# Gnex screen off screensaver just like Nokia's N9?



## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

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*Would you want this feature on all ROMS? Or at least on what you're running?*

Hell Yeah! i want to be efficient!2589.29%Nah i like draining battery by turning the phone on all the way310.71%


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

Nokia phones such as the N8 and N9 that use AMOLED screens have the ability to display screensavers when they are locked, meaning they'll constantly display the time, date, and notifications using a minimal amount of pixels even when locked. Since the screens are AMOLED, you only have to power the relevant pixels and the impact on battery life is negligible whether the screensaver is on or off. I was wondering if the Galaxy Nexus is able to do it through some type of MOD? I know the Galaxy Nexus has an AMOLED screen so the hardware can support it, even more since its a HD super AMOLED

[background=rgb(245, 245, 255)]It's kind of a small feature in the grand scheme of things. Its just a feature i like that Nokia has that seems it would be very useful that would save time and battery life in the long run. any hel is appreciated !!![/background]

If you wanna help me get this project off the ground or at least buy me a cup of coffee for the long nights

currently working on it although its a bit ways away from being complete, will let people know when alpha or beta is available, will try to incorporate gestures [background=rgb(247, 247, 247)]For example: double tap unlocks the phone and a tap and swipe to the right, left, up and down would launch an application (phone, camera, messages, notifications.[/background]

https://www.paypal.c...G.gif:NonHosted


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## GRZLA (Aug 13, 2011)

jsms0905 said:


> Nokia phones such as the N8 and N9 that use AMOLED screens have the ability to display screensavers when they are locked, meaning they'll constantly display the time, date, and notifications using a minimal amount of pixels even when locked. Since the screens are AMOLED, you only have to power the relevant pixels and the impact on battery life is negligible whether the screensaver is on or off. I was wondering if the Galaxy Nexus is able to do it through some type of MOD? I know the Galaxy Nexus has an AMOLED screen so the hardware can support it, even more since its a HD super AMOLED
> 
> [background=rgb(245, 245, 255)]It's kind of a small feature in the grand scheme of things. Its just a feature i like that Nokia has that seems it would be very useful that would save time and battery life in the long run. any hel is appreciated !!![/background]


Sounds like a battery destroyer to me. I notice drastic battery drain with live wallpapers as it is. Having a screen saver on would mean your phone is constantly awake. Its a cute idea but not very practical.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

GRZLA said:


> Sounds like a battery destroyer to me. I notice drastic battery drain with live wallpapers as it is. Having a screen saver on would mean your phone is constantly awake. Its a cute idea but not very practical.


well live wallpapers are constantly using CPU and other resources to be on which means each pixel is changing constantly that draws a lot of battery which is why youre losing so much battery over it. With the screen saver the screen would not be on, just the pixels being used which is about 5% of the screen and they are using as much energy your phone already uses when the phone is off such as to keep time and keep track of notifications. if only a few pixels are on and they arent changing and are very very dimmed then its not a battery killer. its almost as much battery as the LED notification light being on when the screen is off.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm sure it's possible, but I don't know if there is anything in the Java layer of the Android OS that lets you directly turn on and off individual LEDs directly. Looking in the c/c++ libraries for something like that would be where to start and then code a JNI wrapper for it in Java. That's assuming it can be found outside the proprietary areas of the libraries.

A handful of LEDs displaying only the time though would not waste that much battery really. It's not like an LCD screen where it's all being back lit. If done right, only the few LEDs being used will be draining any battery as something like time is always maintained whether the screen is on or not so it wouldn't result in a wake lock.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

yarly said:


> I'm sure it's possible, but I don't know if there is anything in the Java layer of the Android OS that lets you directly turn on and off individual LEDs directly. Looking in the c/c++ libraries for something like that would be where to start and then code a JNI wrapper for it in Java. That's assuming it can be found outside the proprietary areas of the libraries.
> 
> A handful of LEDs displaying only the time though would not waste that much battery really. It's not like an LCD screen where it's all being back lit. If done right, only the few LEDs being used will be draining any battery as something like time is always maintained whether the screen is on or not so it wouldn't result in a wake lock.


