Help New UI on my D2?

[Chaznsc]

I hate to ask a dumb question, but is it possible to install SENSE to TWIZ on my D2?

 

[cableguynoe]

I hate to ask a dumb question, but is it possible to install SENSE to TWIZ on my D2?

if there is... you will definately have to be rooted and only if there is a custom rom with sense. But I really doubt it can be done.
Why not go for the Incredible if you like Sense that much?

Did you come from an Eris?

 

[Chaznsc]

No, I'm new to droid. I'm not 100% happy with the d2. It's a little laggy IMO. I find the phone a little clumsy with notifications, etc.

I come from blackberry land

 

[Redflea]

Not at the moment...as noted it would take a custom ROM, phone would have to be rooted of course.

I would not hold your breath...if you really like Sense, as noted, get an Incredible or other HTC phone.

 

[Chaznsc]

Ok.....so since I'm in new waters here.......

Can rooting be undone?
What about a diff UI?

 

[cableguynoe]

Ok.....so since I'm in new waters here.......

Can rooting be undone?
What about a diff UI?

Yes, phones can be unrooted.

You can try LauncherPro or ADW. they give the phone a bit of a different look and feel.
Also, what problems are you having with notifications?
I recommend Handcent for text messaging.

 

[Dragoro]

Once you root, you can put different roms onto the phone which will add different UIs to the phone. There only couple out right now, but there will be more once the droid 2 has been out a little longer.

 

[cableguynoe]

Once you root, you can put different roms onto the phone which will add different UIs to the phone. There only couple out right now, but there will be more once the droid 2 has been out a little longer.

Well put

 

[Joe_Evaristo]

No, I'm new to droid. I'm not 100% happy with the d2. It's a little laggy IMO. I find the phone a little clumsy with notifications, etc.

I come from blackberry land

It's not normal for the D2 to be laggy, it's a fast phone so it should be pretty responsive. What apps and widgets are you using? Something must be hogging the processor if it's slowing you down.

 

[Chaznsc]

It's not normal for the D2 to be laggy, it's a fast phone so it should be pretty responsive. What apps and widgets are you using? Something must be hogging the processor if it's slowing you down.

It's much more laggy than my wifes incredible and I have nothing running on any of the screens other than static icons. It doesn't feel very powerful to me. I still like the phone, but it's not as smooth as I would think. My buddy has a d1 and the d2 doesn't feel faster to me.

 

[cableguynoe]

It's much more laggy than my wifes incredible and I have nothing running on any of the screens other than static icons. It doesn't feel very powerful to me. I still like the phone, but it's not as smooth as I would think. My buddy has a d1 and the d2 doesn't feel faster to me.

The Incredible IS faster. I have heard from different sources, including Verizon employees that the Dinc is still the fastest phone out there. I would have thought it was the X... but the Dinc is still faster.

I just got the D2, coming from a D1, and I'm not noticing a big difference.
I think the main reason is that the D1 was running Vanilla... so it was very simple and smooth.
The D2 has motorblur... which i believe is what's slowing it down and not letting it run to it's full potential.
After I'm positive I'm not returning it,(after the 30days) I will be rooting it and getting rid of Motorblur. I'm sure this will help.

 

[dguy]

The Incredible IS faster. I have heard from different sources, including Verizon employees that the Dinc is still the fastest phone out there. I would have thought it was the X... but the Dinc is still faster.

Your sources would be wrong then. Sense provides a smoother looking user interface than Motoblur does, but this has nothing to do with actual performance. Install Launcher Pro and the X/2 will look as smooth as the Incredible. The X/2 load apps up quicker and run them quicker than the Incredible. The Snapdragon 8650 1Ghz chip is slower than the OMAP 3630 1Ghz chip. This is a fact that can not be debated any more than one can debate 5 being a larger number than 4. The Incredible is a high end last gen device while the Droid X and 2 are next gen devices.

