is 2.1 lame?

[tjoebgen]

I thought that 2.1 had more home screens. I still have only 3. I have so many folders on my home screens - so what is the best home screen alternative? Every time I read something I see 3 or 4 different ones highly recommended. Thoughts?

PittCaleb

replacement home screen / launchers are very subjective to each individual. Stock is okay, but only 3 screens. I finally like one well enough now - Helix Launcher. It gives 7 screens, has a handy double-tap for seeing thumbnail view of all screens, works with regular wallpapers (even Live), and I like the way they utilize the bottom of the screen (and don't mess with my status bar at the top).

 

[baka]

@Gotwillk

I'd try and take it in to Verizon, could be a faulty droid after the update?

@People recommending Helix

I just have one question, as although im not too into the having more than 3 screens, i am into messing with my phone lol, so the question is, does Helix slowdown the phone significantly?

helix actually made launching my apps faster. i love it. also love how it has a "dock bar" of sorts. double tap rocks too and the additional screens are welcomed.

i keep forgetting about the pinch to zoom. it is making the browsing experience better though...

in regards to other updates; i would have much rather seen a lot of other issues taken care of. 1 button update all for apps, fix the caller id icon, fix sync issues, fix app stability (although i guess a lot is on the dev so...), stuff like that. i realize 2.0.1 --> 2.1 isnt a huge jump, but i think they could have done more.

*oh... and i cant stand the stupid TTS microphone on the standard keyboard. it took the place of the comma and i keep hitting it... any way to turn it off without switching to better keyboard or anything?

 

[twjonesjr]

I completely agree about the comma being replaced with the microphone. It's nice at times but I miss having the comma right there without switching to the numerical/symbol keyboard.

As for the live wallpapers, the neural network one does seem to make things a bit laggy scrolling side to side between screens and loading apps in general. Now trying the grass one to see how that works. What exactly was the "improved battery performance" claim Motorola made?

Also, anyone else noticing that with Handcent when you receive a text pop up it doesn't use the live wallpaper as the background?

 

[skunkpbguy]

I noticed that issue with Live Wallpapers and Handcent.. but the fix for the headphones issue more than makes up for it. hopefully Handcent will make a patch for this very soon.

 

[liveZstrong]

It seems a bit laggy to me after the update, when i swipe from side to side..anyone else experiencing this?

And also, when I do the advanced task kill, the "voice search" keeps on popping up? What's the reason for that?

Other than that, the live wallpaper, new gallery, and the speech to text is awesome

 

[sergey]

It runs a bit slower at times, but overall I love the update for 3 reasons in the following order

1) multitouch, swipe gestures. Coming from an iPhone, this makes the Droid a serious contender. I really did miss the pinch and zoom.

2) news/weather widget. I always thought it was so cool and I use it all the time. Love how you can customize the topics

3) live wall papers. Total battery whore, but the zen one is sooo kewl you guys!

Everything else is ok to eh. But these three features make it feel like a new phone!

 

[tranzz]

Every day my Droid and its 2.1 OS get lamer:
Why didn't my Droid wake-up after the 2.1 upgrade with "What's new" onscreen, like even little app developers do?
Why hasn't a good onboard users manual been released yet?
Why is Settings > About > System tutorial even shorter now than it was in Dec 2009?
Why is the native Contacts app still worse than a 5 year old BB or Palm or WinCE, or Sharp? (maybe even DayTimer!)
Why does the phone still have worse audio than..... any phone I've had since 1980?
Why isn't Google Docs still a native app?
Why is Home++, not visibly changed since December, still SO MUCH better than native?
Why isn't the function of all physical and "firm" buttons determined by user settings?
Why aren't all possible combinations of audible and LED functions / alerts accessible and determined by user settings?
Why hasn't graffiti and swype been integrated by the OS, and available as default, settable on each app, by user settings?
Why isn't complete system backup a native app?

Why should I continue?

Google COULD fix the documentation / help problem LITERALLY overnight.

