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HSTouch "Dock" Mode on Android and launching applications

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    HSTouch "Dock" Mode on Android and launching applications

    Just getting back into using the HSTouch Android Client and thinking of ways to make it behave better for an always on wall-mounted touchscreen.

    On my phone I have an app called Car Home Ultra. It essentially replaces the normal homescreen in my car and gives me a driving-friendly interface (big buttons, big text) from where I can get info (weather, now playing, speed, location) control things (whatever media player I'm using) direct dial certain contacts and launch other applications. One of the neat things is that it becomes the new homescreen (configurable option) so, even if I launch another app, pressing the home button returns me to Car Home Ultra. It can also be configured to keep the screen on and a specific brightness levels by day/night conditions while it and any applications it launches are active.

    What I would like to see is HSTouch behave like Car Home Ultra regarding how it becomes the homescreen and launches other apps. For example, I use IP Cam Viewer to view and manage cameras and Logitech Squeezebox Controller to manage my Squeezebox players and music server. There is no sense (for me anyway) to install plugins and configure all sorts of screens/pages for managing those two when the apps do it so well (same could be said for PLEX and TiVo, but I don't see using them from a wall-mounted touchscreen). I still see a few scenarios where I would embed cameras or media info in a screen/page, but would rather rely on the apps for 90%. So here are the features I'd lie to see in a nice list:

    - Option to make HSTouch become the homescreen (is this dock mode.. car mode?), all presses of the phone/table home button return you the last HSTouch screen you were on (with the screen home button taking you to the defined HSTouch startup screen/page)
    - Option to make HSTouch override default screen timeout, brightness and lockout
    - Easy way to launch applications from HSTouch (think this can be done already via client actions). A drag and drop interface on the client like Car Home Ultra has would be really nice!

    Having these features is the only way I could really see myself deploying in wall touchscreens. There are a plethora of sub-$100 android tablets that this would work great on.
    John
    Hardware: i5-6400T w/16GB RAM & SSD w/HS3Pro, Z-Net, Harmony Hub x2, Echo Dot x2, Ocelot
    Plugins: Z-wave, HSTouch, BLBackup, Harmony, GTS CPUXA, UltraMon3, Nest
    HSTouch: Multiple Android Devices; 5 x ToteVision MD-1001 10.1" Win 7 Tablets
    Devices: Cooper RF9501 x4, RF9517 x6, RF9534 x1, RF9540-N x7, RF9542 x1, RF9542-Z x2, RFHDSCG x1, RFWC5 x5; Intermatic HA02 x6; FortrezZ MIMOLite x3; Leviton VRPD3-1LW x4, VRR15-1LZ x6; Nest Tstat & 9x Protects; Dragon PD-100 x3, PA-100 x3

    #2
    I think unfortunately not to bring a downer on the conversation (and I wholeheartedly agree some new features would be nice) there is barely a chance that anyone in power will see this post. Bugzilla for what it is worth has an enhancement category you can always just add one and link it to this thread so at least the request is logged.

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      #3
      I've been away from the board for a few years, I've guess things have changed and the board was an important way to get features added. I'll post to Bugzilla.
      John
      Hardware: i5-6400T w/16GB RAM & SSD w/HS3Pro, Z-Net, Harmony Hub x2, Echo Dot x2, Ocelot
      Plugins: Z-wave, HSTouch, BLBackup, Harmony, GTS CPUXA, UltraMon3, Nest
      HSTouch: Multiple Android Devices; 5 x ToteVision MD-1001 10.1" Win 7 Tablets
      Devices: Cooper RF9501 x4, RF9517 x6, RF9534 x1, RF9540-N x7, RF9542 x1, RF9542-Z x2, RFHDSCG x1, RFWC5 x5; Intermatic HA02 x6; FortrezZ MIMOLite x3; Leviton VRPD3-1LW x4, VRR15-1LZ x6; Nest Tstat & 9x Protects; Dragon PD-100 x3, PA-100 x3

      Comment


        #4
        After better familiarizing myself with some Android OS terms, what I'm really looking for is for HSTouch to have the option to replace the default Android Launcher. This would allow the tablet to always boot into HSTouch. It could still be changed back by changing back to the default launcher in settings. This would be the best solution for a tablet that is dedicated to HSTouch - you'd still be able to launch apps all you want, but you'd always end up back at HSTouch. From my understanding, you cannot exit the launcher without changing to another launcher, so this would be semi-permanent, or at least harder to circumvent then pressing "exit." I've used launcher replacements on my phone is the past, when I was unhappy with the launcher that came with my phone. Once running, it's completely transparent to the uninformed user that the launcher's been changed.

        The other option is the Car Home Ultra behavior, where it is only the launcher for as long as you leave the program running. The default launcher is still there, running under everything, but the home button (usually) brings you back to the app. This is a better solution for a device that has split HSTouch/regular use.

        Finally, the current behavior is good for phones because you likely only occasionally use your phone for HSTouch and mostly for everything else.

        Now, I wonder if all three modes can exist in a single app, or if there'd have to be two separate versions... a "Launcher Replacement" version and a "regular" version. I hope it would be possible in a single app, as that increases the likelihood of this happening.

        I posted my updated thoughts in the bugzilla enhancement request.
        John
        Hardware: i5-6400T w/16GB RAM & SSD w/HS3Pro, Z-Net, Harmony Hub x2, Echo Dot x2, Ocelot
        Plugins: Z-wave, HSTouch, BLBackup, Harmony, GTS CPUXA, UltraMon3, Nest
        HSTouch: Multiple Android Devices; 5 x ToteVision MD-1001 10.1" Win 7 Tablets
        Devices: Cooper RF9501 x4, RF9517 x6, RF9534 x1, RF9540-N x7, RF9542 x1, RF9542-Z x2, RFHDSCG x1, RFWC5 x5; Intermatic HA02 x6; FortrezZ MIMOLite x3; Leviton VRPD3-1LW x4, VRR15-1LZ x6; Nest Tstat & 9x Protects; Dragon PD-100 x3, PA-100 x3

        Comment

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