Handcent 4.0 Public BETA! ** UPDATE 2/16 Beta 7

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PLEASE READ THIS FULL POST BEFORE INSTALLING!
Beta Version updated 2/16. Build 7


This is our 7th beta build of Handcent 4.0 and we're releasing it to the public. Because of the nature of BETA we expect you to be able to install an application manually without using the market.

Remember, Handcent is a free application, so we don't have a fancy, outsourced, technical support team to assist you with Android OS tech support such as installing applications outside of the APP market. If someone wants to link me a tutorial for this, I'll post it in this first post.

This will replace and upgrade your current version of Handcent 3.9.x. It does not install a second copy. You can easily revert back to an older version if you experience catastrophic issues by redownloading from the Android marketplace.

HELP US FIND BUGS! If you think you found something, but you aren't sure, see if myself or someone else can replicate it in this forum before submitting a bug report.

Thanks for your patience! Don't forget the THANKS button here, and show your support by removing ads in Handcent by purchasing a subscription or contribution membership.

New to XDA? The install file is attached to this post.


New Features

• Handcent Talk - Allows you to bind your phone number and send text messages for free using the Handcent network.
• Greater customization (particularly with widgets and the pop-up window but not everything is implemented yet)
• Improved compatibility with iOS messaging from iPhones (iOS compatible group messaging planned)
• Full ICS Support

Features under Development

• iPhone iMessaging compatible GROUP MESSAGE support
• Skinnable POPUP notification
• Greater detailed ICS Notification features
• SMS/MMS/Settings Backup to SD CARD feature (Which won't require subscription like the online backup service!)

Confirmed Issues

• Some modded users may experience theme compatibility issues when using themes of white text on dark backgrounds.

Thanks for this! Can this be installed over the current stable version with no issue?

Edit: could you also please provide some sort of changelog so us beta testers can test/verify all the new things?

Yes. It will replace the current version. And this version is quite stable. We don't expect many issues to come up.

Only issue I can see so far is that it doesn't like dark menus as the text is black and doesn't pull thebcilor.from the android system

Originally Posted by zelendel

only issue i can see so far is that it doesn't like dark menus as the text is black and doesn't pull thebcilor.from the android system

settings -> custom style -> theme -> black

Hmm, is there a way to change the new top action bar? Or do we have to wait for the skins to be updated? Right now it is a light blue that doesn't fit with the Darkness theme I'm using... Or am I being mindgamed and it was always this blue?

Also, I have a suggestion for one option regarding some wasted screen space. Going to "Settings > Custom style > Bubble settings > Enable text counter" lets us enable or disable the text counter. This text counter shows under the text editor.
When the text counter is disabled, the text counter is gone, but the vertical space is still taken up by the blank space. See screenshot below for what I mean.

It would be nice if disabling the text counter would collapse the previously reserved space.

I can suggest collapsing the text counter field when it's not being used, but yeah, we are aware that there may be SOME skinning issues and we will be addressing those as best as we can prior to the public release.

Originally Posted by Calcobrena

settings -> custom style -> theme -> black

already set.

I see. I'll be bringing this up with development as we are aware that many Handcent users are also advanced users who root their devices and install third-party ROMs. I'm one of them, myself. However, with Cyanogen largely unavailable to DX2 users, this isn't something I get the luxury of testing.

Originally Posted by Calcobrena

I see. I'll be bringing this up with development as we are aware that many Handcent users are also advanced users who root their devices and install third-party ROMs. I'm one of them, myself. However, with Cyanogen largely unavailable to DX2 users, this isn't something I get the luxury of testing.

I will be more then willing to help in this. I am pretty sure I can make a few simple changes so the color codes call the ones from the stock android framework. It would go along way to reduce the fragmentation issues we all see with how apps look if they used the built in color codes instead of defining their own. If I can be of any help please feel free to let me know.