Related
[NO MORE IN DEV 07/31/200] ContactManager 0.11 - Another try for "finger friendly"...
ContactManager is no more developped, please use the new native version. You can get more information here
ContactManager 0.11
What it does:
- "classic" finger scrolling
- tapping the contact make appear a screen with contact info (photo, name, phone, sms and mail). Selecting one option launch the default compose dialog or make the call. You can also change the contact picture from the detail directly.
- display contact photo if present (in the list and the contact detail).
What's different:
- if you press you finger on the left or right border of the screen it will allow you to select the letter you're searching for, release the finger, it will show you the contact starting with this letter. For me that's the way to go in touch interface: release should trigger the event, push should only provide visual feedback, I'd like a visual kb like this.
- the contact detail is not the standard one, you can show only the information you want (and it's animated .
- the list is animated (scrolling) and the transition between list and detail also.
Settings file:
There is an .ini file that you can create in the directory where the program reside. It contains color, font and image settings. See the setting.ini provided in the zip file.
To install, copy the unzipped file to your ppc and run it. Should be enough. Tested on WM6 only, apparently it also run on WM5. Sorry for 2003 owner, as I don't have such device, I'm unable to test.
Please inform me, before publishing this app on any other website... (a mail to qpouplard // gmail.com will be enough). I'm not against it at all, but I'd like to know it.
What's new? (0.11)
- Localization support
- Bug fixes
- Updated default theme
- Setting to adjust image position
- Multiline information are supported
- Memory optimization
How to use localization??
Copy "lang.fr.ini", adapt the file to your need, change "fr" to your PDA country ISO name. (fr for France, sp for Spain, de for Germany, etc...).
I'll provide localization soon.
What's new? (0.10)
- Gesture: you can slide you finger from right to left or right to left, it will go act like the lower left softkey.
- Bug fixes: app crashing while deleting contact
- New virtual contact: at the end of the list you have a new contact, tap on it to create a new
- New default theme inspired from the Touch
- New settings to adjust contact detail information
To download version 0.11 please go to the brand new ContactManager website: http://www.pocketcm.com.
Please always link to my website, do not provide binary yourself. I'm clearly trying to bring some traffic to my website... so I can continue to develop for free.
You like this application? I've put some time developping this application, it also take me lot of time to take all your valuable comments into account. I'm doing mostly for technical challenge and fun, but ... any donation is appreciated (even the small one) (and will motivate me to continue the development as a freeware), please use this link
Feature to come:
- Native version (who read this? )
- Sync with MyOE contact (http://myoedev.blogspot.com)
- (maybe) compose sms from the application, mainly to allow me to test with SIP method using C# and not C++.
- Setup/packaging integration on the Touch (cube, dialer, etc...).
Download ContactManager 0.11
Thanks- this is a very nice version- I like it.
One suggestion- can the A-Z letter can be another colour- ie colour RED ( or user defined) ... Well done !!!
very nice job and I had the same idea for show contacts for my new iMedia continue to work with it, it's going very nice...
btw some things to adjust :
- scroll isn't very good yet
- left index is too much on the left (
- characters are very ugly on my device
pl55, I'll think about adding some options On the other side, if one of you feel like an artist, feel free to propose something!
Guybrush, can you elaborate what's wrong about scrolling (I mean I agree with you, but on the other side, I have a smartphone for 5 days now... I don't have lot of experience about what's "good" or "bad").
You want left index to be longer? for now it's 26 pixels, maybe 30 will do the job?
Related to the ugliness or character, can you post a screenshot? I only have an HTC touch to test (and the emulator).
that's a screen as appear on my device... about left index look screenshot of my SSContact, i think it's good like that... Scrolling is slow... and not fluid... don't give me good feelings.
I've have a little problem, I can call using the Call button, but the send Sms button doing nothing ....
hi,tene
Very nice work,it looks good by adding contact photo and the idea of side contact to call or to send SMS.
The alpha.index is working but as the application is to be used by finger so it is very difficult to use this index by finger.
Second thing is the scrolling is heavy not fluid,the best i think to scroll is icontact of Larna ,it scrolls very nice.
So keep it up and we all wait for another release with fixed bugs.
thanks
pl55, do you have configured anything specific for SMS? WM5 or 6? I'm using "standard" CF function to start the compose SMS stuff.
myRIGHT: regarding performance, what PPC are you using? How many contact do you have? (I have like 100 on mine). How is the sliding to contact detail going? (it's important, if sliding is bad, I'll have to think about a totally different method).
For the alpha index, my idea was exactly to make it usable by finger: its very hard to point to the right letter, but it's rather easy to move your finger to the right position, so the idea is: tap anywhere on left (or right) part of the screen, and move your finger until you're on the right letter, then remove the finger, that's it. That's also why you get a visual feedback (ugly for now, will look better soon).
