Comic Reader Mobi
by Ty Landercasper
I just realised that its been a whole year since I started this project!
A look back...
A lot has changed (including going commercial) but I thought it'd be fun to go over all the changes
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Ah the difference a graphic artist can make!
Loading and saving
The first iteration of the load menu was quite crude! In fact for most of the non commercial development, I pretty much relied on everyone just opening it through their favorite file explorer and ignoring my built in load completely
Issues arose when people wanted to read a different comic. Since Comic Reader Mobi only remembered the very last one you opened, you'd lose your place! A recent menu was put in, and that worked great as long as you didn't read more than 10 comics. I tried implementing a crude version of bookmarking, but it was extremely buggy, and difficult to manage.
Now adays, everything is built into Comic Reader Mobi. Your place is remembered in every series, and every comic. So you can easily see where you last, and whats already completed. Everything is done automatically, so you never have to worry about again.
Onscreen Controls
Back in my day, we had these fancy things called "Buttons". And boy, it sure was great, because I hardly had to put any thought at all into the onscreen controls!
Just use the action button to change a page, the up and right to change your comic, (or zoom in) and left and right to change pages. Button binding got more sophisticated in the later versions, and in the commercial version you can bind any button to any action, and it even supports overriding the volume, close and phone buttons!
But alas, the days of buttons soon ended, as more and more people started getting the new Touch HD. Without an action button to press, they were stuck with keeping the menu's open all the time and using the clunky menu system. Having to hit "Menu-> next page" over and over. Eventually some ugly onscreen controls were thrown in. They were small, and before I knew how to do transparency. So they either blocked important parts of the comic or were difficult to press on the screen because they were small!
Now we have a whole new menu system which is layed out for all the important actions. Its easy and quick to drag your finger on it to get to the suboptions. Users have the option of always showing the menu bar, or showing super transparent controls. The transparent controls are even draggable now, so if they're blocking part of the text, you can just move them out of the way
Comic Reader Mobi even has a brand new feature with a center hotspot. If you press in the center of the screen and drag within the box, than the onscreen controls will quicly popup and you can easily change pages or access controls that way! Its like being able to swipe to change pages
Lens Mode!
And who can forget the lens! initially created because someone requested a "zoom box" and I didn't know what that meant, the lens has because a powerful feature for letting people read comics without needing to scroll around.
I noticed early on that I was having a hard time reading my comics, because I'd constantly get lost, or not understand what was happening. By being zoomed in and scrolling around, I could read the text clearly, but most of the gags and action scenes were lost on me, because I was unable to see them entirely.
The first iteration of the lens just opened at a set size, didn't have any borders, and believe it or not, wasn't even draggable!
Most of the development was focused on the lens from that point on. A lot of good well as well as bad ones were implemented in order to get it to be usable. Users could change the size of it, on option was added to make it dragable, another one was added so that it would only appear while you were touching the screen(this feature was quickly scrapped), there was even a "lens mode" option where everywhere you touched a dragged a lens would come up(another scrapped feature). It eventually finished with being on tapping the screen to pop the lens up, and you could drag it by dragging the lens, or drag the page by dragging off the lens.
I created a way to detect text on the screen so that the the lens would autosize to the bubble, and I'm constantly improving the algorithm so its more and more reliable.
And now its just as easy to read on the small screen as it is on the large one!
On the iphone side, one of my customers requested being able to change the zoom level, because he was legally blind and the lens was the only way to read comics at all for him! So now Comic Reader Mobi lets you set the zoom level to 2x,3x, or 4x.
The Commercial version also lets you select "Box Zoom" from the buttons, which lets you drag your own custom box to create a lens.
It also has the option to fit to the entire page, so you can draw custom lens anytime you don't have to scroll at all
The Name
Originally deemed "Comic Reader" because my naming ability is not one of my stronger skills. I eventually asked forum members to help me come up with a name, but as it turns out most of them actually liked the name "Comic Reader!" They said it made it easier to find and identify. Someone suggested Comic Reader Mobile, for Windows Mobile, and it instantly stuck. By simply adding another word, it magically changed from a description to a legitimate title!
When I was about to go commercial, I was worried that the "Mobile" part might get me in trouble since it was going to be out for the iphone and Blackberry. So I set out to find a new name. That was when I learned that there was a whole .mobi domain out there, and since it was new, there were actually domains still available! Like a kid in a candy store, I snatched up as many as I could. I was very excited when I realised I could call the program Comic Reader Mobi, and people would be able to get to it by going to http://comicreader.mobi
And that is how the program ended up with what is quite literally the most generic name I could possibly give it
Loading Times
Throughout the development, people complained about the comic load times. Since I only read manga, which is traditionally very small and light files, and only had one or two second delays between pages, I pretty much had no idea what you were all talking about, and just assumed everyone was crazy.
When I started the development of the commercial version, I figured if I wanted to take your money, I should probably look into this issue..
I eventually tested it with an American comic, and it turns out you guys weren't crazy and the loading times were indeed slow! I immediately reworked the loading system, and now the program buffers the next page while you're reading so all the pages changes are usually instant.
Kinetic Scrolling and swiping
The most common feature request has finally been implemented! Now the program features kinetic scrolling, and a great page turning feature!
Final Remarks
Its been quite a ride this past year, and I'm planning on making many more improvements for the next one!
If you'd like to buy it, or read more about it, you can go to my website here:
http://comicreader.mobi
or, if you want to wish me luck, ask any questions, or just feel like populating my forums you can go here:
http://forums.comicreader.mobi
Thanks!
This sounds great but where is the App?
whoops, I remembered to upload the attachment, but didn't realise I needed to add it in the body!
