yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] tr.slate:
Here is the first in what will hopefully be a small project I am undertaking to improve some android app layouts and keep up on my graphics chops while I search for a new design gig. If people like this I will do some others and continue to post them here. Enjoy.

-Travis

The Issue:

This concept UI assumes that most Pandora users run the program in the background while they browse the web and take care of other business, which may or may not be true. I personally use Pandora often in the car and while commuting (or used to, haha awww). One thing that struck me about the app was it was almost as if the designers ignored many decisions that could have made it more user friendly.

Why would a designer place a row of buttons on the bottom of the screen that were small and hard to see at a glance (while driving, etc.), and could possibly be mistaken for the actual built in virtual keys on the N1 and other new phones? I also am somewhat confused by the placement of the album artwork as the most prominent design element, which I doubt anyone really looks at for more than 3 - 4 seconds.

Generally I thought the usability could be cranked up about 1000% by simple things like making buttons larger, and placing them far more strategically in the middle of the screen, replacing the less important artwork. In this version, artwork is in the background, blurred to give a more interesting texture than the normal black and adding a layer of depth to the UI.

Most of the button functions stay the same, with the addition of the bookmark song button. Action buttons (Play & Next) are larger, and set on opposite sides of the screen for muscle memory.

Song title and artist title have been changed to a larger size to be more legible at a glance. Hopefully this facilitates finding the song title you are listening to quickly, then with the other improved elements, just as quickly being able to rate it, play the next track, change stations, or bookmark the song.

Overall I think this would be a much more friendly interaction than the current version, especially for the listener on the go. Leave the love or hate below!

Design with Album Artwork:

Full Screen "Battery Saver" Design:

Notification Bar Controls:
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] Mantisen:
Looks really nice in my opinion, very clean and easy to use even if you got big fingers! ;)
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] tr.slate:
Yep, not all of us are blessed with dainty digits, and i found myself button mashing quite a bit...

Another thing I was thinking about was the addition of a status bar notification with button built right into the notification bar, so no need to hit the bar then jump to the program when you're in the middle of doing something else. I'll try to mock that up and add it to the OG post when its done.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] scotolsen:
i immediately thought of the new windows phone 7 design when i saw this. which is to say, lovely. secondly i have to wonder if maybe you should take this a step further in your effort to minimize the unnecessary elements and do away with the album art altogether. it struck me that if the cover behind it was too white or light in general it might make the keys too hard to see. instead take another key from the wp7 design and make them large white buttons on top of eye-pleasing color swaths like cerulean, a soft orange or red, hell maybe even randomize the colors.

anyways, i really love this idea and lament the state of graphic design in android, especially in contrast to that "i" device. we're getting the snot kicked out of us in that front.

hope to see this come to fruition.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] tr.slate:
Yeah, I can see where is resembles the WP7S start screen with the squares and light typeface...I tried to make sure I wasnt ripping off their media UI unintentionally, as I havent really seen too much of the 7 series stuff yet. Just seemed like the button scheme would lend itself well to a media player...hope its not too close, hahaha.

When I was laying this out, I had thought about making the entire scheme just black icons outlined in white to save battery power and dumping the artwork totally. Might comp a version like that out and add it to OP if I get some time today.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] manderson8898:
While I like the minimalistic big button approach I think that from a marketing view there needs to be some album art and or ad space on the screen. This interface works for a simple media player.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] tr.slate:
Theres ad space built into the bottom. Just like it is now on the real thing afaik. The G ad is a fake.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] AbsoluteDesignz:
is it possible to build something like that into the notification panel? like is it possible at all? cause that would be nice...always felt that there should be some sort of task switcher built into the notification panel...one that can be switched left or right, and a long press gives a prompt to end the task.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] sxytxy:
Views

I think this is a great idea, and easily implemented too. All the developer has to do is to add another view to their app, and allow a radio button choice in the preferences. The majority of the work is done in the initial view that was setup. In the preferences there could be a Standard interface, and a selector for a Distracted or Disabled or Fat Fingered (call it what you want) interface, which redraws the screen to be better used in another environment. I don't use Pandora, and as such don't have the app installed, but, could someone link this thread into the comments for the developer? Possibly they will get to work on it for the next version.

