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rapante
2009-12-20, 22:47
The main idea behind this Brainstorm is to improve the display of the battery charge level of the n900

Currently the only information display is a rough iconised / graphical representation of the battery within the status bar and status menu (touch/click the status bar). It would be nice to have some for of percentage displayed somewhere in the UI

I've added a possible solution, feel free to add your own

thanks

link to brainstorm: http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/better_display_of_battery_charge_level/

This is what it could look like:

http://static.maemo.org/static/a/ab4f9f7cedbb11de866a69f4e7b5c11bc11b_battery_charg e.png
http://static.maemo.org/static/9/91736ca2ef0811de80d2d133b689894a894a_battery_charg e_3.png
http://static.maemo.org/static/9/9abe5358ef4e11deb95a7197171720252025_battery_charg e_4.png

Edit: just updated the graphical representation of the percentage on my proposed screenshots to make it all a little better to understand

Helmuth
2009-12-22, 10:31
Is it techniccaly possible to get the level of the Battery during Charging?

If so I had a additional proposal... :rolleyes:

noobmonkey
2009-12-22, 10:57
Edit - Not sure whilst charging is possible?

Try here http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=36613&highlight=n900+battery+percentage

Also, i think the picture at the top is missing the percentage number :) - bar's just aren't good enough for some! :)
edit edit! - now I'm confused that top pic has the bars at the bottom, and top, and the percentage that i didn't' notice earlier, sorry!
But wayyyy to much!
Just needs one small percentage like at the top surely? - makes the bottom 5 bars redundant.

Helmuth
2009-12-22, 11:11
The Bottom is not the accu. It's the Screen illumination. ;)

Antoine
2009-12-22, 11:57
I agree, this is a good idea. because the graphic battery is not precise enough to know how much battery left we've got, especially when the battery is low.

rapante
2009-12-22, 13:09
Edit - Not sure whilst charging is possible?

Try here http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=36613&highlight=n900+battery+percentage

Also, i think the picture at the top is missing the percentage number :) - bar's just aren't good enough for some! :)
edit edit! - now I'm confused that top pic has the bars at the bottom, and top, and the percentage that i didn't' notice earlier, sorry!
But wayyyy to much!
Just needs one small percentage like at the top surely? - makes the bottom 5 bars redundant.

those 5 bars are the "simple brightness app" which is not part of this proposal, sorry for the confusion.

the added percentage at the top is the only thing I'd like to see added

statwrangler
2009-12-22, 13:36
Why not add a continuous horizontal bar behind the text in the battery display in the first post? This is commonly done elsewhere. A continuous bar would graphically represent the percentage more precisely than the current discrete (limited resolution vertical) display. Some folks like numbers, some like pictures. I suggest giving both.

rapante
2009-12-22, 14:01
Why not add a continuous horizontal bar behind the text in the battery display in the first post? This is commonly done elsewhere. A continuous bar would graphically represent the percentage more precisely than the current discrete (limited resolution vertical) display. Some folks like numbers, some like pictures. I suggest giving both.

feel free to add you solution to the brainstorm :) and don't forget to vote

rapante
2009-12-22, 14:53
made a better graphical representation of my proposal acordingly to statwranglers idea (thanks :)), added them to solution #1 as well as to the first post in the thread

noobmonkey
2009-12-22, 15:33
The Bottom is not the accu. It's the Screen illumination. ;)

hehe - you can tell i was having a senior moment :)


I like the second picture - looks good! :)

Fargus
2009-12-22, 15:38
Just a thought regqarding the second picture - could you XOR the text to use black on green and white on black so that easier to read?

rapante
2009-12-22, 23:18
Just a thought regqarding the second picture - could you XOR the text to use black on green and white on black so that easier to read?

just added the XOR version for you to compare

statwrangler
2009-12-23, 01:46
made a better graphical representation of my proposal acordingly to statwranglers idea (thanks :)), added them to solution #1 as well as to the first post in the thread

My, but you are fast! I like it. But I like even more the long sound bar in the upper right: tiny icon, long, informative bar -- but, in the battery case, with percent in text added. (((No need to use space for the text "Battery"; the icon is universal.))) The sound format, but with percent added, would seem to me to make the best use of space.

jkq
2009-12-23, 05:34
My, but you are fast! I like it. But I like even more the long sound bar in the upper right: tiny icon, long, informative bar -- but, in the battery case, with percent in text added. (((No need to use space for the text "Battery"; the icon is universal.))) The sound format, but with percent added, would seem to me to make the best use of space.