Thank You
thx
thx! nice app
Ive been looking at something like this for awhile! Interested to see how it performs!
Any chance for an update to read .cbr files?
yeah, the next version will support cbr and rar files
Kudos for the program. I like it!
I am waiting for the update for the cbz format. Its going to kick some serious butt. Also is it possible to access files from the storage card? When I am given the access to the open menu, I can only open files that are on the device memory.
Cheers tho.
Ben
It actually will open files on the storage card but only one level deep
so anything in \comics\xmen will not be seen
but
\xmen will be.
I really really don't understand why Microsoft choose to make their open dialog work that way, but there you have it
In the next release I'll have an option to associate comic reader with cbz and cbr files, so that you can open them from File Explorer and get around that.
Ah I see that. Thanks for the tip.
This is a really nice idea btw. I have been using just the included image viewer up until now to read my comics and stuff. I will totally be watching for the updates.
Thank you.
where do you find comics that work in this?
New version is up
As for where you get them... I think you can find comics in all the usual places.
I think DC or Marvel supply some for free, but I don't know for sure. I use it mostly for reading manga.
This program doesn't use a propretary format so it should be able to read any comic file or any rar/zip with images in it.
haha i dont know the usual places i havent downloaded any before
just seemed like a cool idea
Best app. Ever. All it needs is a zoom box, and it would be perfect. Thanks.
Any thought of open sourcing this? You could get some help on features from people. Maybe up on Google Code? or CodePlex.
I was thinking of making one of these myself, but just couldn't get around to getting the initial work done.
Just a suggestion.
Hi thanks,downloading and giving it a go!
now that i got some comics it really is cool
but yea the only suggestion would be speeding up time between pages
even with the manga setting turned off whenever i go to the next page it still starts at the top right
great app, gratz
pls optimize it for hd screen, it should be nice
does it read cbz and cbr too?
Related
hi all...just purchased dopod u 1000 with wm6 professional..any ways to change the ugly thick bold font....treid reducing the size to smallest..
also i tried installing true vga/ozvga..but couldnot find /windows directory on my mobile
regards
try real vga it works great
dheerpat said:
hi all...just purchased dopod u 1000 with wm6 professional..any ways to change the ugly thick bold font....treid reducing the size to smallest..
also i tried installing true vga/ozvga..but couldnot find /windows directory on my mobile
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're referring to the font size on the today screen, go to \start\settings\system\screen\text size and adjust it to any size you want.
Looks like you're in the process of customizing your device. This is a really exciting and fun journey. You would also be trying to find out cool applications that you can use, I'm sure. So, I thought you might want to check out the following:
1) WkTask writtten by Waku from Wk Software lab Click here:
http://soft.photoracer.net/docs/wktask_en.html
This utility displays all active application on the task bar and lets you switch to them.
2) RealVGA, and try out the 128dpi screen. If you have very very good eye sight, try out the 96 dpi display. Click here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=327830
3) If you intend to use VOIP, this is still the best VOIP client that I can find.
http://www.sjphone.org/preview/SJpho...wsCE(preview)/
You need a service provider before you could make VOIP call though.
4) For backing up your contact, schedule, etc, try PIM backup. Click here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299705
5) Try out the Tengo software keybaord. They have a free version here
http://free.tengo.net/
If you want to use your Thumb for input and do not mind the keyboard covering up too much of the screen, try out Tengo Thumb.
http://tengo.net/tengo_thumb.html
If you want fast input and want a keyboard that takes up only very little space, try out the regular Tengo here:http://tengo.net/tengo_pocketpc.html
The layout that occupies the least space is Tengo Nano layout.
6) To help you set your default software keyboard more easily, try out this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=271008
7) If you want to be able to access all your applications and system settings from the today screen, try out iLauncher, which is the only one that works with the realVGA display.
http://ilauncher.en.softonic.com/pocket
With this, you can have one click access to any webpages, therefore one click access to things such as weather, tv programs, flight arrival and departure time, cheapest petrol stations, etc etc. all from the today screen.
It also let you have the ability to do soft reset in safe mode. In addition, you can have a battery gauge at the top of the task bar. I won't use its program switcher though. See my today screen at the end of this post on how it could look like. My icons are of 43x43 sized TGA format files. You could easily make them yourself for iLauncher.
8) If you want to make sure you do not miss any call during meetings but find the normal rigntone too offensive to be left on, then try one of these mosquitoes ringtone. Choose one that you can hear.
http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/
9) For an excellent task manager that let you see the CPU utilisation, running processes, and applications resource usage, try this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=280104
10) Try out this phone profile switcher:
http://www.winmobileapps.com/device/pocketpc/plt/plt.aspx
You can set up your own phone profile, for example, for for meeting and another for loud. You can then swtich from one to another from the today screen.
11) Try out the best enhancement to pocket IE, making it a lot better than Opera.
http://www.reensoft.com/PIEPlus/
12) Try out this very very cool enhancement to WM6, so that you don't have to use the vertical and horizontal scroll bar again. This enhancement lets you scrool up and down pages by dragging it. It takes some practice to use it, but you'll get use to it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=338143
This applications makes all applications a little more fun to use. Your native contact application will have the iPhone feel to it.
13) This is probably less important once you have installed 12) above, but if you really like the iPhone feel for your contact, try out the best enhancement to the contact applications.
http://vitotechnology.com/en/products/contact-manager.html
14) Try out the free google map. Gives you your street maps and satellite image. Even act as a crude GPS navigation software.
http://www.google.com.au/gmm/index.html
15) The best enhancement to the WM6 alarm system that I know of is Chronos.
http://www.pocketgear.com/en_US/html/display_product.jsp?id=prod5640770
I use this to set my device to give give me an hourly chime. Sounds like the old fashion grand father clock. It also let me have unlimited alarm entries, give me a good stop watch, as well as count down capability.
