Support Group for those switching from WebOS (palm pre) to Nexus S 4g

[darrenf]

Hahaha. I just noticed that my post from yesterday *did* show up, in it's original sequence (which is to say that nobody will see it ). Here's a link going back two pages to the original post.

My newer post is more detailed, but it's probably not worth clogging up the thread with so feel free to leave all subsequent post attempts in moderator limbo.

eddieras, I don't even plan to do this again on my family members' phones . Connecting that wire to the 5V+ supply is scary given that my soldering iron tip is about the size of the whole connector. I just don't have the tools to perform this reliably multiple times and I don't want to put your phone at risk in the process.

This might be a good business for someone else, with the proper tools, to set up though!

-darren

 

[cheeks1958]

I gotta hand it to you on that Touchstone mod. My sole reason for being here is because I've been pushed to the brink of giving up my Pre for the NS. I keep thinking about things I'll miss about the Pre, and ending my Palm relationship which began in 2004. Seeing this makes me smile and shed a tear at the same time.

 

[ramk13]

You're the man. Thanks Cory

Thanks to both mods for fixing the posting problem!

Nice job on the soldering, Darren. That's what I was worried about too.

Also my posts probably don't make sense in sequence after reading Darren's post, but I did guess correctly!

I'll also be trying it this weekend, and I'll post pics too. Maybe we could break it out into its own thread? (Darren gets credit of course).

 

[eddieras]

eddieras, I don't even plan to do this again on my family members' phones . Connecting that wire to the 5V+ supply is scary given that my soldering iron tip is about the size of the whole connector. I just don't have the tools to perform this reliably multiple times and I don't want to put your phone at risk in the process.

This might be a good business for someone else, with the proper tools, to set up though!

-darren

darren - i understand. i wasn't sure how i was going to get by without a back on my phone for a few days but the thought of having use of the touchstone again was too much! great job

 

[darrenf]

darren - i understand. i wasn't sure how i was going to get by without a back on my phone for a few days but the thought of having use of the touchstone again was too much! great job

Bear in mind that you would have to do without your *whole* phone for a few days at that. The part in the back is something that you could probably do yourself. The tricky bit is the soldering deep in the bowels of the phone.

-darren

 

[darrenf]

Here are a few caveats that I forgot to include in the original post:

• After removing the first six internal screws, I found that the iFixIt teardown glosses over the act of separating the screen from the plastic back of the phone. To do this I had to pull loose the plastic ring around the phone, at least the part going down both sides of the phone. It was flexible enough to allow this in my case. You can then look at the little plastic clasps running down both sides and unhook those with your plastic removal tool.
• Don't have a set of plastic cellphone tools? Be sure to get on so that you don't risk marring the phone. You can get a set for <$3 delivered here if you are willing to wait.
• When removing the phone's circuit card and attached bits, I found that the earpiece speaker was the only part that didn't just come out. It's affixed with adhesive tape so you'll need to pry a little more than you might otherwise be comfortable doing to get it free.
• Since the back of the Nexus S and the ring around the touchstone are both smooth, it doesn't grip as tightly as the Pre. If you are charging on your desk this is no problem at all. If you use a touchstone in your car, you will want to apply strips of electrical tape or vinyl stickers down the sides of the back to give the mating surface more friction.

-darren

 

[clindner]

OK, is anyone else missing the Pre pouch? I never had a case or cover or anything, I just kept my Pre in its pouch, and carried it in my front right pocket.

I never worried about getting it scratched, and in two years, never got a single scratch on it. I'm worried about something scratching the Nexus, given that I would prefer not to put any covers or screen protectors on it!

 

[eddieras]

you can slip your pre pouch on - but you have about 3/4 inch or so still exposed. would be nice to have one made for the nexus.

i use skinomi clear tech skin - i used it on my pre, my wife and kids pixis and i love it. great product and excellent customer service. you can get 25% off to with 'get25' code.

 

[Wiley_11]

OK, is anyone else missing the Pre pouch? I never had a case or cover or anything, I just kept my Pre in its pouch, and carried it in my front right pocket.

I never worried about getting it scratched, and in two years, never got a single scratch on it. I'm worried about something scratching the Nexus, given that I would prefer not to put any covers or screen protectors on it!

This might interest you.

Samsung Nexus S Velvet Pouch - Soft, full body Samsung Nexus S pouch

 

[Wiley_11]

1-Getting Started with Android - Tips and Tricks

2-Palm webOS Homebrewer's Guide to Android

Here are two very informative tutorials by the amazing milominderbinder that you can find by clicking on Forums >General Help and How To. Truly great references for everything Android!

 

[kalex]

another thing about touchstone mod is there is an nfc module in the cover so don't break it

 

[spin76r]

I just crossed over to the Nexus S 4G from the Palm Pre my first WebOS phone.I'm definitely going to miss switching between cards,swipe delete,and being able to customize my phone so easy with themes and other mods.I just got tired of waiting for the Pre 3 and wondering whether or not it was coming to Sprint.Anyways I'm sure I can customize my Nexus S 4G I just haven't figured it out yet.I definitely like My Nexus S 4G and the App store is unlimited opposed to the Pre's.

