Database Info

TP as HID Keyboard

Is there an application for the TP which allows for the device to be used as a HID over Bluetooth to control a desktop PC?

there are programs that let you control your desktop PC in various ways, but nothing specific for TP or the keyboard

Wow great idea, that would be nifty on my CarPC! I'm always looking for a smaller keyboard to fit there...
Can't be that hard, I'm sure someone can do that, with all the specialists we have here in this wonderful community

"can't be that hard"?
How did you come to this conclusion?
Educated guess? Or just guess?

Well it would need to modify a little bit the bluetooth stack and emulate a HID keyboard, I guess.
Tonight I'm the Jeremy Clarkson of the day, with his most famous quote: "how hard can it be?!" when obviously it is very hard to do...
So I absolutely don't mean it is an easy thing to do, but I'm sure some experts in XDA-Dev are skilled enough to do it.
Hey, a man can dream, right?

Another option is to use a program like VNC to pilot your pc from the your raphael.
Used to do it with my old ppc (Toshiba e830). This works only if the computer you want to control is also in the same network (connected either through LAN cable or wifi).

Yes, I'm aware of a number of remote control solutions, but they all require an application to be run on the PC to be controlled. I'm really looking for a solutions which is purely based on HID. Like the Sony Ericsson remote control feature on the new phones. Great for presentations and Media Player. Any ideas?

Not exactly what you were talking about but...
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
About the size of a lighter, and you can use it for you phone as well. (Picture attaching your phone to the TV in the back. Using your bluetooth to open a program on it. Then typing away on the scren with this "futuristic keyboard from the stars!!".... or something like that.)

that must be one of the most useless gadgets ever created
huge initial "wow" factor, but that is all

Useless? I don't know... over priced, and unnecessary maybe, but a portable full sized keyboard doesn't seem useless to me.

Have you tried it?
I have. Very stupid to tap a plain table, since you cannot feel anything (even the separation of the buttons) you make 60% mistakes.
Also, it is not even portable! You need a large flat surface to put it and to let it throw its beam.
(and one more thing to recharge)
I stand by my original wording.

nethopper said:
Yes, I'm aware of a number of remote control solutions, but they all require an application to be run on the PC to be controlled. I'm really looking for a solutions which is purely based on HID. Like the Sony Ericsson remote control feature on the new phones. Great for presentations and Media Player. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, HID implementation in Windows also includes programs and services that start with your windows. So if you have to install only 1 program to make it run I don't think it is a big deal.
It's 3 years I use my main computer this way. As I have a projector and don't want to start it every time I installed VNC server in my main computer (freeware) and VNC client in both my laptop and PPC, and it works pretty well (especially with Vista on my laptop, it runs pretty smooth).

@NLS:
Hmm, well from that description I will have to agree with you and add useless to my definition of the product as well.
@nethopper:
Yeah if you were looking for remote solutions I would suggest Logmein.com (the free version because I am cheap). If you want something that purely converts your phones keyboard into a computer keyboard... I found ( http://en.handybyte.com/cat/system-utilities/communications/blueremote/ ) for palm devices, this ( http://en.handybyte.com/cat/system-utilities/enhancements/ppc-tablet-remote-control-suite/ ) for ppc but over TCP/IP instead of bluetooth, and a patent showing that someone *Microsoft* is working/has worked on the idea ( http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2008/0120448.html ) so the search continues

@FlippyTK: I'm aware of the VNC solution, but I'm really looking for something as slim and elegant as the software on the SE phones. There are situations where you don't want or can't install anything on the host PC.
@NetApex: Thanks, for the links. The MS patent is strange, how could they file something as obvious as this? There must be prior art... But the patent might be the reason why such a software does not exist. I guess everybody is afraid of the MS lawyers...
I'll keep searching, please let us know if you have the solution...

I'm not sure a pure HID solution is possible. If the Raphael keyboard is indeed a HID-capable device, then the phone itself is its host. Since you would have to go through the host (in this case, WM) to access the bluetooth stack, the most direct solution is a software "pass-through" program.
[edited]
The SE solution is using bluetooth HID emulation, so I will take a look into that.
For now, the TCP/IP solution shouldn't be a problem: you can setup a bluetooth PAN for TCP/IP connectivity.
For reference, one software that is closest to what you have in mind is Synergy, a similar host/client pass-through program that allows you to use one keyboard/mouse on multiple networked computers (without using hardware KVM switch, etc). It's only Windows/Mac/Unix, no PPC client, but maybe it will help point you in the right direction.

