Full!screen for hiding the system bar. It is customizable in many ways with many different types of menu's and positioning of those menu's. There is also another app that many people use called GMD GestureControl that people have had success with also, but again, it requires root permissions on your device.
It's a nagging issue, but it can be mitigated somewhat... as long as you root your device. You're not the only person with this issue by far. Good luck!

 

[ashbashbonkfan]

Thank you so much! I've been trying to decide about rooting, but honestly didn't have a clue where to start or what it entailed, so I obviously didn't know which guide or how-to I could trust. If you have a link or something that shows how to do it (I'm assuming you've done it to yours?) I'd be eternally grateful.

Also, I'm making a note of the apps (I'm a writer, too, so that's a big part of this frustration! ).
In the meantime, just so I know, what type of glove did you use? If all else failed, I'd love to give that a try.

Thanks again, you've been so helpful!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bryan_cfii]

Let's see...
This guy C4ETech is the one I used because after I watched a few (they all did the job) he seemed to give a little more information, links to downloads, and a way out if you wanted to unroot. He has some other good things on his youtube for Note 10.1's too.
http://youtu.be/cv8440QhHsw

His links for downloads are in the "about" and then "show more" about halfway down.
Basically, your only rooting, so you will only need to go so far.
Make sure your updated before you do all this as you will probably lose the over the air updates because you won't be "official" any more. It's a side effect people forget to mention. You can unroot or flash updated ROMs later if need be, but it is something that pops up.
http://youtu.be/WbyQzGkd_Pw
When you install Samsung Kies on your computer, you can hook your tablet up to it and check for updates that way too. That's actually how I pull all my updates, but haven't seen any new ones in a while. Samsung is notorious for dumping old hardware from update schedules so who knows what will happen. Our tablet meets the specs needed for the new updated OS at least.

Out of interest to you maybe, I did use Cyanogenmod 10.2 for a bit, and it wasn't bad. It worked for me quite well as Lecture Notes isn't dependant on any of Samsungs code like sNotes is. Also, It was a rare occasion at school that I would use the multitasking feature. In the end, Cyanogenmod for us are nightlies for the moment and I had an issue with my camera, so I flashed back to the stock ROM for the time being. I now always go into the Developer Options in the Settings, and make sure the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale and, Animator Duration Scale are all set to off. I also don't have a ton of widgets going either. Doing that makes it feel just as snappy as any other ROM for me at that point.

As far as a glove goes, I just looked at it and don't see a brand on it for some reason.
I went to Sheels All Sports and found a cloth/dri-fit type of material glove I think was for running in the fall. I went with it because it didn't have a bunch of bulk for protection. I didn't need that, just the barrier effect.
When I was looking, I was imagining a women's dress glove from like the 1950's or something. Something that was just thin cloth.
What I found was full fingered, so I cut my thumb, and first 3 fingers out and left the little finger whole as it would drag on the screen and it didn't touch the stylus. Over time, for consistency and feel when dragging my hand around on the screen, I sewed a piece of black microfiber cloth that I cut to shape to the little finger and side of the palm.

I did the glove thing for quite a while. It was all about finding a nice, thin glove.

Hope this helps.

 

[bryan_cfii]

What is Rooting? What are the advantages of Rooting? What are Custom ROMS?
What is Rooting? Advantages of Rooting, Custom ROMS, Warranty - Everything You Need to Know! - YouTube

 

[starbuckk]

I'd hold off on rooting for a bit. Note 8 just got 4.2.2 update. 10.1 probably won't be far behind. You have to unroot before taking the update.

Sent from the tiny keyboard on my S4