Wow this looks promising! Good work! Here are my thoughts:
Like MyRIGHT said, I feel the scrolling in larna's icontact is perfect, so if you could get that kind of feel it would be great!
For now though the biggest thing bugging me is the way it sorts the names, File As always seems the prefered way (again like in larna's icontact). If you could fix this I would definitaly use this instead of icontacts!
Good job on the abc index too, maybe you can make the "area" on the right hand side of the screen a little wider (thumb width )
Maybe you could also make the letter that shows up in the middle of the screen more obvious (coloured background or so).
I like how you can you use the virtual keyboard to jump to the first letter!
I LOVE the way the screen slides to the left when you click on a name. It's a lot faster than waiting for the "default" screen to show up too! Maybe the screen that comes in can look a little better like you said though.
The bottom buttons (search and new) don't seem to do anything, but maybe you havent gotten around to that yet. Maybe you could have the app fullscreen and have 4 buttons at the bottom which launch speed dial, call history, the keypad and new contact or so ?
It's also interesting how the d-pad always scrolls all the way to the top of the list no matter what button you press
Hope this might help you and I hope I don't come across as someone who can only complain, this is a really nice app!
tene said:
pl55, do you have configured anything specific for SMS? WM5 or 6? I'm using "standard" CF function to start the compose SMS stuff.
myRIGHT: regarding performance, what PPC are you using? How many contact do you have? (I have like 100 on mine). How is the sliding to contact detail going? (it's important, if sliding is bad, I'll have to think about a totally different method).
For the alpha index, my idea was exactly to make it usable by finger: its very hard to point to the right letter, but it's rather easy to move your finger to the right position, so the idea is: tap anywhere on left (or right) part of the screen, and move your finger until you're on the right letter, then remove the finger, that's it. That's also why you get a visual feedback (ugly for now, will look better soon).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies, the SMS send button work fine, it's just take a while to load up. . With my Hermes and WM6 - I like the speed of scrolling it's just feel right - ( just like larna's icontact) .
I've to agreed with others, the A_Z index is so tiny, may be if it can be triggered wih another screen A_Z ( more like the contact detail but appear from the left side this will make finger buttom easier).
It's very very nice, but it can't be displayedcorrect om a htc universal (vga screen). If you could make a vga layout it would be perfect...
I think if the scrolling spped and a few graphics were added it would be great! i am a graphics artest, tell me the size and format of the images for things like the letters on the side and i can cook somthing up for u
Hi atomicshockwave,
For now I don't use image, only drawing text, however I'd like to have:
- A correct layout for contact detail (I can extract something from a mockup, for instance, you draw a beautiful sample for a given contact, and I'll try to integrate it).
- An image for the preview letter from the A_Z, something like a bubble pointing to the letter.
Regarding the size, the A_Z is 10*320, each contact is 220 * 32. For the contact detail, it just has to fill the screen.
Apparently it maybe great to think about VGA devices, I don't have one, but I suppose I can use the emulator (however, I fear performance would suffer).
Working on a new version... will update soon.
Hi Tene,
Great and useful App ! it run smoothly and scrolling speed is acceptable on my Hermes with WM6. Only 3 things i noticed that need enhancement:
1) contactmanager can't be minimized with the 'ok' button on Hermes, closing it tapping the 'X' works.
2) If the contact saved phone number in 'work tel', it wouldn't be displayed with your contactmanager (list and detail)
3) the 'new' and 'search' softkey is not responding ?
btw, scrolling at the border for first letter is really useful UI
> 1) contactmanager can't be minimized with the 'ok' button on Hermes, closing it tapping the 'X' works.
Is it something special to your device? (my problem, as a newbe with smartphone, I've no idea what you're talking about)
Regarding work tel, I added work tel to the list of phone number he tries to find, but I really should handle various phone number.
For the new and search, I just put them "for testing", they do nothing... but my question is: what button would be actually usefull?
tene said:
> 1) contactmanager can't be minimized with the 'ok' button on Hermes, closing it tapping the 'X' works.
Is it something special to your device? (my problem, as a newbe with smartphone, I've no idea what you're talking about)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has a 'OK' button (most PPC phone has this button) to minimise the app (running in memory but hidden from the screen) instead of closing, it would be good if contactmanager can be minimised.
maybe a Exit softkey button would be useful instead of 'search'
Now see I like the scrolling MUCH better in this than iContact. It might be able to slow down a bit slower but the speed that it maxes out at is good. In iContact, sometimes when I scroll it goes too fast or straight to the bottom of the contact list. That is pretty fast given that I have 100 contacts.
My only issue is that there is only one number shown (which you pointed out), and that the search and new buttons are not functional. This is a big pain with the iContact app... no ability to add a new one. I am on the CUSTEL Ultimate WM6 ROM. This is a great foundation for a contacts app!
how do I update my .net compact framework? Says mine sucks.. errr out of date? Im running a treo 750
fffizzz said:
how do I update my .net compact framework? Says mine sucks.. errr out of date? Im running a treo 750
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try that: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...2F-07B5-4A8C-8A44-B4E1B196D5C0&displaylang=en
But I've no idea if my app works on a Treo.
