My power and volume buttons feel pretty rickety, but given the product return horror stories documented here, I did not want to play roulette for what I would consider a minor concern. Outside of buying a dock, which I don't really want, I could not find a reliable "one size fits all" app solution to provide similar functionality, but with the combined efforts of these three free apps, I have captured the full functionality of the hard buttons, with little or no battery cost. If you have a better app selection, please suggest it below. I have no ties to the developers of the apps listed below, and none of these apps require root or an unlocked bootloader.
Turn off the Lights - I wanted to be able to shut off the screen quickly, and without a fuss. Most of the automatic solutions rely on the light sensor, but I could not find one with that worked well in low light. Since I use my tablet to read in bed, I had to forego the use of the light sensor, and rely simply on a soft button. It works, 'nuff said.
Volume Control Widget - This is a basic app that allows you to create volume slider widgets to control notification, alarm, and media volumes. I really only need control over media volume on a regular basis, so a basic slider widget fit the bill nicely.
Awesome On Off - Of all the solutions, I would consider this the weak link in this list. I like the app, but it relies on the gyro to give the order to turn the screen on. As you can imagine, carrying the tablet can lead to false "ons". For this reason, I set the set the "turn on angle" to require a pretty good movement from horizontal to turn on, and I did not have the app bypass the lock screen, which I have set to turn off very quickly if no unlock slide is made. In this way, the batter drain from false "ons" is somewhat mitigated.
Turn off the Lights - I wanted to be able to shut off the screen quickly, and without a fuss. Most of the automatic solutions rely on the light sensor, but I could not find one with that worked well in low light. Since I use my tablet to read in bed, I had to forego the use of the light sensor, and rely simply on a soft button. It works, 'nuff said.
Volume Control Widget - This is a basic app that allows you to create volume slider widgets to control notification, alarm, and media volumes. I really only need control over media volume on a regular basis, so a basic slider widget fit the bill nicely.
Awesome On Off - Of all the solutions, I would consider this the weak link in this list. I like the app, but it relies on the gyro to give the order to turn the screen on. As you can imagine, carrying the tablet can lead to false "ons". For this reason, I set the set the "turn on angle" to require a pretty good movement from horizontal to turn on, and I did not have the app bypass the lock screen, which I have set to turn off very quickly if no unlock slide is made. In this way, the batter drain from false "ons" is somewhat mitigated.