Regarding the Notification area having separate buttons, I am not sure, but I don't think the current OS Stack can handle that, though its an innovative target to shoot for in the future. Maybe someone better patent "a method of adding interactivity to notifications" so that it isn't usurped and forbidden even though this post would relegate it to obvious status.
[Nexus One Themes and Apps] tr.slate:
I actually emailed this thread to the dev. I got a polite message back, but they didnt seem very interested in the idea. But they are big players, and I am only one guy with opinions so that understandable.
[Touch HD General] PDAFAN121:
hi guys

ive got a little problem. ive just upgraded to FancyRom2.3(cant remember the designer). all is well, except for the gps. i cant seem to get it to download a gps signal from quickgps.

any suggestions on how to fix this?

thanks
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
I went ahead and made a petition for Android on the HD2. HTC probably won't care and it sucks that it's come to this but whatever. At least this way we'd have an amazing device WITH an OS that will be supported down the line. Theres a field to state whether you're a current or potential owner as well. I couldn't hotlink since I'm a newb so add the www below...

petitiononline.com/And4HD2/petition.html

:)
[HD2 General] wandel:
It would be good
[HD2 General] cMMY69:
Hmnn, good luck with that. I doubt that HTC would care. They are a commercial organsiation, they sell phones, hell, they've won, they got you (and me) to buy an HD2. I chose it for what it was at the time, and it's still the same excellent phone. Developments and politics surrounding Windows Phone 7 Series hasn't affected it's ability to operate. HTC will be wanting people to buy Desires and Supersonics and whatever the next big Android phone is. You might get Android via the back door if someone ports it from a similar spec'd device but i honestly think nothing official will happen. The small number of people interested in migrating their HD2's to Android would be a tiny drop in a massive ocean of commercial opportunities for HTC (but how many people would demand it it to be free if HTC offered it but asked for a porting charge for any driver development changes?). I really don't think that the disappointment felt by some that their HD2's won't be officially, and freely, upgraded to Windows Phone 7 Series is of interest to HTC (or Microsoft either).

That's my honest opinion. Good luck.
[HD2 General] glyndal:
there's no way in hell HTC would do this with Desire coming out.
[HD2 General] mukiblaster:
I'm with u Pikasso1, it would be nice to have another O.S in our HD's (Android, linux), only to **** MS to hell!, in my opinion, I don't care if MS brings WinMo 7 to another phones and not to HD2, with 3, 4 or 532 buttons, I piss off over it, I changed from an I900 Omnia to HD2 by the capacitative screen ONLY (I use caps lock to mark the only reason, not big screen, SnapDragon, or nothing else), MS tells us that don't upgrade, HTC get a slap in the face, ****'em & HTC!, the phone itself it's a big machine, I can do a lot of things (even call! :) ), I think there is HD2 for long (and WinMo 6.5 too), I'll can see videos, hear music, surf internet, and a lot of things without WinMo 7 or another O.S.

How many phones with WinMO are on market? 0?, not yet?, how many with another 6.0, 6.5? millions?, it's like a big soccer score!, in my country there is a phrase to describe this moment...to MS & HTC...Zas! en toda la boca! (Peter Griffin).
[HD2 General] bkar89:
i signed it, but htc would never do this... it would kill desire & supersonic
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
Sigh... it's true, but it's so rare that T-Mobile US gets good hardware and the one time it does... well, you know. I'd switch carriers if I wasn't paying $70 per month for unlimited everything.
[HD2 General] HiddenLight:
http://petitiononline.com/And4HD2/petition.html
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
Ha, it won't even let me quote your hotlink.

Thanks!

;)
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
Actually, I haven't bought one yet, but I'm on T-Mobile and I want one! But it's harder to justify the purchase right now. It's my favorite hardware design by a wide margin though. Plus I just thought, why not make a petition?:D
[HD2 General] jonsmith709:
Well I would pay for the Android port, just for the choice, we all switch roms to improve performance. So switching between OS gives more choice, but it's not gonna happen.....…
[HD2 General] Mikulec:
Double LOL on this, what would be next, a petition to FORD to make an alectric engine for your car with diesel engine?