I found the following article which gives a nice overview of remote control solutions:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blogs/3/remote_media_controllers_for_windows_mob
The software from Jerom does a nice job (http://www.jaylee.org/RemoteControl/) and I used it on my Prophet for some time. It requires for a small program to be installed on the host and it is easy to set up. But I had it hang a few times (typically in the middle of a management presentation) and therefore I abandoned it. The SE solution I had before was absolutely reliable and that's why I look for something similar for WM.
In principle, the solution is simple: Implement a HID device driver and pass key/touches to it. I did some programming for WM devices but I never tackled the bluetooth stack... there is a significant hurdle - otherwise someone else would have done this app already. ;-)

that would be cool
using the phone to open an app that is named "operate as bluetooth keyboard" and clicking start to take control of a home theater PC using teh TV as your monitor and the desktop media PC as the CPU and just using your phone as nothing more than a keyboard would be pretty slick.

golympio said:
Wow great idea, that would be nifty on my CarPC! I'm always looking for a smaller keyboard to fit there...
Can't be that hard, I'm sure someone can do that, with all the specialists we have here in this wonderful community
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are so much interested in a small portable keyboard, why dont you try diNovo Mini from logitech http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboards/&cl=roeu,en
Quite cool. I use it for my Media Center!

Cyber-mate said:
If you are so much interested in a small portable keyboard, why dont you try diNovo Mini from logitech http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboards/&cl=roeu,en
Quite cool. I use it for my Media Center!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is cool, but also pricey

UP!!!!!

Using HD2 as (native) Bluetooth Mouse

I searched this now for a few days on the web. I found plenty of programs doing lots of things coming close to what I am looking for but nothing exactly what I am looking for that would work.
I am looking for a program that turns my HD2 into a native bluetooth mouse. I don't need any remote control or remote desktop stuff, I want my HD2 to look like a regular mouse connected by bluetooth.
I found plenty of remote control apps, that would require a server installed to the computer I want to control with my HD2, however this is exactly NOT what I am looking for. I want to control any computer that supports generic bluetooth input devices, no matter if Windows, Linux, Mac, whatever without installing any additional software to the computer.
I found two programs, that claim to do that (mobileSRC RemoteMobile and MobileMouse) but neither will function on the HD2. RemoteMobile does not seem to support the Widcomm Bluetooth Stack and MobileMouse is not usable, because it's not designed for WVGA (at minimum, I cannot get past the Licence Disclaimer after starting the app, because I do not reach any controls to do so).
Is there anything out there that would do what I am looking for on a HD2?

+1 Looking for the same

http://gbmsoftware.com/

gdayhtc said:
http://gbmsoftware.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh yeah, this is what I was looking for, thank you very much!

Which irony: I am still looking for what I described in my first post - and while I was searching for a program capable of doing this once again, I stumbled across my own old thread here
Sadly gdayhtc's solution wich seems to make 2 die 4 happy is exaclty what I am *not* looking for. I was aware of GRemote when I wrote this posting in january already. The point is, you need to install a server application on the host you want to use your phone with. The "talking" is done between the application on the phone and the server on the host as regular network traffic. This is not what I am looking for. What I am looking for is an application that basicly says "Hi [whatever operating system you are], I am a regular bluetooth mouse! Go ahead and load your appropriate drivers, so I can talk to you (just as any other bluetooth mouse would do)!" - and if there are Bluetooth touch pads, that the phone could emulate, that would be even better Basicly the phone will promote another bluetooth service to other devices that do a bluetooth service lookup stating that it can be a bluetooth input device. I can't believe nobody did something like that! Besides having to poke around in some bluetooth input device standards it seems like the much cleaner and more appropriate approach to use your phone as an input device over bluetooth compared to what GRemote and the others are doing.

I don't think there is such thing as a 'generic' blue tooth mouse (please correct me if I am wrong).
If you get a logitech one, it still loads its appropriate driver for the operating system you are using. Same for DELL (both use setpoint) and I'm sure Microsoft (and for the different models, there may be different drivers).
What I think you can best hope for is somebody to emulate one of these 'drivers', but at the end of the day, I would assume that some driver will have to be loaded on your pc/server.

