Related
Now that bal666's awesome utility gives us the ability to decrypt/encrypt the NBF file, we can view and/or extract the ROM files that are normally not available to us otherwise.
One big hoopla that Windows Mobile 5.0 was supposed to have was the native ability to access the camera through their APIs, so that third-party developers could create applications without having to deal with each and every different type of camera technology in different Pocket PC and Smartphone devices.
Of course, it's apparent that HTC has still used their own software and drivers and has not given access to anyone outside of HTC. Not like Microsoft had their own Camera application (I don't know if there ever was one, but there isn't a Microsoft one on the Universal).
Developers such as ComVu with their neat PocketCaster software, are having such a difficult time making a single Windows Mobile 5.0-ready application, and have resorted to making different versions for different devices.
So... where am I going with this? Simple. Let's dump out the contents of the NK.NBF file and see if we can make our own applications with the APIs and drivers that HTC has embedded in the ROM.
I, for one, am looking forward to a internet-based videoconferencing application, much like Microsoft Portrait. Skype also announced video calls on PCs with the new version 2.0. Perhaps someone could send them some code to get video capability on the Universal?
That front-facing camera is beckoning to be used...
On a sidenote, PPL: Pocket Programming Language, allows you to easily create applications (self-contained EXE files, as a matter of fact), and also allows direct access to DLLs and APIs...
Put these two concepts together, and you can see the potential.
Create an application to...
... toggle the camera flashlight.
... do internet videoconferencing.
... do face recognition security.
Create your own camera app, phone app, game using images from the camera, etc. etc.
Another thing, though I'm not sure, but perhaps it's possible to rebuild your own ROM... remove Voice Speed Dial? Embed Voice Command, Resco Explorer, remove stupid applications or unused portions? etc. etc.
What does anyone else think about this?
BtT,
This sounds great, even having only a magician which will likely not being supported in projects like this. I still want to create my own rom with at least all the patches installed in rom. Camera & Album are taking at least 1Mb from my precious storage & apps like resco explorer are indeed must haves.
So I'm looking rorward to progress & tips in this thread & when I succeed with simple magician rom cooking I'll let you know. Don't expect any new camera apps from me, no time & no development for anymore .
Regards, M
http://research.microsoft.com/workshops/FS2005/presentations/FacultySummit_2005_Lieberman.ppt
I just realized that Windows Mobile 5 SDK contains a "common camera API" which is likely the method that third-party developers will take (or have taken) to access the camera. I have emailed Skype to see if their new 2.0 desktop version that has Video Calling can be somehow implemented on the Pocket PC, now that it is technically feasible.
I'm surprised the guys behind Microsoft Portrait haven't jumped on this yet.
Would it be possible to use one of the cameras to scan buisnesscards ?
And save the info. to the contacts ?
Just a thought...
Superb Idea.
Would need an accurate scanning software and image to text conversion - but I think it's a very good idea.
Dont believe this is possible. Business cards dont have any set layout. How would you be able to tell the persons name apart from their company name, etc?
I did a google, and it has already been done:
Motorola Ming phone.
The two megapixel camera found on MING allowed engineers to incorporate a business card scanner and optical-character recognition software.
The two megapixel camera found on MING allowed engineers to incorporate a business card scanner and optical-character recognition software.
MING incorporates the industry's leading Chinese handwriting recognition software, now upgraded to recognize Pinyin input.
yeah, it can't easily be done automatically - but you can certainly grab the text with some OCR and then manually tell it where to stuff the data. Obviously some distinction can be made... e.g.
[plain strings]
name
company name
job title
['word' with an @ and a . in it in that order]
e-mail
[starting with 'http' or 'www']
website
[bunch of numbers]
phone
fax
btw... for someting not entirely similar but sorta neat, and involving the camera as well, see ShotCodes; http://www.shotcode.com/
Basically they're 'bar codes' that point to some file that you would automatically download after the camera takes a picture of one of those shotcode bits
The SE P990 has a built in business card scanner "out of the box", so it's certainly possible. Not sure exactly how they've implemented it though. I guess I'll have to wait 'til I have one to find out...
read this...
its alread in the Hermes..
http://translate.google.com/transla...http://www.ppcreviews.net/content/view/737/7/
Not really a universal solution but I read somewhere that the next version of OneNote for Microsoft Office 2007 is supposed to have this kind of functionality included with it.
Although there is a mobile version of this being prepared too but I don't know how much of these features it will have.
You might want to check this out:
http://www.scanr.com/bc.aspx
I would love a piece of software like this on my universal. I believe abbyy have an SDK for OCR for just about any ppc platform. Wouldn't have a clue on developing my own one. It can be found here http://www.abbyy.com/sdk/?param=56223
Google have a free OCR engine if anyone's writing an app.
