Paranoid Android's PIE Navigation System Is Almost Out Of The Oven

By Richteralan
in Android Support

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Richteralan

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All pastry jokes aside, PIE is a fully-customizable replacement for the stock on-screen navigation buttons found in more recent versions of Android. It stays hidden off-screen, only to be brought to life by a predefined gesture. PIE can be manifested on all four sides of the devices, and there's even an option to set up multiple trigger areas, making this not only a neat mod to look at, but a convenient one, too.

Of course, long-time Paranoid Android users are probably shouting "Hey, this isn't new!" ? which is completely true. This has been a feature in the ROM for some time, but it's now reaching its final stages of development. Where there used to be lag, you'll only find smooth transitions and blazing speeds. The dev team re-wrote the navigation code from scratch (as opposed to simply modifying the AOSP code, like in the past) to ensure a buttery smooth experience. Judging by that video, I'd say they achieved that goal. Of course, they're not completely finished yet, so there are still a few bugs to work out.

PIE isn't just about a new navigation experience, either ? it also offers customizable colors, status information (like clock, date, et cetera), notifications, and toggles. One nice thing about PIE is that it's dynamic, meaning its size will be defined by the device's dpi; in other words, you won't see a stretched phone UI on a tablet.

According to PA's post on Google+ highlighting this feature, updated builds of the ROM with this freshly-baked PIE should start rolling out as early as tonight. You can head here, as well as Paranoid Android's site, for more information.

http://www.androidpo...ells-fantastic/

Been using PA's PIE since Alpha stage. What can I say? Completely reclaimed all screen space and getting better and better each day. The BEST 3rd party ROM I've used. Yes, better than CM and AOKP (tried both, too).

Grand Master

xendrome

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Looks like a ton of swiping and constant finger contact with the screen. Using this with one hand could be troublesome, I would think single contact clicks would be more efficient. If your finger loses contact with the screen you have to swipe and start over in this usage.

Grand Master

PNWDweller

Posted
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:( Too bad I can't run this piece of my ancient phone. They have a version for it, but nothing nearly as pretty. :) (HTC Hero CMDA).

Watching the dev scene on these though has given me enough ideas to last a while once I get my new Droid later on this year. :woot:

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Richteralan

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Looks like a ton of swiping and constant finger contact with the screen. Using this with one hand could be troublesome, I would think single contact clicks would be more efficient. If your finger loses contact with the screen you have to swipe and start over in this usage.

Actually it is completely fine with one hand. You can choose the size of the pie, the location of the pie, and the animation speed of the pie.

Do you lose contact with the screen when you swiping left/right? No? Then you won't with the pie navigation because the swiping distance is SHORTER than swiping screen.

If you really don't like it, you can disable it. It's all about choices.

Grand Master

_neutrino Veteran

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It's a custom ROM. So yes you need to unlock and flash through CWM/TWRP.

no i meant the PIE feature is available for download to install on any ROM you do not need Paranoid Android to use it. I currently have it running on CM10.1

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Richteralan

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no i meant the PIE feature is available for download to install on any ROM you do not need Paranoid Android to use it. I currently have it running on CM10.1

Haven't realize this PA ROM feature is an app. I haven't heard the PA team said that.

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HawkMan

Posted
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suffers from the same problem as ubuntu os on the phone. hidden menus work fine on a computer with a mouse. but on a phone not so much. sure it can make the phone look cool and neat, but usability it's terrible.

first you need to swipe/gesture to get the menu out, then you need to hold your finger there while aiming for the right option. and because you need to hold all the time to start with, you lose the ability for further options by long hold, though that's fairly minor.

it just makes more sense to have those option the pie menu offers available all the time on the dock instead. faster and more convenient.

Grand Master

_neutrino Veteran

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The Program is called LMT Launcher, even though its not a launcher. you can find it here

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330150

Grand Master

ichi

Posted
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I've been using the pie menu that can be enabled through labs in the stock Android browser, and while it takes some time to get used to it it's quite comfortable to have all the options within the reach of my thumb while holding the phone with one hand.

I'm not sure about this PA pie, though. It's just three buttons, I've no problem with their placement on stock Android.

Grand Master

HawkMan

Posted
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I've been using the pie menu that can be enabled through labs in the stock Android browser, and while it takes some time to get used to it it's quite comfortable to have all the options within the reach of my thumb while holding the phone with one hand.

I'm not sure about this PA pie, though. It's just three buttons, I've no problem with their placement on stock Android.

context long click "pie" menus actually make sense on touch devices and even some mouse interfaces as well.

Grand Master

dnast

Posted
Posted

The Program is called LMT Launcher, even though its not a launcher. you can find it here

http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1330150

Wow, I never knew this got ported to Android. This app was probably the only thing I missed when I ditched WinMo for Android on my old HD2. It didn't have the pie feature back then, though (just the gestures).

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Richteralan

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The Program is called LMT Launcher, even though its not a launcher. you can find it here

http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1330150

Just know that the LMT launcher cherry picked PA's PIE interface code from the past few weeks, not the other way around as many users claiming.

Grand Master

AJerman

Posted
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I feel like I need to try this out, for sure, but it doesn't look very... useful? Maybe practical is a better word. And you reclaim screen space from what, the tiny status bar at the top that's useful to have showing at all times? The status bar is the one item that stays on the screen at any time and lets you see important info like time, signal, and battery. These all seem like the kind of things that I WANT to see.

Don't get me wrong, it definitely looks cool, and maybe it works better than I'm picturing it. I certainly don't have a problem with innovation in the phone UI field though. This is one of the most unique UI's I've seen yet.

Veteran

Richteralan

Posted
  • Author
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I feel like I need to try this out, for sure, but it doesn't look very... useful? Maybe practical is a better word. And you reclaim screen space from what, the tiny status bar at the top that's useful to have showing at all times? The status bar is the one item that stays on the screen at any time and lets you see important info like time, signal, and battery. These all seem like the kind of things that I WANT to see.

Don't get me wrong, it definitely looks cool, and maybe it works better than I'm picturing it. I certainly don't have a problem with innovation in the phone UI field though. This is one of the most unique UI's I've seen yet.

It has the choice of hiding only the Nav bar and keep the status bar. Remember it's still a WIP.

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