Custom Icons in METRO UI

Custom icons are more-or-less available in METRO UI (BETA).  I suggest using the gallery to select icons for now.  I am working on the fix that should allow custom file managers to work as well.  Here is an update on some of the requests and where they are on my priority list:

1. Fix issues with custom icons
2. Long press tile to Edit/Delete
3. Updates to Status Bar (new icons: WIFI, Bluetooth, Vibrate/Silent)
4. Custom tile color

Started looking at, found it will require LOTS of work:
1. 2x1 tiles.  I am using a GridView and it does not allow column span.  So this will require a pretty large rework :(
2. Rearranging tiles.  Again the GridView does not seems to be very friendly for drag-n-drop.

Very low on the list:
1. Widgets.  My experience is that widgets really slow down the system.  Since my goal is a lightweight get-in, get-out launcher, if widgets slow it down too much they will be removed.  When/if they are implemented it will most likely be on a separate screen.  Accessible from the menu(?)

Anyway, if I missed anything I apologize, I was doing this from memory :)

On a side note, check out this screenshot.  Submitted by bamick823 on XDA.  The icon pack is available from ubergeekinc on DeviantArt.

METRO UI - Stable

I have released a stable version of Metro UI.  It is the same as BETA version 0.3.3.  It is currently listed at 4.99, but I may adjust that price depending on the feedback I get.  This version will be updated whenever the BETA version reaches a mostly stable point.  Eventually the BETA version will cease to exist (at least not get updated). Let me know if you think this is a fair price.

METRO UI

It has been a while, but I have managed to carve out some development time.  With my other projects fairly stable I have moved on to a home replacement that imitates the new Windows mobile environment.  I still have plans for my other projects but they are a lower priority for me right now.  My METRO UI project is currently in BETA and a work in progress, so please be patient.

My major obstacle for this project is not actually owning a new Windows phone so everything I am doing is based on demos.  The other major issue is that Android does not allow access to notifications from other applications.  So in some cases I have to reverse engineer (via logs) how to grab unread/notification counts.  It is a long process and specific to each application.  So again please be patient.

I would just like to thank all of those that have taken the chance to send me constructive feedback.  It really helps.

Clock Issues

I have to apologize for the issues that people have been having after the latest updates with the clock.  I was trying to prevent the clock from freezing.  However the new update type ended up creating issues with the settings.  When I tried to fix the issues with the settings, it seems that the issue was latent, at least in my environment, so I was not able to catch it.  I will be rolling back to the original service version tonight.  I have yet to find a reasonable fix for the freezing issue, I will continue looking.

I'm Back

I've been on vacation for Labor Day.  I'm back now and I have a list of issues and enhancements I want to make on both widgets. So hopefully there will be some updates soon.

Digital Clock

While I was figuring out all of Android's preference framework, I developed a simple digital clock widget.  It has a simple background that can be turned off.  You can also enter a format string for both the time and date.  Here are a few common format strings:

• 24 Hour: HH:mm
• 24 Hour (no colon): HHmm
• 12 Hour: hh:mm a
• Date Options: 
• E: Numeric day of week
• EEE: Shortened day of week (Wed, Thur, etc.)
• EEEE: Full day of week (Wednesday, Thursday, etc)
• d: Day of month
• M: Numeric month
• MMM: Shortened month (Jan, Feb, etc.)
• MMMM: Full month (January, February, etc.)

Other format options are available at http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html

asdf

Themes

In the next few days I will begin rolling out themes for the Pro version of the Signal Strength Widget.  To start with I will be creating different colored skins.  As I get more time I will be developing true themes that have a....theme (sports, movies, music, etc).  Please leave any theme ideas in the comments or email them to me.

Update (9/1): Themes are getting close, the settings are setup, I just need to work on updating the UI once the theme is changed.