[Mr. Splodge]

I know there have been conversations about this before, but maybe it's time to revisit this issue. It seems like the Fire has the wrong scale set in the UI, like everything is a lot smaller than it should be. I noticed in the Android Hardware Info app under the display section it says screen size is 9.27" with 160dpi. If the OS thinks the screen is a lot bigger than it actually is, then of course it's going to shrink everything relative to the screen area so it displays properly on a larger screen.

That being said, is there anywhere in the settings, configuration files or code that tells the OS what the screen size is, or does it get that info from the hardware directly?

It would be great to fix this problem.

[Lesha_]

I am not sure exactly what you mean, but I was wondering something like this also.

When I first received my Fire I was able to fit more apps on the first screen/desktop?. I could fit 8 app icons in each row and after firmware update I can only fit 7 now. To me it seems things have gotten bigger, not smaller. But I don't really understand how this stuff works. I would like to have it back if it were possible.

This post has been edited by Lesha_: 23 October 2012 - 09:51 PM

[Dima_2005]

There is a DPI setting in the build.prop... This overrides the real dpi.

Only problem is that the real dpi (around 224), it breaks some other apps and the Play Store, because it's incompatible.

[greyrider]

It's a high resolution screen, the higher it goes, the smaller icons appear, but equally, the greater the real estate becomes - try altering the resolution on your computer and you'll see it happen much more readily.
One way to attempt a resolution change would be to use a different launcher from the market or use an app such as "DPI Changer" - not a clue whether they work with the Fire/Flame or not, I'm running stock and it's staying that way

[Mr. Splodge]

it works differently in android. if you look at a 7 inch tablet with a low resolution like 800*480 the UI appears the same size as a high resolution tablet. it should do anyway, but not with this one because the OS thinks it's got a 9.3 inch screen.

[rnakpatel]

DPI = 177 = Win!

[duckbill]

Correct DPI value is 213 - the same as for Google Nexus 7

[Tzul]

Actually, the real value is 217 dpi. At least for the Chimei (qm) screen.
Its datasheet says the pixel pitch is 0.117 mm and with 1 inch being 25.4 mm, that makes 25.4 / 0.117 = 217 pixels per inch.

[grittyKitty]

Highly recommend APEX Launcher. My DPI set to 160 via Flambe v15f ROM.

[duckbill]

Tzul, on 24 October 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

Actually, the real value is 217 dpi. At least for the Chimei (qm) screen.
Its datasheet says the pixel pitch is 0.117 mm and with 1 inch being 25.4 mm, that makes 25.4 / 0.117 = 217 pixels per inch.

Yes. But 213 is one of the "standard" DPI used in android: ldpi(120), mdpi(160), tvdpi(213), hdpi(240), xhdpi(320).

[Tzul]

I see. Thanks for the explanation!

[alpine101]

Mine came set as 160 and as a result there is lots of space round the edges of the screen. I've just experimented with changing the value to 213. It's OK, but the icon text spills slightly off the edge of each screen. A little lower, say 200 would be nice, but will this compromise some stuff if it's non standard I wonder?

EDIT: So far set at 200dpi things seem OK, but I did notice when Adfree decided to update its database, the prompt to do the update was spilling off the top of the screen slightly. Things also get too wide if you flip the screen into portrait mode.

And more: as I see is noted in other places, the Play store doesn't like this, scrolling gets very messed up. It looks as though Google's own application is designed only to work with their standard resolution set.

This post has been edited by alpine101: 25 October 2012 - 10:10 AM

[greyrider]

Mr. Splodge, on 23 October 2012 - 08:48 PM, said:

I know there have been conversations about this before, but maybe it's time to revisit this issue. It seems like the Fire has the wrong scale set in the UI, like everything is a lot smaller than it should be. I noticed in the Android Hardware Info app under the display section it says screen size is 9.27" with 160dpi. If the OS thinks the screen is a lot bigger than it actually is, then of course it's going to shrink everything relative to the screen area so it displays properly on a larger screen.

That being said, is there anywhere in the settings, configuration files or code that tells the OS what the screen size is, or does it get that info from the hardware directly?

It would be great to fix this problem.

