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I just bought a new Logitech mouse with tons of customizable buttons on it, and it got me thinking...what if you could use your PPC as a mouse for your PC? That would be the ultimate in customizability!! Think of it...not only would you have a bunch of hard buttons to play with, but you could also have a customized screen for whichever app has the focus on your PC!
I am nowhere near advanced enough to do this, nor do I know if it's even possible...just throwing it out there as an idea for whoever wants to take up the challenge. I figure it could work on most devices because the camera and flash LED are on the opposite side from the screen and buttons, and BT could be the wireless link. Heck, for that amount of customizability in a mouse I'd even settle for a wired USB version :wink:.
Well enough fantasizing for today...
you're talking about using the camera as the optical sensor?
you'd need it on a special mouse mat that emits light of some kind, and I doubt the feedback would be quick enough.
and i wouldn't fancy pushing my expensive xda around on the desk like a mouse.
Right, I was thinking of the camera as the optical sensor, and the flash LED as the light source. I have a XV6700/Apache, and when I turn on the camera and the flash and set it down on my desk, the screen isn't completely dark because the camera isn't flush against the surface...there's still enough space for light from the LED to reach the lens. Obviously this would vary from device to device...but even in cases where it's completely dark, you could put the "mouse" on top of a few mm of clear plastic or plexiglas to give the LED enough room to bounce the light over. Actually, this option might be desirable as it would address your concern about pushing your device around and getting scratches on it.
In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, using plastic/plexiglas might be better for battery life too. Instead of having the flash stay on all the time, the "mouse" could use the ambient room light to detect initial movement, which in turn would trigger a "wake event" for the flash, and then obviously the flash could be timed to turn off after so many seconds of being idle.
I know speed would likely be an issue as far as feedback goes. Sure, it wouldn't be as quick as my new Logitech laser mouse, but in video mode the camera (at least on the Apache) can go up to 19 fps...so perhaps it would be doable. Obviously you're not going to use Photoshop or play Quake with the thing . I was just thinking added convenience for everyday usage.
well all optical mice i've used have gon crazy on shiny surfaces
their cams are even made directly for this purpos
so i would think using the pda as a mouse would mean it would go even more crazy on a shiny surface
try search i recall posts about this in the past
Issues
light souce: prolong usage of you flash is bad. The life span of the flash may be different for different devices, but I'm pretty sure HTC doesn't give you a nice LED flash to be used for more than 30 seconds per usage. There are reports of 'dying' flash after using it as flashlight.
camera (major issue): phone camera is a fix lense camera (there are a few new Nokia/Sony model that arent). Such camera is not able to take clear picture of close distance object. Try taking a picture of something at a range of 3 inches , at best possible light condition. You won't get a decent picture. Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
It is a good idea though.
just an idea, but what about just using it as a touch pad??
dahquim
Very expensive mouse :lol:
Just get an optical RF mouse.. so much cheaper..
Come to think of it, better get a bluetooth mouse that you can use with both your PC and PPC!
Hmm, I don't know. I just imagined a Universal used as a mouse. Not a pretty picture.
Any way, as for the touch pad idea, it's fairly easy to implement, but it doesn't have the resolution to handle even blow average PC screen which is 800x600 pixels.
hanmin said:
Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so let's say you have a clear glass desk and you attach a board underneath it at a distance of 3 inches so it can focus... j/k
levenum said:
as for the touch pad idea, it's fairly easy to implement, but it doesn't have the resolution to handle even blow average PC screen which is 800x600 pixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think dahquim meant "touch pad" to mean "tablet PC" or a remote touch-screen clone of your PC monitor (you can do that with LogMeIn). I think he meant simply losing the "mouse" functionality and keeping the ability to have the device's screen display "soft buttons" that could execute commands and that would change depending on whichever app has the focus on your PC. That would somewhat relieve one of having to remember different keyboard shortcuts for each different PC app you use. Same idea as the Optimus Keyboard but on a smaller scale.
touchpad.. ?