thank you!! someone that knows what im talking about. sadly i dont have enough dev knowledge to do this myself. if only someone would pick it up and try to make it happen, i know a lot of people would be going for it and maybe have it be someone all devs include in their ROMS


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

jsms0905 said:


> thank you!! someone that knows what im talking about. sadly i dont have enough dev knowledge to do this myself. if only someone would pick it up and try to make it happen, i know a lot of people would be going for it and maybe have it be someone all devs include in their ROMS


Yeah, I think it's a cool feature that I wouldn't mind having, but I'm not sure how much work is involved in implementing or just figuring out the feasibility of it on Android offhand. Figuring out how Nokia did it would be a start. Meego is not a totally open platform though, but parts of it are or can be opened (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N9#Open.2Fclosed_source_packages_and_community_contributions)


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## GRZLA (Aug 13, 2011)

jsms0905 said:


> thank you!! someone that knows what im talking about. sadly i dont have enough dev knowledge to do this myself. if only someone would pick it up and try to make it happen, i know a lot of people would be going for it and maybe have it be someone all devs include in their ROMS


I know what you are talking about, but it will cause battery drain because the screen is still on. It doesn't matter what percentage pixels are being used, they are still being used and those pixels are powered by the CPU. This may not cause significant battery drain, but with a phone where people are constantly talking about how long they can last on a single charge and screen on times this doesn't seem viable.

This is just my opinion, I like the idea.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

GRZLA said:


> I know what you are talking about, but it will cause battery drain because the screen is still on. It doesn't matter what percentage pixels are being used, they are still being used and those pixels are powered by the CPU. This may not cause significant battery drain, but with a phone where people are constantly talking about how long they can last on a single charge and screen on times this doesn't seem viable.
> 
> This is just my opinion, I like the idea.


I understand where youre coming from because i used to be one of those but not all Gnex users are talking about the screen on time or how long their battery lasts. Some may find it useful.

And even though the CPU is being used its only as much as when it is off to some extent. And coupled with kernels such as Franco's kernel that can turn an entire core off when screen is off, battery would really not be an issue. its just about the right combination of stuff. i run francos kernel with the AOKP 29 ROM and have 1 core off when screen is off and i get more than 24 hours out of my phone and im a HEAVY user haha


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

yarly said:


> Yeah, I think it's a cool feature that I wouldn't mind having, but I'm not sure how much work is involved in implementing or just figuring out the feasibility of it on Android offhand. Figuring out how Nokia did it would be a start. Meego is not a totally open platform though, but parts of it are or can be opened (http://en.wikipedia....y_contributions)


im sure it would involve more work than average but the end goal is pretty sweet. If i knew what i was doing when it come to coding and developing i would be on this thing day and night trying to get it to work


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## hoodling (Jan 1, 2012)

Check out NoLED, I think it is what you're looking for. I used the app with my DROID charge. I noticed some additional battery drain, but nothing terrible.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

Unless NoLED requires root for something (phone is currently unrooted for a few non important reasons), it does not work on the Nexus.


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## legacystar (Jun 9, 2011)

I would really love this
If your like me and pull your phone out to check the time often thus would actually use less power because you wouldn't be turning the whole screen on as often


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

legacystar said:


> I would really love this
> If your like me and pull your phone out to check the time often thus would actually use less power because you wouldn't be turning the whole screen on as often


that is exactly what i mean, its time efficient and just an incredible feature that deserves credit for its simplicity


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

yarly said:


> Unless NoLED requires root for something (phone is currently unrooted for a few non important reasons), it does not work on the Nexus.


its similar but that app already uses more energy than is needed.


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

I think this idea is kick ass! I would donate to a dev who made this happen!


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

ljungberg3 said:


> I think this idea is kick ass! I would donate to a dev who made this happen!


im gearing towards booking down myself and just start developing it myself, if i do ill start this weekend and let you guys know!


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> im gearing towards booking down myself and just start developing it myself, if i do ill start this weekend and let you guys know!


that'd be awesome!