OBD

Hello,
I saw that there is no OBD software in the marketplace, so I assume there's no API for the OBD in windows phone 7??
If anyone has informations, I could develop a new obd tool... but I can't find informations about OBD..

If you mean by OBD the On-Board Diagnostics, all handsets already has one (provided by manufacturers). And it's nothing what you can do (if you'll not start manufactoring your own WP7 ) - all native code should be signed.

No, sorry, I meant the automotive diagnostic tool eheh!

It's probably because niether the USB or the BT connection allow to connect OBD interfaces. USB lacks host support and BT lacks virtual com ports support, so you have no way to connect the OBD interface whether it being KKL / ELM or whatever with the phone.

figured it was something like that.. any luck we will have support about this in the future?

There is a device for the iPhone that plugs into the OBD and creates a wifi network. After that it is just sockets. I'm sure you could make a windows phone version of the tool.
Found it: http://www.obdkey.com/wifi/index.asp

my buddy has one for android it communicates via bluetooth and cost like $20. He ran the codes on my caddy, very useful

Hello i am the developer for OBDMobile for windows mobile:
http://www.rklenka.com/software/winmobile/obdmobile/
and Windows:
http://www.rklenka.com/software/obdmobile/
and as soon as its possible there will be a version for Windows Phone 7, but for right now it cant be done. In fact I am trying to work with some OBD Connector manufacturers in order to find a way to get it to work.
Right now there is no Bluetooth API and no Ad-Hoc support which is what OBDKey and KIWI Wifi supports. All the back end code has all ready be done so as soon as there is a way it will be up.

RKlenka said:
Hello i am the developer for OBDMobile for windows mobile:
http://www.rklenka.com/software/winmobile/obdmobile/
and Windows:
http://www.rklenka.com/software/obdmobile/
and as soon as its possible there will be a version for Windows Phone 7, but for right now it cant be done. In fact I am trying to work with some OBD Connector manufacturers in order to find a way to get it to work.
Right now there is no Bluetooth API and no Ad-Hoc support which is what OBDKey and KIWI Wifi supports. All the back end code has all ready be done so as soon as there is a way it will be up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be amazing if you could get it to work matey
I use Torque on my Android Tablet and Digimoto on my laptop and connect to my Bluetooth OBD-II Reader, if i was able to use my Windows Phone this would be a GREAT help!

ODB aplication for WP7 would be very good.

I was looking around the internet about 2 months ago and ran across hardware and apps that do this for android,ios,wm, and I think even blackberry...
I remember thinking that would be sweet on my windows phone. Way to show up my boss... Lol
I showed him the website and I think he's gonna look into it when the software on the current scan tool gets outdated since he has an iphone4, I got the hd7, and another kid has an android phone.. Would be sweet to just carry around the little piece that plugs into the port and broadcast the signal to the phones.
Do you think there's gonna be live data support or just a basic tool to pull engine codes. Possible abs, srs scan too?
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Didn't know the USB adapters could be gotten for under $20 never mind software for the PC for fairly cheap. I always thought these adapters could only be gotten for around $300+.
I dont work on cars for a living but, if this could be all gotten and working on my WP7 device for under $30, I'd be all over it. It's always usefull to have one of these type of things around when a code comes up on one of our cars and not have to run to a store that will not reset codes, etc.
I might even grab it for a old WM 6.5 device I keep around for a spare....

any app for OBDII gauges in WP7.5 ????

Bump, it's been a while, anyone find anything for WP7 or 7.5 to do this ?

It's been a while for this thread - any updates on Windows Phone and OBD-II? Wondering because I want to expand into Windows development too, rather than just Android.

[Q] Wifi Internet Rerouting to Computer

Hello everyone. I am an enthusiast on custom software hacks on Android and various other platforms. I know this question has been asked, but read to the end first before you answer.
What if you didn't want to use your device's data connection to tether your computer because you have available wifi, but no wireless card on your computer?
Is it possible to use your phone as your computer's wifi receiver?
And finally, would it be possible to bring this solution to both PC's and Macs alike? I know a solution exists for windows, and I ask this because I have a "Mac" as my primary system.
Thank you in advance for any help and solutions this community can provide.