There is also some funkiness going on with the scroll wheel on the 8525. If you move it the contact goes straight to A and then the screen is unresponsive for a bit to finger scrolling.
My beloved o2 mini was having a few 'issues' - dropping calls, bad battery life, periods of no network - it was time for an upgrade.
So I bought a Telstra branded touch dual off ebay from a company called 'viper technologies'. I discovered why it was called that when the parcel arrived with 'Mike Metcalfe' in the 'from' section - Mike Metcalfe was Tom Skerritt's *real* name as the head instructor of 'Top Gun', otherwise known as 'Viper'.
I'd done some prereading at xda developers and discovered the Telstra version is the 850, which is the NEON and not the NIKI. On the upside the 850 apparently has a larger battery, the ability to work on Telstra NextG, an FM radio, and the power button is in a different place (the same as the o2 mini fortuitously)On the downside it has the telescopic stylus, which is fine because I tend not to use it much. I found that the fact that it was in the bottom right corner took more getting used to than the fact that it was telescopic.
Anyways. First, that telstra branding had to go. I found the right spl uploader at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=377260>, and installed version 1.06.841.4 ROM on it.
The only issues with the flashing was that I missed a crucial step of unplugging and replugging the cable, as per the instructions (in capital letters even) in the aforementioned thread.
I made my own little startup splash screen to replace the windows mobile one and stuck it in the windows directory by making a 240 x 320 pixel jpg in photoshop and naming it 'welcomehead.96.png'.
Before that, of course I had to discover that ActiveSync 4.5 is the latest version for XP, and will always be, because Vista now has some other sort of thing to transfer to mobiles. ActiveSync 4.5 has behaved itself quite well for me, much better than I remember 3.7 ever doing with the o2.
I decided to make a partnership without syncing any data at first, because I knew I'd be connecting and disconnecting and didn't want to always wait for it to sync hundreds of files before it let me do anything. At this juncture the little rubber USB port cover on the bottom first began to annoy me, but more on that later.
OK, it was time to try and make this little fella do everything the o2 could - and more. Familiarising oneself with the new WM6 was fun - the o2 ran 2003 and while they haven't changed much, there were a few things that needed getting used to.
HTC HOME VS CLAUNCHER
My thinking usually centres around getting things done efficiently. And whilst it looked so cool, I came to the realisation that HTC home had to go. The clock? Too much screen real estate (and I have a watch anyway). The message/call/appointment notifiers? I wanted to see the actual appointments written there. The launcher? Only NINE programs? Please! The weather? Firstly I didn't seem to be able to get it for Australia, and secondly... I actually realised that I don't really care about the weather that much! Ringtones? Don't use 'em. Right.
So I stumbled upon a program called clauncher, which it turns out is incredibly cool and efficient. You can just load it up, select it as a plugin and then click and hold on the empty space to access a huge variety of settings. It comes with 8 tabs for categories, like Main, Tools, Comm, Games etc etc. One of the excellent things about clauncher is that you can just import your start menu folder into an empty category and then just cut them out into the right ones. It's easy to move them with a multiple selection function and 'move up' and 'move down' buttons.
I found that keeping the icons at their native 32 pixel size looked nicest, and it's also about the right size for a thumb. I gave them a 3 pixel space between them but then I put a large right margin of 12 pixels, because clauncher has a cool feature which flips icon screens when you touch the blank part. You can also set the total height. So the sizing above gave me five icons in two rows, with a blank portion on the right to thumb to the next page. I discovered also that you can get more screen space (and a neater look) by hiding the tabs altogether.
Earlier on I'd discovered a terrible problem with clauncher - The pop down keypad would only type the first letter or number in the boxes! So I had named the second tab '2' and moved on. The lack of keyboard became an issue when I wanted to add manual shortcuts etc. Luckily I stumbled upon the fix for it. Instead of press and hold for the settings, if you access them via the 'today items' control panel, it gives you the softkey bar at the bottom, and hence your keyboard options back again.
Currently I've got four screens - my most frequently used (vaguely) apps, less frequently used apps, communications stuff and then games.
All I need to find out now is how to anchor it to the bottom part of the screen.
I noticed that WM6 no longer puts your messages on the today screen - 'no unread emails' or whatever. But a shortcut to messaging was an easy fix with clauncher.
HARDWARE KEYS/LONGPRESSENDKEY/SLIDEACTION
The lack of hardware keys was something I didn't realise I'd miss so much. The o2 had phone buttons, volume slider, camera button, the normal nav buttons PLUS appointment, contacts, and voice recorder buttons. I used to run buttonmax on my o2 which let me map press, double press and long press to each of the extra buttons.