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## bencozzy (Dec 26, 2011)

Chain fire did something like this a while back and it died or he replaced it with something else can't remember.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

bencozzy said:


> Chain fire did something like this a while back and it died or he replaced it with something else can't remember.


could you find a link to it at all?


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

ljungberg3 said:


> that'd be awesome!


thanks!! im actually really excited to learn android development!


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## bencozzy (Dec 26, 2011)

I try and dig it up.


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## bmcclure937 (Jun 16, 2011)

Interesting concept. The "Clock" application does this when the device is docked... so it would be something similar. It is a _"screensaver" _that displays the time.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

bmcclure937 said:


> Interesting concept. The "Clock" application does this when the device is docked... so it would be something similar. It is a _"screensaver" _that displays the time.


yes its almost like that except that when the phone is docked, the entire screen is on while the screensaver im talking about only has the pixels it is using are on


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## zerocool79346 (Jan 10, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> yes its almost like that except that when the phone is docked, the entire screen is on while the screensaver im talking about only has the pixels it is using are on


No it's not. Just have to hold down on the screen for a second and it shuts off everything except a cyan colored time.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## blaineevans (Jul 11, 2011)

zerocool79346 said:


> No it's not. Just have to hold down on the screen for a second and it shuts off everything except a cyan colored time.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


I use this every night as an alarm clock. Most of the time plugged in, but when it's not there's definitely some additional battery drain (as opposed to screen off). Could just be related to the DeskClock.apk though.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

blaineevans said:


> I use this every night as an alarm clock. Most of the time plugged in, but when it's not there's definitely some additional battery drain (as opposed to screen off). Could just be related to the DeskClock.apk though.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


yeah i think its mostly because its an app that is open on top of the entire screen being on even though is dimmed. i would like to make something similar to it but with more battery efficiency and well style and class while being a must have feature. Starting on it this weekend!!!

Gonna be long nights ahead of me! gonna need lots of coffee haha


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

started working!


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## blaineevans (Jul 11, 2011)

jsms0905 said:


> started working!


Do us proud.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## alec534 (Mar 28, 2012)

Nice.


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## alatedseraph (Jan 23, 2012)

the stock deskclock has something almost like this, the night mode, when you press and hold the screen in deskclock mode it blacks out all the screen but the time almost.


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

How is it coming? ill send a donation right now!


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

alatedseraph said:


> the stock deskclock has something almost like this, the night mode, when you press and hold the screen in deskclock mode it blacks out all the screen but the time almost.


but the entire screen is on just to power the black screen.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

ljungberg3 said:


> How is it coming? ill send a donation right now!


thanks!! really appreciate it! going good just trying to figure out all this stuff while trying to study for all my finals, who knew learning how to fly planes commercially was going to be so hard... collage life


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> thanks!! really appreciate it! going good just trying to figure out all this stuff while trying to study for all my finals, who knew learning how to fly planes commercially was going to be so hard... collage life


I feel you man, I'm finishing up my last few weeks of the semester as well. I recently got a spot reviewing android stuff for a website, I should be able to make a video or something for your mod when you're done! anyways, good luck I cant wait.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

ljungberg3 said:


> I feel you man, I'm finishing up my last few weeks of the semester as well. I recently got a spot reviewing android stuff for a website, I should be able to make a video or something for your mod when you're done! anyways, good luck I cant wait.


wow that sounds great! ill let you know when its finished or when i reach alpha or bet testing so you can make a video if i dont just go straight for a stable mod


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## mvp123 (Jul 14, 2011)

it would be awesome if you can incorporate gestures. For example: double tap unlocks the phone and a tap and swipe to the right, left, up and down would launch an application (phone, camera, messages, notifications) and tap and hold to shut off screen completely.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

mvp123 said:


> it would be awesome if you can incorporate gestures. For example: double tap unlocks the phone and a tap and swipe to the right, left, up and down would launch an application (phone, camera, messages, notifications.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


great idea! will try and incorporate this as long as the battery drain stays at a very low minimum


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## GRZLA (Aug 13, 2011)

jsms0905 said:


> but the entire screen is on just to power the black screen.