Touchpad idea is nice - it could work just like touchpads on laptop; ie. moving finger on mobile device screen causes mouse cursor to move on PC screen, tapping mobile device screen causes mouse click.... who'll implement this ? ;-)
hanmin said:
Issues
light souce: prolong usage of you flash is bad. The life span of the flash may be different for different devices, but I'm pretty sure HTC doesn't give you a nice LED flash to be used for more than 30 seconds per usage. There are reports of 'dying' flash after using it as flashlight.
camera (major issue): phone camera is a fix lense camera (there are a few new Nokia/Sony model that arent). Such camera is not able to take clear picture of close distance object. Try taking a picture of something at a range of 3 inches , at best possible light condition. You won't get a decent picture. Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
It is a good idea though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hanmin was right pointing these issues. i'll add some more, from a developer's point of view:
-so you want to have this as a wireless device: think of the power consumption: on one hand you need the camera to be on, with the led, and also a wireless connection for transmitting the data like BT or WiFi.. The baterry wont last long
-even if we cant get the camera to focus at nearly 1-2mm, we could still detect movement of some kind (so the idea would work..in a way or another :roll: ). but please note: there are tens of types of devices, you cant get to make the trick for all.
-it wouldnt be very precise: did you even tried to create an icon? you need to tap over the right pixel, do you think it will work with this?
-ok so you're a fanatic gamer : poor device and poor you, on one hand you'll ruing the device, on the other you'll go nuts because... : slow reaction times, low accuracy...
I see that you've thought about the idea of creating a touchpad out of the pocketpcs. I worked on such a project once. It was indeed interesting. The only problem was that: (issues again)
-the screen is not so sensitive to finger pressure as a touchpad is
-you'll mostly have to use the stilus
But at least this approach is functional.
Regards,
Radu
Yes was thinking more the "set of buttons on [email protected] that let you do quick and easy thinkgs to whatever program your using.
For example, how about being able to switch virtual desktops or having a list of programs on the ppc screen that you switch between... a la Alt-Tab??
just ideas, but of course would be completely customisable (macro buttons)
dahquim
Looks like this guy got the concept up and running on his Nokia...
http://www.pyrofersprojects.com/nokiamouse.php
Hi all.
This has been bugging me for a while.
Does the xperia actually have a accelerometer?
Don't see it mentioned in the white papers or previews.
as far as i know it dont
as you say it's not mentioned and the
prerelease version people have
been reviewing dont seem to
i'd like an accelerometer myself but also the option to turn it off
AFAIK it does.
I'm 95% sure it doesn't. Atleast not the one i've been using.
Didn't the early prototype vids show it having one?
Maybe I'm just thinking of the Diamond...idk
It switches to landscape when you open the keyboard. Otherwise, the pre-release doesn't have an accelerometer.
I used to have a link, but cannot find it anymore, But back when it was announced, there was a video shot with one of SE reps showing off the phone. (i know, there were hundreds!)
At that time he was distinctly talking about the X1 using the front facing cam to pick up and recognise gesture controls. I have since seen a press release(again, lost, sorry, but try ESATO or SENSE) that SE were dealing with a company who specialise in that line of things.
What i do find odd, maybe just my ignorance, is that as similar as HTC Touch Pro, and X1 are internally, how SE did not have the accelerometer installed. Surely it would only add a small amount to the total cost of the phone?
Yeah, even for a consumer to buy a cheap acceleromenter is only like $1, lol
I've got a very technical, but very elemental question on this subject, please forgive me for being such a nerd.
What do I ultimately need an accelerometer for in a phone?
How does this accelerometer function work anyway?
In laptops I can understand it's function to protect the hard drive.
As soon as it detects high accelerations (i.e. "free fall" --> acceleration of 9.81m/s^2 = 1g) it shuts down all moving parts in anticipation of an imminent impact (which because of the sudden stop results in massive accelerations around 1500g and more).
Easy physics, no mystery there...
But in mobile phones an accelerometer is often mentioned in relation to automatically rotating screens and of course apple's famous ball-through-labyrinth-game.