I downloaded the free app called, amazingly enough, "DPI Changer". Selected "custom" and set it to 200. Reboot and.....tadaaa. as they say, all is legible loveliness. No hacking in the depths, market/play store works fine and the tablet is much easier on the eyes.



.

This post has been edited by greyrider: 25 October 2012 - 02:41 PM

[Mr. Splodge]

All that app does is change a line in your build prop to set the dpi, it totally is a hack. The clean way of doing it is to give the OS not only the correct DPI but also the correct screen size.

1280 pixels / 217dpi = 5.9 (this is the actual screen width in inches)

The same calculation using 1280x735 at 160dpi gives a screen size of 8 x 4.6, which is 9.23 inches corner to corner - just what the hardware info app is getting from the OS

I put 217dpi into my build.prop and everything is bigger, but the hardware info app still thinks it's got a 9 inch screen with 160dpi, which would be why when you manually increase DPI in build.prop (or use an app) things start looking wrong and overlapping etc

I'd bet the clean fix is in the source code somewhere

[tjosan]

Mr. Splodge, on 25 October 2012 - 06:22 PM, said:

All that app does is change a line in your build prop to set the dpi, it totally is a hack. The clean way of doing it is to give the OS not only the correct DPI but also the correct screen size.

1280 pixels / 217dpi = 5.9 (this is the actual screen width in inches)

The same calculation using 1280x735 at 160dpi gives a screen size of 8 x 4.6, which is 9.23 inches corner to corner - just what the hardware info app is getting from the OS

I put 217dpi into my build.prop and everything is bigger, but the hardware info app still thinks it's got a 9 inch screen with 160dpi, which would be why when you manually increase DPI in build.prop (or use an app) things start looking wrong and overlapping etc

I'd bet the clean fix is in the source code somewhere

I've used DPIchanger and changed to two hundred, and it really looks good. No overlapping no nothing but a full screen.

[xramir]

If i correctly understand this from https://developer.an...trics.html#xdpi

xdpi The exact physical pixels per inch of the screen in the X dimension.
ydpi The exact physical pixels per inch of the screen in the Y dimension.

then, using ScreenInfo
i get 160 for xdpi and ydpi, values i think are hardcoded somewhere and maybe the correct ones are 217 (or 213).
This values (xdpi and ydpi = 160) are the same if i set dpi on 160 or 213.

Just as a note, I´m on 0907qm. If i set dpi=213 stock launcher crash! Any solution for this?

This post has been edited by xramir: 27 October 2012 - 11:34 AM

[Grael]

Nova Launcher is great at 213 dpi (but I'm on CM10)

[duckbill]

xramir, on 27 October 2012 - 10:42 AM, said:

Just as a note, I´m on 0907qm. If i set dpi=213 stock launcher crash! Any solution for this?

On russian 4pda forum I posted fix for standard launcher:

http://4pda.ru/forum...0#entry16329969


 Launcher2.odex.tar.gz (222.04K)
Number of downloads: 29

This post has been edited by duckbill: 29 October 2012 - 02:43 AM

[xramir]

thanks @grael and @duckbill, i will try your fix!
I was reading about a similar spec tablet (nexus 7) and some people prefer the full tablet UI (dpi=160) and not the stock UI (mixed phone-tablet UI, with dpi=213), but i want to try myself the 213 experience.

I´m thinking if i update to the "latest" ics from feiyu or not, before aml/ainol releases JB.
I think your patch maybe also works on feiyu 1029.


EDIT:
@duckbill, after changing the file you post before, rebooting and can´t pass booting ainol logo animation. I ended flashing new feiyu-1029!

OK, now i have dpi=177 with big font and i´m happy with this settings. In general, is a good combination but not all apps are designed to scale properly. Some apps still have very small text.

This post has been edited by xramir: 31 October 2012 - 01:42 PM

[gb_lawrence]

duckbill, on 29 October 2012 - 02:43 AM, said:

On russian 4pda forum I posted fix for standard launcher:

http://4pda.ru/forum...0#entry16329969


Launcher2.odex.tar.gz

sorry for the noob question. But, what should I do with the file after I downloaded it?