Need a solution for a quadriplegic to make his own calls. - Touch Pro, Fuze General

The chair of my company is paralyzed from the neck down though has enough limited mobility with his arms to manage his wheelchair yoke and an oversized trackball for his computer. Whether in the office, home or wherever, he relies on either his secretary or his handler to call someone for him. He'd like to call people himself with a cell phone that someone leaves on a desk or a table for him without further assistance and wants me to make it happen so I turn to you for ideas (and maybe a registry tweak).
I set him up a few years ago with voice recognition software on his computer and that has worked out very well so I'm thinking MSVC. But the first and hopefully easiest obstacle is how to get the phone, a Touch Pro or Diamond specifically, to default to speakerphone. An earpiece is not the best option because that requires someone to put it on him (and take it off if it's wired) and the battery eventually dies. Any way to do that?
The next hurdle is how to get the phone to initiate whatever command that is the equivalent of pressing the button on an earpiece that triggers MSVC, hangs up and answers incoming calls ideally with the screen off so that the battery doesn't die too quickly or so that the phone doesn't need to be plugged in. So, again, can move his forearm and *maybe* be able to have enough coordination to hit the circular button hard enough to use that though he has no muscle control in his fingers so the pressure would rely on the natural stiffness of his fingers (he uses his thumb to click the large trackball buttons). On the other hand, I could map all the buttons surrounding the circle to do the same thing perhaps. But it would be fantastic if he could trigger the phone by shaking it a little to, again, do the same thing that would be done by pressing a bluetooth earpiece's button.
So, 1) how can I get a WinMo phone always to default to speaker and 2) can he take advantage of the accelerometer of the Touch Pro (or Diamond, whichever) to map a soft jiggle (the phone would otherwise be stationary on a flat surface or fully off) to trigger MSVC? I guess he doesn't need to be able to hang up and incoming calls could be set to automatically answer so if those two functions are out of reach that's not a dealbreaker. And leaving the phone on in order to take advantage of the screen for touching, though less desirable, is also an option as his handler can plug the phone in. Or do any other approaches come to mind?
I grately appreciate it.
Doug

Thought I'd take a shot at a possibility. Since you have his PC voice enabled, what about using something like Pocket Controller? I don't know if it can be voice controlled, but it might be worth exploring something like that.

it might be a drain on the battery but maybe something like having a script that runs msvc once a minute so if he need to call someone just wait and then say what he needs to say. or get him an oqo with data and set him up on skype and use dragon speaking software

get a bluetooth for car like : http://direct.motorola.com/ens/carkits/learn-IHF1000.html
install Cyberon Voice Commander on your phone for voice dial. you can answer and dial with one button and voice cammand.

Hmm.. how about windows Vista's built-in voice recognition software? although it takes little time, I did manage to make it do everything I wanted to do without my touching anything.

How about using My Mobiler to control it from his pc
http://freewareppc.com/utilities/mymobiler.shtml

Sorry to post such an unconstructive reply, but what use is a touch-heavy-reliant phone like Diamond or same-thing-but-with-HW-keyboard like Touch Pro to a quadriplegic?
In my humble opinion you should get a BT handsfree with a proper full-time-phone like Nokia or Sony ericsson.
Again sorry for actually not helping much with your problem. But still, my opinion stays the same as mentioned above. Both the telephones are more reliable on functional hands then others.

Thanks!
Wow these are all very good and equally appreciated suggestions! Feels like I've got enough to start googling and hopefully help this guy out. I am truly grateful for the time you all took to respond. I'll post if I have success or problems...
You people are fantastic.
Doug

Related

Problems in my pocket!

Apologies if this question has been asked and answered before, but if so, could someone please redirect me. This is my first time on this forum. I've had my HTC Touch Pro (Raphael) for a couple of months now, and cannot get round the problem that whenever I receive a call, I somehow manage to cut it off before I can get the phone out of my pocket. I have tried several different cases (the current one opens like a book, so doesn't press any of the buttons), but something happens in the process of removing the phone from my pocket, however gently and swiftly I try to do it, which means that all I get is a "missed call" message, even after only one ring. If the phone is on a flat surface, it will ring for a long time, so it's not that setting. This is SO frustrating, especially when you try to see who called you, and it just comes up with "unknown caller".... it's also costing me a lot of money having to phone people back when I do know who they are. Please help somebody. I really like my little phone, but it may well end up being thrown out of a window at this rate! Thank you!
Check out this utility here on XDA. Works great. Unlock the phone by rolling it over. It uses the gravity sensor.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=422871
Many thanks for that. We've installed this thread, although I'm not really clear about what it does. It seems I can now lock and unlock the phone by turning it clockwise and counterclockwise respectively along its axis (in addition to the long press, which is what I usually use to lock the phone).
I tried answering one call whilst it was locked, but couldn't free it up to press the "answer" key until I had turned it several times. Fortunately, the caller was quite patient! Is this just a technique I have to get used to, and will it mean that I get a chance to answer calls before the connection is severed? Sorry to sound so thick, but this is all very new to me.
Sarahah said:
Many thanks for that. We've installed this thread, although I'm not really clear about what it does. It seems I can now lock and unlock the phone by turning it clockwise and counterclockwise respectively along its axis (in addition to the long press, which is what I usually use to lock the phone).
I tried answering one call whilst it was locked, but couldn't free it up to press the "answer" key until I had turned it several times. Fortunately, the caller was quite patient! Is this just a technique I have to get used to, and will it mean that I get a chance to answer calls before the connection is severed? Sorry to sound so thick, but this is all very new to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to the settings menu and edit your SensorLock preferences to lock the screen only on an incoming call thus leaving the buttons unlocked.
Maybe the "face down mute" is happening to your calls? Try disabling it.
Um..... how?
answer keys disabler
You the thread below, it disables the onscreen answer buttons while ringing. Helps me getting the phone outta my pocket when ringing
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=425650
Ooooh. Thank you. Sounds like just what I need ... watch this space!
if u want to thrown your htc trough windows, how about if u thrown it to my window bro.
HHumbert said:
Check out this utility here on XDA. Works great. Unlock the phone by rolling it over. It uses the gravity sensor.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=422871
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gravity sensor... I ever seen this technology on nokia phone. but until now I'm still amazed by this technology. how this sensor works..
sorry 4 my english cause I'm from asia
Ah Dedy - if I win the lottery I shall come and throw a brand new Touch Pro through your window, I promise! I'm afraid that I'm having far too much fun with this one (despite the problems in my pocket) to part with it just yet though. Hope you have a great Christmas, and maybe Santa will bring you one, you never know!

