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What's up with all the redundancy on the Eris/HTC Sense?

ThorSkaagi

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2010
215
12
31
Denver, CO
I know its not that big of a deal at all. But, its always bugged me how redundant the software can be.

1. The phone button on the Sense dock. There's an actual button right below it! If it was actually useful, I might use Sense, but I'll stick with LauncherPro.

2. The Google Search widget. What's the point? Again, there's a soft-key button right below it.

3. The Sense clock/weather widget. Now this gets a free pass, since it looks so nice, but I don't really need it, since the time is in the notification bar right above it.
 
I know its not that big of a deal at all. But, its always bugged me how redundant the software can be.

1. The phone button on the Sense dock. There's an actual button right below it! If it was actually useful, I might use Sense, but I'll stick with LauncherPro.

2. The Google Search widget. What's the point? Again, there's a soft-key button right below it.

3. The Sense clock/weather widget. Now this gets a free pass, since it looks so nice, but I don't really need it, since the time is in the notification bar right above it.

Have you tried ADW Launcher? Very cool, it's in the Market.
 
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Yes I have, but I decided to stick with LauncherPro. It's the more complete app, IMO.

Okay, wasn't sure if you were familiar with home replacements. It seems like most tech items these days have that idea of redundancy; computers, phones, cameras, etc. I think it adds a more user-friendly interface for the majority of the population versus the "Varsity" that tends to frequent forums.

**If you look up "redundant" in the dictionary, it says "see also redundant". ;)**
 
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Okay, wasn't sure if you were familiar with home replacements. It seems like most tech items these days have that idea of redundancy; computers, phones, cameras, etc. I think it adds a more user-friendly interface for the majority of the population versus the "Varsity" that tends to frequent forums.

**If you look up "redundant" in the dictionary, it says "see also redundant". ;)**

Yeah, I guess the more options, the better... maybe. I always forget that the average Android owner doesn't immerse themselves in the phone as much as we do.
 
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I use the Sense UI, although for a while I used PandaHome2 with a Steampunk theme. I switched back because the Sense UI was more functional, and didn't take up a buttload of memory, something that the Eris doesn't have.

Yeah, I tend to switch between HTC Sense and LauncherPro about every 2 weeks or so. On one hand, I love HTC Sense's widgets (3G, Wi-Fi, Airplane Mode), but on the other hand, I love everything else that LauncherPro has that HTC Sense doesn't. It's a fine line for me.
 
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Launcher Pro solves two personal irks of mine, the "phone" soft key and the notification bar: both gone just from the dock being there and preferences settings.

The Home launcher does get rid of the soft key, but gives us that goofy looking app drawer slider at the bottom.

LP in XTR = Eris rooting happiness for me and my irks and quirks. ;)
 
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Launcher Pro solves two personal irks of mine, the "phone" soft key and the notification bar: both gone just from the dock being there and preferences settings.

The Home launcher does get rid of the soft key, but gives us that goofy looking app drawer slider at the bottom.

LP in XTR = Eris rooting happiness for me and my irks and quirks. ;)
Well, first off, I lied. I "technically" use the Sense UI, but, I use a rooted custom one. I run Evil Eris 3, and I like the notification bar in the Sense UI lockscreen. But, since I'm rooted, what are my options?
 
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One could argue that the clock and weather widget is not really redundant to the clock in the notification bar for the simple fact that it also includes weather. Also the clock in the notification bar is too small for some folks to easily read - I'm sure they appreciate the larger font of the widget. And if you don't like it you can 'throw it away' and eliminate the redundancy. Personally I got rid of it because it used too much screen acreage. It does look cool and the animations are wonderful, but I'm not willing to sacrifice 8 spaces to it.
 
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I'm using Launcher Pro, which I believe is the same one you (Frisco) are using, which allows the removal of the notification bar. I've left the bar in place though. I don't wear a watch so my phone is my only 'timepiece' (I have a reasonably accurate clock in my head though), for that reason I like the notification bar so that I can see the time. Most of the other stuff that bar tells me about I don't really care about.
 
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I'm using Launcher Pro, which I believe is the same one you (Frisco) are using, which allows the removal of the notification bar. I've left the bar in place though. I don't wear a watch so my phone is my only 'timepiece' (I have a reasonably accurate clock in my head though), for that reason I like the notification bar so that I can see the time. Most of the other stuff that bar tells me about I don't really care about.

The "transparent clock" widget is my "watch." It's just about always on my home screen now, and has been, off and on, since I found out about it.

That notification bar is just wasted real estate, to me; it was great to find that it could be done away with.

It can be re-invoked momentarily by just tapping the menu soft key anyway, if it is needed for whatever reason.
 
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1. The phone button on the Sense dock. There's an actual button right below it! If it was actually useful, I might use Sense, but I'll stick with LauncherPro.

The Eris is not the only HTC phone running Sense, and not every HTC phone running Sense has a hardware phone button. I do believe that one of the early criticisms of Android was the lack of a dock control that held a phone icon on all home screens, so my guess is that the control was HTC's answer to that.

3. The Sense clock/weather widget. Now this gets a free pass, since it looks so nice, but I don't really need it, since the time is in the notification bar right above it.

Personally, I think that the widget is a waste of space, but think of those of us past the 40 year old mark for which a quick glance without reading glasses at the notification bar tells you nothing but blur, while that large widget is easy to read.
 
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The Eris is not the only HTC phone running Sense, and not every HTC phone running Sense has a hardware phone button. I do believe that one of the early criticisms of Android was the lack of a dock control that held a phone icon on all home screens, so my guess is that the control was HTC's answer to that.

That has merit. However, small an issue ("annoyance" to me) as it is, the redundancy of the "phone" soft key to the real hard key phone button brings out something that I am at odds with in all of this: Sense was just fanned out to the various devices without anything in the way of pre-thought customization for each individual device upon which it was deployed.

Again, not a huge deal breaker of an issue, but it is the sort of thing that gives birth to hacking, rooting and 3rd party applications; some users are willing to void their warranty just to get rid of what they perceive as a waste of resources: two phone buttons is one example.
 
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While there are some redundancies, it allows for some flexibility. On the Eris, there are physical Call and End keys. However, there are other devices that do not have these keys (some of which use Sense). The software key is essential then. It also doesn't make sense for HTC to create different Sense UI's for each device, so they keep it consistent.

For Software developers, it allows them greater flexibility because there's more than one way on a given device to do something. For instance, they can choose to put an on screen search button if they want, or they can use the hardware key on almost all Android devices or both. Just a little bit of design freedom.
 
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It also doesn't make sense for HTC to create different Sense UI's for each device, so they keep it consistent.

I disagree with that, although not strongly. Just that one issue, the two phone buttons, could have been addressed easily, almost an elementary display change for the Eris and other devices with phone hard keys.
 
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That means they now have (at least) two different Sense's to maintain (more if they make other mods for other phones physical attributes). That would make OS updates take much longer to adjust for, as they'd have to make changes in all versions of Sense. While I agree that the big green Phone button 1/2 inch from a physical button doesn't make much sense, to me it's better than trying to maintain different version of Sense based on phone design.
 
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