 

[spammiches]

I just crossed over to the Nexus S 4G from the Palm Pre my first WebOS phone.I'm definitely going to miss switching between cards,swipe delete,and being able to customize my phone so easy with themes and other mods.I just got tired of waiting for the Pre 3 and wondering whether or not it was coming to Sprint.Anyways I'm sure I can customize my Nexus S 4G I just haven't figured it out yet.I definitely like My Nexus S 4G and the App store is unlimited opposed to the Pre's.

Yeah, it kind of pained me to say goodbye to WebOS. I really wanted to stick with it, but my Pre was in such bad shape that I couldn't have made it another week. Maybe the Pre 4 will be my next phone (if HP is still making phones then...)

 

[ortam]

Notification Light

I miss that blinking white ball. Can I get my Nexus to have the buttons blink instead? What app would work for that?

 

[mlief]

Another thing i miss from my Pre/WebOS - being able to touch the right top corner and toggling wifi/bluetooth/airplane etc. Honestly, I'm getting used to Android but WebOS was just so easy to maneuever for basic tasks and settings, and requires so many less touches/screens. Frankly the only reason android is even close is the great hardware - hardware speed here is the equalizer - had Palm/HP put out equivalent hardware early on (a year ago) they'd have kept people like us and gained a foothold. But without this and missing all the other features Google has evolved in Android that are so great (voice commands, maps, depth of features for camera, etc) it's seriously doubtful they can catch Android on phones (tablets might be another matter). It saddens me as WebOS itself and the interface cards/swipes is just so darn superior on a small form factor like a phone.

 

[bbergmanvc]

I miss that blinking white ball. Can I get my Nexus to have the buttons blink instead? What app would work for that?

The app you want is called "NoLED". It'll put notifications on the screen when asleep/idle, but because they are small and 98% of the screen is black, it puts no noticeable drain on the battery. It's a bit finicky in how it is set up, but it works great.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[BIGJOHNB20]

The app you want is called "NoLED". It'll put notifications on the screen when asleep/idle, but because they are small and 98% of the screen is black, it puts no noticeable drain on the battery. It's a bit finicky in how it is set up, but it works great.

Thanks,
Bruce

I have had NoLED installed since the first night I got the phone. I have been playing with the settings off and on, but I still don't really understand how it is working if at all.

So far it seems that if I press the power button to turn off the screen it seems like "most" of the time the NoLED just doesn't work at all. I can get a message and the screen just stays black. Then there are sometimes where I get the little text icon pop up for a second but then the screen does that turn off animation where it looks like an old tube TV shutting down. Then it jsut repeats that every 10 seconds or so.

Then sometimes it seems like if just leave the phone and let the screen turn off on its own after the 1 minute or whatever it is, it will work as I would expect. The screen is black except for a little message icon floating around. But also, sometimes it will do the same thing as above where the icon pops up, then the screen will do the turn off animation, then repeat.

So, yea. So far I haven't been overly impressed with the NoLED app. Are other people having better luck? Like I said, I have tried to mess around with different settings, but it just seems pretty inconsitent most times.

Edit: also should note I am using GO SMS for messaging. Not sure if that has an effect.

 

[j_grouchy]

I have had NoLED installed since the first night I got the phone. I have been playing with the settings off and on, but I still don't really understand how it is working if at all.

So far it seems that if I press the power button to turn off the screen it seems like "most" of the time the NoLED just doesn't work at all. I can get a message and the screen just stays black. Then there are sometimes where I get the little text icon pop up for a second but then the screen does that turn off animation where it looks like an old tube TV shutting down. Then it jsut repeats that every 10 seconds or so.

Then sometimes it seems like if just leave the phone and let the screen turn off on its own after the 1 minute or whatever it is, it will work as I would expect. The screen is black except for a little message icon floating around. But also, sometimes it will do the same thing as above where the icon pops up, then the screen will do the turn off animation, then repeat.

So, yea. So far I haven't been overly impressed with the NoLED app. Are other people having better luck? Like I said, I have tried to mess around with different settings, but it just seems pretty inconsitent most times.

Edit: also should note I am using GO SMS for messaging. Not sure if that has an effect.

From what I understand:

The NoLED widget has to be open and turned on (colored squares show up in the widget frame when "on").
Do not use the power button when checking notifications...press the soft key at the bottom. As I understand it, NoLED is basically a screensaver for the phone.

I've noticed a lot of times I'll get a little magenta dot floating around, but when I go to check messages there are none. Not sure what that's all about...so for now I've just turned NoLED off.

I'm sort of hoping for some way of using the LEDs on the soft keys for notifications instead of the screen.

 

[BIGJOHNB20]

From what I understand:

The NoLED widget has to be open and turned on (colored squares show up in the widget frame when "on").
Do not use the power button when checking notifications...press the soft key at the bottom. As I understand it, NoLED is basically a screensaver for the phone.

I've noticed a lot of times I'll get a little magenta dot floating around, but when I go to check messages there are none. Not sure what that's all about...so for now I've just turned NoLED off.

I'm sort of hoping for some way of using the LEDs on the soft keys for notifications instead of the screen.

Hmm. maybe some things to try then. I dont' have a widget or anything going for NoLED.

I thought I read that with a rooted phone, there is something called BLN that uses the soft key leds for notifications. Look into that maybe.

Edit: there is a thread in the rooted section right now talking about getting BLN to work.

 

[eddieras]

i tried noled - worked ok -but i was having battery troubles and got rid of it - not sure that was the cause tho..

i think you mean BLN