LG KS660 Dual Sim / Dual Standby first impression

Ok so right off the bat I'm not a professional phone reviewer. This is just me talking about a phone I'm excited about... I didn't post any pictures as I didn't take any yet, but I'm very pleased with the look and you can find plenty online.
So I've spent the last two weeks researching and looking for a good dual sim phone, with dual standby capability. Before I start, without a dual standby capability a dual sim phone doesn't let you take a call from one number, while you are talking on your other number.
This phone is the international version and is a triband 900/1800/1900 - as always be sure your service provider runs on the band before you buy a phone. It also has to separate IMIE numbers as well.
[This next paragraph is for entertainment only, so feel free to skip to the next one if you're not interested in a very good prank.]
I ordered this phone from Amazon and chose overnight shipping. Needless to say I've not been excited about a phone for a very long time, but this time I was. Unfortunately the last update was that it was checked into Memphis, which has all flights grounded. So, the 2nd day I check the tracking and I see that it's out for delivery, I hop in my car and start the 40 minute drive to my office to pick it up. 3 minutes out my manager calls me and tells me "it just arrived"... I arrive and I open my shipping box, upset that it's late but happy it's here. I pull out the phone box and open it up... only to see some piece of crap prepaid ancient mini brick phone. I instantly flip my lid, and for a split second I considered just snapping this piece of crap in half. I then dump the box contents on the floor, and then realize there is a group of people in tears laughing. Turns out my best friend cut the packing box open (from the bottom as not to damage the label) and put his crap phone in it. Anyways, on to my thoughts...
[Appearance] So, when I pull the phone out it's really quite nice looking. It has the shape and appearance of an Iphone, but it has the 4 hard buttons at the bottom. One nice thing comparing it again to the Iphone is that not everyone and their dog has one of these. Very slim form and smaller overall than the Iphone. I have not taken pictures yet, and have not completely tested it overall but I have already decided that it was well worth the $260 ($230 from another seller, but I paid the extra $30 for piece of mind).
The first thing I do is pair it with my windows mobile Smartphone and I then beam over all of my contacts. The windows mobile phone just sends them all, but I had to hit accept for every single file. Tedious, but much easier than actually re-entering them in by hand. After that I had to enter into the file explorer and choose reload for about 90% of them (one by one again). In the end they all transferred over, with attached photos. The only thing that didn't transfer was the ringtone assignments.
[Call Quality] Once I was able to get outside of work hours I placed both my personal and work sims inside the phone. I've tested it like crazy just on calls alone. First, the speaker phone is WAY louder and much more clear than my HTC Fuze (Raphael). In addition the call quality when not on speaker phone is quite nice as well. There were times when I thought I dropped the call because there wasn't that light hiss in the background. Next I tried calling out on the sim. When you dial a number, just to the right there are a couple of boxes and you just touch the sim you want and whalla, you're calling out on that sim. It also had no problem taking calls from one line while on the other. It's just like call waiting. The only negative to it is that the icon which identifies the sim is very small and in the top left of the incoming call, so it's somewhat hard to tell which line is ringing. Although I predict I will get quite used to it.
The touch screen is very responsive and is actually fairly easy to negotiate around with just using your fingers. The speed of the phone is nearly instant in everything you do, outside of accessing memory to change a ringtone or something (super slow). Granted I have a crapload of photos and ringtones on my microSD card.
[Features] It has some pretty cool features within the simple operating system. There are 4 hard buttons on the bottom, and 4 soft buttons at the bottom of the touch screen. The hard buttons are useful and make sense. The screen buttons are also good. There is one button on the bottom right that opens up a new menu on the right side of the screen. This menu has 4 long buttons that let you easily access everything you need within the phone. In addition there is a little rounded tab at the right side of the screen when you are in idle mode. The first tab allows you to access your "widgets" You can just drag them and drop them right onto the desktop, or drag them right back in. Out of the box the widgets are as follows: FM radio, round old school clock, Calendar, music, photos, world time, memo notes, missed calls, messages, and schedule. Really neat in that you can just place them where you want, and they all come out small but expand into the full featured widget. At the idle screen you can also slide your finger either right or left, and it makes the screen flip as if it was a cube. Your widget menu has not been replaced by a speed dial menu. Press any icon from 2-9 (1 reserved for Vmail) and it lets you choose a contact to associate. You can then drag that icon right onto the desktop of the phone as well. Overall very cool features so far.