I thought I'd found a solution in AEbuttonplus - it was free, it let me map buttons - but the only buttons I could really map were the phone ones.
So I mapped a double click on the green button to close a window (when I'm thumbing around it's actually easier to get to the bottom part of the screen, particularly when using the sliding keyboard). It was working great - until I got a phone call. The green button seems to change purpose depending on what's going on. I had mapped its usual use to 'phone', but that didn't seem to cover 'answer call' or even 'send call' - I had to use the on-screen softkeys. I'd installed 'slide action' software which had been working great, but I realised it must simulate a 'press green button' or something, because it stopped working for phone functions too. So AEbuttonplus had to go.
The small consolation came with the 'longpressendkey' setting somebody thoughtfully put in the ROM - I can at least set my phone to vibrate with one key, which I could never do easily on the o2. I'd love to see 'longpressendkey' set up to allow any customisable link, and while they're at it, make BOTH the green and red keys mappable for single, double and triple press as well as long press. That would give six extra hardware key options and make up for the lack of them elsewhere. Anyways.
ACTIVESYNC/MACROREADER/CEREGEDITOR
Dang it, I stuffed around for a LONG time trying to solve this. On my o2 I had a hardware macro (double press contacts key) which would start activesync, and then another activesync specific hardware macro (hold contacts key) to connect bluetooth and start synchronising. And then to disconnect, I was running the Magic Button task manager and a tap on the X would disconnect and close activesync.
How to do it? I didn't have hardware keys, I didn't have macros, OR didn't I? I ended up discovering a little piece of software here:
http://vitotechnology.com/en/products/download.php?ID=1645&BID=23
in what seemed to be the VITO 'boneyard' where they keep all the seconds and dodgy stuff - I couldn't find a link to it on the main site. It was called 'MacroRecorder' and it comes with no manual or other information. But it works if you just want to record a tap-based macro. Next problem then - how to make a tap for starting Activesync always be in the same place?
You gotta love those registry hacks. I found a program called CERegEditor which lets you connect up the phone, and then edit the registry on your PC. Sure beats keying in all the weird info on the tiny screen using the tiny buttons.
I remapped the bottom left softkey to ActiveSync using the Key 112 registry entry, and now I had my solution to making a tap-based macro. MacroRecorder isn't that tricky actually - you just start the exe, click the okay screen, do your thang, and then press the little red square which has appeared in the middle of the screen to finish. It asks for a name and then creates a file in the same folder as the exe, which you can put wherever. I created an entry for it in clauncher, gave it the activesync icon (Windows\repllog.exe) and now I can start activesync and connect via bluetooth with one press!
While I was there in the registry I did a few other tweaks like making the scroll bars 15 pixels wide (the widest you can make them whilst keeping the 'settings' screen three icons wide) and making the date one line instead of two. There's a list of registry tweaks here:
http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=50029&st=0
Getting activesync to close and disconnect in one action was a bit trickier. None of the task managers I tried would close activesync down altogether, like magic button used to do on my o2. I found some trial software which advertised the ability to 'close activesync on disconnect', which it DID... but the only problem was that it wouldn't OPEN it again when you reconnected.
Given that WM6 now gives you the option of the OK button actually closing things rather than minimising, Magic button sadly had no use anymore. Goodbye, trusty software.
So it seems I've gained a step in making Activesync connection a one-click process... but I've lost my one-click disconnection. Oh well. There's some software which people talk about which was supposed to be able to automatically schedule bluetooth connections, but it sadly seems to have disappeared.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
PART 2
MS READER
I had been using MS reader for my ebooks and it worked fine on my o2, but for some reason it seemed to be painfully slow on the dual. I ended up converting my .lit files using 'convertLit' and downloading Mobipocket to read them. It's not quite as pretty as MS reader, but it's definitely faster to load, and it takes you to your last read book straight away instead of having to go through all the intro screens. Second shortcut in clauncher, then!
TOUCHFLO
Well that cubey thing is super cool - so I spent considerable time trying to get it to have the elusive fourth face. BUT then I asked myself, 'what does touchflo do that I can't do with one press in clauncher?'
About this time I had to hard reset and rebuild everything because I'd added in some irrepairable registry stuff and the cube was whacked out completely.
I left it as three sides, then. Now - it's not immediately obvious, but the 'quicktasks' screen that comes up when you open the slider is actually part of the Touchflo 'family' and it's settings are in the same place in the registry.
So it was relatively easy to replace the 'Email' on the third side of the cube with 'new email' from the APlauncher screen, 'SMS' with 'new SMS', 'Notes' with 'new note' and 'calendar' with 'new appointment'. That way the icons matched up just great.
The problem is that now that I've figured out the shortcuts, it's probably just as easy to put an icon in clauncher for them! So rather than 1. turn on, 2. swipe up, 3. swipe across, 4. press icon; you could eliminate the swipes...