Technically an accelerometer on its own cannot do that. All you get from this device is a statement like
"The velocity of rotation around the phone's z-axis is increasing by 3 rad/square-second."
so in order to know the phone's orientation from that you'd need
1. initial calibration (i.e. tell the phone where "down" and "stop" is every time you turn it on)
2. constant measurement of acceleration on all 6 spacial axes (miss one move and your calibration is off).
As far as I can tell there's no note in the iPhone's Manual saying you may only turn it on when it's sitting on a stationary horizontal surface (so much for initial calibration).
And I can imagine the electronics reading the accelerometer go into a low-power "alarming amplitude only" state too most of the time to preserve battery power. Also you'd have to consider the Earth's rotation and path in that calculation too, since the measurement is rather absolute.
Besides, there are more simple and reliable methods out there to to create an artificial horizon (gravity sensor), so what's the benefit of using an accelerometer in the first place?
So, how do these Phones really know where "down" is to auto-rotate my screen if they use an accelerometer, and why not use something simpler?
The only benefit I see is for car navigation software to use the sensor when the GPS signal vanishes (in tunnels etc.) to extrapolate your course from the last confirmed position and velocity, but as far as I know they don't even use it (yet).
Ok, let's say either:
A) you have a slight factory calibration so it can "guess" which direction.
B) it dynamically calibrates as the phone is held/moved/twisted.
C) It's not near perfect, just a guesstimate of movement.
and
it's just for screen rotation and games
dont believe gps's use it as it's not precise enough
Let me apologize first, because, I know nothing about all that disertation about accelerometers. But let me have my street guy comon sense opinion.
First I don't think these phones have such a sofistcated type of accelerometer. The use of the accelerometer word in mobile phones is a missnomer because I'm sure they have something simpler that I would call it "Balancerometer"
I believe it's just 2 or 3 tubular circles perpendicular to each other. These tiny tubes are filled with some kind of liquid The reading of the position of these liquid is enough to know the position of the device ex: Vertical, horizontal, diagonal at any angle of mesurement. It probably cost no more than $2.00 in mass production.
You know better tha me. Do you think I am crazy or worst?
GSM Arena says
Size 800 x 480 pixels, 3.0 inches
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Optical joystick navigation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_x1-2246.php
But then again ... who knows.
In the diamond app forum, Ikari creatied pocket gforce which from the picture, its not just a simple tilt sensor. Even I wonder why we need the full thing.
But cool though.
x1_wp_r3a.pdf manual
I have the manual above. Not sure where I got it from .... but it doesn't mention accelerometer and it is SEs own May 08 X1 whitepaper.
It detailed many things people suggested the X1 didn't have ... like it does have hardware for 3D accelerated graphics and the supporting drivers ... It also cleared up the actual RAM - 256m rather than the oh ... there is some sort of 400m of something.
Intro was as follows :
XPERIA™ is premium brand in the Sony Ericsson portfolio to meet the consumer need for a converged entertainment and mobile Web communication experience. XPERIA™ delivers a premium experience of energized communication - anytime, anywhere, anything and with anyone.
X1 is the first product on the XPERIA™ lineup and introduces new experiences for mobile productivity with an extraordinary new blend of multimedia, enterprise and Web functionality. The need for multiple devices – such as a mobile phone, an e-mail client, a mobile companion for a PC and more – are all met in one device with easy-to-use functionality. A sturdy metal design to withstand everyday use and a ground breaking XPERIA™ panel combine to give a seamless and premium user experience.
Features include:
•3-inch Wide-VGA (800x480) TFT 65K color LCD
•XPERIA™ panel concept
•Unified Media Experience
•3.2-megapixel camera with Touch auto focus
•Video capture and playback up to 30 fps
•Integrated WiFi and A-GPS
•Mobile broadband
•Handsfree headset with a 3.5 mm audio jack, USB charger, USB cable provided in the kit
•Internet Explorer Mobile browser
•HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 2Mbps
•Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
•YouTube support (3GPP playback)
•FM radio, streaming audio/video
•Video telephony
•Bluetooth™ 2.0
•HW 3D Graphics
•Supports microSD™ High Capacity memory card
•Exchange /IMAP4/POP3 e-mail
•Quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
•Tri-band HSPA X1a850/1900/2100 MHz) X1i900/1900/2100 MHz) )
The slim arc form factor has a large 3-inch Wide-VGA color screen. Memory capacity is up to 400 MB internally and includes a slot for a microSD™ card. The ergonomically designed QWERTY keypad allows you to quickly write text messages, type phone numbers or search for particular content such as pictures or tracks. The user can quickly toggle between different relevant functions, tailored for all situations in life, and use them as active desktop home screens by using the unique XPERIA™ panel concept.