The locking mechanism is quite nice as well. You can either unlock with a short hold on a key on the screen, or the lock key on the right side of the phone. About the only negative so far is that there isn't a slide to unlock, and you press the hard keys to answer or decline. I know at some point I will accidentally answer or decline someone while pulling the phone out of a full pocket.
Next onto the camera. 5M camera with a crapload of image settings. While the quality isn't nearly as good as my high end digital camera, it shares many of the same features. It has an LED flash, and you can really play around with the settings (assuming you are a camera buff, otherwise most will just confuse you). It lets you take quick action photos in sets of 3, 6, or 9 in fast succession too. it also has a video camera, but I didn't test it as of yet.
It has an FM radio which needs to have the dual earphone wired headset hooked up to it to use (typical). The headset of course has a microphone also for those of you who think talking on Bluetooth was invented by the "debil". (That's some high quality H20).
The PC suite that comes with it is pretty nice so far also. When you connect the phone you can choose between 4 options. One can be a music sync for all the music lovers out there, but my presumed favorite is that you can use the phone as a modem with the provided software (not tested yet). You can connect to your PC via USB or Bluetooth. I only wish my work computer would allow for me to install software! Oh well...
Text messaging and MMS is nice as well. You can choose most of the typical entry methods, but I've been having fun with the handwriting entry. Don't leave any gaps when you spell any letters, but it's cool to just write on the screen and have it put it right into a text. It's slower than using the on screen key pad, but a fun novelty for now. It doesn’t appear to have a full touch screen qwerty, but I also didn’t rotate it to landscape during testing so it could be there.
I did have one issue with my voicemail recognizing one number at AT&T, but after a long hold time they just reset my voicemail and both numbers worked like a charm in accessing vmail. One negative, and a fairly big one is that when I called both of my lines and left voicemails it still only put one voicemail notification at the top. It's not possible, or at least I've not figured out how to discern which line has the voicemail on it. Although when unlocking it puts a nice big box on the screen stating the calls I missed. In addition the missed call widget is nice to show missed calls as well.
About the only issue I am having so far is getting the internet to work. I want to test it just so I can verify it will work, and to mess around with the browser some. I intend to drop my dataplan as I only used it for my GPS previously, and since Santa brought me a full on GPS I know it's a wasted $30 a month.
[G-sensor] It also has what I think is called the G-sensor, or at least the thing that rotates the screen when you do. Also when you drag the widgets or speed dials onto the screen you can shake it to “snap them into place”. Personally I prefer to place them in the locations I want though.
So, in closing I love this phone so far. The last phone I was this happy with was the original Razr back when no one else but me and a select few had it (only a few other dummies willing to pay the $500 for it back in the day). I presume that I have missed a fair amount of things people may be interested in, so please feel free to ask for additional information and I will see if I can discern it from messing around with the phone. My HTC Fuze and Crap dual sim Chinese phones are officially retired. I’m sure I’ll snag another smartphone at some point so I can load up all of the tweaks from here, but for now it’s nice to have a phone that isn’t slow to respond and accomplishes my personal goals.
But no windowsmobile, right?
HI, thats a long review. Think a lot people are happy about it, cause it is a good phone i suppose.
But it's not windowsmobile,isnt it?
I need "dual sim" "dual standby", and find no windowsmobile phone that supports this. I have two china phones, which both drive me mad, more than windowsmobile ever did, so I finally want to find a solution.
Don't think this is the right thread to post my topic,so I'll search now for the right place here in xda-developers.
Cheers

I love my new Droid but...