I'm finding too, that new things involving contacts (SMS, MMS, email, phone calls) are best handled by sliding out the keypad, typing the first few letters, click down to them with the navigation keys and press the centre key. Then you get a screen with options to call any of their numbers, text them or email them.
If you go the 'new message' route, you have to access the contacts list in a far more cumbersome manner - smaller type entries which are harder to click with your thumbnail and that you either have to scroll to or type an exact match for it.
I've also found the following when using the touchflo features:
* to get the touch cube every time, start at the htc logo and sweep up with the thumbnail.
* you don't have to be 'twitchy' with the photo gestures. A slower and deliberate circle or half circle tends to make it do what you're asking a lot better - more nail, less finger for the photo stuff too.
* for scrolling, press quite firmly, and use a lot of finger surface area. Too much nail tends to make it click. I imagine I'm smudging stuff off my finger and that seems to work well. For long scrolls do a finger 'flick'.
THAT RUBBER COVER
After only a few days of activesyncing, I noticed the rubber cover on the USB port was starting to not close flush anymore. A bit of research turned up that it was an extremely common problem. So I bit the bullet and cut it off, but I cut it in a way that I could put it back on if I wanted, by slitting through one of the sections that anchors around the little pin, leaving the rubber in a hook shape to hold it in when needed. I tried putting it in the freezer for a time, but that seemed to have no effect, and I was already sick of pulling it off everytime I plugged it in to charge or whatever. So I trimmed that baby off, right next to the middle section, so that it was still held in at two points, but so that the USB port was now exposed. I then took the remaining bit and trimmed it right close to its anchor thing, and slotted it back as well. So now the USB port is exposed but none of the ugly holes which the rubber thing slotted into are. I shouldn't have to worry about wear (because I'm not taking it off all the time) or expansion bulging (because it has one free edge), and because of the way the curves sit it looks like a nicely recessed USB port. I'm not certain the tiny little piece will stay put, but if it falls off (and I can still find it) I could easily put a spot of glue on it - it doesn't look too bad without that little bit anyway. If I did it again I'd probably leave a little bit more rubber on the side closest to the centre, so that the USB port looks better centred in the hole. (see attached pic)
CLOSING THE CAMERA/ALBUM
I found that pressing the X on the camera only minimised it. Fortunately there's a registry tweak called ok_minimize which you can change to make it actually close the app.
IE
Internet explorer is a dog for scrolling big pages. Replace your webview.dll file and it's much better.
.lnk FOR 'PROGRAMS' FOLDER
If you make an .lnk to the programs folder normally, it opens in a file explorer window - not cool. The solution is to make it point to the HTC app 'folderview.exe' and it works a treat. 'Settings' is not so simple though. You can map to individual control panels but not the main one with them all in there. A bit of a weird one.
Anyway, all in all I can't wait to put my dual to work now that it's been primed and readied - my wishlist at the moment would be:
* map double/triple/hold functions to the phone keys
* get slideclose to send a 'close current app' command rather than just go back to today screen
* align clauncher to the bottom of today screen (easier to thumb, and looks neater)
* figure out an .lnk file for the 'settings' control panel (this seems surprisingly difficult - in fact I installed some software that remapped the start menu and I couldn't get into 'settings' to remove it!)
* find a taskmanager or utility that actually kills activesync while it's connected
* to get faster at typing with the dang half-qwerty keyboard!
* I reckon a taskswitcher that used the touchflo 'across' gesture to scroll between open apps would be really cool.
There you have it - hope some or all of that is actually helpful! Thanks to all you guys out there cooking ROMs, writing software and thinking outside the box.
Cheers
jbng
jesus christ are you competing for the longest post of the year award??
holy crap !! i read it from the very beginning and never read such a post before ..... well done dude !! and keep up posting ;-)
re : * find a taskmanager or utility that actually kills activesync while it's connected
i searched such a tool a long time ... never got something which lets me charge niki without syncing on the pc.
workaround: i placed the network connection of my niki on my xp taskbar . when i want to sync then i enable network connection - if not, disable . not the best solution , i know , however - it works and since then i got used to it.
cheers
I take my hat off for these post's! Great job man!
nice post, even better to know there are people out there that search for answers before posting question after question
jbngar said:
I found that pressing the X on the camera only minimised it. Fortunately there's a registry tweak called ok_minimize which you can change to make it actually close the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try changing the setting in settings -> task manager -> button -> to end program by tapping x, works ok for me
WEEK 2
Week 2 of touch dual has been a whole lot of fun. I'm still looking for an absolute 'killer' of an app that will make anyone and everyone go 'oooh, aaaaah - that's SO much better than your o2 mini could ever do'... but I'm yet to come across it. The most impressive thing is the voice activation, but whenever I show someone and tell it to 'play track twenty' it always seems to try and 'ring jack henty' or something like that.