16) Replace the standard file manager with Total Commander and/or Resco File explorer. Lets you see hidden files, including those in extended ROM, among other things.
http://www.ghisler.com/
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/default.asp
17) The best program for viewing picture that I know of is Resco Photo Viewer. It also has a screen capture utility which is really good.
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/photoviewer/
1 The best program for watching video is TCPMP. The reliable version now is 0.72RC1. Don't use any version newer than this as they are still bug ridden.
http://picard.exceed.hu/tcpmp/test/
Make sure you also get the FLV plugins if you want to watch youtube downloads
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=196939
19) To quicky lock and unlock your device, try out this:
http://www.mr2-power.com/downloads/DeviceLock.CAB
I actually use one of the softkeys for this applications. The other softkeys is used for contact. I have phone as one of the icons on the iLauncher screen.
Yes, you can change the soft key to anything you want, both the left and right soft keys can be changed easily. There are many different ways to do this. One of the ways is to do it with a software called Sktools. This tool is one of the must haves. It also let you do many other tweakings.
20) Another very popular utility worth looking at is Tweaks2k2. I use this to change the color of my top and bottom bar. I often change the color, from red, to green, to blue, to black, etc, making my device more interesting. Go to system color under WM5 color to do this. Be careful NOT to let this software soft reset your device or else you will be frozen at the primary splash screen forcing you to have to hard reset. Always use your stylus poking into the hole to soft reset.
There are many more nice third party programs which greatly improves the ease of use and functionality of the device. Try them out as part of your exploration of what this device can do. For example I like the pocket weather program from SBSH, with a customized layout, I could display the day, max temp, min temp, precipitation and image of weather on just ONE line (not the one on my screen shot which takes up two lines). Another nice today plugin is Today Agenda, which displays task and date with just one line rather than the two shown on my screen shot.
My today screen changes constantly and it's fun that way. I tend to get bored with the same look and feel day in and day out.
My today screen (taken quite a while ago) after all the customization looks like this in 128 dpi. Note that I limit my short cuts to exactly 70. This would display very well in both landscape and portrait mode.
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Good luck to your journey of exciting exploration.
Edit" If you feel brave enough, do not mind lots of reading before hand, and do not mind risking not having your warranty honored by HTC, then you might want to try out the latest cooked ROM. Some of the applications listed above are already incorporated in the ROM. However, if you do not feel that the risk is worth taking, you could still improve your stock ROM's feel and look by a great deal with the applications above.
thanx irus..that really helped..i purchased this machine second hand..the seller assured me that its not six months old nad very less used
my device details as under
winmo 6 professional (build 179440.0.3.1)-PK
rom : AP touch
ROM date : 1.50.00.00
protocolL:32.83.7020.20h
call duration : 83 hrs incoming 24 hr outgoing
does above data reflects same? is everything latest..
one more thing i intend to use pocket div x converter for video conversion..what should be the ideal setttings(fps etc) for sttutter less playing...i have about 138 video songs on microdrive.divx players hangs when opened
wow eaglesteve,,that was nice..only one thing pending now.best converter and player to watch videos on the device stutterless.any advise..using tcmpm right now for playing and intend to use pocket divx fro converting
dheerpat said:
wow eaglesteve,,that was nice..only one thing pending now.best converter and player to watch videos on the device stutterless.any advise..using tcmpm right now for playing and intend to use pocket divx fro converting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry that I'm not the best person to ask in this area, as I mostly download stuffs from places such as youtube, and play it as it is without any conversion effort. Perhaps someone else could help out.
dear all...i am observing that there is certain lag in opening up of menus...is not it surprising consedering athena is 600mhz processer..any ways to boost up openings of menus and programs
Hello
Following discussion and development on AndyZap's GPS Cycle Computer thread, I'm starting this new thread.
It's all about navmi...
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"lightbox_download": "Download",
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"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
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navmi is a GPS sports application, currently available for Windows Mobile touch screen (professional). It contains lots of DNA from AndyZap's GPS Cycle Computer - and it's now been tested on a few devices including:
- Omnia II
- Diamond
- HTC HD (and HD2 Leo)
- Axim x51v
- Omnia
Current download is shown on navmi.com.
There is currently a 1 dot 1 dot 1 release in Beta testing
Among navmi's features are:
Time and distance tracking
Autopause
Auto lap (auto waypoint) recording
Manual lap recording
Integrated sports photography
Map display – including offline caching of maps
Chart display – speed and elevation
Multiple settings for multiple sports
Training Diary – including lap, map, photo and chart review
Integration with runsaturday online training log and analysis tools
KML and GPX track export
navmi proudly contains:
DNA from the GPS Cycle Computer – by AndyZap – with design by expo7 and special thanks to AngelGR – used under new bsd license
integration with runsaturday.com
mapping by OpenStreetMap served by Cloudmade – used under creative commons license
voice from acclivity on freesound.org – used under creative commons license
sound effects from sowatt and milton on freesound.org – used under creative commons license
extra graphics input from clker.com – used under creative commons license
I hope this is the right place to start this thread!
Omnia II, Diamond, HTC HD, Axim x51v...hmmm...does it work in other resolutioin like WQVGA or QVGA? Looks nice...
hi...im a big fan of AndyZap GPS Cycle Computer...and use it on every occasion, while on the go. unfortunately development seems to be abandoned . so hope you will get best of it and follow his high standards... will watch that development closely.
hsmcd said:
Omnia II, Diamond, HTC HD, Axim x51v...hmmm...does it work in other resolutioin like WQVGA or QVGA? Looks nice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it does... although I've not tested it on a real device of other sizes yet.