The phone interface totally sux! Is there anything better out there? When I get a call I have to drag the thing over to answer. This is very hard to do with 1 hand. Also half the time the screen goes black and I have to unlock it or whatever. Is there any way to just tap to answer?
Making calls is 10 times worse, you have to unlock the phone, find the phone app, open your contacts, tap your contact, tap make call, and then tap call!! It’s like I have to type a freaking paragraph just to make a call! Is there any way to just press one button to open the phone and then press 1 button to speed dial??
Also I turned on Google Voice to make all my calls. It nice and I know how to turn that off, but now all my incoming calls it says "incoming call from so-and-so... Press 1 to accept" so I have to tape the dial pad, and then tap 1, adding 2 more taps just to answer a freaking call! How do I turn that off?
I love everything else about this PDA, but the phone sux! Please help...
---signed, frustrated
P.S. I think I used less key strokes typing all this than I need to to make a call! lol
Any chance they will improve this interface in v2.2??
Very constructive. And I see it’s your 11th post. It’s not a matter of being impatient. It’s a matter of missing calls because its nearly impossible to do while driving, walking a dog with a leash in one hand, caring groceries, almost every real life situation that keeps you from using both hands on your phone. And as I described it’s a lot more than the 1 swipe.
If you don’t agree with me you don’t need to reply but I find the swipe open to be unacceptable and I'm asking if there is another interface out there that is just a tap open. Or a way to map a hard key to answer the freaking phone!
I'm sitting here at my work phone calling myself over and over to "practice" answering with the swipe. I can do it with one hand but it’s a pain in the ass and just thoroughly a really, really bad design. There has to be an app or mod or something that does away with this.
I just saw the new "Rule the air" Droid commercial. Cool commercial... Notice the one thing they didn’t show anyone doing? Getting or making a call!!!
All these new devices are fantastic PDAs with a really bad phone function slapped on top...
BTW with an 2.2 Froyo official release or rom, when the call comes up theres no need to unlock or swipe, just a click of a button.
What are you running 2.1, 2.01/0 or 2.2? Why don't you try finding an app on the store or searching here? You never know....
So I literally called myself 10 times and practiced answering the phone with one hand. Then I went out to bars and got actual calls and it was like impossible to answer them. That drag thing is just ridicules!! You have to drag it all the way across the screen!! Cany they at least meet me half way?? Even with 2 hands it’s hard to answer!!
Come on, you guys all know this is true. This design is just awful!
I understand why they did it, so when you get a call while it’s in your pocket it doesn’t tap against something and answer when you don’t know it… but it’s just terrible!! And like I said making calls is even worse. It’s like a ton of taps so there is no way to make a call while driving.
The Bluetooth headset would help but we all know anyone that actually uses that looks like a total D-bag..
So here is my solution… Someone will make a killing on this and it will make a mockery of the Android phone interface at the same time. We need a little, lightweight Bluetooth dumb phone that has physical answer and hang-up buttons as well as the full number pad that you can assign speed dials too like a NORMAL F-ING PHONE!! If this was out there on the market I would pay $100 easy for! Leave your brilliant PDA that sucks as a phone in your pocket and use the Bluetooth handset to actually make and take calls like a normal human!!
1. how tiny are your hands that you can't slide the bar down with your thumb?
2. i think there's an app called dialer one that will open a keypad where you can see all your contacts and spell their names out with the numberpad to make it easier
Just because some of you don't have the same issues as the OP doesn't give any of us the right to respond in this manner.
The OP has been called dumb, amateur, told he shouldn't have a smartphone; and the list goes on.
I personally have the EVO; there's not a damn thing wrong with my hands and I come from a very long time of smartphones. MORE times than I can count, I'm swiping the screen and not a damned thing is moving. By the time it unlocks, the caller is gone.
So until you have the same problem, some of you might want to get your head out the clouds and stop replying like these *smart* phones are perfect and the people using them are too dumb to know what they're doing.
On HTC phones with Sense you simply press a button to answer. No swiping. I'm surprised there's no app out there to do this on other Android phones.
Just cleaned this thread. All deleted posts are in violation of rule 2.
Please be aware of the rules before posting. Nothing constructive to say; then don't post!
WB
gtg465x said:
On HTC phones with Sense you simply press a button to answer. No swiping. I'm surprised there's no app out there to do this on other Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to slide to answer my phone if it's locked before I get a call. I prefer the swipe because I don't want to accidentally answer a call while the phone is in my pocket. That said, I would recommend the op check out the app I mentioned or root his phone and find a sense based rom
there are apps for this kind of problem search market and google
gtg465x said:
On HTC phones with Sense you simply press a button to answer. No swiping. I'm surprised there's no app out there to do this on other Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not be surprised, because there is an app to achieve this. It is called ed's Droid Tools.
I've used Gesture Search (by Google) since it was released on the Market for finding and calling and/or texting my contacts. Put it on your home screen, then when you want to call somebody, open Gesture Search then write their first initial with your finger (or thumb) then touch the phone icon to call or the message icon to text. Works well for me. Never tried it driving, but then again, I'm one of those guys who yells at idiots who drive and talk on their cell at the same time (it's illegal here).
The standard Droid UI doesn't have a skin, so you get the basic Android dialer. While I don't think the slide-to-answer is all that bad, I'm also coming from a Blackberry Storm, which was wicked-terrible when it came to doing... well anything, so I don't complain much about the stock android experience. One thing Android is good for though, is allowing UI replacement apps (ala Dialer One) so poke around the Market and I'm sure you can find something that changes the answer experience for you.
Love windows
Love windows
i am also fooled by android
power user any thing u want to do go with windows mobile
Droid9 said:
The phone interface totally sux! Is there anything better out there? When I get a call I have to drag the thing over to answer. This is very hard to do with 1 hand. Also half the time the screen goes black and I have to unlock it or whatever. Is there any way to just tap to answer?
Making calls is 10 times worse, you have to unlock the phone, find the phone app, open your contacts, tap your contact, tap make call, and then tap call!! It’s like I have to type a freaking paragraph just to make a call! Is there any way to just press one button to open the phone and then press 1 button to speed dial??
Also I turned on Google Voice to make all my calls. It nice and I know how to turn that off, but now all my incoming calls it says "incoming call from so-and-so... Press 1 to accept" so I have to tape the dial pad, and then tap 1, adding 2 more taps just to answer a freaking call! How do I turn that off?
I love everything else about this PDA, but the phone sux! Please help...
---signed, frustrated
P.S. I think I used less key strokes typing all this than I need to to make a call! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey dude
to help you out with your dialing problem all you have to do is put the phone/contacts app on your homescreen. the way you described calling the contact is the same way you'd have to do it on almost every other phone so don't act like its a huge task.
organize your homescreens to your preference so that it could make your life easier.
also you can add people to your favorites list so you dont have to scroll through your whole contact list.
as for answering calls, its not that bad. you just gotta hold that green button and slide your finger over. I don't understand how that's difficult or why you'd need practice
phone doesn't suck at all bud
Hi There,
I was thinking of getting one of those because most of my calling during driving...
do you advice me to do so? i mean is the hardware bad? or it is just a matter of waiting for sometime to get an update solving all these problems?
Thank you in advance.