 

[cableguynoe]

Your sources would be wrong then. Sense provides a smoother looking user interface than Motoblur does, but this has nothing to do with actual performance. Install Launcher Pro and the X/2 will look as smooth as the Incredible. The X/2 load apps up quicker and run them quicker than the Incredible. The Snapdragon 8650 1Ghz chip is slower than the OMAP 3630 1Ghz chip. This is a fact that can not be debated any more than one can debate 5 being a larger number than 4. The Incredible is a high end last gen device while the Droid X and 2 are next gen devices.

I just got the D2 today... so I hope you are right.
But like I said, more than one person, including the guy that sold me the D2, said the Dinc was the best phone he had.
He didn't even try to sell the the X which surprised me. Probably personal preference.

But i originally had the HTC Eris, which left a bad taste in my mouth. So I decided to stay away from HTC.

 

[ComradeQuestion]

I just got the D2 today... so I hope you are right.
But like I said, more than one person, including the guy that sold me the D2, said the Dinc was the best phone he had.
He didn't even try to sell the the X which surprised me. Probably personal preference.

But i originally had the HTC Eris, which left a bad taste in my mouth. So I decided to stay away from HTC.

probably did not want to sell you the x since its sold out. salesmen rule #1 cant sell soemthing you dont have lol. hes probably under pressure to downplay the x until they restock.

but to the OP are you using a task killer? do you reboot(shut off your phone regularly)?

i would suggest before returning go to the market download launcher pro it is free lots of settings there is also a paid version you can unlock but try it for free you technically never need to unlock if you dont want. but it has made my X a lot faster than crap blur. i notice all the devices in store lag worse than an Apple 2 lol.

i wish you luck. i currently am considering switching my x for an incredible or 2 im very torn but for hardware reasons.

 

[Joe_Evaristo]

It's much more laggy than my wifes incredible and I have nothing running on any of the screens other than static icons. It doesn't feel very powerful to me. I still like the phone, but it's not as smooth as I would think. My buddy has a d1 and the d2 doesn't feel faster to me.

But what apps are you running? Poorly coded apps, whether used as widgets or not, can cause the system to lag by making it unstable. If you provide a list, I'm sure at least some of us might be able to figure out which one's the problem.

As another poster points out, running task killers can also cause this problem: they make the phone laggy, and they hurt your battery life, and should be avoided.

Are you using a basic wallpaper, or a live wallpaper? The wallpapers that moves also use more processing power.

If your apps are syncing excessively, it can also lag your phone since the processor has to run a process every time you sync something. Sometimes it's things you wouldn't expect, like the included Social networking widget for facebook, myself, etc: there is a known problem with this widget where it syncs too often and drains the battery.

I just got the D2 today... so I hope you are right.
But like I said, more than one person, including the guy that sold me the D2, said the Dinc was the best phone he had.
He didn't even try to sell the the X which surprised me. Probably personal preference.

But i originally had the HTC Eris, which left a bad taste in my mouth. So I decided to stay away from HTC.

I also upgraded from an Eris, and I must say, that bad taste was left by HTC, and not the Eris. At least, in my case it sure was. Their BBB rating is now an F. The build quality is poor, and when something inevitably goes wrong, they either won't support it, or are inept when they try. I tried for just over a month to get support and they came up with three completely different stories as to where the problem originated and why they didn't have to deal with it. I'd call them trained monkeys, but there's really little evidence of any training.

The DInc isn't as great as some people make it out to be. Like the Eris, it has its share of problems. Three of the known biggies are touch screen not registering touches (the same issue affects the Evo), self-rebooting (which some Eris users reported), and privacy concerns in the browser, where thumbnails are saved of pages, including banking, etc, that remain even after doing a factory reset.

--

Personally, I find my D2 to be very snappy. I only notice lag after I've been using it for a long period of time and I'm expecting it to open a new app before the last one's even off screen. But then, I try to pre-empt the screen when I'm using a desktop computer, too, with similar results...

