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Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pycage (Post 303372)

I fully agree. This can't be done with a touch screen (yet).

Although, it could be done with some simple, configurable finger gestures (e.g., swipe right brings up camera, swipe left brings up messaging, swipe down is contacts, etc.).

All of this just gave me an idea about focus-driven UIs, though... If, depending on what you were doing at the time (walking, driving, exercising, etc.) you could switch on a specific "mode" (yes, I know some devices allow this sort of usage now -- sort of), certain user-centric "uses" could be anticipated by the device -- especially if each mode was configurable.

Let's say you had configured "exercise" mode to be a media player and a simple phone interface. Some of it's functions might include:

Touch upper-left corner of screen = volume down
Touch upper-right corner of screen = volume up
Touch lower-left corner of screen = pause
Touch lower-right corner of screen = skip song
Double-tap center of screen = answer call
Etc.

In this way, the "tactile" interface wouldn't necessarily be required.

Tim

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

@benny1967

GTK does what you want with no modifications. An n8x0 with a screen full of widgets can be navigated, changed (sliders, radios and pull downs) and/or activated with the dpad. This is the default behaviour. And since you're not looking at the screen, it's trivial to repurpose the +/- zoom and fullscreen keys for added functionality.

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by daperl (Post 303402)

GTK does what you want with no modifications

So it would basically mean using GTK even without Hildon - and without any additional layer to replace Hildon to make GTK behave nicely in the environment I described?

That's cool. - Not in any practical way cool as I cannot build this phone, of course, but still... knowing it would work... ;)

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

@Tim

I agree, it's trivial to accurately decide where and how a user gestured based on your descriptions. And with mode changing, a "blind" person could do plenty.

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by benny1967 (Post 303410)

Yes, no Hildon needed. But you could build this phone. And you could build this phone on the phone. That has been (and I'm guessing will continue to be) the power of Maemo.

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by benny1967 (Post 303346)

One thumb use
A mobile device I want to operate with one thumb: holding it in one hand and using the thumb for everything. Now I don't want to give unnecessary details about the lengths of my body parts in this forum, but let me just say that I can comfortably move my thumb around an area of roughly 1.6"x1.6" (or 4x4cm). On a touchscreen device, this would mean a 2.2" screen that'll always be covered by my thumb.
(Go and watch people who use touchscreen phones, no matter which brand: They'll always hold it in one hand and tap on it with the other hand. That's a compromise I'll take for a portable device such as the tablet, but not for a phone that's supposed to be made for mobile use.)

This is a decent request and I agree that a good phone should be able to get across basic functions one handed.

Quote:

Tactile feedback
I need to be able to operate the device without looking at it. It's a mobile device, so I do things with it while I walk, while I talk to somebody, etc.
With hardware buttons, I'm always certain what to do: One to the left, one down, press. Center, press. Quick look at the display, one up, press. You cannot do this with a touch screen.

Its always nice to be able to accomplish things with your phone without looking at it, but I think you will find that the only times you ever do this are the times you really shouldn't be messing with your phone, ie while driving. I think people just need to realize that operating the device without looking at it is not a valid request.

Having tactile feedback however, is a different matter.

Re: Maemo on non-touchscreen phones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmurfin87 (Post 303422)

Have you never written text messages under the table in a situation where cell phone usage was considered inappropriate?

Kids do it at school while talking to the teacher. I do it at meetings to tell co-workers how boring the presentation is. I do it when I'm invited for dinner to exchange thougts about the tall, handsome, dark-haired host with my bf.

I don't even own a car, so don't be afraid I could try to configure my mobile web server while driving. ;)