Touch pro versus my old Jasjam (hermes) - Touch Pro, Fuze General

Got my touch pro yesterday after dropping my Hermes and killing the GSM radio.
After using it for 24 hours I can make the following obsevations.
Of course it comes in a designer box (upside down pyramid)
included accessorys (of the top of my head)
-battery
-headphones with mic (no answer/hang up button)
-Wall charger with usb "A" host port on it
-Usb A to a micro lead for charger and activesync
A big hit for me is the new holder, sure it doesnt clip on my belt, but you can still use the device whilst its in the holder, you just need to slide it out a bit.
I miss the Jog wheel from the Hermes, and it takes a while to get used to TF3D scrolling.
When you first open the device, it appears to lack a D pad, its there however just a bit tricky to use (press around the outside of the circle)
Pros
New CPU seems to make a big difference
TF3D scrolling and nav is tricky to get used to but works well.
Text in menus etc is large to compensate for the fact you use your thumb and not a stylus 99% of the time
5 row keyboard is more logical and doesnt assign a million things to one key
usable shortcuts on the keyboard
landscape on the home screen has handy shortcuts
tf3d homescrren is very usable (just wished it marked texts as read faster)
smaller than the hermes
nhuge amounts of storage and program memory
flat screen makes life much easier when using thumb/finger on the screen, (no more hitting the clock instead of X)
A2DP actually works whilst on a data network (you needed to disable the radio on the hermes to get gapless playback whilst walking)
Cons
Lower battery life than the hermes (you didnt expect this?)
No jog/scrollwheel (TF3D does NOT work in menus)
S2U2 crashes in configuration mode (havent investigated)
G sensor is terrible in opera, rotates page back to portiat when in landscape CONSTANTLY (open keyboard to force landscape)
keyboard buttons are smaller takes some getting used to (the amount of times i have hit capslock instead of A)
no turn by turn nav software by default (tytn ii had copilot)
Other than that im loving it.

The turn by turn software is normally supplied by the provider, for example T-mobile tend to give away co-pilot,
having said that HTC have supplied some of their devices with tomtom as of recent.

Related

Using always in landscape mode? And how useful is the keyboard to you?

I remember with my old keyboard PDA (HP ipaq 4350) which had the keyboard in front + 320x480 screen, the keyboard would always be in use, and it really made it a pleasure to use the pda as a mini computer. I could launch apps with ctrl/alt shortcuts, perform all operations, quickly type out tasks, etc since the keyboard was just always there.
With the wizard, I only open it up for typing smses, which i think is a waste of a keyboard. (i'm not a heavy txter). So i was thinking, is there a way to use the wizard always in landscape mode? (i guess it could be done with mortscript?) or simply assign rotate to a button press (does anyone know how?). This way flipping the keyboard out would be much easier, and the extra bulk that is attached to the phone could finally be of some use..
ammarr said:
I remember with my old keyboard PDA (HP ipaq 4350) which had the keyboard in front + 320x480 screen, the keyboard would always be in use, and it really made it a pleasure to use the pda as a mini computer. I could launch apps with ctrl/alt shortcuts, perform all operations, quickly type out tasks, etc since the keyboard was just always there.
With the wizard, I only open it up for typing smses, which i think is a waste of a keyboard. (i'm not a heavy txter). So i was thinking, is there a way to use the wizard always in landscape mode? (i guess it could be done with mortscript?) or simply assign rotate to a button press (does anyone know how?). This way flipping the keyboard out would be much easier, and the extra bulk that is attached to the phone could finally be of some use..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can change any of the keys around the phone to do the switch i normal switched the HOLD on the Voice button cause im use to a sidekick besides a MDA