Please do feel free to try it and let me know
the touchHD is wvga and navmi does almost perfect on it.
Switching between apps does bring the winMo taskbar back into the picture tho and consequently that covers part of the function buttons.
Not a major problem.
Tho I did click the winMo 'Ok' button (top right taskbar corner) once and navmi asked whether I wanted to proceed, as logging would be canceled. After clicking 'No' it canceled anyway, toughy...
rhtizzy said:
the touchHD is wvga and navmi does almost perfect on it.
Switching between apps does bring the winMo taskbar back into the picture tho and consequently that covers part of the function buttons.
Not a major problem.
Tho I did click the winMo 'Ok' button (top right taskbar corner) once and navmi asked whether I wanted to proceed, as logging would be canceled. After clicking 'No' it canceled anyway, toughy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take a look at the switching thing - that doesn't happen on my Omnia when I use Samsung's cube button task switcher thing. What are you using to switch on the HD?
As for the "No" problem... I've just checked the code and it definitely should work OK...
I use Quickmenu to replace the regular startmenu and following your comment I switched back to regular and indeed, no more winMo taskbar pop-over... good stuff!
Wow, been after something like this for ages but havent got round to looking! Will try to get to grips with it before my next snow boarding trip so i can see how far i rode!! Good work!!
HollyWolf, are you the coder of this?
Also, add Samsung Omnia to the list of working phones. Works fine on mine.
digital_biscuit said:
Wow, been after something like this for ages but havent got round to looking! Will try to get to grips with it before my next snow boarding trip so i can see how far i rode!! Good work!!
HollyWolf, are you the coder of this?
Also, add Samsung Omnia to the list of working phones. Works fine on mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent - thanks for letting me know
Yes, I am the coder - I've taken AndyZ's GPS Cycle Computer as a start, merged in lots of code from Runsat and am loving writing code
What use using to write it in and with what language?
Also, is there a "how to use" guide at all?
Cheers
Almost all written in C# compact framework - 2.0.
There's no manual yet - so best to write here or on navmi.com if you have a question.
Thanks hollywoof, sure am gonna try this!
Looks great - gonna give it a try!
thumbs up +1
hollywoof, will there be an option to import kml or gpx files in the future? Would be nice if I could add the runs from RunSaturday to navmi. This way I have totals on my Omnia.
Installed it, looks very nice. Will test it soon while running.
I'll have a play in a bit on the HD2, pity it's snowing so much, I've not got a chance to get out in the velomobile to see how accurate it is.
One thing that is missing from gpscyclecomputer is a seperate EXIT function..
Using winmo 6.5.x versions (with the bottom buttons) you cant close the app, short of using a secondary taskmanager, so if you can include something along those lines (not tried it yet) then that would be great (and future proof it a bit).
I'm intrigued by the lapfunction, how is it going to work? I've tried a couple of other ones in the past, that haven't been quite as obvious as could be.
Especially when racing, I tend to find that pressing something is a no-no (especially cycling at 35mph and above on a 440m velodrome yo can lap quite quickly) and some of the others don't seem to realise that when you go past the place you started logging then that's the end of the first lap.
anyway, glad to see someone has taken on the basics of andyzaps app looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
roma said:
hollywoof, will there be an option to import kml or gpx files in the future? Would be nice if I could add the runs from RunSaturday to navmi. This way I have totals on my Omnia..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
I've written the GPX/KML code for course following (similar to the GCC's implementation), but I'd not thought about syncing all activities/the totals that way - maybe I'll give that a try! I do want to sync photos in as well at some point.
As another alternative I was considering writing a separate runsaturday app...
Thanks for the feedback - you're helping to make the app better
fards said:
One thing that is missing from gpscyclecomputer is a seperate EXIT function..
Using winmo 6.5.x versions (with the bottom buttons) you cant close the app, short of using a secondary taskmanager, so if you can include something along those lines (not tried it yet) then that would be great (and future proof it a bit).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to close the app by:
- " - pausing the activity
- square - stopping the activity
- home - go to home page
- exit - exit
- yes - I really want to exit
But maybe that is a bit too long winded. I'm mainly testing on 6.5 (Omnia II) so I know it works there...
I'm intrigued by the lapfunction, how is it going to work? I've tried a couple of other ones in the past, that haven't been quite as obvious as could be.
Especially when racing, I tend to find that pressing something is a no-no (especially cycling at 35mph and above on a 440m velodrome yo can lap quite quickly) and some of the others don't seem to realise that when you go past the place you started logging then that's the end of the first lap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The autolap currently goes off measured distance - you can set up the autolap distance in the settings for each sport and then the just laps whenever it measures that you've reach the distance.
From personal experience of athletics tracks, I doubt you will get very good performance for cycling around a velodrome - it's just not a nice track for GPS to estimate distance... the estimation errors really build up around the circle :/ For example, I once did a 6 hour track race (normal 400m track) - and my Garmin 301 was almost 10% inaccurate compared to the lap counter. Some of this was due to me not always taking the inside lane, but (looking at the recorded track) most of it was just down to nasty GPS readings. Surprisingly that 10% was an overestimate, not an underestimate. In more normal runs, I think I'd expect my Garmin to be 1-2% accurate?
rhtizzy said:
Tho I did click the winMo 'Ok' button (top right taskbar corner) once and navmi asked whether I wanted to proceed, as logging would be canceled. After clicking 'No' it canceled anyway, toughy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've now seen this too... looks like a winmo/compact framework issue (as the code looks right) - I'll look into a workaround to fix it!