Rephrasing statwrangler's idea a bit, how about having the charge percentage be the "speaker icon", then use the rest of the space for the graphical bar? Then we also don't have to worry about changing the text color like in the screenshot on the first post. :)

I agree on dropping the "Battery" text too.

Does anyone know if we can actually replace the stock battery status widget? It would be a shame (and a waste of a slot) if th original can't be replaced and we have to run two indicators.

-jkq

rapante
2009-12-23, 08:53
I'd advice against using the same size as the sound bar, as it would

1. make it look crammed, sometimes it is better to leave a bit more space between the different elements to better convey the information they are carrying.

2. leave space for another element that someday might need space (always think into the future ;))

3. just look a lot better in my opinion :)

Matan
2009-12-23, 08:57
Why not add a continuous horizontal bar behind the text in the battery display in the first post? This is commonly done elsewhere. A continuous bar would graphically represent the percentage more precisely than the current discrete (limited resolution vertical) display. Some folks like numbers, some like pictures. I suggest giving both.

The problem with this is that it makes the text less readable.

Fargus
2009-12-23, 08:59
just added the XOR version for you to compare

Thanks for that - exactly what I meant :)

DaSilva
2009-12-23, 09:18
Could you edit the pictures and the solution so that the bar is green on >65%, orange for >32% and red for <33% (or maybe more steps)?

admiral0
2009-12-23, 09:30
Anybody knows how to get that info?

As n900 does not have a bios we do not have /proc/acpi and its counterpart in /sys/. Where is the battery info located?

strank
2009-12-23, 10:16
Anybody knows how to get that info?

$ hal-device bme | grep 'percentage\|current\|design'
battery.voltage.design = 4200 (0x1068) (int)
battery.reporting.current = 1222 (0x4c6) (int)
battery.voltage.current = 4088 (0xff8) (int)
battery.charge_level.percentage = 96 (0x60) (int)
battery.charge_level.design = 8 (0x8) (int)
battery.charge_level.current = 8 (0x8) (int)
battery.reporting.design = 1269 (0x4f5) (int)


More info: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=432336

Helmuth
2009-12-24, 23:05
I've Added a new Solution: #6 - Show approximately remaining charging time... (http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/better_display_of_battery_charge_level/)

It's additional to Solution #1. During charging it's not possible to show the current Battery Level in %.

But we can calculate the Charging time using the Battery Voltage and show this instead of the Level. In my opinion a useful information. It's not exact enought to show the current level in % but exact enought to calculate the approximate Time of charging. :)

http://static.maemo.org/static/a/a400ce18f0df11deb710398cf64d0c7c0c7c_maemo_battery _carging.png

TheBootroo
2009-12-27, 21:11
i dont want percentage, but i want the real level during charging, with just a indicator on the icon to show that the device is charging, eventually blinking....

anapospastos
2009-12-28, 14:18
I've Added a new Solution: #6 - Show approximately remaining charging time... (http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/better_display_of_battery_charge_level/)

It's additional to Solution #1. During charging it's not possible to show the current Battery Level in %.

But we can calculate the Charging time using the Battery Voltage and show this instead of the Level. In my opinion a useful information. It's not exact enought to show the current level in % but exact enought to calculate the approximate Time of charging. :)

http://static.maemo.org/static/a/a400ce18f0df11deb710398cf64d0c7c0c7c_maemo_battery _carging.png
Yeah like my psp which is very accurate. Voted.

joenix
2009-12-28, 14:34
I have filed an enhancement request on this issue here:
bug #5594 (https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5594)

Technical comments can be posted there. Other discussion is better suited for the forum or brainstorm.

R-R
2009-12-28, 14:47
% of battery remaining is nice, time to charge is too...

But why not also a click-able alternate choice for usage time remaining on battery according to load? There was something like that on the n810 and well, on every laptop battery applet ever...

tuminoid
2009-12-29, 16:19
% of battery remaining is nice, time to charge is too...

But why not also a click-able alternate choice for usage time remaining on battery according to load? There was something like that on the n810 and well, on every laptop battery applet ever...
Simply having display on is major waste of battery, so whenever you view how much time you have left, its radically affected by having display on. Also CPU won't be in any sleep state as X, WM, desktop etc have to be active.