Cruise Vs Touch

I would like to know how much larger the cruise against the touch. does anyone have both that can post a side by side shot
I'm in the same boat. It's 10mm longer and 1.5 mm thicker according to specs. Really wish I could experience one before buying!
I was concerned about this as well, but its not bad. Its not too thick for me.
I am very glad I bought it. Its a great device... everything worked perfectly out of the box.
From the specs it's almost identical in size and weight to the Artemis so if you could find a store with an Artemis (or re-brand like O2 XDA Orbit) then that would give you a really good idea of how the TC will feel in the hand and/or pocket. In fact the TC is about a mm thinner than the Artemis so if anything the TC will be slightly more pocketable.
I'm in the UK and when I bought my first device (an Artemis) I went into an O2 shop and played for a long time with the Touch and the Artemis (O2 XDA Orbit). I ended up buying the Artemis, even though it is bigger and I really do care a lot about size and weight, and I didn't regret it. I find it completely unobtrusive in my pockets.
- Julian
Here you go (halfway down the page)
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1303843
JNGold said:
Here you go (halfway down the page)
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1303843
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Geez, the Polaris IS thick.
I almost pulled the trigger on a Polaris this week but now I'm really torn. I dusted off my old Eten and Trinity and looked at some friends devices this weekend. One thing the Touch has going for is the very few small hard to press buttons. Add to that the screen that some claim is not sensitive enough and you have a device that is ideal to store in your pocket. With my Trinity in my pocket, if I got a text or a call, buttons were always pressed and several apps opened. Even with the flush screen, the Touch never accidentally calls people, etc.
Hard to tell from the pics - does the Polaris have a large button pad like the trinity? I mean, are all the buttons one large piece?
My problem isn't the lack of features with the Touch. I can't get more than 1 bar in my office with AT&T GSM and miss calls but with 3G, I get 3. I've tried this with my trinity and 8525. I've Asked my AT&T rep and he can't explain it. Thought the size of the Touch would offset the reception issue. After 6 mo, I am looking for a small device with 3G. Considering a Polaris or LG MS25. Odd thing is that Sprint and Verizon don't get a signal either but T-mobile does. I'm gonna pop a T-Mobile SIM in my Touch and see. I'd hate to switch carriers but HTC has let us down by not putting 3G in the "enhanced" Touch.
Baxter said:
(..) With my Trinity in my pocket, if I got a text or a call, buttons were always pressed and several apps opened. Even with the flush screen, the Touch never accidentally calls people, etc.(..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're seriously in doubt between these two devices you really need to take a look at S2U2 to lock your device (automatically on screen off).
Incidentally: I used to have S2U2 installed on my Artemis, but on the Polaris the ON/OFF button is situated on top of the device, which means that it is very unlikely going to be pushed inside my pocket. By default all buttons except ON/OFF are switched off on screen off. So far I haven't felt the need to install S2U2 on my Polaris, however happy I was with its performance on my previous device.
Seriously, the Touch is no competition for the Polaris, performancewise.
I've been looking for a long time for an app that would prevent all buttons & screen from waking on incoming sms/call but still allow audible alert or vibrate. Pressing on/off would wake much like opening a flip phone. I'd prefer that it run in the background and not require a slide or button combination to "unlock". Just simply have to press power to wake. Does it do that? I'll give it a try if you say it does.
Baxter said:
I've been looking for a long time for an app that would prevent all buttons & screen from waking on incoming sms/call but still allow audible alert or vibrate. Pressing on/off would wake much like opening a flip phone. I'd prefer that it run in the background and not require a slide or button combination to "unlock". Just simply have to press power to wake. Does it do that? I'll give it a try if you say it does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you're describing is the default functionality of the Polaris. After 3 minutes inactivity it falls asleep on screen off (you can use power button to force sleep) and locks screen and buttons except power button.
Calls, notifications etc. still work, (bluetooth) audio will also keep running.
To awake, press power button.
So you are saying that the polaris doesn't wake when you have an incoming call or sms? Maybe there is a misunderstanding. I want to have to press power before being able to answer.