How do you import map files?? I can't find anything in the prog nor do i understand the folder structure in the maps folder?
Cheers
digital_biscuit said:
How do you import map files?? I can't find anything in the prog nor do i understand the folder structure in the maps folder?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By default navmi uses downloaded maps from an OpenStreetMap server - as selected under Settings->Maps - the default is a fairly easy to read Navmi format served from CloudMade.
If you want these to download live during your ride, then on the "Plotting" page, choose "Auto download maps"
Personally, I tend to download maps offline - before I head out running - I'm on prepay! I do this by connecting to the web over ActiveSync or WiFi, starting an activity (that I never intend to keep), waiting until I get some GPS lock, switching the display to the map page and then scrolling around the UI to download all the areas I want to.
This OSM format maps is the main direction I want to continue moving forwards - it's easiest (requires least effort!). When you use this the structure in the maps folder is split up using zoom levels, then latitudes -it's a structure that's easy for navmi to read, but it's not a structure you want to play with yourself!
Beyond OSM, navmi also supports (adapted from the GCC code) a couple of alternative ways to use maps. To use any of these other methods, you must:
1. select "off" on the Maps settings
2. do not check Auto download maps
3. use File Explorer to ensure that the navmi maps folder is empty
With these 3 steps done... you can create your own maps using your PC - see instructions in line 547 and beyond in http://code.google.com/p/gccv2/source/browse/trunk/GpsCycleComputer/Readme.htm
I know at least one person is currently using GPS Tuner .gmi files with navmi - if you are, then please feel free to post with advice.
Hope that helps - sorry it's a bit long winded!
Stuart
Edit: For the new version, see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8512590#post8512590
Hello
Welcome to my thread for my Windows Phone 7 Theme. The ultimate goal of this theme is to have a fully featured Windows Phone 7 theme that allows many similar functions as the real device.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
To use it, install the cab file below, then click on the icon in the start menu.
To exit, long-tap on the right side of the screen.
Settings is also listed in the long-tap menu.
To lock the device, click on the top of the screen, near the clock.
Current version: 1.15:
Performance greatly increased, lockscreen password, etc.
"Treats"
The real WP7 contains something called "Treats". These are little, fairly useless, but cool features.
Some of the ones included in this theme:
Text icon changes depending on amount of messages. First it is a smile, then a frown, and finally a gasping face.
Bing search background changes depending on the day's image.
Upcoming features
Pictures hub
Office hub
Games hub
Integration with Steam
Appointments tile
Smoother interface
Known issues:
Facebook does not stay logged in
...More later
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEYzUhnmRFk
Download: http://windowsphonehacker.com/wp7s.php
See website for full details and screenshots: http://windowsphonehacker.com/wp7s.php
People Hub
- Allows seeing contacts on homescreen
-Favorites list
-List of contacts. Tapping on a blue letter brings up a letter list.
-List of latest friends facebook status
Text tile
-Displays number of new messages
-Changes emoticon based on number of messages
Outlook tile
-Displays number of new mail messages
Phone tile
-Displays number of missed calls
Pictures tile
-Displays pictures, fading in and out new ones
-Takes you to default album viewer
Search
-Displays latest Bing background
-Searches Bing with custom keyboard
See website for full details: http://windowsphonehacker.com/wp7s.php
nice
is it only for WVGA screen?
chriscsh said:
nice
is it only for WVGA screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VGA/WVGA. It also works (in theory) on QVGA, but it may not run well due to older devices being slower.
Looks and runs nicely on my Blackstone, have noticed a few things though:
- the blue squares shake a lot if you press and hold the screen...not sure if it's intentional but personally I feel the 'vibration' effect isn't too nice to look at.
- when scrolling on the apps screen some program names get broken. For example: 'FreeUpRam' becomes 'FreeUP' and 'pTravelAlarm' becomes 'pTravelAl'. The scrolling motion is also a bit jumpy.
- could not find a way of returning from bing search to the main screen without exiting the app and reloading it.
- pictures tab does not see images on the SD card in \Storage Card\My Documents or \Storage Card\DCIM (it would be nice if it could be set in the settings to look at 2 paths - storage and phone)
- none of my music is listed (also stored on storage card).
VERY nice start though! I'll be watching this one!
...also for some reason your website just comes up grey on my PC in IE8.
sweet, why not put it on your diamond2?
what are your thoughts on changing the faded black background to pitch black?? I am guessing you're trying to make it look like what's shown in the microsoft demos on that prototype device...? That's probably due to the display on that device though and i'm going to take a wild guess and say MS will make it black like on the zune hd when it's done. Or maybe you have a different reason for it?
cool
Jaxbot said:
Hello
I have released the BETA version of my Windows Phone 7 Series Theme, and am looking for some feedback
To use it, install the cab file below, then click on the icon in the start menu.
To exit, long-tap on the right side of the screen.
Settings is also listed in the long-tap menu.
To lock the device, click on the top of the screen, near the clock.
Current features:
People hub with recent, all contacts, and a list of contacts Facebook status updates.
Bing search with background changing depending on Bing picture of day.
Live tiles (Javascript based, set a URL in the settings to your own)
Program launcher
Lock screen
Upcoming features:
More hubs (give me ideas!)
Better animations
More social network integration
(Ideas?)
Known issues:
Facebook does not stay logged in
Facebook lags when viewing What's New
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEYzUhnmRFk
Download: http://windowsphonehacker.jaxbot.com/files/wp7s_beta.CAB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
going to go try it out its going to look good
wm7
keep gettin a error when i launch the app
are you using windows form control/user control to display items? You can't get any smoother animation with windows form controls, because everytimes the control Location changes, it repaints itself regardless and as you can see it is very resource consuming. You gotta paint individual control for better performance.