mango turn by turn navigation

Is the turn by turn working properly for you guys? If i want directions read to me, i have to tap the screen. Just wondering if this is like this for everyone, if so it must just be part of the beta. or maybe it's has something to do with the fact that i'm in canada...
A Dustman said:
Is the turn by turn working properly for you guys? If i want directions read to me, i have to tap the screen. Just wondering if this is like this for everyone, if so it must just be part of the beta. or maybe it's has something to do with the fact that i'm in canada...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how it works. It does not automatically read to you. You tap anywhere on the screen to have it talk. An different implementation.
well that's kinda silly in my opinion, why would they do that? I noticed my screen also times out during navigation, and when i turn it back on it has to reacquire a gps lock...
A Dustman said:
well that's kinda silly in my opinion, why would they do that? I noticed my screen also times out during navigation, and when i turn it back on it has to reacquire a gps lock...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno. In some regards, it probably makes sense. I use a Garmin for normal GPS navigation, and really, i'm terribly annoyed every time it has to talk. Especially when it repeats itself over and over (such as "recalculating"). The fact that I simply tap the screen and the phone will tell me directions when I need to hear it is rather useful to me. Also the phone doesn't automatically recalculate, which I think makes the most sense. When I drive, and I accidentally go off course, I dont need my GPS to recalculate every 5 seconds. I need to slow down, get my bearings, and then have it recalculate. Because I tell the phone when it recalculate, its not yelling at me every 5 seconds that its recalculating. In other words, I have more control over the GPS this way.
At the same time, I do see the value in automatic direction narration and automatic recalculation. It would have been nice to be able to choose between the two.
Ah. My only real beef with Mango. While not too terribly offputting, I'm wondering if MS was trying to be too different here.
I don't use GPS at all as I'm mostly in Dallas and know my way around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. But, I do travel from time to time and GPS can come in handy. That being said, the design choices here seem a wee bit weird.
You tap it to get voice and it only notifies you if you've made a correct or incorrect turn. By that time, it's too late. And, you have to turn around. Now, you don't have to look at he screen as you can tap while watching the road. So, it's not as if it's any less safe but... really?
Edit: Reading prjk's post above, I guess if MS revealed the reason behind this particular design choice, it might more sense for all of us.
Yea it still kinda sucks compared to....
It is very weak, compared to every real navigation system in existence. Not having the option to have the instructions automatically read to you, and not providing any kind of audible warning when you approach a turn, and not automatically rerouting you when you miss a turn, all combine to make the system almost useless.
I'll either be keeping AT&T Navigator, or switching to T-B-T from GPS Tuner if they ever get all of the kinks worked out of their system.
Most people use this thing called a radio when they're driving, or they're having conversations in the car, and I think this approach works perfect during those situations. My car has a built in navigation which automatically lowers the radio and then gives my the direction, but the phone, unfortunatelly, can't do that... So it's best if, when you need the direction, you put the radio down, just randomly tap, and have the kind woman give you the information rather than missing it or it interrupting you... Just my opinion though.
FiyaFleye said:
Most people use this thing called a radio when they're driving, or they're having conversations in the car, and I think this approach works perfect during those situations. My car has a built in navigation which automatically lowers the radio and then gives my the direction, but the phone, unfortunatelly, can't do that... So it's best if, when you need the direction, you put the radio down, just randomly tap, and have the kind woman give you the information rather than missing it or it interrupting you... Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another great example. I always have my music blasting in the car so I can't hear the directions anyway. With this method, I can pause the music, tap the screen to hear my directions, and resume my music. I'm not trying to hear directions over my music, or having to bend to the will of the GPS and have it tell me what to do when it wants to.
prjkthack said:
Another great example. I always have my music blasting in the car so I can't hear the directions anyway. With this method, I can pause the music, tap the screen to hear my directions, and resume my music. I'm not trying to hear directions over my music, or having to bend to the will of the GPS and have it tell me what to do when it wants to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm definitely not trying to rain on anybody's parade here, but there isn't a person here (unless they're a complete weirdo) who can tell me they haven't been annoyed at the GPS interrupting them. Or at missing the directions, and having to struggle to find them. The phone DOES make a noise when a correct turn was taken, and a different one for an incorrect turn, so it does alert you to some degree, but I like the power being in your hands...