You bought winmo device not an open platform hardware.
[HD2 General] Qazz~:
MS should read this forum and find out how bad they truly are...

maybe they aldready have..
[HD2 General] tonycosta:
signed the petition.... expected to see alot more sigs on there than 33 :confused:
[HD2 General] zelduy:
signed.. we need more people!!!
[HD2 General] jonsmith709:
Well I signed, a famous saying springs to mind..... Judge not those who try and fail, but those who fail to try....

Just sign any way, you never know.
[HD2 General] vivek310:
signed...!

seriously, terribly disappointed that w7ps would not be made available to the HD2 just because of the button layout.

screw you HTC!
[HD2 General] kilrah:
Signed it just for fun and to see how many people this hits... I expect we'll see a good 100 people or so, which would be a drop in the ocean next to the several hundreds of thousand HD2 owners there must be, i.e no single bit of value whatsoever :D
[HD2 General] Starfury:
Its Microsoft you should be saying "screw you" to if you actually want WP7S not HTC...
[HD2 General] Starfury:
Signed with the below comment...

"HTC have two options either allow continued HD2 support via Android or shell out for WM6.x AND WP7S support people. You know where the smart money is HTC. Let XDA-Devs look after WM6.x and HTC can officially offer Android 2.x with support."
[HD2 General] Starfury:
Naysayer :eek: now sign the damn petition! :D
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
Exactly! Thanks, Jon.

Also to the naysayers:

I know the politics of HTC's relationship with MS makes this improbable. But MS has also screwed HTC over with US sales big time with this. We also know HTC built this device with the intent of it being upgraded to WM7 because early boxes had stickers saying "free upgrade to WM7".

It probably wouldn't cost anything on development because I bet they have an Android build that mostly works on the HD2 lying around due to development on the Supersonic.

They could also charge a fee for the upgrade if they wanted, as some have suggested.
[HD2 General] Starfury:
The other problem HTC has is they can't even go ahead and offer us an upgrade anyway (without Microsoft's OK) as they would then lose their agreement/contract with Microsoft due to Microsoft's specific hardware requirements for WP7S and offering an upgrade to HD2 owners which flew in the face of MS required specifications would be tantermount to the V sign.
[HD2 General] aceo07:
Picture of said box with upgrade sticker??
[HD2 General] malisha1:
I went to the t-mobile store on Wall Street yesterday and had my first experience with the HD2. I have been waiting for the phone to come out in US for about 6 months and now I’m sadly disappointed that it’s a dead phone, even though I still want it and love it. I told the rep the only reason I would get the phone if it was free with a 2 year contact. He did mention that if I would buy one phone for $200 the second phone would be free. I also mentioned that the phone wouldn’t be upgraded to WP7 and that t-mobile in the near future will probably give this phone for free with a 2 year contract and the rep kind of agreed with me. I think once the phone is out next week I will try to haggle with t-mobile in giving me the phone for free with a 2 year contact.
[HD2 General] aceo07:
Definitely worth a try. What's the point of paying for a dead phone anyways. It should be free.
[HD2 General] matrixis:
I posted an email to HTC asking them if they would consider making or helping the community to get Andriod on the HD2 and got a reply in no uncertain terms that they will not be providing Android or help to get android on the HD2.

And boy, it sounds like they really do not like XDA-Developers :eek:

So this is not good really, would of loved WP7S, but would of liked Android as an alternative as most developers will be stopping developing for WM6.5 :(
[HD2 General] Starfury:
It is likely that persons attitude toward XDA-Devs is reflective of their personal opinion toward XDA-Devs and not HTC's official or unofficial opinion as a corporate entity...
[HD2 General] ozkaya:
I would like to see this as well.
[HD2 General] pikasso1:
I heard about that on these forums! Soooo.... could be fictional.
[HD2 General] malisha1:
I personally don’t care for WP7. From all what I have been reading on the internet it’s not something I’m interested in. I don’t really care for playing games on a small device when I have a PS3 at home. I’m more interested in watching movies on the phone and browsing the internet. I currently have a Blackberry Bold and a Samsung Behold and both devices have 3.2’’ screens and HD2’s 4.3’’ screen is my number one need. Plus I think HD2 supports a lot more codex and comes with a better player. I might want to install CorePlayer. I’m a software developer and I want to create my own apps using Visual Studio .NET and just run my custom apps on the phone. Is there a way to put Android on the HD2?
[HD2 General] matrixis:
The reply that I got was.......

