Samsung Epix Hack Compliation and Findings

[player911]

Hey guys. I just bought a Epix and I'm screwing with it. There are lots of Pros/Cons about this phone.

I figured I would start a complication hack/settings thread for Epix Owners to get a good handle on things.

Edit the Buttons the right way
For starters, the Volume Up/Down keys suck. I keep hitting them and who really needs a hard button for Volume? Coming from the first blackjack and having a rocker switch that was basically Up and Down... it was great. The only way I've found to modify the Volume keys is a program called AE Button Plus.

This program allows you to set buttons to respond differently for a single press, double, triple, or long hold. The program sets the keys and doesn't require to run all the time. Perfect. Set and forget.

Here is a layout I found awesome:
Volume Up = Arrow Up
Volume Up Hold = Close Current App
Volume Down = Arrow Down
Volume Down Hold = Alt+Tab
Windows Key = Start Menu
Windows Key Hold = Task Manager

Don't mess with the Green and Red Call buttons.

App Unlock and Clean House
All AT&T phones come with clutter and demos. They already nickel and dime us to death... we can't afford extra monthly subscriptions.

Run App-Unlock.cab
Now get to it. I use Resco File Explorer because it is geared for finger use and because it is awesome. Use what you want. Delete all the clutter from the start menu and arrange all the Windows App into the Application folder. You MUST keep the Messaging, Calendar, Phone, Contacts, and Internet Explorer Apps in the Start Menu for the Hardkey buttons to work. What I do, is go into Properties and make them "HIDDEN" so they don't show up on the Start menu.

Put anything you want to keep into a respective folder. I typically have 3 or 4 folders: Apps, Games, Internet, etc.

Get GPS to work
GPS out of the box uses some funky port that AT&T uses for their Navigator program. I couldn't get any other program to pick up on my GPS. But luckily the fix is simple.
Start > Settings > Sytem Tab > GPS Settings:
Programs Tab:
GPS Program Port = COM1
Hardware Tab:
GPS Hardware Port = COM9;baud=4800

Now your favorite GPS software (I use iGO) should find your GPS at COM1.

Change your Homescreen
The Epix doesn't come with any good Homescreens. The best one is the Samsung Plugin which IS finger friendly but lacks any real sparkle.

I haven't found any good homescreens that I like. The bad thing about the Samsung Homescreen is that it doesn't DEFAULT to the Time page. I like my homescreen to default to a specific page... so when you go to use it, you're always at the same starting point. The Sliding Panel homescreen the Smartphone version had, was pretty slick but I haven't tested it with the Epix.

Please post any known good working Homescreens to use with the Epix.

Also note: That I've been messing around alot with the Omnia drivers and they seem to all be working on the Epix. Maybe the Epix and Omnia are close enough related that we can share lots of apps and games. Something really cool is that the Epix uses the same Direct3D drivers as the Omnia so maybe once they port TouchFlo, we'll also get a working copy to use.

I think thats all for now. I'll post more as I find it.

[player911]

I installed the Samsung Omnia Today Plugin 2 off the Omnia and it works. The difference is of course the resolution. I'll look into the config files and see if I can change the resolution manually to better support the 320x320 res of the Epix.

Here is the link to the files:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=417825

Lots of interesting things happen when you install this. The Omnia Finger Friendly Call log starts working, and the finger friendly Start menu opens and works. Aside from a funky resolution resulting in a black (or white) empty space on the right side, it is functional. Both the call log and start menu use the "finger flick" to rapidly scroll through items.

I noticed that there are some links that do not work, like the Camera Flash, and Rotate. There are also some apps like FM Radio and Touch Player that aren't installed either (but can be added).

Pretty neat stuff.

[EDIT] Here is the Touch SMPlayer
http://asapload.com/155299

[player911]

The SMPlayer looks like crap and ended up refusing to run after a reset. So I uninstalled it.

I also uninstalled the homescreen right now until I can figure out how to tweak it. Installing the Samsung Omnia Today Plugin 2... messes up the Samsung Plugin 1... so both behave the same. Luckily uninstalling it restores it the way it was so don't worry about messing anything up if you want to try it.

I'm still looking for a good homescreen.

[mickliq]

I assume that any hacks that work on the i780 work on the Epix. Modaco.com has a i780 section, haven't read through all the threads there yet but worth a look.

Also, head over to xda-developers.com. They have a version of TouchFlo2D for the i780. If you like TouchFlo then that's a solution to the homescreen.

[player911]

Yea I was looking at the TouchFlo homescreens. I haven't started messing with it yet. I saw one version that was Flash based (yuk). I know you can get some neat stuff from FlashLite... but I really don't like "masks". I want something hard coded into the shell that won't randomly shut down or screw things up.

I'm still looking at the TouchFlo variations.

[mickliq]

Player...have you installed RealVGA?

[player911]

FYI... Skyfire is freakin' awesome on the Epix. Skyfire works TONS better with a touchscreen!!!

And it is confirmed working. It wouldn't work on my Axim PocketPC WM6.1

This must be a newer version then the one I was using on my Blackjack 1 because there is a URL bar... and now it can open links from Emails and such. Before, clicking on a link outside of Skyfire, would only launch Skyfire on its homepage.

Now I see it will input the link into the URL field. Thats a big plus.

And no I haven't installed RealVGA. I haven't really messed with it a whole lot in the past, but isn't that where it doubles your screen res... so everything is super tiny?

[verks]

Player...have you installed RealVGA?

I've been working on it all night but can't seem to get it to work. Each time I install the ResPack96dpi cab my contacts and phone stop working. I really want this to work but I hit a road block.

[mickliq]

^ check out xda-developers. I think there are specific instructions to follow. I want to see what it looks like!

[player911]

Thread = http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=389402

Post = http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...1&postcount=40

[mickliq]

What I really want to see is something like the Inbox or the Standard Today Screen (non TF2D) running RealVGA.

[verks]

What I really want to see is something like the Inbox or the Standard Today Screen (non TF2D) running RealVGA.

I'm not trying to do the one with Mobile Shell. I'm trying to RealVga and M2d not through Mobile Shell. I had it almost all the way but I cant get the realvga to work right.

See here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=430325

RealVGA:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=327830

[player911]

Jesus those homescreens require a ton of work. I downloaded Release 19 and it was 23mb of about 50 little programs.

[wishful thinking] We need to get something to work and get it wrapped up in a single cab installer. [/wishful thinking]

Thats the only thing bad about wrappers like that, is that it requires tons of installs and garbage and slowdowns.

[EDIT] I just noticed that forum had 440+ pages [/EDIT]

[jlambeth1]

OK player911, can you tell me how you got skyfire to work? I tried to install the touchscreen and non-touchscreen version and both came up with a message that said that they would not work with this phone. Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated.

[mickliq]

I'm assuming Opera 9.5 would work nicely on the Epix as well?!?