Keyboard and video out questions

Could someone who has one tell me how well the keyboard works. I have a G900 and when I open a new note in portrait then slide out the keyboard to landscape it takes a good 5 seconds before I can type. Is the Raphael quicker? Also how fast can you type? If I go too fast on my G900 even though I can feel the keys clicking only half the letters I hit appear on the screen.
The other feature I'm interested in is the video out. Anyone tried this yet? Or better still captured it so we can see how it looks?
Thanks
Not tried Video-Out yet, but the keyboard is good if unspectacular.
Personally I'm finding that I'd much rather have an "OK" button on the keyboard than a second "Shift" button. The lack of hardware "Softkey" buttons is a non-issue, especially as they were practically unusable on the Kaiser.
Speed of typing is the same as it ever was on the Hermes or Kaiser. Possibly quicker with the addition of dedicated number buttons, but I'm not quite up to speed yet (keep hitting "Right Shift" instead of "Enter"
Only other nitpick is that I liked having the keyboard slide out of the right hand side. That way, the cursor/enter keys and 5-way D-Pad are on opposite sides of the phone when it's in landscape - which makes one-handed navigation easier if you want to be able to use either hand...

How is Surface RT in portrait mode?

How does Snap work while vertical? How about other functions?
How fast or slow is rotation? Is there a rotation lock?
Have you used the tablet in portrait mode for any use, say, as a reader? How comfortable is it to hold?
Is the on-screen keyboard usable in portrait?
TIA.
Snap requires more horizontal resolution than is available when in portrait mode, so snapped windows disappear. They come back when you return to landscape, though.
Rotation is pretty fast, taking about a second to complete the switch, but with just enough delay (and a starting animation) to let you know that it's about to happen, so you don't get it by accident.
There is an auto-rotate lock. It's on the Screen Resolution control panel widget (reachable by right-clicking on the desktop, or doing a search on "orientation" or "resolution"), right where you'd expect it from previous Windows versions.
It's very easy to use the tablet in portrait mode for reading books or web pages, although the 768 width is a little lower than most pages are written for. Holding it is extremely comfortable, although be careful not to hit the Start button by accident. Folding the Touch Cover behind the tablet while in portrait mode works great; the Type Cover works too but it feels weird to feel the keys move under your fingers. However, the keys and touchpad on either cover are disabled when it's flipped behind the tablet.
The SIP (Software Input Panel) is absolutely usable. I'm coming to love the split-keyboard mode for short amounts of text; it's designed to be used by your thumbs while your hands hold the tablet at the corners. I almost never use the "normal" on-screen keyboard. The handwriting recognition really isn't usable without a stylus, as expected..
Also just fyi, Windows button+ O is a hotkey for activating rotation lock.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app
@nbates66: Not working for me. Win+o, or Win+Shift+O, don't appear to do anything (at least on the desktop). Auto-rotate still occurs. Win+0 just launches the tenth thing on the taskbar, as expected. It would be great if this is usable, though. Win+P, Win+E, Win+R, Win+L, etc. all work as expected.

Qwerty Keyboard Slider [DIY]

