pinch to zoom for n900

[hopbeat]

Hello,

probably many people have seen this kind of tricks. I'm thinking about using this technique for something more interesting than just overrated gesture, so I have made this in Qt as a preparation.

Maybe someone will find it entertaining :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNTsIut1h98

[AlexDT]

Huuuh, can we use this for browserzooming eventually :O

[pycage]

I once tried to make something like this for image zooming in MediaBox. Too bad this gesture cannot be well detected on a resistive touch screen. It kinda worked but was awkward so I decided to not keep it in.
And you may only move one finger...

[hopbeat]

@AlexDT, it is not really comfortable to use, I guess you are better off with double-tap or even circular move.

@pycage, yes, it is not really the best option for gestures. I hope I will use it in a bit different way :)

[edit] for those who has never seen this, it is not anything special or innovative. Just that the Internet is cheap so I'm posting it :)

[vietn900]

i never use that feature so i dont really mind :P i found double tap is better :D

[Haus3r]

i never use that feature so i dont really mind :P i found double tap is better :D

Yeah I have to agree - I mainly use doubletap.

[BlueGene]

I also think pinch zooming is some idea of apple which is mainly interesting for marketing because it LOOKS intuitive and cool. But IMHO in reality, it is quite uncomfortable to do this motion with the fingers. at the same time you barely see anything on the screen because your hand is over it. It's the same thing whith the swirl-zoom. In daily use, the double tap is sufficient and if I need more accurate zoom I use the volume buttons.

[guy2die4]

can we get the double tap zoom to work with images in the gallery as well????

[BlueGene]

can we get the double tap zoom to work with images in the gallery as well????

and in ovi-maps, too, please!

[fusi]

pinchzoom is a mostly a gimmick imo - only place where i can see the usefulness of multitouch is onscreen keyboards

[grumps312]

that's cool, how can the n900 do pinch zoom if it doesn't support multi touch? o.O

[Alan_Peery]

pinchzoom is a mostly a gimmick imo - only place where i can see the usefulness of multitouch is onscreen keyboards

It really shines in interactive mapping applications. Borrow an iPhone for a fifiteen minute play session with Maps or the OffMap app. Use it to zoom into views of the places you've gone on holiday. Then see if the gesture crops up the next time you use maep or MaemoMapper on the N900. It certainly did for me...

[HtheB]

Hello,

probably many people have seen this kind of tricks. I'm thinking about using this technique for something more interesting than just overrated gesture, so I have made this in Qt as a preparation.

Maybe someone will find it entertaining :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNTsIut1h98

How is your project going on now? :)

[Jeromeo]

You might wanna take a look at this SDK for multitouch on a resistive screen:
http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2010/04/19/multi-touch-dual-touch-sdk-for-resistive-touchscreens-released/

[ysss]

How about triple-tap-and (vertical) slide to zoom?

[zimon]

How about triple-tap-and (vertical) slide to zoom?

Also volume-keys could transform to zoom-keys after triple-click.
Would go back to volume-keys role after N (5?) seconds releasing the swing button.

The center of the zoom would be the point of the last tap in the triple-tab.

[ysss]

@zimon: nice ideas...

Or perhaps a simpler method is to create a special area in the context menu that pops up when you tap-hold. Maybe just a thin vertical strip on the side of the menu so it doesn't take much screen size, and when you point the stylus in this area the whole context menu becomes transparent and you can control zoom level via vertical movements.

[zimon]

Using stylus is ok, but it should work also without stylus.

[ysss]

@zimon: yeah, i personally don't use stylus much.

[rmerren]

There are some apps (numpty physics, microb browser) that have a gesture for sliding from the left edge of the screen onto the screen to bring up a menu. This would be good for zooming--just slide from the left and the zoom slider appears there for a few seconds. Would be both finger and stylus friendly.

It would have been cool if Nokia had allowed us to read touches outside the screen area...a slide up or down on the left or right side would have been a nice gesture.

[ysss]

They could even surround the screen with a different set of touchsensitive sensors for these types of controls, effectively making it pseudo multitouch. You can still get precise one-point control on the screen while your other finger manipulates image zoom level, rotation and whatnot with the second set of touch sensor around the screen.

[m4r0v3r]

how come Angry Birds has pinch and zoom?

[Dragoss91]

I can't zoom in angry birds rio , I'm doing it wrong or I need to install something ?

[rolcrz]

You don't need to install anything extra. The pinch to zoom does work, although it's a bit unreliable and takes several tries to work.