Panel stuff :
•Sony Ericsson panel – a panel to read news, weather, finance, world clock and shortcuts to communication and applications.
•Media Experience panel – center for viewing and playing multimedia files.
•Slideshow panel – slideshow of recently taken videos and photos.
•Microsoft Today panel – this panel is the actual Microsoft today screen.
•3D Fish panel – a panel that showcases the 3D features of the phone; a fish tank with 3D fishes.
•FM radio panel - a panel to access your FM radio straight.
•Google panel - provides access to all GOogle services.
•Customized panels can be offered.
and for me ... to avoid having a N95 as well as an HTC ...
3.2-megapixel camera and video call camera
There are two cameras. The main camera is 3.2 megapixel and includes Touch auto focus. A picture can be shared with friends or family, as a picture message or e-mail, or using any available transfer method, such as Bluetooth™. There is also a QCIF camera, for video calls, located on the front.
Photo light
When lighting conditions are poor, pictures can be enhanced by turning on the Photo light.
Video capture
The camera also records video and which are stored in the phone or on a memory card. A video clip can be shared with friends or family as a picture message or e-mail, or using any available transfer method, such as Bluetooth™. The phone supports VGA size video recording at up to 30 frames per second.
•MPEG-4: 30fps at VGA*
•H.263: 30fps at VGA*
•H.264: 15fps at VGA*
Can forward on to people if they want it ....
I do struggle that so many people are worried about WVGA. The G900 ran all the s/w I have without issues including Softmaker Office, CPL6, PI, FM, Pie+ etc ... WVGA is real extra screen estate rather than just VGA prettiness.
I know only time will tell, but this has to be leagues ahead of the Pro.
It is only the price that scares me ... and the fact that there are still performance issues with video at 30fps .... which as you can see from the above is a biggie for me.
The only daft thing missing I can see is the TV-Out ...
downloadtest82 said:
How does this accelerometer function work anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These accelerometers actually measure the Earth's gravity also. It constantly measures the 1g with which the Earth is pulling the phone. A 3-axis accelerometer gives you the projection of the gravity vector on each axis (x, y, z). Assuming that the phone is only rotating (and not translating), it is easy to find to where the phone is facing... for example, if the x and y acceleration is ~0 and z is ~1, then the phone is facing up, like leaving it on a table top. If x=1, y=0, z=0 => phone in landscape. If x=0, y=1, z=0 => phone in portait mode.
When the phone is being translated (moving, that is) in a non-constant manner, a "dynamic" acceleration vector is added to the 1g Earth's vector. In that case, calculating the phone's position/rotation becomes more tricky and more erroneous...
downloadtest82 said:
i.e. "free fall" --> acceleration of 9.81m/s^2 = 1g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, in free-fall, the acceleration is reported as zero.
Even ipod nanos come with accelerometers now. Don't sit well with me if the xperia doesn't.
Well, even the C905 and G705 have accelerometers, so why couldn't SE put one into their flagship
Pinguino1 said:
...the accelerometer word in mobile phones is a missnomer because I'm sure they have something simpler that I would call it "Balancerometer"
I believe it's just 2 or 3 tubular circles perpendicular to each other. These tiny tubes are filled with some kind of liquid The reading of the position of these liquid is enough to know the position of the device ex: Vertical, horizontal, diagonal at any angle of mesurement...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Years ago I used to think alot of debives measured that way, at one time it may have been like that but not now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric_accelerometer
I have an RC Helicopter and a strong interest in electronics...so yeah, I just happen to know random stuff like this, lol.