But overall, it's looking pretty nice
I trie on my ELF P3450 and runs fine but a little bit slower, understand that, older device...
Very nice app... any chance to edit menu ( the right side)???
ohhh...and tell the trick to unlock screen i spend about 2 min to find out...looool
Feedback
I tried this on opal (201mhz processor) qvga screen.
I can tell one thing its just awesome on my device i didnt expected it to be so smoothe (iam comparing this with the preview version) its much smoother just one thing on home screen while scrolling the tiles move with hands thats absolutely smoothe but for some time it leaves a trace of the tile say 1 or 2 seconds if u fix that u can officially say its compatible with qvga.
I expect more pages, more likelyness to original wp7
Hey Jaxbot,
It's getting better - the only that has disappointed me with this build (as opposed to the one I've tested for you) is the animations seem to have got slower rather than faster - especially for the people hub.
I see you have fixed some bugs - some still remain but I will not double report those.
A new one, it's nice to see you've added the contact surname, however, it is now shown underneath the next person's first name (i.e. you've not given it enough space/padding).
The same goes for the program list (the second part of the program name is cut off). good to see it's actually working now - though still not scrollable.
The live tiles still take a long time to animate out/in.
More to come...
Casey
Update: In qvga device there is no tile for images.
Plus this homescreen needs kinetic scrolling its a must coz scrolling between the left and right pages is excellent the animation is perfect but scrolling down is little hard so i am saying kinetic scrolling please add in next version.
very nice start.
theres alot of shaking around on the icons, and arent any smooth transitions. btu seeing as this is version 1, im sure that you will refine it in the coming weeks
i look forward to the more refined version. good work and thanks for the download!
很漂亮,qvga也可以用,但是提出几个问题:
1. 使用过程中,容易造成崩溃死机。
2. 上下左右滑动,速度很慢。
3. 不支持中文路径。
4. 程序图标不显示。
:d:d
This app is awfull
I'm running it on my HP614C, WM6.5 with a 520Mhz processor.
It's stille pretty slow, but it surely is an improvement over the alpha release!
Keep it coming
welki1979 said:
- when scrolling on the apps screen some program names get broken. For example: 'FreeUpRam' becomes 'FreeUP' and 'pTravelAlarm' becomes 'pTravelAl'. The scrolling motion is also a bit jumpy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is they are taking up more room than available, which means the auto-font size is broken. I'll look into it.
welki1979 said:
- could not find a way of returning from bing search to the main screen without exiting the app and reloading it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardware arrow button on my device works for that, but I'll add a software button for people who don't have one.
welki1979 said:
- pictures tab does not see images on the SD card in \Storage Card\My Documents or \Storage Card\DCIM (it would be nice if it could be set in the settings to look at 2 paths - storage and phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look into it, currently it only allows one picture path.
welki1979 said:
- none of my music is listed (also stored on storage card).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't gotten around to a music+video hub yet, but it's coming.
welki1979 said:
...also for some reason your website just comes up grey on my PC in IE8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh oh. I'll look into that.
Casey_boy said:
A new one, it's nice to see you've added the contact surname, however, it is now shown underneath the next person's first name (i.e. you've not given it enough space/padding).
The same goes for the program list (the second part of the program name is cut off). good to see it's actually working now - though still not scrollable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, and yes I noticed that. The problem is that most testing was on the Device Emulator at QVGA resolution, so the fonts worked perfectly on low res. I'll play with the numbers at get that fixed.
About the speed being lower, I'm confused by that, as not much was added (just fixes from the list you sent me). By chance do you have anything running in the background?
Otherwise, I'm still working on speeding up the animations, expect some changes soon
jzlchl said:
很漂亮,qvga也可以用,但是提出几个问题:
1. 使用过程中,容易造成崩溃死机。
2. 上下左右滑动,速度很慢。
3. 不支持中文路径。
4. 程序图标不显示。
:d:d
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm under the impression this is an English-only forum, but I'll answer your concerns as best I can.
1robably takes too much memory.
2:Obviously, since it's QVGA, it runs slow. (since the device is older)
3:I don't know what to say, because .NET CF handles all that.
4robably due to #3.
UPDATE:
Check out the VIDEODEMO (HD 720p, you'll need a big screen and a decent computer)!
http://caemgen.nl/SlickUI/videodemo/
YouTube-version:
--------
Hello there.
I'm kinda new to XDA, so let me properly introduce myself first:
My name is Kevin and I live in The Netherlands. I'm really into games, music, movies, phones (Android) and design. I work as a graphic/web-designer/video-editor/animator in The Netherlands.
Just recently, I bought a Samsung Galaxy S. I'm quite happy with the device, especially since Samsung released the 2.2 JP6-update and even more so when I decided to apply the latest Voodoo lagfix-release. The device just flies, although there are still some occassional 'freezes' and slowdowns every now and then.
And then my brother came along, yesterday, showing me his jailbreaked iPhone 4 with some awesome Cydia-tweaks. He had a fully working notification bar, live wallpapers, folders in folders, true multitasking, etc. and I got a bit... well, jealous. I'm sorry, but that interface is just soooo nice and smooth.
Just check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DHVaJfWL5E
The way folders work is really nice. And there are a lot of other things that make the phone feel like everything is very well integrated. No delays, no freezes.
So, this made me wonder: Could we, the Android-community, create a Homescreen-replacement app that just BLOWS everything away when compared to the iPhone? The Galaxy S, Nexus One, Desire (HD) etc. certainly are powerful enough.