V
Im not sure how good OCR software are now. At times when I was checking it out, they were terrible, consider that I tried the 'world leader' in OCR software (I think it is called Omnipage). And, (the one I've tested) OCR don't just do visual recognition, but it also check the grammer, so it is language dependant. So, it will start giving you rubbish if you have technical terms and equations on it. I'm not sure how good a OCR software can be using the terrible camera (eg my Wizard) on the phone.
However, having said that, those little bar code thinky are pretty impressive. I think I've tested the Japan version of the barcode like scanning thing, QRCode, which is widely popular now in Japan (as I've read). However, the sad thing is that, this 'thing' is not universal. I think US they have their very own code and.. Europe has their very own code. So, business card wise, probably you want to consider putting such codes onto your business card.
rattler said:
read this...
its alread in the Hermes..
http://translate.google.com/transla...http://www.ppcreviews.net/content/view/737/7/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this application integratetd in ROM, or installed via ExtROM? If it is in ExtROM I guess we could rip it out an install it on any WM5 device with camera.
Regards
PK
Just curious if anyone has tried WorldCard Mobile (optical character recognition program) on the Hermes? Supposedly you can take a picture of a business card and it will import all contact details into a new contact record in Outlook for you...
Yes, it works flawlessly...
thedogger said:
Just curious if anyone has tried WorldCard Mobile (optical character recognition program) on the Hermes? Supposedly you can take a picture of a business card and it will import all contact details into a new contact record in Outlook for you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have.. it worked the first few times then i started having dramas with text being missed so i stopped trying it out.
It works perfect on X01HT (Hermes)...
Work Well no problem at all
anyone know of a simillar program, that just recognices text, without buisiness cards?
tried it, gave up after using it a few times. Not accurate enough.
I've used WorldCard Mobile extensively on my Dopod 838Pro and it works well. Found it especially a boon when at trade shows where you tend to collect too many business cards!
As to accuracy, the product is as accurate as other such offerings that scan cards and then recognize them. I've used an AccuCard scanner for some years and it is just as good.
If you expect 100% results, you will be disappointed but if you're prepared to edit the results a little, this app can save you valuable time.
Best of all, it came free with my Dopod phone!
Works fine on my Orange SPV M3100. A bit of editing is usually necessary though.
any link to this application or can a cab file be posted in here.
I found a website that may sell this application, but it doesn't look like there is a demo version to test for 30 days.
http://www.penpower.net/enversion/product/wc_mobile.html
It's bundled into several pocketpc phones as part of the OEM software package.
Ok - found out it offers a 30 day trial, but doesn't let you export the data to anything, so I have no idea how well it imports into Outlook contacts. That's a half-useless demo. But it does seem to recognize the characters pretty well. If only someone had a real .cab from one of the bundled OEM pdas to try out...
Even the OEM bundled app on my Dopod 838Pro required registration on the site and this registration number is locked to the phone...
In fact Dopod supplies the software on a separate CD that must be installed and it's not pre-installed in the ROM.
But the recognition is the difficult part and the one area where some manual intervention may be necessary. In any case, I like to keep all my phone numbers in the +<Country_Code> international format and since few business cards display information that way, editing is almost always necessary.
The actual export to Outlook is virtually a non-issue. Works perfectly, quickly and reliably so if you like the recognition, go ahead and buy the app.
thanks - glad to know the Outlook export works. I'm going to test on some more business cards then, and see how the recognition works...
I bought this app on website three months ago and it works. Save my time. Typing every contacts almost kills me. Recognition is good and export to outlook perfectly. Every field is fit on Outlook. So, no doubt Worldcard Mobile is great app for my HTC. I recommend this for you!!!
I have WorldCard Color. It preforms well. Not the high-end product in this company, but I prefer this because price is reasonable and also can scan my photos. That is my another reason to buy WorldCard Color instead of Ultra. Honestly, I like Ultra's look more than Color. So stylish and not look like scanner. Cool ...but pricey...
For quality and speed, Color did a very good job. Recognizing any size of business cards and any language. Very fast, and easy to use. I also used Cardscan for a while, works perfect. But for price issue, I chose this Color. Multi-function and lower price attract me to own this.
If I remember, the price is $130 or lower. I got this with some promotion. Hopefully, there is some promotion. Economy is so bad and save money is big issue.