The only thing you could display there is remaining active use-time. Which in all smartphones is just some hours (less than 12) and you could simplify it to: "one eight of battery bar is one hour of active use".

So, displaying some text stating the same is simply waste of screen estate.

maya
2009-12-31, 18:14
I'm testing a widget called BATLEVEL I found the site 'my-maemo' and that shows the percentage of the battery on the desktop.

http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php?u=36078jotq9&i=178978

link:http://my-maemo.com/software/applications.php?name=BatLevel&fldAuto=1098&faq=32

tissot
2009-12-31, 18:27
I'm testing a widget called BATLEVEL I found the site 'my-maemo' and that shows the percentage of the battery on the desktop.

http://www.imageuploads.net/ims/pic.php?u=36078jotq9&i=178978

link:http://my-maemo.com/software/applications.php?name=BatLevel&fldAuto=1098&faq=32

Should be this http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=38749

maya
2010-01-01, 15:10
Should be this http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=38749

yes,correct. But it seems that consumes lots of battery. :(

DaSilva
2010-01-01, 15:19
Yeah, I noticed the same...

Thor
2010-01-01, 15:22
No worries trying to preserve space in the "status" screen (from the desktops "title" bar). I have a lot of things there now and there is a vertical scroll bar, and it scrolls up and down.

At the moment
-usual battery metre
-volume bar
-clock & alarms
-profile
-internet connection
-bluetooth
-availability
-usb connected
-open vpn
-front camera button
-screenshot button
-display brightness (revealed once i scrolled down)

MartinNZ
2010-01-12, 11:11
just my 2cents:
the current charge indicator is fine and doesnt need to change. what i would like to see changed i the charging animation so that it doesnt play through the full loop but only drops to the current charge level.

MartinNZ
2010-01-12, 11:36
if the battery charge level really cannot be polled during charging then my idea above could still be implemented running a function that takes the time since charging began to estimate how far the green charge level should drop while looping the charge level animation.

phyneex
2010-01-13, 15:59
Can anyone tell me how to install this? I am a total noobie... or is this still in development?

Helmuth
2010-01-27, 15:22
if the battery charge level really cannot be polled during charging then my idea above could still be implemented running a function that takes the time since charging began to estimate how far the green charge level should drop while looping the charge level animation.

Don't forget. Charging from the wall with 1.5A or via USB with 0.5A is the factor 3 on the time.
The only indicator could be the battery voltage. It's still reported during charging. But it's not a very accurate indicator.

Can anyone tell me how to install this? I am a total noobie... or is this still in development?

It's only Brainstorming what could be possible and what the users could like. Sorry. ;)

romanianusa
2010-02-03, 00:59
While you're at it...please put a "DATE" above the timer...like 2-2-10 or Feb 10 in small digits.

That way you always know what date it is just like the timer.

Helmuth
2010-02-04, 13:51
While you're at it...please put a "DATE" above the timer...like 2-2-10 or Feb 10 in small digits.

That way you always know what date it is just like the timer.

You can see the Date in the Clock and Alarms field below the battery charge level. :)

romanianusa
2010-02-04, 16:28
You can see the Date in the Clock and Alarms field below the battery charge level. :)

I know but i don't want to touch every single time. I want it to display at ALL TIME like the timer so that where ever you are ....which ever desktop screen you're at....whichever pages you're on..or level of screen you're at...it is ALWAYS THERE!

Helmuth
2010-02-05, 11:16
I know but i don't want to touch every single time. I want it to display at ALL TIME like the timer so that where ever you are ....which ever desktop screen you're at....whichever pages you're on..or level of screen you're at...it is ALWAYS THERE!

Ähm... I don't understand. The Topic here is the dropdown menu that appears when you tap the upper area. There is the Date visible. See the mockups in the first post from rapante.

You can see the clock all the time. But there is not enought space for a date. :)

A quick solution to see the Time and Date: Press the Power Button 3 times in order! ;) :D

marktold
2010-02-11, 10:26
I guess when you look at the gui (sound settings) it could look like this

http://www.marktold.com/n900/battery_01.jpg

When loading the battery icon on the left would do the same as today - green goes up to the top and starts again. (I was to lazzy to make an animated gif)

http://www.marktold.com/n900/battery_02.jpg

Regards Markus