I'm sorry guys, but you're really reaching here, and I don't see why you are being so zealous about it.
First of all, the app telling you that you made a correct or incorrect turn after the fact serves no purpose at all. If you are in an unfamiliar area, you need the app to alert you that the turn is coming up, or you are very likely to miss it.
Second, it's kind of insulting to imply that anyone who has a different opinion is a "weirdo".
Third, most people prefer to keep their eyes on the road when they're driving, not fish around for their phone so they can check to see if they are still on course. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the anti-texting laws in some areas might also cover the kind of distracted driving that Microsoft's implementation might cause.
And fourth, we're talking about an option here, not forcing you to join our weirdo brigade. You want to be forced to find your phone, unlock it, and tap the screen to get your next instruction (while potentially driving in congested traffic in an area you don't know)? Fine. I don't. I want the Mango app to behave the same way every other professionally designed GPS navigation system currently available does.
Uh... Do you know what an opinion is? A navigation device interrupting isn't an opinion, but nice try though... I really apologize that my actual opinion is "reaching" for you... I like it, if you don't, sucks, never told you that you should feel the way I do
Sent from my HD7 using Board Express
RoboDad said:
I'm sorry guys, but you're really reaching here, and I don't see why you are being so zealous about it.
First of all, the app telling you that you made a correct or incorrect turn after the fact serves no purpose at all. If you are in an unfamiliar area, you need the app to alert you that the turn is coming up, or you are very likely to miss it.
Second, it's kind of insulting to imply that anyone who has a different opinion is a "weirdo".
Third, most people prefer to keep their eyes on the road when they're driving, not fish around for their phone so they can check to see if they are still on course. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the anti-texting laws in some areas might also cover the kind of distracted driving that Microsoft's implementation might cause.
And fourth, we're talking about an option here, not forcing you to join our weirdo brigade. You want to be forced to find your phone, unlock it, and tap the screen to get your next instruction (while potentially driving in congested traffic in an area you don't know)? Fine. I don't. I want the Mango app to behave the same way every other professionally designed GPS navigation system currently available does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not being zealous, but seeing it from both perspectives. They both make sense just fine. Course some people prefer one over the other, and that's perfectly fine too.
IMO, any device whether its your regular Garmin GPS or your Windows Phone device is possible cause for distracted driving. And obviously not understanding or knowing how to use said devices is even more cause for distracted driving.
I'm not sure how you use your GPS devices, but I certainly don't fumble around in my car so it can tell me directions. That sounds like a cause for distracted driving no matter what device you are using. Haha. I would have my phone mounted and already set to navigate. Then when directions are necessary, you just tap on the screen. You tap anywhere on the screen. So you don't even have to look at your phone to hunt for a specific repeat button or something, and that eliminates the need to turn away from the road as well. You would be no more distracted than if you were to have to look at your map on your good old Garmin GPS, or have to tap your Garmin to have it repeat directions that you missed because your music was too loud or because you just weren't paying attention to it. The sounds indicate whether I made my turn or not, then I just tap anywhere on my phone again when I'm ready for the next set of directions. If I go off course, my phone also won't repeatedly yell "recalculating" at me every couple seconds while I try to get back on the right track. I can tell it to recalculate and resume when I'm ready to get back on course.
Its not perfect, and certainly its not for everyone, but for those who like a little more control over their GPS experience, and a little less annoyance, it makes sense.
Has a propper driving 3d mode been implemented yet? kida seems pointless what they have implemented here to be honest. Hopefully the nokia driving app will be available on the store once they sort themselves out and release a phone for wp7.
edit. Acording to an article i read earlier nokia apps will be available for every wp7 phone, but most likely not ovi maps or navigation, those are being reserved for the nokia handsets.
I think we can all agree that having the directions automatically read to you would be a good *option*, even if it's not enabled by default. I only use the GPS when I have no idea where I'm going, so I need something that tells me how far a turn is, then reminds me as I'm approaching, then tells me that I need to turn now.
The old bing app on WM6.5 worked remarkably well. I wish the WP7 navigation could be configured to function like that. Yes it did talk A LOT and got annoying at times if someone else is in the car, but to have tapping the screen constantly be your only choice for being read directions is even more annoying especially if you are in unfamiliar territory.