They manufacture these in bulk as chips often...some even having 3+ (rotation) axi on the same chip.
Even at retail you can get the raw high-end chips for a couple bucks...imagine how much they cost in bulk.
hypest said:
Actually, in free-fall, the acceleration is reported as zero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i suggest you to retake physics...
currently the accelerometer is just for user interface for phones, not too many uses
Hey! After many frustrated rides in crowded public transportation, unable to get full functionality out of my tablet, due to having to be reduced to using only one hand in confined spaces, I spent hours today searching online for a bluetooth trackpoint, trackball, or trackpad that could be mounted on that back of my tablet on the side near where my hand is comfortable and my fingers are free, so that I could accomplish this. But no dice.
The closest I could find was this small, reversed, stickable touchpad (Google "ergo reverse touchpad"), but it is wired and with a full-size male USB port no less! Plus, I'm skeptical of the usefulness of a trackpad even this large for this purpose, for precisely one reason: when you are holding the device with one hand, you lose the crucial ability to move your wrist in relation to the tablet: which is a serious trackpad buzzkill. So, only a finger-sized trackpad could do the trick -- if indeed a trackpad was the way to go.
THEN I ran into MicroPointing (Google "micropoint"). And the simple DIY multitouch mods using webcams (Google "dirt cheap multitouch pad"). And the fact that (YouTube ?v=bci7Gi05BNc) optical mice themselves are basically modified cameras. (Sorry, I had to redact the links because I'm new to XDA.)
And it dawned on me: There is a camera on the back side of my tablet.
So! I'm sure you can see where this is going. If I hadn't just started a new position as an IT manager, with a huge, looming learning curve hanging above my head, I would have tackled this project myself. But I can't. And it pisses me off. But there it is. Someone tell me I'm not the only person who would pay $100 just for a feature like this?
TLDR; ...Is anyone sufficiently intrigued to write an Android app to use a tablet/phablet/phone's rear-facing camera as an optical pointing device?
I bought the Atongm W013 from efox and it arrived on September 2.
I only have it for one day so i will post first impressions and hopefully i will follow with further info.
Design :
The watch is slim and light , weighing 60 grams, it sits very comfortable on the wrist. The leather feels real and it should fit most people.
There is black outline of the screen is visible. The clasp feels plastic. The button on the side (rotating) seems sturdy but if it will hold, only time will tell.
The metal is prone to smudges.
The transflective screen is good. You can see the time clearly in almost all conditions. The lcd screen seems to have a low dpi and dull colors, which i suppose, is a consequence of the tech behind transflective.
Hardware:
You can find most of the specs on internet i cannot verify at the moment anything. If someone knows of an apk (or adb shell command) that will allow me to check this, please advise. Note: it must work on Indroid!
There is one button that acts as on/off/stby/wake switch and an invisible capacitive button on the bottom right corner of the screen which acts as BACK.
The touchscreen is responsive and feels ok. You can type on the onscreen keyboard with greatest ease than with the ZGPAX S8 i have.
The software:
It runs on a version of android 4.3 named Indroid. The firmware on mine is v1.6-x2-hwv1.1.0-20150402.
The heart rate and step counter work as expected: not accurate but close enough. Both functions DO NOT work on the background, which is plain lame. Once you press back it stops counting.
The companion app did not work for me when i was running CM12.1 on my galaxy s4 (i could no install it). I think it has problems running on ART. I downgraded to 4.4.4 and it works flawlessly so far.
Notifications work nice, the screen lights up automatically and the notification text is displayed in size 10 letters.
The vibration on the watch is perfect. Not to strong not to weak.
Audio is weeeeeeaaaaak. The speaker is on the back side of the watch and i can barely hear anything.
The settings allow some developer options but are very limited compared to normal android.
Ingenic provides an adb driver for the watch that works fine and i have been able to get root through adb and perform basic ops.
The watch faces are 8. 7 of them is -imho- crap and one (the digital display) is nice.
Remote control camera works but with some lag.