Is there such an application which functions like the WorldCard Mobile ability to capture data on name card by camera to convert to readable text document? eg: take a shot on a page of article and converts it to MS Word.
freddex said:
Is there such an application which functions like the WorldCard Mobile ability to capture data on name card by camera to convert to readable text document? eg: take a shot on a page of article and converts it to MS Word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Optical Character Recognition ?
OCR
12ka4 said:
Optical Character Recognition ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... that's the term. Thanks!
I'm doing some searching on the web now... looking at these links.
ref
There's no mobile OCR I can find suitable. Neither does Jetware Mobile Extension replacement app.
Is there any development tread for both?
that would be a really useful program i think
there are a few server-side web services where you email the pic to a server and it sends you back the OCRed version... not very cool though... I want everything to be self-contained.
It might seems like conventional OCRs take up a great amount of storage space and so it's not practicable to mobilised it... Just my thought.
You can use the ocr sdk for mobile devices from ABBYY.it is not free though.
http://www.abbyy.com/sdk/?param=56223
using this sdk, you can convert any image to text, either by using the camera or by browsing to an image file and processing it using the ocr.
I used to have an app like the one you need, but its for symbian phones . On the positive side, if my nokias N73 and E65 handle the job, i dont see why my htc touch would not handle it
freddex said:
Is there such an application which functions like the WorldCard Mobile ability to capture data on name card by camera to convert to readable text document? eg: take a shot on a page of article and converts it to MS Word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did alot of searching on this exact thing when i found world card...... i didn't even find anything for windows mobile phones (self-contained app wise) disappointing.
freddex said:
It might seems like conventional OCRs take up a great amount of storage space and so it's not practicable to mobilised it... Just my thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With sdhc card compatibility i can't imagine not having the space for a program like this, really on that note i'm pretty sure the ram capabilities are fine compared to alot of the symbian phones out there capable of it
Its not a manner of can't be done its a matter of it hasn't been done yet.
we have one on our Omnias!
There is an OCR program called Smart Reader from Diotek which not only reads business cards but also reads general text from a page via camera. Really cool app I think someone extracted it over on modaco.com in the i900 forum - but I don't know whether it would work other models.
Here is a link to the Smartreader that was on MoDaCo
This links to a Polish (I think) hosting site.
http://www.sendspace.pl/file/pVNBREN9/
to bad it doesn't work for me on my TP
I think there is a problem with the dll's you have to copy to the windows directory.
I hope we can get this to work! it would be great for me to use on school.
Hello everyone. My trial of OfficeSuite5 has ended. Too bad I never actually used it during the trial period LOL
Well now its time to either pay up or use something else. I've looked at a couple of reviews and they suggest QuickOffice HD Pro as the best app for tablets as its the only one which is designed for tablets.
Well the Note though capable isn't much of a tablet. So perhaps an elephantised phone app is still best for us?
I have no objections paying $15 for an Office App. What are your thoughts on which is best on the Note?
Best Office Suite
Quick Office Pro 5 is the best. That plus EZPDF Reader will allow you to deal with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files. EZPDF program is excellent and allows you to edit pdf files.
It really depends what you expect from your Office application. If you need to share documents and edit complex ones, I wouldn't call any Android Office suite a mature one. If you only need to edit relatively simple documents, both options you mention might be OK. If I were you, I wouldn't buy either without a good test drive, though.
The biggest problem is compatibility with more complex formatting (and formulas). Quite often opening a document in a mobile office suite and saving it back means changed or lost formatting. So when you open the document on your PC you may be in for a surprise. So far Dataviz's DocsToGo have been best in this respect - their technology (aptly called "Intact") leaves all formating intact - so even if the mobile app doesn't understand more complex formatting (footnotes, tables, anchored text etc.), it doesn't destroy it.
Alternatively, there is a German company, having a very good Windows Mobile Office suite: Softmaker Office (they have a website both in English and German). This suite has always been much more powerful than other mobile solutions. On their website it is mentioned that they are preparing a version for Android, but it is not ready yet (not even a public beta!). So you may keep this suite in mind for future consideration and meanwhile buy just the software that is good enough for basic purposes.
macminer said:
It really depends what you expect from your Office application. If you need to share documents and edit complex ones, I wouldn't call any Android Office suite a mature one. If you only need to edit relatively simple documents, both options you mention might be OK. If I were you, I wouldn't buy either without a good test drive, though.
The biggest problem is compatibility with more complex formatting (and formulas). Quite often opening a document in a mobile office suite and saving it back means changed or lost formatting. So when you open the document on your PC you may be in for a surprise. So far Dataviz's DocsToGo have been best in this respect - their technology (aptly called "Intact") leaves all formating intact - so even if the mobile app doesn't understand more complex formatting (footnotes, tables, anchored text etc.), it doesn't destroy it.
