Moto X Features On Other Phones


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Thanks to some intrepid Android developers, two of the Motorola Moto X's highlight features ? Active Notifications and Quick Capture ? can now be had on devices not actually made by Motorola. Though the Moto X isn't even on store shelves yet, you can install third-party apps on your existing Android device to replicate some of the coolest features it offers, albeit with some limitations.

 

Moto's Active Notifications, the system that passively displays notifications on the screen without you having to pick up the device, was one of our favorite features when we reviewed the Moto X. If you have an Android 4.3 device, which is admittedly a small market right now, you can install ActiveNotifications from the Google Play Store to replicate the Moto X's functionality. The app will light up your device's screen when a new notification comes in, and give you the option to jump right to the app that pushed the notification or dismiss it entirely. You can set how long the screen stays awake and which apps will trigger the notification. ActiveNotifications doesn't yet mimic the "breathing" feature of the Moto X, which will periodically light up the screen if you haven't acted on a notification, but the developer says that he is working to add a similar behavior in later versions. Support for older versions of Android is also in the pipeline.

 

Another cool Moto X feature is Quick Capture ? the ability to twist the phone like a screwdriver and quickly launch the camera from wherever you are. The aptly-named TwistyLauncher, also available in the Play Store, gives you the ability to launch the camera with three different gestures: a double chop, a double twist, or flipping the phone over twice in a row. You can even set the app to launch apps other than the camera with the remaining gestures ? for example, if you have the double chop set to launch the camera, you can launch a flashlight app with the double twist. Unlike the Moto X's Quick Capture, you do have to turn the screen on before TwistyLauncher will work, and it can be slow to launch apps if you try to use it just after hitting the home key. The gestures can also get confused with each other, especially the twist and double-flip options. Like ActiveNotifications, TwistyLauncher is limited to a handful of devices right now (we tested it on the Nexus 4, but it does not work on the HTC One), but we suspect that more device compatibility will be added in the future.

 

While you can't quite match the Moto X's hardware customizations with just any Android phone, if you already own an relatively recent device and have been lusting after the X's neat software tricks, these apps will get you some of the way there. We wouldn't be surprised if other developers figure out ways to bring over the Moto X's voice control features and Assist functionality in the future, as well.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/8/4602218/moto-x-lust-developers-port-features-other-phones

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Not sure I want either of those features, but glad to see third parties jumping on bringing these features to others who want them.

 

On a side note, I don't know if anyone remembers, but back in the SGS1 days there was an app called NoLED that would similarly display notifications on your screen while it was off. It worked best on an AMOLED screen since it would be a black background and a small logo. I think that implementation looks better today still than ActiveNotifications app and the Moto X's active notifications. Actually, I just looked it up and the app is still out there and still being worked on. The last update to it was June 19, 2013.

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Not sure I want either of those features, but glad to see third parties jumping on bringing these features to others who want them.

 

On a side note, I don't know if anyone remembers, but back in the SGS1 days there was an app called NoLED that would similarly display notifications on your screen while it was off. It worked best on an AMOLED screen since it would be a black background and a small logo. I think that implementation looks better today still than ActiveNotifications app and the Moto X's active notifications. Actually, I just looked it up and the app is still out there and still being worked on. The last update to it was June 19, 2013.

 

i used NOLED a lot.  But fight Lightflow to work better with the GNEX.  Just lights up the LED light at the bottom whatever color for whatever notification you want.  I used NOLED on my SGS1 all the time tho.

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The only notification I really care about is SMS.  And handcent pops up a Notification Windows on the screen when a SMS comes in with the ability to do a quick reply inside that window.

However, I can see a use for people that facebook or care about emails :p

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i used NOLED a lot.  But fight Lightflow to work better with the GNEX.  Just lights up the LED light at the bottom whatever color for whatever notification you want.  I used NOLED on my SGS1 all the time tho.

Yeah, I have an LED on the One finally after every other phone I had not having one (SGS, Infuse, One X), so I don't need any kind of NoLED type of app. Unfortunately it's only green and red and it's tiny. Why is a big full color LED so hard for manufacturers to add to phones? There's almost nothing they could add cheaper.

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Yeah, I have an LED on the One finally after every other phone I had not having one (SGS, Infuse, One X), so I don't need any kind of NoLED type of app. Unfortunately it's only green and red and it's tiny. Why is a big full color LED so hard for manufacturers to add to phones? There's almost nothing they could add cheaper.

so does the SG4, tiny led on the top right barely noticeable. Hey if they can do it in the AMOLED screen then why not? ( AHhhh wait the HTC once is LCD right? man i'd love to have LCD on the sg4, too contrasty :P ((yes fixable i know), on topic, can the htc one screen light up only specifics parts of the screen? As that is the point of those two apps i'm guessing?

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That's weird. Didn't the SGS3 have a big LED? I know the Note 2 does. So odd that such a simple feature is so difficult to include for all these major manufacturers. But yeah, the One is an SLCD screen so it would take more battery power to run a NoLED type app. The point of the app was that SAMOLED screens use less power by only applying light to areas of the screen that need to light up. Black pixels are effectively "off". Though I had questions as to how accurate that all was on my Samsungs. I noticed that even when the screen was black, it had a glow compared to fully off. It was definitely faint though, and maybe it was just a side effect of part of the screen being lit up.

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That's weird. Didn't the SGS3 have a big LED? I know the Note 2 does. So odd that such a simple feature is so difficult to include for all these major manufacturers. But yeah, the One is an SLCD screen so it would take more battery power to run a NoLED type app. The point of the app was that SAMOLED screens use less power by only applying light to areas of the screen that need to light up. Black pixels are effectively "off". Though I had questions as to how accurate that all was on my Samsungs. I noticed that even when the screen was black, it had a glow compared to fully off. It was definitely faint though, and maybe it was just a side effect of part of the screen being lit up.

I think it's a matter of  what you consider big :P  I think the one on the SG4 is about the same size as the G3?

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I think it's a matter of  what you consider big :p  I think the one on the SG4 is about the same size as the G3?

Maybe it is. Maybe just the Note has the big one. I just remember seeing it on a co-workers Note II. The One's LED is TINY and INSIDE one of the holes over the speaker so it's even a little difficult to see it at an angle. Ridiculous!

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Maybe it is. Maybe just the Note has the big one. I just remember seeing it on a co-workers Note II. The One's LED is TINY and INSIDE one of the holes over the speaker so it's even a little difficult to see it at an angle. Ridiculous!

hey you call tiny on the one, I call it "streamlined" :P

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That's weird. Didn't the SGS3 have a big LED? I know the Note 2 does. So odd that such a simple feature is so difficult to include for all these major manufacturers. But yeah, the One is an SLCD screen so it would take more battery power to run a NoLED type app. The point of the app was that SAMOLED screens use less power by only applying light to areas of the screen that need to light up. Black pixels are effectively "off". Though I had questions as to how accurate that all was on my Samsungs. I noticed that even when the screen was black, it had a glow compared to fully off. It was definitely faint though, and maybe it was just a side effect of part of the screen being lit up.

 

At least they are getting better.  My SGS1 had no LED at all.  Annoying.

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