I'm not an experienced professional device or software developer. What? Did Apple, Nintendo, and some car company hire up all the people with intelligience and creativity, so Google can't get any? I dumped Palm when they decided to stop improving their PDAs and went backwards with their Treos. I'm wondering how long it'll be before some asian outfit comes and blows Android / Google out of the water like Toyota and Honda did to GM 30 years ago. When iPhone isn't owned by AT&T let's see what happens.

 

[slick_old]

...

 

[slick_old]

Wow, some of you folks are hard to please...even nitpicky, at times.

 

[tjoebgen]

3) live wall papers. Total battery whore, but the zen one is sooo kewl you guys!

I've had great luck with the Grass one - beautiful and doesn't seem to be hogging my resources or battery.

where is the Zen one?

 

[pequeajim]

But then again, I did a full wipe before installing 2.1.

Just curious, what do you mean that you did a "full wipe" before installing 2.1?

 

[pequeajim]

Every day my Droid and its 2.1 OS get lamer:
Why didn't my Droid wake-up after the 2.1 upgrade with "What's new" onscreen, like even little app developers do?
Why hasn't a good onboard users manual been released yet?
Why is Settings > About > System tutorial even shorter now than it was in Dec 2009?
Why is the native Contacts app still worse than a 5 year old BB or Palm or WinCE, or Sharp? (maybe even DayTimer!)
Why does the phone still have worse audio than..... any phone I've had since 1980?
Why isn't Google Docs still a native app?
Why is Home++, not visibly changed since December, still SO MUCH better than native?
Why isn't the function of all physical and "firm" buttons determined by user settings?
Why aren't all possible combinations of audible and LED functions / alerts accessible and determined by user settings?
Why hasn't graffiti and swype been integrated by the OS, and available as default, settable on each app, by user settings?
Why isn't complete system backup a native app?

Why should I continue?

Google COULD fix the documentation / help problem LITERALLY overnight.

No offense, but none of your points make me believe that a phone that you chose to buy with what you are pointed out is it's limited functionality which goes through a sw update is lame?

They added several functions, that work, and while I agree with you that the documentation could be improved, you knew that when you bought the phone, or at least had 30 days to take it back after you found out.

What cracks me up is that a lot of people, (maybe not you), moan and groan that the upgrade isn't coming out fast enough and then complain when it does finally come out. I believe they released a list of upgrades and issues that were being addressed. You DID have a choice to upgrade on not?

I can't fault Verizon for trying...

 

[Jay3]

just wondering if anyone else thinks the ota to 2.1 is lame? other than the gallery, i cant find any of these other cool things that were supposed to be there. i still have only 3 home screens, no revised app launcher, no thumbnail navigation on homescreen, no live wallpapers, etc. other than the news and weather app/widget, i cant tell what has changed.

am i being a noob or does this update seem totally lame? i cant even figure out whats new. still feels like the same old 2.01 droid to me.

What was lame was all the excessive whining when it wasn't out yet, as if it was supposed to be some sort of life-changing thing.

It was an updated from 2.01 to 2.1. That's all. Runs snappier, a couple of features. The Droid was great before, and it's still great. Now you now how close your experience was to Nexus One all along.

I never got excited when Microsoft pushed out a Windows patch, either.

 

[slick_old]

Just curious, what do you mean that you did a "full wipe" before installing 2.1?

Well, I booted in recovery (held down "x" while pressing power) and I did a factory reset before manually installing the update.

 

[baka]

I completely agree about the comma being replaced with the microphone. It's nice at times but I miss having the comma right there without switching to the numerical/symbol keyboard.

As for the live wallpapers, the neural network one does seem to make things a bit laggy scrolling side to side between screens and loading apps in general. Now trying the grass one to see how that works. What exactly was the "improved battery performance" claim Motorola made?

Also, anyone else noticing that with Handcent when you receive a text pop up it doesn't use the live wallpaper as the background?