Maybe a Homescreen-replacement app wouldn't be enough, I guess some ROM-tweaks would be required to make certain things work. But when I see LauncherPro in action (with its silky-smooth homescreen-scrolling), I believe that very much can already be achieved when just focussing on a Homescreen-replacement first.
And don't get me wrong, LauncherPro is already a 'great' app. But it lacks customization and eye-candy. Yes, I'd like even more customization. But what I really miss is the eye-candy. I've got so many ideas for a visually stunning and innovative UI-experience... and I could work out the designs/graphics, but unfortunately I lack knowledge and skill in coding for Android.
I'd love to work on a User Interface with a dedicated group of people that is both visually appealing and functional. Is there anyone here that has the skills/time/motivation to work on the coding-part? Maybe more than one person? But remember, the goal is to make it silky smooth, very functional and highly customizable. Quality is of the utmost importance!
Here's a bit of a sketch I did by the way: Nothing substantial though.
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Quick note: The idea for the bar at the bottom is that you can slide it upwards to see all of your apps. In there, you can then rearrange icons. The 5 icons at the top of the full drawer stay visible when you slide it down. In that state you can also slide to the right, like in LauncherPro, so that the next row (5 icons) from your full app drawer is visible and so forth. If you would slide to the left, you would see the bottom row of your full app drawer.
Additionally, you should be able to slide the minimized dock down entirely.
I should probably do an animation to show you, as it's hard to explain.
The new dock using tabs for ALL applications and RUNNING applications, means you can easily see which apps are currently running and switch to them (or close them).
Update: I think I've got a name for the project.
What about SlickUI?
Check out KiteUI, the project is already under way.
TheGrammarFreak said:
Check out KiteUI, the project is already under way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link.
But I must say that I don't really like that approach and the look..
I suggest to take a look at the SDK samples - they contain a lot of useful snippets, classes, etc.
Wish I could help Caemgen, that concept of yours looks great in both form and function!
I'm a lowly App Inventor user though, for now.
I can code a little in PHP and JavaScript, do HTML/CSS and I also have SQL/mySQL experience but until a week ago my Java install was borked so I couldn't install the SDK and still haven't tried. Kind of put off coding development when there is App Inventor because I'll have to tackle Java!
PS - Is that The Crystal Method on your portfolio site?
WOW! That looks great. I wish I could help, but I'm not too good with coding. I just do designing, but it looks like you already got the graphics down. I'll be looking for this to be complete.
BTW, KiteUI looks like it's going to be a while, but both are looking amazing.
Thanks guys! If the ball starts rolling for this project, I could use your help on the visual part to, even if it would be just some advice.
@Subjective Effect: Yes it is! Heard that track in the game Blur and thought it was amazing.
I really like the idea to this... just one thing id personally change is... the middle icon (phone) in that orb i would make a nifty weather widget. i know this is all early stages and that is just a very very early design-idea, but if u do need help with the concept and some ideas, my inbox is waiting would love to help out.
keep up the good work
xxxx
Pinback! said:
I really like the idea to this... just one thing id personally change is... the middle icon (phone) in that orb i would make a nifty weather widget. i know this is all early stages and that is just a very very early design-idea, but if u do need help with the concept and some ideas, my inbox is waiting would love to help out.
keep up the good work
xxxx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I think the phone-dialer is something that should always be in reach.
Also, check out these new sketches:
I would pay 20 bucks for this. I just need one homescreen if this happens. Very user friendly and obviously, Slick!
Looks very cool. PM me if you need testers.
How can i help?
I'd be willing to help. I work as a software engineer (Embedded C and Java systems) and have started looking at Android development recently. I created a simple client app for our remote machine monitoring system. Creating a full home replacement may be a bit above me right now, but i'm willing to help if i can
davehunt83 said:
I'd be willing to help. I work as a software engineer (Embedded C and Java systems) and have started looking at Android development recently. I created a simple client app for our remote machine monitoring system. Creating a full home replacement may be a bit above me right now, but i'm willing to help if i can
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool~~ i'm studying software engineering now. still got 2 years for graduation.
Hey Caemgen, I would love to help out, but I am still learning. I think I can contribute a lot if I am given a chance. Shoot me an e-mail [email protected] and fill me in on what you're looking for
Great concept! I hope you can find coders to make this happen. Let me know if you need a alpha/beta tester.
UPDATE:
Check out the VIDEODEMO (HD 720p, you'll need a big screen and a decent computer)!
http://caemgen.nl/SlickUI/videodemo/
davehunt83 said:
I'd be willing to help. I work as a software engineer (Embedded C and Java systems) and have started looking at Android development recently. I created a simple client app for our remote machine monitoring system. Creating a full home replacement may be a bit above me right now, but i'm willing to help if i can
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent! So far, I've got three coders that would like to help me out with this.
You, Stork66 and another XDA-member that PM'ed me.
It would be convenient to have a place where we can meet up and chat in private to get going. Suggestions? Skype, perhaps? I don't know...
Can you make a bar back on top like iphone because I like it so much. Much easier to navigate better than hardware buttons
HectiQ said:
Can you make a bar back on top like iphone because I like it so much. Much easier to navigate better than hardware buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. I'll put that down on the list of suggestions. Thanks.
How did you like the video by the way?