 

[Chaznsc]

I'm not completely unhappy with the Droid 2, but here are a few things I DON'T care for about it (Note: These are MY observations, and they may differ from YOURS):

Power Button - When Im grabbing it, I find the button is not in a good place to access and it takes a bit of force to make it power on. Then I have to unlock the phone. Its just a bit more clumsy when I'm not sitting holding it with both hands.

Performance - I expected to see a smoother scrolling function. I don't want to compare it to the iPhone, but I'm going to risk the comment that the Droid isn't even in the same class as the iPhone in that regards. Even the same games aren't as smooth (angry birds for instance). Apple's OS clearly has the advantage.

Email - The Droid2 app on the phone is OK, but that's about it. IT doesn't sync folders off my exchange server (It SEES them but doesn't sync). I tested Touchdown but found its performance lacking (hangs up a lot in between messages, in replying, etc). I'm also not thrilled about a 20-dollar app to check email. This is sort of the MAC-PC issue, where Apple gives you most everything you need and the PC gives you garbage, or things you don't need (city id).

Notifications - Here is where I sort of get lost. With my Blackberry I knew what I was getting by quickly looking at the screen. Now I have to power-on, unlock........then hunt for what has arrived.

I have a friend who has the Droid 1 and personally, I cant tell the difference in the 1 and 2 from a performance standpoint. Considering they sequel'd the phone, I would have expected a noticeable leap in performance. I wrestled with getting the Droid 2 or the Droid X but at the end of the day, the X seems like too big of a device, leaning towards a small tablet rather than a phone. And the Dinc is a little "older" technology so I leaned away from it, knowing that in 6 months, even the newest technology would be "old". Having to keep a phone for 2 years makes you look hard at what you are getting.

To answer a couple of the questions posted in response to my OP:

No - I don't use a task manager/killer
Yes - I restart the phone every day or 2

I really appreciate the great discussion here. I have downloaded LOADER PRO and ADW, they are ok, not sure Im completely comfortable with rooting at this point so I will just play a little with these.

Thanks!!

chaz

 

[Chaznsc]

Your sources would be wrong then. Sense provides a smoother looking user interface than Motoblur does, but this has nothing to do with actual performance. Install Launcher Pro and the X/2 will look as smooth as the Incredible. The X/2 load apps up quicker and run them quicker than the Incredible. The Snapdragon 8650 1Ghz chip is slower than the OMAP 3630 1Ghz chip. This is a fact that can not be debated any more than one can debate 5 being a larger number than 4. The Incredible is a high end last gen device while the Droid X and 2 are next gen devices.

It may be faster in theory, but it doesn't show it.

 

[Joe_Evaristo]

I'm not completely unhappy with the Droid 2, but here are a few things I DON'T care for about it (Note: These are MY observations, and they may differ from YOURS):

Power Button - When Im grabbing it, I find the button is not in a good place to access and it takes a bit of force to make it power on. Then I have to unlock the phone. Its just a bit more clumsy when I'm not sitting holding it with both hands.

Performance - I expected to see a smoother scrolling function. I don't want to compare it to the iPhone, but I'm going to risk the comment that the Droid isn't even in the same class as the iPhone in that regards. Even the same games aren't as smooth (angry birds for instance). Apple's OS clearly has the advantage.

Email - The Droid2 app on the phone is OK, but that's about it. IT doesn't sync folders off my exchange server (It SEES them but doesn't sync). I tested Touchdown but found its performance lacking (hangs up a lot in between messages, in replying, etc). I'm also not thrilled about a 20-dollar app to check email. This is sort of the MAC-PC issue, where Apple gives you most everything you need and the PC gives you garbage, or things you don't need (city id).

Notifications - Here is where I sort of get lost. With my Blackberry I knew what I was getting by quickly looking at the screen. Now I have to power-on, unlock........then hunt for what has arrived.

