Notification Bar Color Change

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Hey everyone.

I'm wondering if there are any Apps out there that will allow you to change the color of the notification bar?
(basically I don't know what I need)

I'm running Froyo, and I'd like to change the bar from grey to Black.
I'd like the notification bar to be red on black, blue on black, or maybe even green on black if that's all there is.

I'm not interested in rooting the phone,
and I wouldn't want to change the other UI that came with it.
I'm really not sure what I need to do that,
or if it can be done without rooting.

Any help would be great.
Thanks.

 

[chanchan05]

Just my 2 cents, I dont think it can be done without rooting, but you can hide the bar using third party launchers though.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Wouldn't that change the entire UI,
or can you control each part that it changes?

 

[chanchan05]

Which one? Third party launchers? there isnt really a significant change in UI.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

I would to keep my stock launcher if at all possible.
(below)

It has a really nice snap out menu (on the left there)
that hides 5-6 shortcuts of your choosing.
It keeps the home screen looking very clean imo because it's
only showing your phone icon (which you really need out in front)
and the apps button.

I tried Go Launcher last night.
I liked it quite a bit because of the customization (and hiding the notification bar like you had mentioned)
but I really hate how it makes you have all those shortcuts at the bottom.
I know that it's pretty standard for an Android Phone to have them down
there, but I just like the way mine hides them I guess.
What is that bottom section called btw?

Do you know of any launchers that would allow me to keep
those bottom buttons the way they are?
Or some how copy them and use them on the new launcher?

 

[chanchan05]

Launcher Pro has similar options to Go, except for the fact that you can put only 3 icons at the bottom. Havent checked it on Go, as I have 15 icons down there.

As for hiding stuff in one icon, use Folder Organizer, make a shortcut link on the dock using that. You can put more than 6 shortcuts in that folder.

 

[Petrah]

Hey everyone.

I'm wondering if there are any Apps out there that will allow you to change the color of the notification bar?

I believe at the moment, using this app is the only way to change the color of the status bar without rooting your phone. Keep in mine though that the app doesn't have much for features... so if you want more options etc you will need to communicate that with the app developer.

StatusBar+ Lite by Thomas Barrasso 1,000 downloads, 96 ratings (3.2 avg)

Free

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Launcher Pro has similar options to Go, except for the fact that you can put only 3 icons at the bottom. Havent checked it on Go, as I have 15 icons down there.

As for hiding stuff in one icon, use Folder Organizer, make a shortcut link on the dock using that. You can put more than 6 shortcuts in that folder.

Launcher Pro sounds like the dock layout is similar to ADW's then.
(with the 3 icons limit)
I really liked the way that the ADW Launcher hid the status bar as opposed to Go Launcher.
On ADW's the status bar hides and the rest of your wallpaper is shown in the missing area.
With Go Launcher the status bar hides, but leaves a space at the top of the screen where the bar should be.
The functionality of the Go Launcher is way better though.
I'll have to give Launcher Pro a look to see what it does.

That's a great tip for hiding stuff and keeping the home screen clean.
I'm definitely going to look into that!

As for keeping my homepage stock looking:
I got with a guy over on the Commando forum
(that has rooted)
and he's going to send me the stock launcher icons.
I think by using those stock icons with your advise on how to hide things,
and Go Launcher's Dock, I'll be pretty close on getting it to act and look like the stock launcher, but with alot more functionality...and speed.
(for some reason the Go Launcher is noticeably faster than my stock launcher)

Just wish I could get the nice status bar hide that ADW offers.
Guess ya can't have it all right?

On a side note:
I need a good SMS app.
I really like Handcent, but it's not letting me send or receive pics anymore.
(texts go through fine)
I've read that this is an ongoing problem with them, and I can't find a fix.
GO SMS is doing the same damn thing.

I actually like Go SMS better,
(if it would allow me to send mms)
but it doesn't have an option to show your contact's picture in the conversation mode.
That's really big with me because it helps to quickly identify comments.
So I'm looking for another SMS app that's as good as GO, but has the option to show your contact's pic (and yours) in conversation view.
Know of any? Or maybe a fix for the MMS bug that both seem to have?

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

I believe at the moment, using this app is the only way to change the color of the status bar without rooting your phone. Keep in mine though that the app doesn't have much for features... so if you want more options etc you will need to communicate that with the app developer.

StatusBar+ Lite by Thomas Barrasso 1,000 downloads, 96 ratings (3.2 avg)

Free

Thanks for the link.
I tried it out, but it didn't work right with my phone.
I think it's a bit underdeveloped at this point.
I also tried SuperStatusBar.
That one was flat out HORRIFIC!
Unfortunately,
I think the status bar hide is what I'll end up having to use unless I deiced to root.

 

[chanchan05]

Launcher Pro sounds like the dock layout is similar to ADW's then.
(with the 3 icons limit)
I really liked the way that the ADW Launcher hid the status bar as opposed to Go Launcher.
On ADW's the status bar hides and the rest of your wallpaper is shown in the missing area.
With Go Launcher the status bar hides, but leaves a space at the top of the screen where the bar should be.
The functionality of the Go Launcher is way better though.
I'll have to give Launcher Pro a look to see what it does.