AEBUTTON PLUS
I thought I'd try a trial full version of AEButton plus. I began by mapping a double centre-nav press for 'ok/close' and several other cool things to the left and right nav buttons. Worked great, for a time, until I tried typing. It turns out the 'enter' key on the slider does exactly the same thing as the centre press, and so every time I'd make a new paragraph I'd close the window! Not to mention all the weird and wonderful things that would happen when I went to correct a mistake. Click back... click back... click and hold... and the screen is rotating and all sorts of applications are launching!
So I realised the reason that most button mappers don't let you map the nav keys.
The camera button had issues too - even though it was mapped to let a single press do the default action, it wouldn't take a photo. No good.
The red button wouldn't work for some reason either, I can't remember why, but all I know is that I was left with my button mappings on the green button only:
single press = default action, double press = ok, triple press = switch application, hold = close application.
3G, GSM, INTERNET and MMS
The big news this week was the arrival of my 3G sim card. Both of them. I'd ordered one from Optus about a week and a half ago with the promise of '2-3 days'. It didn't come so I rang again and was told 'there's no record of you being sent one, we'll send you another'. And they both arrived on the same day - one at work and one at home.
Then I rang at lunchtime thursday to activate it, and then spent most of the rest of the day restarting the phone to see if it had provisioned in the '15 minute to four hour' window they gave me. I ended up slipping the card into an old Nokia 3200 when I got sick of waiting for the dual to boot up and hang when it was looking for the network. The Nokia flashed up a much more informative 'sim card not registered' message, which it continued to flash up until I gave up late on Thursday night. But in the morning, wonder of wonders, it was working! My family breathed a sigh of relief because they didn't have to listen to the dodgy Nokia startup tune any more.
The first thing I did was try the internet and it performed very respectably. But MMS messages refused to work.
I made a couple of calls to Optus to get the settings and was told 'you have to enter them manually'. So I faffed around with that for ages. The problem seemed to be that MMS would work if 'mms' was the default setting, but then internet wouldn't work. If I changed the default to 'internet', then MMS stopped working. Rah!
Then I discovered in the connections settings an icon called 'network wizard'. I thought it was for WiFi or something. But after clicking it, selecting the provider and restarting, everything worked just fine! Thanks for the heads up, tech support guys! I'll be sending them an email shortly.
3G tends to use more battery, so I tried a tool called bandswitcher to easily change between GSM and 3G, but it didn't help my config problems. And I thought that if I lock it to GSM, if someone tries to video call me it won't work; and if I lock it to 3G, if I go out of coverage it won't switch over. So 'Auto' it was.
BLUETOOTH RANGE
The bluetooth range seems to be a bit paltry on the dual. I tried switching off 'secure connection' and it was marginally better, but I couldn't connect from the next room like I could with my o2. Once the connection is established it seems to be better, but I have to say activesync via bluetooth has been flakier than I'd like - with lots of dropouts etc.
KEYSWOP
Try as I might, the shortcut path '\windows\poutlook.exe calendar -new' that was working for 'new appointment' on the touchflo cube would not map to the right softkey using the registry. So I found a free utility called 'keyswop' which makes .lnk files and helps you to map them to the softkeys. So everything in the software side of the touchflo cube is now in clauncher, a softkey or something else:
* New SMS/MMS/email - open keyboard, press first few letters of name, press 'send message'
* New appointment - press right softkey, enter details
* New note - open notes from clauncher, press left softkey
* IE/comm manager - clauncher icons
CLAUNCHER
Speaking of Clauncher, since last week I now have 15 icons (3 rows of 5) and less screens. It's very seldom that my appointments push it off the bottom of the screen, and if they do it's easily scrollable.
Further to my last investigations about needing to access the options via the today settings control panel to get the keyboard, I've found that you ALSO have to use the bog standard WM6 'keyboard' option - the other HTC keyboards will only give numbers. This seems to be the case in some other applications like Visnotes too. Visnotes is an awesome free application for storing encrypted numbers like bank accounts etc which uses an innovative 'password' - you press three times on a picture in preset places.
TYPING and XT9
I tried out an application called 'touchpal' which advertised itself as 'typing faster than a hardware keyboard'. But I think the dual's 2.6" screen is just a bit small for it to be effective. I've decided to stick with the half-qwerty keyboard and just keep practicing - and it seems to be paying off. My goal is to get to the stage where I can type without looking at the keys with either two hands or one.
XT9 is actually incredibly intelligent software. It uses complex algorithms based on what keys were near the one you actually typed, and combines them with its dictionaries to guess what you were trying to type. And it does very, very well. Anything that can guess the word 'friend' from the keystrokes 'ddeuabd' or 'thorough' from 'ggoedoujgg' is pretty darn clever.
The issue I had was that the default keyboard kept going back to 'ABC' aka multitap. This was fixed by switching the registry key CarrierDefaultTextMode as outlined here:
http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=97265
A couple of other xt9 tips:
* I found I had to use thumbnails (not thumbs) for the keys to avoid double pressing etc.