Hello XDA! I'm one of those old school guys who likes physical keyboard on phone. Specially I like qwerty sliders but the bad thing is that they are dying out. (Watch out small screens, you are next!). Of course there is Priv but I think that it is sliding wrong way. So I decided to make my own qwerty slider:
I bought "The Beast" Xiaomi Mi4C and a bluetooth qwerty keyboard case for iPhone 6 (about 20$). First I cut the edges from the case, drilled hole for a speaker and made the camera hole little bit bigger for flash light. Then I just glued phone and case together. Because I cut the edges from the case there was about 1-3mm meeting between case and phone. I filled the cap with Sugru™. It should last for usage and temperature changes (between -50°C to +180°C).
For the software part I rooted my Mi4C and flashed CM13. Then I installed Keyboard Manager. With that app you can change keyboard based on orientation automatically. For landscape I use Minuum Keyboard with Mini Mode because I wanted the 5th number row. In the settings you can make the Minuum Keyboard only 140px (60+80) high. It takes only 13% of your screen space on Mi4C. If you don't want to use Minuum Keyboard you can use Null Input Method. In portait I use Google Keyboard. (Hint: You can transfer your dictionary from other keyboard to Minuum Keyboard).
When you install the Keyboard Manager you need to make this fix:
ne0fhyk said:
If you are unable to launch the app after installation, please follow these steps:
- Look in your sdcard folder for the directory /Android/data/com.ne0fhykLabs.android.utility.kmLauncher/files/
- There should be an apk file there, Keyboardmanager.x.y.apk, where x,y stands for the version number
- Copy that file to /system/app/, and change the permissions to rw-r--r-- (Read/write for owner, read for group, and read for other)
- Reboot your device, and try running the app again.​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Total dimensions are 139 x 69.6 x 16 mm and weight is 228 g but I have installed tempered glass screen protector. For comparison Motorola Droid 4: 127 x 67.3 x 12.7 mm and 178.9 g. Here is more pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/Pbvpo
Here are some similar projects:
NUU keyboard and Alcatel One Touch Star
Turning Samsung galaxy note 4 (SM-N910F) into a mobile pc
OnePlus X and iPhone 6 qwerty case (finnish)
Xiaomi Note 2 and Galaxy S4 qwerty case (finnish)
Hit thanks if you liked my mod
PS: I already bought another original back cover so I can change back to "normal" phone if I like (not going to happen :silly
I have found one 5 row bluetooth keyboard case. It is for iPhone 5/5s so it is much smaller. Maybe it is possible to mod it to Mi4C or other phone (Xperia Z5 Compact?):
That's great. I've seen these few Bluetooth sliding keyboards and have been wondering if it was possible to mod them to fit other phones, and obviously it is!
Does the sliding mechanism have any kind of sensor that will tell the phone whether the keyboard is open or not? I use an Xperia Pro and often slide the keyboard open to wake the phone, and also force it into landscape mode. I also sometimes deliberately shut the keyboard in order to gain access to the landscape on-screen keyboard for special symbols, and it would be easier if I could keep it in landscape mode to do that rather than switch to portrait.
With the keyboard closed I guess the speaker is a bit muffled?
pelago said:
That's great. I've seen these few Bluetooth sliding keyboards and have been wondering if it was possible to mod them to fit other phones, and obviously it is!
Does the sliding mechanism have any kind of sensor that will tell the phone whether the keyboard is open or not? I use an Xperia Pro and often slide the keyboard open to wake the phone, and also force it into landscape mode. I also sometimes deliberately shut the keyboard in order to gain access to the landscape on-screen keyboard for special symbols, and it would be easier if I could keep it in landscape mode to do that rather than switch to portrait.
With the keyboard closed I guess the speaker is a bit muffled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keyboard that I have does not have any sensor that could tell if the keyboard is open or not. However, I believe that it could be pretty easy to implement with NFC. You could just put NFC tag to the keyboard (where?) and the phone would recognize when the keyboard is closed. (I mean that there would be connection in closed position and no-connection in opened position). Mi4C doesn't have NFC so I can't test this. Actually I don't miss that feature at all. I'm pretty happy with double tap. Also you can simply press one button on keyboard and it will wake up the screen.
It is also possible to implement a switcher for keyboard. With Tasker and Secure Settings you can make a toggle which change the keyboard. And if you wanna be really geeky you can control that toggle with gestures using AutomateIt (or maybe Tasker can do this also) and All in one Gestures. So if you use Null Input Method in landscape you can just swipe up to change it to Google Keyboard for example.
For me Minuum Keyboard has every special symbol that I need. Actually only ones that are missing from keyboard are "[" and "]". There are tons of possibilities to tweak with. It is possible to lock phone in landscape with gestures also. You just have to be little bit creative. Of course "native" QWERTY slider is always better but I'm happy with my mod.