Launcher Pro has a lot of the same functionality as Go Launcher has, except for the HS panes moving around to our liking. Its a good Go alternative as It has all functionality but is smoother on other phones. Some other phones work smoother with Go though. It also has a 15 icon possibility on the dock. You just remove the icon on the dock and it looks empty.

On a side note:
I need a good SMS app.
I really like Handcent, but it's not letting me send or receive pics anymore.
(texts go through fine)
I've read that this is an ongoing problem with them, and I can't find a fix.
GO SMS is doing the same damn thing.

I actually like Go SMS better,
(if it would allow me to send mms)
but it doesn't have an option to show your contact's picture in the conversation mode.
That's really big with me because it helps to quickly identify comments.
So I'm looking for another SMS app that's as good as GO, but has the option to show your contact's pic (and yours) in conversation view.
Know of any? Or maybe a fix for the MMS bug that both seem to have?

Not sure how you mean pictures in conversation mode? You mean like Handcent? yes Go doesnt do that. It can show pictures at the top of the conversation bar or the conversation list though. As for identifying comments, you mean if you identify which is your message, and which is the other person's? You can use different themes so you can identify easier. For example, the iPhone theme can let you have a green message bubble for your messages, while white message bubble for others. A little easier to determine which are your messages and which are not. I for one prefer the dark theme, but I just set the color of my sms font to be green, while the received sms text font to be white.

Cant comment on MMS though, not really send MMS much. I prefer to email them.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Launcher Pro has a lot of the same functionality as Go Launcher has, except for the HS panes moving around to our liking. Its a good Go alternative as It has all functionality but is smoother on other phones. Some other phones work smoother with Go though. It also has a 15 icon possibility on the dock. You just remove the icon on the dock and it looks empty.

Okay.
I'll check that out.
The guy on the Commando forum came through with most of those icons,
so it should work out very well as soon as I pick the launcher.

Not sure how you mean pictures in conversation mode? You mean like Handcent? yes Go doesnt do that. It can show pictures at the top of the conversation bar or the conversation list though. As for identifying comments, you mean if you identify which is your message, and which is the other person's? You can use different themes so you can identify easier. For example, the iPhone theme can let you have a green message bubble for your messages, while white message bubble for others. A little easier to determine which are your messages and which are not. I for one prefer the dark theme, but I just set the color of my sms font to be green, while the received sms text font to be white.

Cant comment on MMS though, not really send MMS much. I prefer to email them.

Yep,
you understood everything correctly.
I tried changing the color of the bubbles up when I used GO SMS,
but just felt like it was lacking because the same can be done in Handcent,
+ having the contact's picture by each message.
If GO SMS had that, I would definitely use that one because you can also
set individual notification sounds for each contact.
Hopefully each developer will catch on to this.

I found the problem in Handcent though, which is great!
Actually it is all user error,
but there aren't any instructions to help.....tit for tat.

#1. You need to have Handcent set to disable all other MMS apps.
I had mine selected to take control over all sms and mms.
You'd think that would be the same, but apparently not.

#2. Handcent won't send or receive mms without "data" being enabled.
I have my Wi-Fi on quite a bit when I'm at home to avoid data usage.
What I was doing wrong was turning the data off while the WI-Fi was on,
in trying to force all to go through the WI-FI.
I had no idea that mms needed data to be enabled no matter what.
But....at least it's working now.

I just wish I could have found a thread stating this
rather than having to toy with the damn thing forever to get it figured out.
I found plenty of complaints about this, but ZERO solutions.
Maybe I'll post one.

 

[chanchan05]

Personal preferences, I dont really mind not having pictures on the SMS, and GO works smoother on my phone than Handcent does. What I dont like about Handcent is how all the messages are stuck into the center of the screen with non-pleasing formatting (to me), while GO's message layout seems cleaner and uses up the available space better. As I said, its a matter of preference in terms of looks. I like a cleaner, sleeker look.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

I agree.
I'd definitely be using GO if they allowed pictures to be implemented in the conversation.

I tried out Launcher Pro last night.
Very similar to GO.
I actually liked it better because when the notification bar is hidden
it allows the wallpaper to use the full screen instead of that annoying box
that GO leaves at the top.
I thought that was going to be the one I would stick with until I
found that there isn't any up/down swipe shortcut setting.
If there are, please let me know, but I can't find them anywhere.
Any idea if that's included in the paid version?

 

[chanchan05]

No I dont think it does. All the features of paid version is already there. The unlocker will only unlock them. AFAIK. I never tried paid because the free version didnt work very well with my phone.

