Integration with Samsung Desk Home app

[mizius]

Samsung provides a nice dock for the Galaxy S GT-I9000 (and the related variants like T-Mobile Variant). That dock connects to the phone only via mircoUSB but the dock itself does have an audio out on the back. When the phone is in the dock then the sound is channeled to that audio out (via microUSB somehow) so that you can have speakers connected there. In order to have that audio out option working one has to be on froyo 2.2 or higher, has to install the official Samsung Desk Home app (see the attachment), and has to enable a proper setting within that app. The idea of the app is to replace the default android home screen with a pre set functionality applicable to a phone in a dock used as an alarm clock, etc. (let’s not argue that – it works for that purpose)

In that scenario, when I invoke AudioAMP and slide the phone into the dock then the screen switches to the Desk Home UI and the AudioAMP music is channeled to the external audio out as expected. But now I don’t have the AudioAMP UI to control the music (or access to the phone’s volume buttons which are blocked by the dock) so I need to hit the Desk Home Exit button (or Android Back) to get to the AudioAMP controls (Android Home button is tied to that Desk Home app in this case) . Unfortunately as soon as I exit Desk Home UI the music instantly switches to the phone speaker and stays that way until I switch back to the Home Desk UI (by hitting the Home button) in which case the music switches back to the dock audio out. You see how awkward this music flipping is.

I tested the same scenario with the IG I-9000 stock music player and it does exactly the same when following the same scenario (exiting Home Desk to get to the player’s UI). However … the Home Desk app has a default icon for the stock player (the one in the middle) and when I use that to get to the player controls then the music continues to be channeled to the dock’s audio out – it never returns to the phone’s speaker. You see how nice this is.

Soooooooo the question is: can AudioAMP provide integration with the Home Desk app the way that stock player does? – ideally by reusing the same player icon.

In case it matters here’s what I have:

- GT-I9000 unbranded and unlocked

- Froyo 2.2.1 (JPY)

- Home Desk rev 1.0 (rev 1.0.1 crashes on my phone)

- dock bought in the US as an accessory for T969 Vibrant (T-Mobile) , but it’s the same as dock for GT-I9000

BTW, there is also a related Desk Car app for an alternate Samsung dock meant for cars but I assume that there is no such issue since I don’t believe that that dock has an audio out – but I did not test it since I don’t have that dock.

The dock:

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-p ... D979BEGSTA

[mizius]

Correction to my original post. I said there that Home button is tied to the Desk Home app – which is true except that I forgot about the long press press which brings up the Task Manager. That way one can go to the currently running Poweramp without disturbing the audio out – this is actually very good and solves the issue of loosing audio out . The only remaining item then is to provide integration to the AudioAMP via the Home Desk Music icon – but that by itself is not a high priority at all.