The speaker is not that bad in closed position in my Mi4C. As you can se from the teardown pictures the speaker is located only in the left side of the phone when you look from back. Also the keyboard does not cover the speaker directly so there is a air cap between speaker and keyboard. You can test this by placing your thumb directly to the speaker and then test again and leave this time a 5mm cap between finger and speaker.
Flash-A-Holic said:
The keyboard that I have does not have any sensor that could tell if the keyboard is open or not. However, I believe that could be pretty easy to implement with NFC. You could just put NFC tag to the keyboard (where?) and the phone would recognize when the keyboard is closed. (I mean that there would be connection in closed position and no-connection in opened position). Mi4C doesn't have NFC so I can't test this. Actually I don't miss that feature at all. I'm pretty happy with double tap. Also you can simply press one button on keyboard and it will wake up the screen.
It is also possible to implement a switcher for keyboard. With Tasker and Secure Settings you can make a toggle which change the keyboard. And if you wanna be really geeky you can control that toggle with gestures using AutomateIt (or maybe Tasker can do this also) and All in one Gestures. So if you use Null Input Method in landscape you can just swipe up to change it to Google Keyboard for example.
For me Minuum Keyboard has every special symbol that I need. Actually only ones that are missing from keyboard are "[" and "]". There are tons of possibilities to tweak with. It possible to lock phone in landscape with gestures also. You just have to bi little bit creative. Of course "native" QWERTY slider is always better but I'm happy with my mod.
The speaker is not that bad in closed position in my Mi4C. As you can se from the teardown pictures the speaker is located only in the left side of the phone when you look from back. Also the keyboard does not cover the speaker directly so there is a air cap between speaker and keyboard. You can test this by placing your thumb directly to speaker and then test again leaving and 5mm cap between finger and speaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For my similar project you've already seen, I've used tasker to automate the phone unlock and horizontal rotation when the NUU keyboard slides out and so connects to BT.
On NUU keuboard there isn't nothing that inform the phone that the keyboard is closed, other than the BT disconnection timeout.
So i made a number of conditions to get practical the exit from the qwerty mode.
The phone turned in vertical, if the screen went in standby, if the phone was oriented verctically, and if a physical button was long pushed.
With tasker I had also the automated soft keyboard switch, because the SW keyboard I wanted to use with the vertical keyboard wasn't physical keyboard friendly. So I used two different sw keyboards that switched automatically depending if the phone was landscape or portrait mode.
The landscape keyboard could be the simple null keyboard, if you don't care about the spell checking function.
How's the weight distribution with this combination? With "native" qwerty phones, like Xperia Pro, and Nokia N900, the weight is mostly in the lower half (the keyboard half), with the top half only being the screen itself. This means that the bit you hold and type on is the heavier one.
With your project, is the top (screen/phone) half heavier than the keyboard, and if so, does that mean it feels top heavy if you're holding it by the keyboard only, and feel like it might topple to the ground?
How's the battery life on the keyboard? It would be annoying to have to charge it every day like the phone itself.
Which exact keyboard did you use? Did you take any pics of the making process, to turn it into a sort of tutorial?
EDIT: Have you done this, or seen it done by others, on different model phones?
pelago said:
How's the weight distribution with this combination? With "native" qwerty phones, like Xperia Pro, and Nokia N900, the weight is mostly in the lower half (the keyboard half), with the top half only being the screen itself. This means that the bit you hold and type on is the heavier one.
With your project, is the top (screen/phone) half heavier than the keyboard, and if so, does that mean it feels top heavy if you're holding it by the keyboard only, and feel like it might topple to the ground?
How's the battery life on the keyboard? It would be annoying to have to charge it every day like the phone itself.
Which exact keyboard did you use? Did you take any pics of the making process, to turn it into a sort of tutorial?
EDIT: Have you done this, or seen it done by others, on different model phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't measured the weight yet but I will do that later today and add it to the first post. The weight is 228g. For me it is pretty light weigh compared to the size. (Xiaomi Mi 4C itself weights 132g). The weight distribution is pretty stable. I mean if I open the keyboard and leave the phone to the table it will stay steady. I can even push the screen part and it will go back where it was. It doesn't feel that it is going to flip when I'm holding it. Of course there is more weight in the screen part but it is pretty stable.