I contribute GBP20 and the below:
ps3taker said:
How about marrying the default LatinIME keyboard and the touchpad please - I’d contribute to the bounty if someone organises that please. I think people do not realize how responsive and accurate is the touchpad and that placing any sticker on it does not make it registering at least two finger movements/touches on it any worse. Try http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1045374
First imagine eliminating top 3 rows of the default keyboard with the touchpad for all the letters
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
including shift and backspace by PS triangle and square. Leaving only word suggestions and optionally some of the default bottom line of the on screen keyboard (as it dynamically changes punctuations to "@"/etc and enter key to "next"/"go"/etc depending on the content and allows other nice to have things but even some of that could be replaced by other PS keys and extra Menu button.
I think PS "X" and "Start" buttons easily remove the need for on screen Enter(Go/Next) but it could be optional to leave it on screen too, "Select" hardware button eliminates the need for on screen switch for numbers/symbols layout and will just pop up that keyboard on screen and vice versa. Therefore other grey buttons of the default on screen keyboard can go too.
If Circle button can be used instead of space bar (I understand that it acts as Back button but SE say that it is actually "Alt" modified one so PS "O" is detectable) we could have that freed up for word suggestion area if applicable. If we choose to leave the two punctuation keys currently to the right and left of the default keyboard's spacebar we would end up having them in the bottom two corners of the screen now but allow PS "Right" and "Left" shoulder buttons activate them too (i.e Right triggers “.”, Left triggers “,” or “@” in email mode, and the entire line between them on the screen would be for word suggestions or anything else we need... or leave empty as game pad and touch pad could replace on screen keyboard in landscape mode if we wanted without any of the soft keys on screen.
Vibration and zoomed in keys popup feedback on screen should stay the same as when using default on screen keyboard still.
I have not even thought about combos of the above with each other like Triangle(aka new Shift) together with Menu...
I understand that touch pad sample code and gingerbread keyboard source are freely available. Don’t know if detection of gamepad slide out state is a problem so that we can have keyboard switching to touchpad from onscreen automatically – hopefully it is part of the touchpad source or maybe “alt” key modifier. If someone makes it open source so that more people can contribute to and benefit from it. I will also be happy to donate some money for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get Swype. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache and finger pain.
Just a heads up to whoever wants to do this. I haven't had the best experiences with the whole bounty thing. You have to contact each person manually (and sound like an asshole/debt collector) and have many people ignore you or deny paying altogether. If you're going to set up a bounty, let one trustworthy person hold the money or something.
and @zerojay, how long did it take you to get used to swype? I've used the tap-like keyboard for years, and I can't get used to the swype thing. I end up moving slower then tapping.
I got used to Swype instantly. When I sold my Galaxy S I was worried because in those times, Swype had to come bundled with the phone. Now that it's an open beta I can use it anywhere... it really does a world of good.
I got swype but it felt a little slow. So anyway I found smart keyboard pro and it is very good.
Swype took very little time to get used to. At first, I was worried about highlighting all the correct letters and all that and started really slow. Once I learned to stop thinking about where the path for letters should be traced and just DID it, I was nailing all sorts of long words with far greater speed. I can Swype almost as fast as I type at a full-sized keyboard now.
Something like the touchpads being used for it - while not a bad idea - just wouldn't work out in practice.
zerojay said:
Swype took very little time to get used to. At first, I was worried about highlighting all the correct letters and all that and started really slow. Once I learned to stop thinking about where the path for letters should be traced and just DID it, I was nailing all sorts of long words with far greater speed. I can Swype almost as fast as I type at a full-sized keyboard now.
Something like the touchpads being used for it - while not a bad idea - just wouldn't work out in practice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Swype but could not get used to it. Having said it I am totally for other types of keyboards to be modded to use touch pad instead of the screen. Currently on screen keyboards occupy most of the screan in landscape - I want to free the screen space by moving keys to the touchpad and gamepad buttons.
I love swype too
Unfortunately it gets harder to use the drunker you get....
BlinK_ has located Accessing Touch Events pdf link to which was previously broken in the thread I refered to in the openning post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1045374
direct link to Sony Erocsson: http://dl-www.sonyericsson.com/cws/download/1/921/870/1308033582/Accessing_Touch Events.pdf
"All" you have to do is write a keyboard application
Good Luck
Regards
Hi Bin4ry,
I was hoping someone skilled just mods touchpad inclusion into the existing default keyboard to start with - same way they modded things in the following thread using available default android gingerbread keyboard open source from Google: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1169114
notverycreative said:
That damn smiley key was driving me insane, so I got the Gingerbread keyboard source from AOSP, got it to compile, and got rid of the smiley face button. Other than that, it's identical to the stock Android gingerbread keyboard, so requires 2.3+. Eventually I may figure out how to make it able to be turned on and off, but that would rather defeat the point. Enjoy!
(Note: you have to enable it in the Keyboard settings before you can use it, just like any other keyboard.)
The Eclipse project (source) is available here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eclipse project source code link separately in case above is not working http://www.multiupload.com/DJNQ7WJS56
So not writing it from scratch but reusing source from AOSP and Sony Ericsson example.
ps3taker said:
Hi Bin4ry,
I was hoping someone skilled just mods touchpad inclusion into the existing default keyboard to start with - same way they modded things in the following thread using available default android gingerbread keyboard open source from Google: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1169114
Eclipse project source code link separately in case above is not working http://www.multiupload.com/DJNQ7WJS56
So not writing it from scratch but reusing source from AOSP and Sony Ericsson example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this would be the most intelligent. Since you have not to write all basics again, but i don't have enough freetime for such a project sorry!
Since SE gives you enough samplecode it shouldn't be this hard to get it in a basic working. OFC there will be much to tweak etc, but a Proof-of-Concept should be easy!
So go ahead and start coding
Download eclipse and the sample project of Android Keyboard, then take some Tape and glue it all together with SE sources -> Done
Regards