Alternatively, there is a German company, having a very good Windows Mobile Office suite: Softmaker Office (they have a website both in English and German). This suite has always been much more powerful than other mobile solutions. On their website it is mentioned that they are preparing a version for Android, but it is not ready yet (not even a public beta!). So you may keep this suite in mind for future consideration and meanwhile buy just the software that is good enough for basic purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice reply.
It surely depends on what you expect from your office application. Thus recommendations would vary based on preferences.
Of all the available office apps I found Documents to Go as the best one. It keeps the format INTACT and I found that it's the only app that can open PASSWORD PROTECTED files which was important for me.
Softmaker Office Beta testing for Android
macminer said:
Alternatively, there is a German company, having a very good Windows Mobile Office suite: Softmaker Office (they have a website both in English and German). This suite has always been much more powerful than other mobile solutions. On their website it is mentioned that they are preparing a version for Android, but it is not ready yet (not even a public beta!). So you may keep this suite in mind for future consideration and meanwhile buy just the software that is good enough for basic purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get Softmaker Office Beta register to Softmaker forum , then ask for access at this thread
OfficeSuite5 is trial for...?
I got Smart Office and i think it's a great solution because it's a great app, which allows you to create/edit word/excel/powerpoint.. data
Just try
I use polaris office, and it working very well
Polaris is simpler....but way easier to generate documents from.
User friendly A+....best in Android
I recommend DocumentsToGo. It has good editing capabilities and easy access to cloud services.
Sent from my NotePhone
can some one suggest an app that allows one to
edit / form new tables in power point
edit / insert images in powerpoint
edit / form bar charts / pie charts in powerpoint / excel files
form / edit ODT docs
read / edit rtf documents
edit pdfs
is it possible to do this on any one app
I have got docs 2 go and ezpdf and open office reader now but will buy any other that is better
for databases which is better handbase or memento. presently have handbase.
My vote goes to Officesuite.. Based totally on the speed of the application.. Its fast.. And got everything i need..
Ultimately some kind of virtualisation or hosted solution would do the trick, if you are on an unlimited fast dataplan. Or you could just run the fullfletched suite from your own computer. Logmein is good, but requires your PC turned on to function as a server. Used to do that back in 2006 and acces it throught Wifi in college on my htc lmao.
If your company has cytrix I think it should also be easy. They must have an Android client to connect.
There is also splashtop, free on getjar. However I dont think it has an office suit build in. It is the only virtualisation client I do know of targetted at consumers.
Did you try Microsoft office 360 or just plain google docs? Maybe they can cater your office needs through a browser
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
I use PowerOffice. Its free on the Samsung market. You just have to have a fast data plan, as its a virtualization solution. You can access your files via Email or Dropbox. Please go to the Samsung market for further information, I'm writing this from my Note and am kinda lazy atm
Also try Kingston office which has gone free on the market
Ernesto de Bernardis
[from my Galaxy Note]
RTF Support
Hi all,
Don't mean to hijack a thread especially as it's fairly old now but does anyone know an office app that can at least read RTF files?
I do a bit of work for one company that sends all their work in RTF files.
I'd be happy just to be able to open/Read/Print them
ferdi90 said:
I use polaris office, and it working very well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Polaris office does not handle formulas with the IF function in Excel correctly. Documents To Go is my recommendation.
I really need am office app that will let you annotate...
Ezpdf works quite well for annotating pdfs, but I want to do that to powerpoint and word documents...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
I don't get it. Polaris Office comes with nearly all Galaxy phones. Why do we need another paid office?
Porlaris Excel has a big problem. It can't read most formulae. It turn them into literal values. However, it seems it only fails when handling XLSX (Office 2007) documents. If I save to XLS (Office 2003) format, then it does everything fine.
I believe I've tried Kingsoft, but it has exactly the same problem as Polaris.
One app to avoid is Smart Office+, at least not the current version. It thinks that Note is a tablet and displays an HD UI. You won't be able to do anything with the tiny toolbar. There is not yet any method to manually choose among the two UI in the suite.
cliver said:
Hi all,
Don't mean to hijack a thread especially as it's fairly old now but does anyone know an office app that can at least read RTF files?
I do a bit of work for one company that sends all their work in RTF files.
I'd be happy just to be able to open/Read/Print them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought adobe convert to pdf app from the market for the same problem.
This app allowed me to upload for conversion to pdf the rtf file and within seconds I got back the pdf version and formatting looked like the original.the website does not save the original by the looks of it. The app worked fine for me on this instance but some of the reviews are not good but most of those reviews seem to be for converting website links.