I have a friend who has the Droid 1 and personally, I cant tell the difference in the 1 and 2 from a performance standpoint. Considering they sequel'd the phone, I would have expected a noticeable leap in performance. I wrestled with getting the Droid 2 or the Droid X but at the end of the day, the X seems like too big of a device, leaning towards a small tablet rather than a phone. And the Dinc is a little "older" technology so I leaned away from it, knowing that in 6 months, even the newest technology would be "old". Having to keep a phone for 2 years makes you look hard at what you are getting.

To answer a couple of the questions posted in response to my OP:

No - I don't use a task manager/killer
Yes - I restart the phone every day or 2

I really appreciate the great discussion here. I have downloaded LOADER PRO and ADW, they are ok, not sure Im completely comfortable with rooting at this point so I will just play a little with these.

Thanks!!

chaz

The power button is difficult by design, it's to prevent pocket-dialing and similar things. (Pocket e-mailing? lol)

E-mail is awkward on the D2. I do know that there are known issues with exchange (the biggest being the requirement of a pin to unlock the device when the server doesn't require it--perhaps this is why you need to unlock to see notifications?), and Motorola seems to be treating this issue as the highest priority for rix in the next maintenance update. Motorola accepts feature requests and bug reports on their official community board, so you can make suggestions for specific functionality you'd like to see and be kept up to date on its progress: https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/34764

Performance should be good--I certainly don't think the Iphone is anything special in comparison. I haven't had those problems with Angry Birds, or general phone lag issues at all. Can you provide a list of other apps you're using? Angry Birds is one, but what else? Something must be putting a drain on your system, and it's likely an app. (I suppose it's possible it could be the exchange, too.) The D2 should be smooth; if it's not an app then you've probably got a defective unit.

 

[Chaznsc]

The power button is difficult by design, it's to prevent pocket-dialing and similar things. (Pocket e-mailing? lol)

E-mail is awkward on the D2. I do know that there are known issues with exchange (the biggest being the requirement of a pin to unlock the device when the server doesn't require it--perhaps this is why you need to unlock to see notifications?), and Motorola seems to be treating this issue as the highest priority for rix in the next maintenance update. Motorola accepts feature requests and bug reports on their official community board, so you can make suggestions for specific functionality you'd like to see and be kept up to date on its progress: https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/34764

Performance should be good--I certainly don't think the Iphone is anything special in comparison. I haven't had those problems with Angry Birds, or general phone lag issues at all. Can you provide a list of other apps you're using? Angry Birds is one, but what else? Something must be putting a drain on your system, and it's likely an app. (I suppose it's possible it could be the exchange, too.) The D2 should be smooth; if it's not an app then you've probably got a defective unit.

If you compare apps that are on the iPhone (iPod Touch for me) and the Droid, the droid app isnt as smooth. Angry Birds for instance, and any other game (Need for Speed). They just arent as polished from a performance standpoint. (I carry an iPod Touch) In angry Birds, the birds don't fly as smooth, in NFS the steering just isn't as precise as my iPod Touch.

Im not using anything outside of what was installed on the device at the factory. I do have ADW, and it pretty's it up, but that's about it.

My exchange server/Droid isnt "locking" my exchange mail like on my Wife's Incredible, but we are running Exchange 2003, and I believe Excahnge 200X now has some security settings that LOCK the device. They are trying to secure the email much like Blackberry's servers will do. I believe those settings can be relaxed at the server level. The phone, however, locks itself so I have to power it up, and struggle to press the power button. Since its at the top of the device, I think the access to it should have been better thought thru. Its simply too difficult to find "blind".

 

[cableguynoe]

Performance - I expected to see a smoother scrolling function. I don't want to compare it to the iPhone, but I'm going to risk the comment that the Droid isn't even in the same class as the iPhone in that regards. Even the same games aren't as smooth (angry birds for instance). Apple's OS clearly has the advantage.

As far as scrolling, the first thing i did when I got my D2 was turn off animations in the display settings.
Much smoother now.