* For two handed entry, the 'Alt' key is quickest to access numbers and symbols on the top of the keys. For one handed entry, pressing and holding does the same thing.
* every so often XT9 uses a strange default word. My issues were 'boy' for 'not', and 'st' for 'at'. You can fix this by typing and selecting the word you want three times in a row. This seems to 'teach' it and sets it as the first word it chooses each time.
* the first row of symbols can be quickly accessed by holding down * and the relevant number (e.g. *7 will give you a smiley).
I *wish* there was some way to change the symbol matrix. The first three in the first row are already on hardware keys (.,?!) and the next ones are smileys. I would like to at least put a hyphen in the top row so I could access it without leaving the hardware keyboard. I've found the easiest way to enter symbols is to scroll to the row and use their numbers.
ACB TASKMAN
This software tells you which actual PROCESSES you are running. Quite useful. I used it to close down AEButtonPlus when it was mucking up.
I think that's about it for now - the main outstanding issues are still a shortcut to the settings control panel, and a way to align clauncher to the bottom of the today screen.
Otherwise, enjoy!
PS. A fun app I found is called 'guesser' - it basically gives you random numbers for all sorts of things like heads/tails, yes/no, agree/disagree, A/B/C/D, alphabet, 1-100 etc. We were with some friends the other night and everyone picked a number between 1 and 100 and the winner was the first one to have guesser pick their number. Fun in a bizarre kind of way...
Blimey, Claunch is nice, but I swapped to Ultimate Launch, just for the Today plugins within Tabs and animations, plus lots of Icons for it. If you do swap, remove cLaunch first as it buggered up my UL when I removed it afterwards.
Hello guys!
I think many of us came to the thinking that, though TouchFLO 3D is great UI, we should make something alternate, something that better fits our needs. And now, i think i'm ready to create one, but first we should decide how should it look like and how should it operate.
So, i propose a kind of "brainstorming contest" where you decide about the look of a new UI. But to avoid this turning into an annoying feature request list ("more tasks on today! please! please! please!" ), here are the rules:
- NO text-only suggestions - every post s/b illustrated with pen-and-paper drawing
- NO screenshots or photoshop cooks - only hand-drawings or something that look like em (yes, you can use digitizer tablet )
- drawings are NOT required to be professional - just something to illustrate you thoughts
- you are NOT required to develop the complete UI - you may just post suggestions about UI parts, but preferred things are unique navigation idea (try to forget about tabs), apps\tabs convergence, brand new useful apps/tabs
- best contributors ideas (possible with Manila API) will be implemented and their names will be listed in "About..." screen
Posts that violate rules (even best of them), will be ignored.
That's it.
maybe this is too open ended.. do you haev some ideas of your own that you might want to put forward?
omniwolf said:
maybe this is too open ended.. do you haev some ideas of your own that you might want to put forward?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm already implementing ideas of my own
I just wanted to know what do folks think/dream about
show us whatcha go then!
I think D-MAN666 doesn't want to influence people, this is a brainstorming If he starts with his idea, it is probable that nobody will post a completely different concept...
This might be a useful start for interface design:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=397220
One thing I would love to see is a radial menu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_menu
Similar to tap-and-hold for a context menu, but instead of a list popping up, a radial menu appears. You could fit 8-12 options around the circle, which would cover TF3d's pages.
So in usage, tap for the popup radial menu, then:
- swipe up for Contacts
- swipe right for Music
- swipe down for Home
- etc
IMO, it's much easier to be accurate in swiping at different angles/directions than it is to be precise with the default TF3d slider tabs, so you could really speed your way through the interface. The same could apply elsewhere: tap and hold a contact, then swipe up to call, left to SMS, right to email, etc.
For other thoughts, here's a read on interface optimization (for the technically inclined):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitts's_law
And maybe later if I'm bored I'll draw some mockups
http://microsoft.blognewschannel.co...bile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/
sorry for breaking the rules, but everyone else is lol...thats a link to the WM7 concept design...along with theoretical gestures...i really digg the battery bar on the bottom and the reception bar...
Ill be the first then...
A quick drawing i knocked up... manila stays very much the same but basicaly show page navigation on the manila both horizontal and vertical..
I hope its clear enough
2 ideas here
I am going to break the rules since I'ma t work and can't really be seen drawing lol.
Here they are:
- Make use of the touch capacitative ability of the the buttons panel. It's made up of three touch panels. Maybe a swipe from left to right to unlock and right to left to lock.
- Display applications within tabs. Ex: Being able to display Icontact when sliding to the contact tab.
And for UI inspiration, I would look here:
http://www.throttlelauncher.com/portal/setupsaskins/45-091setups/69-new-minimal-flow-theme
Ok, here's my concept
The general idea is to keep most of manilla look'n feel, just remove useless animations/transitions, and change the home screen.
Changes : on the right side of the screen, a scrollbar similar to the "contacts" one appears. It controls the content of the box under the clock.