Remote music control, find my phone, weather, contacts sync, sound recorder and calendar work fine.
Overall:
Very happy. I payed 60 euro and it is totally worth it. I already have the ZGPAX S8( heavily modded both soft and hardware) which i use for my runs. So i wanted an elegant watch that i could wear at work and get notifications for calls,sms and mail. Most people do not notice that this is a smartwatch until i tell them and then most of them ask if it is the apple watch.
If this guys could come up with a decent firmware that would allow some sensible use of the sensors (like heart rate transmission through BT to phone, or heart rate sampling every 30 minutes to present data ,or just keep the step counter...counting) it would be better.
Hi, I got the same smartwatch yesterday. I have the Prob to find an App for sync to my smartphone. The Link of QR Code isn´t exist. Where can I found the sync App. Please help me. Thanks.
I noticed the Android radio section is kinda small so thought I would provide some feedback with the various ones I've used. I've had two Panlelo and two Atoto radios.
The Panlelo radios I used were basically trash. Well the first one was ok, but it had a long boot. And started up with some strange bluetooth and gps error messages. I did like it at the time and it wasn't until I purchased Atoto that I realized what I was missig.. Being the first Android radio I used I had nothing to compare it to. I bought a different Panlelo for my wife because she wanted a volume knob. That's the only thing nice about it. The SD card slot was broken, the touch was terrible especially at the top and bottom. it wouldn't auto connect to my hotspot, it wouldn't remember my car launcher pro as the default launcher. Was just bad. I had also purchased a camera from them and the power trigger wire had a break in it somewhere. I've come to learn Panlelo does not make quality products. Oh yeah the first Panlelo had the side buttons stop working after a few months! And I always had obd2 connection issues.
The two Atoto radios I've had are amazing! The A6 premium I used for a year and then moved it to my wife's car. It has held up amazing and everything is layed out so much better than Pablelo. I never have issues with it. The obd2 always connects. I recently got the A6 pro with gestures and it's even better, though it's also more expensive. Aside from the gestures, the built in amp is noticeabley better. I can crank it much louder before distorting. It will actually support 2 ohm speakers although the kickers I use are 4 ohm with pretty high sensitivity (I think around 90) so they get pretty loud without an extra amp. The screen is also more vivid, better blacks, viewing angles and brighter. The resolution is the same as the first A6 but It definitely looks better. I don't use the provided screen protectors, and they don't seem necessary. The other A6 has no scratches after a year.
The gestures are pretty cool, although I've found the only two that work without problems are rotating your fingers/hand clockwise and counter clockwise. I never get false positives and it always registers when I use it. I first used it for volume up and down, but I've since used them as shortcuts for navigation and front camera. I changed the navigation app to torque so it pulls torque up instead. And front camera, I use for parking my big f250. Volume controls, home button and next are all configured on my steering wheel.
I used to use to wave your hand (defualt for that is mute) but I found it was triggering just driving around. Im hoping an update will make this more reliable. The other ones, hand forward and hand backward from sensor also trigger false. Umm besides that the layout is really good, with home, back and recents on the bottom left close to driver. (Another thing Panlelo got wrong by putting these on the top right)
Hotspot auto connects. Ohhh yeah and one thing I recently discovered! You can share Google maps navigation via Bluetooth. I'm still trying to think of a more seem less integration (wish it had NFC). But Bluetooth works well. Basically start your navigation from your phone, hit the share button, choose Bluetooth > Bluetooth2> accept the file transfer from Atoto it will then show where it was downloaded but just open maps and it will be there. It's actually pretty easy and works better than trying to type an address in. Especially when a lot of times someone has already texted you the address to your phone.
I'm still hoping for an easier way, I wish I could just out the phone close to the radio and beam it over. Or if there was a good way to get texts on the radio... I know there are Android messaging apps that sync, but I prefer the stock messaging app. Anyway, that's my experiences with Android radios. I like to use carlauncher pro.
Edit: added a couple more pics, one to show the parking camera
I can't make up my mind
Thanks for the right up. I may order the Pro unit minus the gesture feature. What brand of cables did you use on the install?