As for certain features you want, for both GO sms and launcher, click the menu button, press on "more" and select "feedback". The developer responds very quickly. There was once a bug in the Go Keyboard app update which I reported as soon as it was rolled out (maybe several others too reported), and a week later there was an update fixing it. You could also post a review in the market stating your issues.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

I was looking at GO's website yesterday and noticed that they're supposed to be releasing a new version this week. Upon scrolling through the comments about the beta release (on the 23rd), I saw that someone else had mentioned fixing that annoying gap at the top. I also posted a comment about that. I'll go ahead and leave a review and contact them through the phone as you suggested, and maybe with ALL of that, HOPEFULLY they'll consider doing something about it. I really think that the gap is just the space allowed for the page indicator, and that's fine if one is using the indicator. But if the page indicator is turned off....the gap needs to go away too.
At least that's my logic.

On another topic:
I currently have my sync turned off because I hate how it automatically syncs EVERYTHING with your gmail account. Is there any way you can force is to only sync the calendar and emails?
I don't like having my contacts synced because it really screws stuff up in the contacts on my phone.
(especially if you have more than on gmail account, but still even with just one)

I'm also trying to find another free calendar that syncs to your google calendar.
(really I just need a dark theme, but can't seem to find one for the stock calendar)

 

[chanchan05]

Jorte calendar has a dark theme.

As for syncing calendar/gmail only, go to menu>settings>accounts and sync>choose your google account. untick contacts, but leave calendar, gmail and whatever else you want to sync on.

 

[sadielynn]

I agree.
I'd definitely be using GO if they allowed pictures to be implemented in the conversation.

I tried out Launcher Pro last night.
Very similar to GO.
I actually liked it better because when the notification bar is hidden
it allows the wallpaper to use the full screen instead of that annoying box
that GO leaves at the top.
I thought that was going to be the one I would stick with until I
found that there isn't any up/down swipe shortcut setting.
If there are, please let me know, but I can't find them anywhere.
Any idea if that's included in the paid version?

I just switched to Launcher Pro Plus from ADW Ex (used Go before that) and was also majorly missing the "swipe up/down for notifications" too.
This is how I got around it- Launcher Pro allows you to set gesture actions to each of your dock icons...I set it up so that if I swipe over my center icon, it shows/hides my status bar, and if I swipe over the icon next to the center one (in this case, my market icon), it pulls down my notifications.
Not perfect, but it working alright so far.

 

[Android26]

Your notification bar is white? Isn't Froyo grey though?

 

[ForbodingAngel]

Launcher Pro Allows for 15 icons (Just like GO Launcher EX).
You can send mms with GO sms Pro (I just did).

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Jorte calendar has a dark theme.

As for syncing calendar/gmail only, go to menu>settings>accounts and sync>choose your google account. untick contacts, but leave calendar, gmail and whatever else you want to sync on.

Gotcha, thanks.
I never saw those selection boxes there before because
I had been leaving "auto sync" off.
They only show up when auto sync is set to "on".
I ended up turning off the 3G and Wi-Fi to block anything from syncing,
then turning auto sync on, selecting the proper boxes, then letting everything go through.
Wish I had known about that the first time before it had jacked up
all my contacts.
Either way, the problem is solved now.

Yeah...I had seen Jorte in the market.
I didn't know if it allowed everything to
sync with your Gmail calendars though.
I know that Gmail is getting a bit anal about letting 3rd party apps
sync up, but for good reason of course.
They're just trying to keep info secure.
Maybe I'll give it a try tonight when I get some time.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

I just switched to Launcher Pro Plus from ADW Ex (used Go before that) and was also majorly missing the "swipe up/down for notifications" too.
This is how I got around it- Launcher Pro allows you to set gesture actions to each of your dock icons...I set it up so that if I swipe over my center icon, it shows/hides my status bar, and if I swipe over the icon next to the center one (in this case, my market icon), it pulls down my notifications.
Not perfect, but it working alright so far.

Good info there.
I was wondering what that setting was all about.
If GO doesn't fix the gap at the top in a timely manner I might give that a try.

Your notification bar is white? Isn't Froyo grey though?

Naw...it's grey.
The camera must not have picked it up very well.

Launcher Pro Allows for 15 icons (Just like GO Launcher EX).
You can send mms with GO sms Pro (I just did).

Yep.
I'm just waiting to see if GO sms will start to implement contact pictures
into it's conversation screen.
If it does, then I'll probably switch.

 

[chanchan05]

Gotcha, thanks.
Yeah...I had seen Jorte in the market.
I didn't know if it allowed everything to
sync with your Gmail calendars though.
I know that Gmail is getting a bit anal about letting 3rd party apps
syncing up, but for good reason of course.
They're just trying to keep info secure.
Maybe I'll give it a try tonight when I get some time.

Jorte doesnt directly sync to your email calendars. Its "shell" for your default calendar app, its edits go there. Then your default calendar app will sync with google with no problems.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Jorte doesnt directly sync to your email calendars. Its "shell" for your default calendar app, its edits go there. Then your default calendar app will sync with google with no problems.

I see.
I'll give it a look.

 

[BLACKTOOTHGRIN]

Good News for the notification bar color change:
Gingerbread was FINALLY released for my devise today!
I'm downloading it as we speak.
That should give me the Black bar that I wanted.
I'm not to choked up on the green part,
but hell....I'll take it.