On the left, a button to maximize (take the place of the clock) the box, and a fast vibrator/ring permutation button.
So, by scrolling the bar, the content of the box changes, could be call log, contacts, fast program launcher, music player, and so on.
The idea is to keep complex functionalities (camera, tv, etc) needing full screen accessible by the manilla bar, and quick&fast features such as logs, sms, player accessible on the main screen.
Nice idea, man
Hi there,
just a thought on a possible gui for the UI, instead of tabs, layers (don't know if that's possible, but it would be very cool imho)
you could have multiple layers, and have the layers in the backgound fade out and become smaller (perspective) and use a swipe up or down to navigate
Anything happening on here?
Just wondering
SinnerNL said:
Hi there,
just a thought on a possible gui for the UI, instead of tabs, layers (don't know if that's possible, but it would be very cool imho)
you could have multiple layers, and have the layers in the backgound fade out and become smaller (perspective) and use a swipe up or down to navigate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great idea!
like the game u can get on Playstation 3... where u 'swim' around collecting stuff and going thru lvls....
I'm thinking that the Ximoon idea is quite good but one thing that should be included is landscape option and I'm not talking about TP version but one with the same functions like the portrait one
I like the idea of the circular menus...
well first of all thanks to you guys you are doing awsome work and its always funn spendin my free time in your forums
now to my idea
does anybody know the film : the lawnmower man? theres one scene almost at the end of the film where he tries to escape to the internet i think the idea is quite amazing movn in a bowl and havin litle windows to select.
what do ya think
this is the link to the movie scene just skip it forward to about 5 minutes
Edit: sry forgot the link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doAnB5_eDnw&feature=related
Hi folks,
searched around this forum (and others) unsuccessfully for hours now, maybe someone knows what i'm looking for.
I don't like the procedure of confirming appointments or tasks provided by WM6 in combination with tf3d.
If you can't confirm the alarm instantly it disappears after a while and the softkey is overruled by tf3d.
As you all know you have to press the top bar and after that the bell in the upcoming screen to bring the reminder in front and if you want to be reminded later you need two more fingertips.
What i am looking for (or what i'm dreaming about) is a fingerfriendly dialog (maybe in a transparent curtain style corresponding to tf3d or so) popping up and staying in front of the screen until it is confirmed, containig the information about the task or appointment, maybe the current time, buttons for confirmation or repeating after a while.
By the way a big thank you to all the developers and contributors, this forum is No.1 and helped me a lot for years now.
Thanks in advance
Me too!
Yeah, I'll second that! Bloody annoying when the pop-up disappears before you get a chance to interact with it. If anyone has a solution to this, I'm all ears
Pop up stays put when using S2U2
Cheers...
hays said:
Pop up stays put when using S2U2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks my friend... been using another screen lock app, S2U2 is alot better I have to say - and FREE!
Hmmm....., S2U2,
i followed the developing from on the beginning and used it on my old prophet (at this point a lot of thanks to A_C for this excellent piece of work) but found that the handling of appointments when popping up wasn't as good as the rest of the app.
The appointment comes up (as the native windows dialog, which is, let me say, not very beautyful, also the top bar comes up, cutting of the S2U2 clock) and stays on the S2U2 screen but if you don't recognize it and the device goes into stand-by and you switch it on later the pop-up is gone (at least on the prophet), which is no problem on a classic today screen, but on a tf3d screen the softeys are overruled and you have the "problem" described in my first post.
And as a locking solution you have some other opportunities today, SlideToAnswer and TouchlockPro are fitting my needs better on the diamond.
Also in times of eyecandy i think this dialog is a missing link in the chain of beautyness.
So i'm still in hope that someone has a recommendation, but maybe it's not a problem for the most.
I have done much searching across xda and the web and have still yet to find what i am looking for. I have a diamond and like many people i disabled the HTC dialer due to the ring delay.
I have been using the standard wm dialer. I am quite happy with the incall screen this provides but i am unhappy with just one aspect of the dialing screen. I like the smart dialing feature and use this all the time only ever using "contacts" for sms. BUT I find that sometimes it is difficult to select a name from the rather small list above the keypad. I dont see the point in the dialed digits being displayed so large as they do not need to be selected with a finger. I have therefore been looking for a way to reduce the size of the dialed numbers and increase the size of the contacts in the list. Couldnt find any tweak to do this
I did find a program yesterday (cant remember its name now) that displayed easily selectable tabs in place of the small menu items sadly twas qvga only and develpment had been stopped years ago. I have looked at using alternatives such as phonex ect but these come with incall screens and call history lists ect which i dont need or want. All i want is slightly larger menu items OR a simple dialer screen only, no incall screen ect but i would like it to look nice tho.
Does anyone know how this mod could be made or of any app suitable? I've attatched a screeny to give you an idea of what i mean
Thanks Guys and Gals
I'm interested too