Dear Mr *****,

Thank you for your comments. Your email shall be passed on to the relevant department. However, please be advised that we do not work with any unofficial sites, especially xda-developers, and cannot recommend that any user of our devices install the software on this site. There are also many reasons, including legal licensing issues, that mean we will not be able to provide any program or software workaround that will allow the installation of Android on the HD2 device. Also please be advised that any such modifications would void your warranty. If you have any technical queries regarding the officially provided software, or the hardware of the HD2, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards,

******* * <<< name blocked so he doesn't get abuse from idiots

HTC
[HD2 General] brynweb:
Dreams. All dreams. Your protests will not get heard for reasons already stated by others in this thread.

If you really want Android on the HD2, be patient and exchange it for a Supersonic when it comes out this summer.
[HD2 General] jonsmith709:
I asked out of curiosity the same question and this is the response I got.....

Dear

Thank you for your enquiry about htc hd2.

The HD2 will never receive the Android operating system. Regarding the upgrades for Windows Mobile 6.5 we have not received any information from the head office. If such upgrade was ready, we would notify you via our website and on various social media networks including Twitter and Face book.

If these steps have not helped, please let me know by responding using the link provided and I will be happy to check again for you.

Best regards,

Ivona

HTC customer support team

HTC Corp. Global Service Division

http://www.htc.com/europe/CA_Hotline.aspx
[HD2 General] romac:
WHY?

Why on earth would someone buy HD2 that come with WM and then start a petition to have it change. If you wanted Android why not buy Nexus. Its like buying an iphone and starting a petition to have WM on it. MADNESS
[HD2 General] marianchez:
Do not agree

Do not agree, sorry. I bought the HD2 because the size of the screen. Then... it does not looks like is a contradiction.... is my opinnion
[HD2 General] BumAround:
HTC, just like other phone makers, will later on release "Android phones". So, slim chances they will "upgrade" HD2 to become an Android phone. :D

Some geniuses here will figure this things out, sooner rather than later.
[HD2 General] conantroutman:
Android overload................brain swelling.......palms sweating.........eyes bleeding...............losing will to live.............. anyone seen the new a-team movie yet?
[HD2 General] lonelykatana:
NOiicee a 3 month old thread dug up :D
[HD2 General] HectiQ:
maybe this can turn into a sticky :D
[HD2 General] marianoitalianoo:
http://www.android4hd2.com/ I just got a domain :) Lets show the power of customers :) :D
[HD2 General] nrfitchett4:
Would love to hear an update of how you got this worthless phone for free...

I could photoshop one for you.

I agree. Smartphones are not pc's in regards that you can change os's on a whim. Not going to happen anytime soon.

I hope you didn't lose too much money on that.
[HD2 General] AllTheWay:
Not to clown on your parade but....

I'm going to pretty much guarantee this will never happen. I'm sure HTC had an agreement and still does with Microsoft to put windows mobile on the HD2. How would Microsoft react to know that they are switching the OS on the most powerful windows mobile phone to date. Think about it.
[HD2 General] raziel123:
Official Android Rom for HD2

Guys whats the point?

I mean

a) HTC wont do this,

b) we have xda developers who are far more competent and are rolling out updates and listening to users faster than HTC ever will ...

c) HTC customer support Sucks, 100%, they don't know the meaning of Customer Support ...

The Only reason for keeping the HD2 is XDA Developers ...

I would not have even got it, if XDA developers didn't have such support for the device.

regards
[HD2 General] forumx:
Absolutely no chance this will happens, especially with HTC bringing out Desire HD soon, which is similar to HD2 in terms of specs.
[HD2 General] tfouto:
i would give 0,0001% of HTC porting to Android HD2, altough i would give a bigger chance to porting to WP7, like 1%... maybe i am being to optimistic...