You can't pick and choose what pixels you want active on a screen, it is either on or off. That is why I questioned this mod in the very beginning. How are you planning on not having the screen on, but a screen saver? If you can get it to work I will definitely test it out, but I don't understand the technical aspects of this mod.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

GRZLA said:


> You can't pick and choose what pixels you want active on a screen, it is either on or off. That is why I questioned this mod in the very beginning. How are you planning on not having the screen on, but a screen saver? If you can get it to work I will definitely test it out, but I don't understand the technical aspects of this mod.


I would have to agree. Faking it being "off" is doable while making you think the phone is totally off. Making it so you actually push the power button to turn it off and then have it show up with X amount of pixels doing something is not something I've seen in any of the Java area of Android source. The GPU drivers and those for the display pretty much say the screen has to be off or on and not in some sort of murky hybrid area. I'd love to have an n9 just to debug it to see if it's faking it in this way or they actually reworked the drivers to do something special.

There's a way to trigger it to turn the screen back on and quickly shutting off all but a few pixels though to fake things in a more plausible way.

EDIT: http://stackoverflow...rogrammatically

End result would basically just be a glorified screen saver as already mentioned.

ALSO: http://forum.xda-dev...ad.php?t=730692 and http://www.devasque.com/noled/FAQ.php

so process goes:

1) Have an app listener watch for the screen to shut off (either time out or from the user pressing the power button)
2) Listener triggers the phone to turn back on, but shuts off the screen and hides the bottom buttons (home, back, etc)
3) At the same time touch controls are disabled and only way to turn the screen back on and touches is to press the power button (app will give up control at this point if you program it to). If user presses power button, have it kick them to the lock screen to make it feel like the device was always off (thus "faking it").
4) do whatever else at this point


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## alec534 (Mar 28, 2012)

The Nokia N9 apparently has no battery issues using something similar. I'm excited to try it out when available.


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> wow that sounds great! ill let you know when its finished or when i reach alpha or bet testing so you can make a video if i dont just go straight for a stable mod


 sounds great.

I hope this is plausible. I'm not really looking for a screensaver, per say. I'm fine with the idea of having to press the power button for the notifications to display, as long as all of the pixels shut off in a second or two (aside from the ones used for the notification)


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

so far my efforts have proven less than satisfactory, especially with all the finals ive had this week. not giving up but it might take longer than expected!


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> so far my efforts have proven less than satisfactory, especially with all the finals ive had this week. not giving up but it might take longer than expected!


No worries man, it's finals week for me too. I'm glad you're not giving up! maybe you can get some other devs on board for this too? any takers? haha. I'm itching to try this out. it has the potential to be one of the most innovated features I've come across with the Gnex. keep us updated


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## Despyse (Jan 12, 2012)

AXI0M CMPLX has a screen saver when charging option. You can have clocks, slideshow, or the easter egg displayed.


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

Despyse said:


> AXI0M CMPLX has a screen saver when charging option. You can have clocks, slideshow, or the easter egg displayed.


I did notice that when I was running axiom. I love the OP's idea for having an isolated pixel screen saver, where most unused pixels wouldn't even be powered... thus saving batter life.


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## jsms0905 (Sep 17, 2011)

Despyse said:


> AXI0M CMPLX has a screen saver when charging option. You can have clocks, slideshow, or the easter egg displayed.


yeah i flashed it on my phone to try it out and its pretty cool, but all those use the entire screen which is why its only active when charging, but finals are over!! so i can work on this a lot more, will keep you guys posted!! and if other devs see this and want to help me out, message me!!


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## ljungberg3 (Jan 28, 2012)

jsms0905 said:


> finals are over!! so i can work on this a lot more, will keep you guys posted!!


awesome!


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## merb (Mar 3, 2012)

To add a different perspective on this topic, why not make a mod that would put the time and date in the nav bar while the screen is of and the phone is charging? This would be less intrusive to people that want to use their phone as a night time clock and think a screensaver / desk clock is too bright even when dim.

If anyone interested I made a topic about this over here - http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25707-time-date-in-navigation-bar-idea/


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