I've been using the neural network and grass live wallpapers and they still function behind my handcent popup... although, it has been running sluggishly at times when these two are used together.

other than that, yes the live walls do make my phone lag a bit more than normal. although, helix actually did speed things up for me.

What was lame was all the excessive whining when it wasn't out yet, as if it was supposed to be some sort of life-changing thing.

It was an updated from 2.01 to 2.1. That's all. Runs snappier, a couple of features. The Droid was great before, and it's still great. Now you now how close your experience was to Nexus One all along.

I never got excited when Microsoft pushed out a Windows patch, either.

i think snappier is debatable. there are many here who think its slower - especially with live walls. there are also a lot of other issues that could have been addressed to speed up or help the platform run better. granted it was 2.0.1 --> 2.1, which isnt huge, but aside from multitouch (and really, was this major? the milestone shipped with this...), live walls, gallery, and enhanced TTS, what was there? there werent any real improvements, where there? maybe thats what i should have asked initially.

and are you serious? Win XP SP3 rocked my world man!

 

[AndroidsOfTara]

I completely agree about the comma being replaced with the microphone. It's nice at times but I miss having the comma right there without switching to the numerical/symbol keyboard.

You can change this in Settings > Language & Keyboard > Android keyboard (Onscreen keyboard settings) by unchecking "Voice input."

This will replace the microphone with a comma.

 

[G.Armour]

Seriously, people was whining and crying because they couldn't wait for the update, now they are whining and crying because the update was not what they expected.
I swear that you just can't make some people happy. I like what they did with the update, granted I wish we had push to talk on a Bluetooth with it, but I was not expecting it, so it was no let down. But honestly, I think, despite what everyone has stated on the forums, that some was still expecting flash to come with this update to, and when it didn't, they were devastated. I don't know, but I ain't gonna be sitting around holding my breath for another update or flash for that matter. Because IMO I still have an awesome phone, and 2.1 just made it better. This phone can do so much, and people whining and complaining about it is bringing it down.
But then again, that's just my opinion.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[skunkpbguy]

Every day my Droid and its 2.1 OS get lamer: (blah, blah, blah)

You do realize this is a bare bones type of system, you ADD what you want.. the phone essentially comes blank for your customization. All the items you mention may be on your dream list, but to many of us, they are just resource devouring apps. The items you want all exist within the Market and most (if not all, are FREE apps) for users to add if they so desire.

I'm happier with my 2.1 everyday.

 

[TopShelf10]

For what we paid for the update, we've earned what we got.

....maybe im misunderstanding you, but you had to PAY for the 2.1 upgrade??

 

[baka]

....maybe im misunderstanding you, but you had to PAY for the 2.1 upgrade??

no. twas free. that was the point he was trying to make.

 

[pequeajim]

Well, I booted in recovery (held down "x" while pressing power) and I did a factory reset before manually installing the update.

Ok, thanks for the info...

 

[rdillz]

Yes. Official update is super lame. defend it all you want, but you waited for nothing. Lmao

 

[slick_old]

Droid 2.1 OTA update + ClockworkMod/Launcher 2 (in market) = FULL 2.1

Of course, some people will complain that ClockworkMod doesn't work on their Droid (works perfectly on mine). I guess I lucked up and got the only Droid that doesn't have any problems (for now, at least).

 

[Memitim]

I must be the only person who actually uses speech to text a lot, as it barely gets mentioned and mostly as an afterthought. That alone made it worth it for me; the live wallpapers are just a cool bonus.

 

[gotwillk]

I must be the only person who actually uses speech to text a lot, as it barely gets mentioned and mostly as an afterthought. That alone made it worth it for me; the live wallpapers are just a cool bonus.

really? i haven't used text to speech at all so far. and i don't plan on it. i don't see how it can be all that useful though. a lot of the times when i'm texting, i am outside or in noisy areas. won't it pick up a lot of ambient noises? also when i'm on the bus or something, i don't want ppl hearing what i'm texting lol. on that note, how are you even supposed to say out "lol"? L, O, L? or just say lol?