[Android Apps and Games] appelflap:
For rooted devices only

Update (Oct 20): Fixed a bug with busybox in the full version. This bug could cause booting problems because of a damaged build.prop file. Should be totally safe now when saving the density to the boot up density of the device..

(Lite version, see attachment, doesn't save the density setting and is therefore safe by definition)

App to change the density setting of the screen.

In short, by decreasing the density the display will create a high resolution effect by displaying more info on the screen. For example, with a density of 180 I get this on my Galaxy S screen:

or

There is a extensive help file "on board" with some (important) info.

Free version

Is also a lite version and fully sponsored by adds. The lite version only makes it possible to temporarily change a density setting. This setting will be undone when you reboot the phone. It uses "hot reboots" and no "cold reboots". It doesn't rely on the build.prop density parameter. Should in principle work on all devices. The free version is attached to this post

Full version

Full version (no adds + with the possibility to save the density and/or write it to the build.prop + desktop widgets for fast loading temporarily saved density setting) can be bought from from the Android Market (0.75 Euro). Search for "LCD Densitiy Changer" or scan:

Screenshot of the app itself (tada)

lite:

View attachment 403903

full:

View attachment 403901

Yeah, not shocking, but it is what is under the hood that makes it worthwhile

Tips

tip1: If the dialer doesn't scale well with other density settings try dialer one

tip2: It seems that ADW Launcher can get the most out of a density change. By changing the amount of colums and/or rows of the desktop one has a better control how icons and widgets will display. Also a smaller density will allow you to add more icons to the desktop without any clutter or overlap.

tip 3: Devices that run a default default density of 240 (Nexus, Droid, Galaxy S etc), a density of 200 gives the best result. It's the best compromise of having more info on the screen and readability of that info.

tip 4: Beautiful widget center problem: see here for a possible workaround.

Link to "app-site" with some additional tips, tricks, help and some frequently asked questions: http://densitychanger.blogspot.com/

Any other tips about getting the most out of this great "Density tweak" are very much appreciated. I will add them to the first post and, if possible, I will incorporate them in my app.

Note for developers

To make your app support all density values (and don't have any scaling problems, even when compatibility mode is on!), select SDK Version 4 as your minimal target and add the following to your AndroidManifest.xml file:

<supports-screens
android:largeScreens="true"
android:normalScreens="true"
android:smallScreens="true"
android:anyDensity="true" />

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Thanks to xda-member jdsemler who discovered this density tweak on his Samsung Captivate.

bratfink for giving some very useful input

Cutefox for noticing that deactivating the compatibility mode solves the scaling problem (in most cases).