Aside from that, I'd also like the option to have it automatically recalculate directions when you make a wrong turn. I can't think of an instance of where I'd miss a turn, then not want it to tell me how to get back on track.
To give the navigation some credit though, I use the Zune software for my music when I'm in the car, and it does pause the music when saying something and then resume it after, which is nice.
I used the gps nav for the first time last night and I must say they have some work to do.
I get what some are saying about it's nice not to be interrupted, but last night I needed to know my directions as they were coming up. Make it an option to not automatically read aloud for those that like that. Currently I wouldnt call this turn by turn voice navigation. Most gps units have the ability of getting details or just the bare minimum as far as guidance goes.
Second thing that really annoys me is the layout of buttons. when you are in the directions mode, and then go to the large map, it's annoying to go back to the directions view. Clicking the directions button brings up the new directions field. Also when in large mode, why can't i get voice guidance.
Lack of landscape mode is annoying as well and seems more like a forgotten feature than anything, there's no reason not to have it since metro isn't in use
There also needs to be the option to allow gps to track you if you have to leave the application to do something else. It takes to long, even though it's pretty fast, to re-aquire the satelites.
ken52787 said:
Aside from that, I'd also like the option to have it automatically recalculate directions when you make a wrong turn. I can't think of an instance of where I'd miss a turn, then not want it to tell me how to get back on track.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can. If you are driving in a city or very populated area with tiny blocks and roads everywhere. If you miss just one turn, then your GPS starts recalculating for you. It'll tell you to take the next right, but it doesn't recalculate in time because the blocks are so small and the next turn is so close, so by the time its telling you to make the next turn to get back on track, you've missed it. Then GPS has to recalculate again, and you miss your next turn again, and this repeats over and over, along with your GPS yelling "recalculate" "take the next right" over and over again.
This is where I think I'll enjoy the manual recalculation the most. If I miss the turn, I simply wait until I know I can respond properly to the next turn direction, maybe on a longer stretch of road, or maybe I can simply stop or slow down somewhere, then have the phone recalculate once, and get right back on track.
prjkthack said:
Not being zealous, but seeing it from both perspectives. They both make sense just fine. Course some people prefer one over the other, and that's perfectly fine too.
IMO, any device whether its your regular Garmin GPS or your Windows Phone device is possible cause for distracted driving. And obviously not understanding or knowing how to use said devices is even more cause for distracted driving.
I'm not sure how you use your GPS devices, but I certainly don't fumble around in my car so it can tell me directions. That sounds like a cause for distracted driving no matter what device you are using. Haha. I would have my phone mounted and already set to navigate. Then when directions are necessary, you just tap on the screen. You tap anywhere on the screen. So you don't even have to look at your phone to hunt for a specific repeat button or something, and that eliminates the need to turn away from the road as well. You would be no more distracted than if you were to have to look at your map on your good old Garmin GPS, or have to tap your Garmin to have it repeat directions that you missed because your music was too loud or because you just weren't paying attention to it. The sounds indicate whether I made my turn or not, then I just tap anywhere on my phone again when I'm ready for the next set of directions. If I go off course, my phone also won't repeatedly yell "recalculating" at me every couple seconds while I try to get back on the right track. I can tell it to recalculate and resume when I'm ready to get back on course.
Its not perfect, and certainly its not for everyone, but for those who like a little more control over their GPS experience, and a little less annoyance, it makes sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand how tapping the screen is a good feature? If your voice navigation doesn't tell you to make a turn ahead of time, then that makes the navigation useless...If you're in an unfamiliar area, how are you supposed to know when to tap?
mmian said:
I don't understand how tapping the screen is a good feature? If your voice navigation doesn't tell you to make a turn ahead of time, then that makes the navigation useless...If you're in an unfamiliar area, how are you supposed to know when to tap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That'e easy. Anytime is a good time to tap if you are in an unfamiliar area. That's the point of manually controlling when you need (or do not) need directions. You choose when you want your phone to tell you where to go. Then once you've started, the phone makes a sound when you are on track, just tap again right after the sound when you are ready for the next set of directions.