I'm sure this is possible software and hardware-wise, but why? Don't they have little USB->Wifi adapters for around $20 usd?

Well, yes. But the point is to make the most out of the available hardware.
Don't get me wrong; I will probably go out and buy an adapter soon anyways. My understanding is that OSX has built-in compatibility with most adapters already.

[Q] DisplayLink Software RT

Hi,
is there a displayLink Software for the RT?? I have an Dockingstation with an extern SCreen and i really would like to use it, but this will only work with DisplayLink Software. So is there a solution for the RT??
Thanks a lot

HandyBesitzer said:
Hi,
is there a displayLink Software for the RT?? I have an Dockingstation with an extern SCreen and i really would like to use it, but this will only work with DisplayLink Software. So is there a solution for the RT??
Thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope- no DDK for WinRT, so no one can make third-party hardware that doesn't fit the preloaded driver set:
http://www.displaylink.com/support/ticket.php?id=335

Well, no public DDK. There's (quite obviously) an internal one, and it has apparently been shared with certain partners, and a copy of it has leaked onto the Internet and been found (and occasionally used) in various places. That said, even if a commercial outfit were willing to entertain the use of such a thing, they would need to get the resulting driver signed by Microsoft for it to be installable on non-"jailbroken" RT devices.

this signing thing is really terrible. is there a chace to get such a driver in future??

GoodDayToDie said:
Well, no public DDK. There's (quite obviously) an internal one, and it has apparently been shared with certain partners, and a copy of it has leaked onto the Internet and been found (and occasionally used) in various places. That said, even if a commercial outfit were willing to entertain the use of such a thing, they would need to get the resulting driver signed by Microsoft for it to be installable on non-"jailbroken" RT devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, so effectively no DDK for general peripheral manufacturers to use unless MS decides otherwise for that device-- hence the situation with USB Ethernet adapters (and the driver that Plugable released then had to pull).
I'm a bit puzzled by the situation-- if MS' concern is that poor drivers would affect the WinRT user experience, then presumably they could enforce a testing process (as they already have w/ WHQL) and only allow driver delivery through Windows Update.
As it stands, WinRT devices, running full-blown Windows, are ironically far less useful in custom applications than iPads, which have all sorts of accessories available. Why wouldn't MS want WinRT to be usable in, say, medical settings? (even iPhones, let alone iPads, can connect to hardware accessories like medical sensors).
Android's also catching up quickly in the accessories space, and it's only a matter of time before iOS/Android destroy any advantage MS had w/ hardware manufacturers, as happened so dramatically in the software space (there are now so many more devs who've worked with iOS and Android than have with modern MS platforms).

Well, for accessories that just need "traditional" data I/O - things like what you might have done over a serial port in days of yore - you can easily use either BlueTooth or the audio jack (although the latter is a real hack, usually used only for very small dongles powered by the audio signal). The iPad is definitely less extensible with third-party hardware (note, accessorizable != extensible) than RT, but I fully agree with you that Microsoft's stance on RT drivers is just plain weird. Keep the pool smallish and/or WHQL-test the crap out of them, but make them available! Those USB ports can and should be a killer feature.

The audio channels available on many consumer devices are often perfect for bit banging various communications protocols. UART "emulation" has often been done on the headset jack with a level shifter and some trickery, often on android devices much less powerful than the surface RT (seen a demo on an 800MHz single core ARMv6 handset). If your willing to sacrifice audio output from your application on the RT (as it is being used for bit banging the UART) then you essentially have a plug and play serial port without any special drivers needed, your application just needs to be able to generate an audio signal and analyse an input. the peripheral will need an external power supply but this is common on many legacy RS232 applications too.
There is the bluetooth serial port profile. Thats often used as a replacement for RS232 or UART. I dont know if windows RT supports it though (someone would have to check).
Another trick I have seen involves a microcontroller with USB capabilities. I have seen examples of people setting a microcontroller to appear as USB mass storage and having a small file system with 1 plain text file. Writing into this text file from windows or linux etc would then cause the microcontroller to perform a particular operation in response. Sensors can also be read by the microcontroller causing it to update the text file too. You essentially have file based GPIO without.
Its all rather hacky but it works technically.
There is also an i2c bus on the RT keyboard connector.