The battery life of the keyboard is very good. I don't even know how long it will last. I have been charging the keyboard once a week. For phone I got 4h SOT in one charge with bluetooth always on. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures during the process. However, here is one picture when I was testing this combination with double-sided tape. Back then there was nasty cap between case and phone. I filled that cap with Sugru™. I don't know if anyone else has done this kind of mod excluding The Solutor. Althought I have found this: Turning Samsung galaxy note 4 (SM-N910F) into a mobile pc
I believe that I bought this one: Mini Bluetooth V3.0 Ultra-thin Wireless Slide-Out Keyboard case cover for iPhone 6 (4.7). I bought it from different seller from ebay and it was cheaper but the name is same (V3.0).
The Solutor said:
For my similar project you've already seen, I've used tasker to automate the phone unlock and horizontal rotation when the NUU keyboard slides out and so connects to BT.
On NUU keuboard there isn't nothing that inform the phone that the keyboard is closed, other than the BT disconnection timeout.
So i made a number of conditions to get practical the exit from the qwerty mode.
The phone turned in vertical, if the screen went in standby, if the phone was oriented verctically, and if a physical button was long pushed.
With tasker I had also the automated soft keyboard switch, because the SW keyboard I wanted to use with the vertical keyboard wasn't physical keyboard friendly. So I used two different sw keyboards that switched automatically depending if the phone was landscape or portrait mode.
The landscape keyboard could be the simple null keyboard, if you don't care about the spell checking function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you were an inspiration for me, thank you . I will check what Tasker can do for me. For now I think that bluetooth timeout method is too slow. I think that double tab is much faster and easier.
Flash-A-Holic said:
Actually you were an inspiration for me, thank you .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
I will check what Tasker can do for me. For now I think that bluetooth timeout method is too slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I wrote too quickly, and I wanted to be brief just beacause I don't want to hijiak other's threads.
Anyway, the BT timeout didn't require tasker at all. It's just an internal timeout of the NUU keyboard.
What tasker did in that scenario, was the exit contition:
Enter condition ---> the keyboard slides out and connects to BT. Tasker rotates the screen, switches the keyboard, unlocks the phone (if needed) and so on.
On BT timeout (which is managed by the keyboard)--- tasker reverted the above actions.
Additionally I made a number of other conditions to force the exit task.
The phone is hold vertically for a second or so, the screen is turned off (because the power button was pushed, or because the phone turned it off), a physical button was long pushed, and maybe others that I don't remember.
Obviously there only your fantasy is the limit. You can choose a gesture, a tap combination, a shake action...
Whatever tasker and its plugins are able to manage...
Want to make me one? How much do you want?
Supovitz said:
Want to make me one? How much do you want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it is better that you make it by yourself. I believe that shipping cost etc. would cost too much for you.
Flash-A-Holic said:
First I cut the edges from the case, drilled hole for a speaker and made the camera hole little bit bigger for flash light. Then I just glued phone and case together. Because I cut the edges from the case there was about 1-3mm meeting between case and phone. I filled the cap with Sugru™.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering about the reason for cutting off the edges and then filling the gap with Sugru. I don't have the parts yet, but I assume the problem is that the phone is slightly too large to sit within the keyboard case edges as manufactured?
It would be great if there was a way to simply remove the phone from the keyboard case just by pulling the phone out, as you can do with the iPhone 6 the case is designed for. Would there be any way to modify the case to make that possible?
Also, is the back of the keyboard case less slippery than the original Mi 4C back cover?
pelago said:
I was wondering about the reason for cutting off the edges and then filling the gap with Sugru. I don't have the parts yet, but I assume the problem is that the phone is slightly too large to sit within the keyboard case edges as manufactured?
It would be great if there was a way to simply remove the phone from the keyboard case just by pulling the phone out, as you can do with the iPhone 6 the case is designed for. Would there be any way to modify the case to make that possible?
Also, is the back of the keyboard case less slippery than the original Mi 4C back cover?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes Mi4C doesn't fit to the iPhone case properly. If you want removable keyboard case then you can buy a cover case for Mi4C. Then just glue the cover case and keyboard case together. You can also pull out the whole sliding mechanism like this (not my modification):
There is pretty good grip in the keyboard case. Much less slippery than Mi4C.
Thanks.
Looking around, I've found someone doing something similar. A few years old, but may be useful for some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cu6UCobKyY
I've just bought one of those sliding keyboards for iPhone 6. It looks a little different to your one - mine looks like:
Specifically, mine has a sliding power switch on the left, a Bluetooth sync button above that, the space bar is only two normal letters width rather than three, it has an extra "clover" button on the right of the space bar, the labelling is different on some keys to the left, and the keys in general look flatter than yours.
I haven't tried modding it yet, but I'm a bit put off by the power switch, as I would rather not have to switch the keyboard off and on manually. Does your keyboard have a power switch on it too, somewhere else?
I know that beggars can't be choosers, but having tried this keyboard for a while (in conjunction with a Nexus 7 (2013), as I don't actually have a Mi 4C yet), there are some aspects of it which aren't perfect.
For a start, the keys are quite clicky, much more so than my Xperia Pro or Nokia N900, making it noisier to use whenever there is someone else around.
I would like there to be a Ctrl key - I've been trying to use External Keyboard Helper to map keys, and the ideal one looks like the two clover keys, but I can't seem to map those. When I press those keys I get a big animated white border around the entire screen - is that Google Now? I don't know, as I don't use that.
There is also an annoying few seconds delay after pressing a key to wake up the keyboard and the device responding. With my previous phones with intergrated keyboards, they respond straight away. This is presumably just because of Bluetooth and nothing can really be done about that.
The five-row Boxwave keyboard buddy you mention in the second post looks interesting, but I can't seem to find it (or any generic branded clones) on ebay unfortunately.
pelago said:
I would like there to be a Ctrl key - I've been trying to use External Keyboard Helper to map keys, and the ideal one looks like the two clover keys, but I can't seem to map those. When I press those keys I get a big animated white border around the entire screen - is that Google Now? I don't know, as I don't use that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a while since I did that phone, but, assuming you're rooted you should be able to adjust the keylayout to your lickings
https://source.android.com/devices/input/key-layout-files.html
There is also an annoying few seconds delay after pressing a key to wake up the keyboard and the device responding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume that depends on the keyboard used. my NUU keyboard did connect when sliding out, not when the first key was pressed.
Taking account there was a small delay since the connection, because tasker had to wakeup and unlock the phone (if locked and/or sleeping) and to force the horizontal orientation (and optionally to swap the SW keyboard with something mechanical friendly like swiftkey or touchpal), I had no perceivable delay on the first key pressed.
P.S. Guys please resize a bit such huge images before posting them.
They break the forum layout using the classic skin (the yellow one)
The Solutor said:
It's been a while since I did that phone, but, assuming you're rooted you should be able to adjust the keylayout to your lickings
https://source.android.com/devices/input/key-layout-files.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good pointer, I'll look into that. It would be good to remap the keys without using External Keyboard Helper.
The Solutor said:
I assume that depends on the keyboard used. my NUU keyboard did connect when sliding out, not when the first key was pressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately the keyboard I was trying doesn't seem to have any kind of sensor that would know when the keyboard was slid out or not.
I followed Flash-A-Holic's great example and built a cover for Huawei P8 Lite.
Here's the process:
http://symbioosi.blogspot.fi/2016/11/how-to-physical-keyboard-for-huawei-p8.html
Scorpizoid said:
I followed Flash-A-Holic's great example and built a cover for Huawei P8 Lite.
Here's the process:
http://symbioosi.blogspot.fi/2016/11/how-to-physical-keyboard-for-huawei-p8.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you just apply a back case from another casing to the bluetooth keyboard of a slider case?
Super happy to have found this thread. I'm using my Motorola Droid 4, but it's lost its GPS antenna, and I'm really tempted to jump at this Moto G4 Plus... Just held it in-store at Best Buy, and it feels massive, something I wouldn't type on with just one hand holding it. I just want landscape QWERTY keyboard functionality!
Scorpizoid said:
I followed Flash-A-Holic's great example and built a cover for Huawei P8 Lite.
Here's the process:
http://symbioosi.blogspot.fi/2016/11/how-to-physical-keyboard-for-huawei-p8.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After being disappointed by Blackberry's attempts at a physical keyboard, I'm back to strongly considering this approach. Your blog post is a great inspiration for finally upgrading my Motorola Photon Q LTE to something that can run something more than Android 4.1.2...
What's the most powerful android phone in roughly the right form-factor for this keyboard case? I see you're ripping off the iPhone case part and attaching a proper case for the Huawei, and I'd do similar, but I'd want the whole thing to be vaguely the right shape. Like, attaching this keyboard to a Pixel XL would just be silly, but there aren't that many android phones around the size of the iPhone 6/7.

Categories

Resources