Android Wear, what I love and Hate

Ok as some of the members of this forum may know I got off to a shaky start with my Android wear watch (a Sony SW3).
I've now had it about four weeks and have over come the major problems I initially had, so I thought I would start a tread highlighting the things I love and the things I hate so others can assess if a smart watch is for them.
Firstly, what I love:
- Reading messages from Text, Email, Whatsapp and Messenger
It's so simply to just quickly look at my wrist see if I'm interested, if not I delete, if I am, may read further on the watch or if the message is to long, find my phone and continue there.
- Voice control
A really unexpected plus for me. I thought 'OK Google' was a bit of a gimmick at first, but how wrong could I have been. It's fantastic (OK, I feel a bit of a nerd saying OK Google to get it started, but that's a tiny problem). Driving and going to be late, OK google, Send text message to XXXX, then speak your message eg ' Sorry running late will be with you in 30 minutes. The translation is actually pretty accurate and it's done, you don't have to take your eyes off the road!
- It's an accurate watch, not sure where it gets it's time from but I guess it comes from the phone which in turn gets the time from the network which means no more setting, not running fast or slow. Not sure how it works when you change time zone though but I'll find that out soon enough.
- It's waterproof. Don;t forget to turn the touch screen off, but I've now been swimming with it, I regularly shower with it. Not a hint of a problem.
- Control you music system. I use Sonos around my home and I can turn the volume up and down, change track. Ok it's limited but it still an unexpected benefit.
- Control Bluetooth music with Spotify. Really a feature best used in the car. There's an app that will fire up Spotify on your phone which in turn will use the blue tooth audio to connect to your car. No more digging around to find you phone, unlock it, fire up spotify, find your play list etc etc etc.
- Incoming calls. Nice feature as I can decide if I want to take the call without having to find my phone to see who's calling.
What I hate (ok hate is a bit strong, but)
- The UI I think is not properly thought through You have al these options, tilt to wake, tilt to scroll through cards. Clumsy at best and a battery drain at worst (tilt to wake particularly) Even the touch screen to wake is not that cleaver as it can be operated but a lot of things touching the screen not just me, eg a sleeve, particularly one that is damp
- Voice control Ok I know I've said above that voice control is fantastic but it has one major down side, it needs internet connectivity. If it doesn't have it, it just doesn't work! Wish it would use the processing power of my phone to process voice.
- Wifi, ok I accept this is probably a bug, but wifi doesn't currently work properly, for some reason it will drain all the all the battery for no apparent reason and it does it very fast. I've now turned it off and only turn it on on the occasions because it's great to have full functionality
- Screen, the screen is fine, but that's damming it with faint praise. I would really like to see a higher quality screen and a little bit bigger would be nice.
- Incoming calls. When rejecting a call, it would be good to be offered a 'rejection message' that is sent via text giving a reason for the rejection.
When rejecting calls you can slide up instead of left por right swipe ano it will show up predefined messages that it will automaticly send to The caller.
::enviado do meu oneplus one via tapatalk::
My complaints (1 month usage) is the app tray feels bloated. Not every app needs to be displayed. Not every app has options set through the watch. Also the layout feels cramped to me. I would prefer some options (icons only, 1x2, list mode, 1x1 mode, text/no text, recent shortcuts at top on/off, etc.)
2. Embedded speaker for taking quick calls without digging for your phone last minute. 1 problem a watch introduces is that your phone starts to be left behind. I now leave my phone on the counter while I buzz around my home. Phone rings, its a mad dash down stairs to find my phone.
3. Some sort of keyboard. I'll take the old school T9 input. Just let me type a few things.
player911 said:
My complaints (1 month usage) is the app tray feels bloated. Not every app needs to be displayed. Not every app has options set through the watch. Also the layout feels cramped to me. I would prefer some options (icons only, 1x2, list mode, 1x1 mode, text/no text, recent shortcuts at top on/off, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download wear mini launcher from the playstore. It's a brilliant replacement that let's you customise the watch to how you want it.
I totally agree with you. I also use Android wear for
Reading messages from Text, Email, Whatsapp and Messenger
Voice control
Agree with some points according to my experience with my old android wear.
Hope my new one will work better.
My most of my complaints are solved with the Asus ZenWatch2. It is a solid upgrade to the LG G Watch. Once Marshmallow drops, we'll get a new app tray and speaker support (Zenwatch2 and Huawei) for calls.
I tried the alt launchers and it doesnt replace the stock launcher but runs over top of it. So it just adds to the chaos. However after the nostalgia wore off, I dont really use apps thus dont need to go into the app drawer.
Keyboard: try FlickKey
player911 said:
3. Some sort of keyboard. I'll take the old school T9 input. Just let me type a few things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try FlickKey Keyboard for Wear. It adds a keyboard to any app that wants to call it. Right now, that is limited to Wear Messenger, Coffee for Wear, and K-9 for Wear - you need one of those messaging apps to be able to use it. BTE, FlickKey is not a T9 style keyboard - it works better than that.
I have tried various keyboards. What I was referring to was an option, by default, in Android wear to have a keyboard input. I don't use any of those apps, thus having a keyboard right now would be irrelevant.
What apps would you like to use a keyboard with?
player911 said:
I have tried various keyboards. What I was referring to was an option, by default, in Android wear to have a keyboard input. I don't use any of those apps, thus having a keyboard right now would be irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I certainly agree that users should be able to decide for themselves if they want to use a keyboard or not, and which one they want on their smartwatch. What apps would you like to use a keyboard with? FlickKey can be added to any app with just about 15 lines of code. So message the dev who makes the app you want FlickKey in and let them know they can easily add it for free.
I find Android Wear to be very useful - when it works. Performance on my original 360 hasn't been very consistent either but I'm sure the S400 watches fare much better. Seriously though - every Android OEM needs to switch to AMOLED as soon as possible since it's much more suitable for smartwatch use.
I have installed AW on a Samsung Gear 2 (ported to the watch by @biktor_gj) and it runs really great !
Much much better than the default Tizen where it comes with normally.
Since I am using AW, I'm really hooked on it.
I love to be able to navigate with my watch and/or get notifications (from Google Maps) about any traffic jams or hold ups on my route.
I love to be able to use my voice to respond to whatsapp messages or even use my voice to make a new message without even holding my phone.
Really looking forward to the upcoming version (Marshmellow?), which suppose to have speaker support, because the Gear 2 has a build-in speaker.
So that means I can make calls too again from my watch (which is now only possible in Tizen, but not AW).
Hangouts and Messenger and Email (I know there are email clients that support wear and flickkey). I doubt Hangouts or Messanger will get it support.

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