But it would be good to Microsoft. If they want WP7, they need people to start using WP7 and showing to friends, and with HD2 using it would be a start. People who have HD2, their next phone maybe would be an Android, but if they had already an WP7 maybe they become used to it... but as i said i think 1% of chance of happening.
[HD2 General] 78apb:
Wow, my sig's was the 666'th ! :)
[HD2 General] Spl4tt:
exactly the same opinion.

similar? xD

the DHD has a MUCH better cpu than our hd2. and the DHD has 768mb RAM, not 576mb like ours.

alone this points.. definitely not similar XD

and dont forget the dolby mobile and SRS sound, i think our hardware couldnt handle that
[HD2 General] skinsand:
Business agreement with MS>>>"power of the customer"

Honestly this thread makes my head hurt. Evo(desire) anyone? Excercise your power as a consumer and buy an android phone. My lord above. Sell your HD2 before its worthless, use the money for ETF and a new phone. Pow *****. Android. I like running winmo 6.5 AND froyo 2.2, thanks. Also, wont it be some irony if WP7 turns out to be too similar to iOS (locked down os, locked up hardware) or just plain sucks more, and people actually start wanting older versions of wm. Ive seen weirder things :| Cheers all.
[HD2 General] conantroutman:
Let me apologise in advance for adding to this thread but Ive run out of genuinely worthwhile things to do with my time so I thought Id use this thread for a bit of stress relief........

I dont mean to offend anyone........ unless youve made a comment so stupid that you deserve to be offended..... you know who you are.......

Whats the point in frequenting a forum for a device you consider to be "dead" or worthless"?

Do you think I could walk into PC world and negotiate the price of a new laptop because eventually it will become obsolete??

I bet you dont.........

What sort of response did you expect.......

" No problem, we'll be right round to flash our secret android rom onto your phone!!

Sit tight buddy Im scrambling the HTC chopper now!"

:D Its good to know there are some sane people left out there.....

You bought this device solely for the size of the screen??

Are you f*cking kidding me??

You knew it came with WM right??

You couldnt have waited for an android phone with a big screen??

And still going strong........

"The power of the consumer moron"

As previously stated, I hope you didnt waste too much cash on that?

Care to divulge the amount?? I could do with a good laugh :rolleyes:
[HD2 General] Spl4tt:
u rock.

10 chars.
[HD2 General] bronx:
lol... this thread made my day. what's most amazing though, almost 700 (seven hundred) people signed this petition... :D

htc releasing official hd2 android for us? for free?? muahaha... since when htc gives a crap about users and their requests? other than bugfixes they did f.. all for hd2 community. heck... we even haven't got any 6.5.x upgrade, which is more straight forward.

sorry to say that, but op needs to learn A LOT about life and how global markets function.

... and if I'm wrong, I'll donate my hd2 to charity. same week.

LOL
[HD2 General] Vagabond83:
signed... I don't wanna wm on hd2 anymore. And I want official. update.
[HD2 General] kubjnzzzle:
it gonna be great !
[HD2 General] calvinfoo:
I wrote a huge letter to their customer support. Im sure its useless but wont hurt to try. What a wonderful phone with a cheap os...
[Hero CDMA General] JsChiSurf:
I'm loving the fact that VPN is now built-in on Android 2.1. So much so that I wanted to share what cool things you can do with it enabled.

Following is a quick video example I made using my Hero to connect to my work VPN, from home, via WiFi (works fine on the mobile network as well, just slower), then VNC'ing to my desktop computer in the office and controlling it.

Pretty sweet I think!

VPN / VNC Demo
[Hero CDMA General] corybucher:
Anyway you could show me step by step to getting this set up? Been trying and just can't seen to get it to work. Thanks in advance.
[Hero CDMA General] JsChiSurf:
Figured you might find this post interesting :D

How far along are you in your VNC setup? Are you using a VPN?

You can PM me so as to not turn this into a dialog / support thread, and let me know where you are at in the process, and I'll offer any insight that may prod you along.
[Nexus One General] aboda7es:
I'm just curious about the way you guys back up your devices before wiping your phone.

I usually use Astro to back up my apps, although it doesn't save the apps data, and use SMS Backup & Restore for my messages.

How do you guys do it?
[Nexus One General] cymru:
Mybackup pro - does it all