as the thread title states, i need advice on picking out a bluetooth keyboard for the blackstone.
these are my requirements:
- it must contain a rechargeable battery, i don't want to fumble around with AAA batteries
- it should have a mini-usb connector for charging, so that i can use the same cable for charging the blackstone and the keyboard (micro usb would be ok too, same as my bluetooth handsfree)
- it must be capable of standard bluetooth HID profile, i don't want to be required to install drivers on every device i have
- it should have US-english key layout (i am used to it from my pc and wwe roms) and still be available in germany
- it must either have dedicated arrow keys and/or be capable of accepting two keys at a time (think of game emulators, mario should be able to run and jump at the same time, so jumping in a direction and not straight up)
actually, the last point is my main reason of buying a bluetooth keyboard, to compensate the blackstone's lack of hardware keys and multi-touch through a keyboard, that should provide "multi-touch" (multiple keys pressed).
since the blackstone's microsoft bluetooth stack seems to be unable to connect to wiimotes/ps3 sixaxis controllers with cobaltcontroller and those controllers are even more expensive than bluetooth keyboards, i thought i'd hit double jeopardy by going this way.
long story short: can anyone tell me, whether these keyboards are any good:
http://www.amazon.de/Hebron-Bluetoo...U5MK/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1300287867&sr=8-9
http://www.pearl.de/a-PX2563-1002.shtml?query=bluetooth+keyboard
i know there are also a lot of chinese knock-offs around with very poor quality, but i also don't want to spend 90eur on a logitech dinovo mini. if any of you can name a good quality keyboard for less than 50eur, please feel free to suggest.
ok, resolved.
i bought that hebron keyboard and here is my report to help others decide:
the keyboard has a US-english layout and comes with an internal rechargeble (not replaceable) battery with 950mAh, which, according to the retailers is enough for 30 days of casual from-time-to-time typing. it has a micro-usb connector for charging, comes with a usb charging cable. it came pre-charged and after another 30 min. of charging it was full. pairing was relatively easy, just turn it on in visible mode, on the device look for bluetooth devices, pair it using the code 0000 on the device and the keyboard and they are paired up. all further connections are automatic, when your device has bluetooth switched on, just switch on the keyboard and it immediately works.
since the rubber keys need to be pressed rather deeply, while typing sms, emails or word documents it might be slightly slower than the onscreen keyboard, but buttons are bigger and it is way more convenient for longer texts.
and here is the great thing: the keyboard is able to have several key presses at the same time, so even emulators like fpsece or morphgear work fine with 3 keys at a time.
i realize many people on this board are moping about the blackstone's poor gaming compatibility due to the lack of hardware buttons and/or multitouch, but with a keyboard you can finally play a lot of games rather well.
thanks for the info...
can u use the keybord with your PC aswell????
if u can , what is the range ( how far can u be from your pc to use it)??
thanks, kris
i haven't tried it yet. but the keyboard uses standard bluetooth hid drivers and therefor works on any device to support that standard, i.e. any windows mobile device, android, iphone, ipad, ipod touch, pc and ps3. it comes with a driver cd for pc (which wouldn't be needed on windows 7). as far as the range aspect goes, since i only used it with my blackstone so far, so it would be impractical to use it at a greater distance than 2 or 3' (because you wouldn't be able to see the display ). but usually, the range also depends on the bluetooth receiver of the pc, but i guess any sensible distance of up to 20 or 25' could be covered.
if you are seriously interested in the device, you can order it from your local amazon site and make use of their great return policy, if you are unsatisfied. just stay away from the really cheap chinese knock-offs, they have poor production quality and tend to break really fast, especially the usb charging port, which then renders the device useless.
Related
This will be a neat product for the Shift...
BlueAnt Q1: Voice controlled Bluetooth headeset with multi point
http://www.blueantwireless.com/q1/index.html
Looks like it will connect to both the PC side and WM side at same time, and keep both bluetooth connections active! (a bit more unique compared to Jabra T5330M)
Meaning you can take calls from WM using BT and use Skype/Dragon on PC using BT, and switch between them (Both lines stay active and you can switch between 2 devices)
It also has integrated voice commands to carry out some basic functions plus you can store speed dials on the headset (independent of the paired device)
The Q1 product is not out yet, but keep watching their website for it!
I'm sure this will be a Shift "Must Buy"
I'm certainly going to get this for my X7500 and PC, but since it can pair up to 8 devices (and I'm not certain if BT is capable on both sides simultaneous yet, but I'm sure that it's only moments away! :~Fingers crossed~: )
I can't tell from the picture, but the charging connector looks unique not like a "micro USB" or mini-usb, so that means one more type of cable to carry, but inter-changable cable tips are more popular now.
(BTW- I have the BlueAnt V12 LCD headset with vibrate and it uses micro-USB, so I imagine company uses same connector here too...also, I never really got the speaker part of the V12 LCD to sound well, but the Vibrate LCD w/lanyard is nice to carry around as I can have a vibrate caller ID hanging around my neck/pocket and not have to whip out my X7500 just to check who's calling...will need to try this with my SHIFT to see if I can get caller ID from Shift)
Also, this could be a cool feature to someone who knows how to use it (maybe our fellow xda folks)
Updateable firmware (anything we can use here?)
No price yet, but info on their site and hi-re images
Sounds good but first things first! Mate how do you get BT working Winmo side??????
Bradaland said:
This will be a neat product for the Shift...
BlueAnt Q1: Voice controlled Bluetooth headeset with multi point
http://www.blueantwireless.com/q1/index.html
Looks like it will connect to both the PC side and WM side at same time, and keep both bluetooth connections active! (a bit more unique compared to Jabra T5330M)
Meaning you can take calls from WM using BT and use Skype/Dragon on PC using BT, and switch between them (Both lines stay active and you can switch between 2 devices)
It also has integrated voice commands to carry out some basic functions plus you can store speed dials on the headset (independent of the paired device)
The Q1 product is not out yet, but keep watching their website for it!
I'm sure this will be a Shift "Must Buy"
I'm certainly going to get this for my X7500 and PC, but since it can pair up to 8 devices (and I'm not certain if BT is capable on both sides simultaneous yet, but I'm sure that it's only moments away! :~Fingers crossed~: )
I can't tell from the picture, but the charging connector looks unique not like a "micro USB" or mini-usb, so that means one more type of cable to carry, but inter-changable cable tips are more popular now.
(BTW- I have the BlueAnt V12 LCD headset with vibrate and it uses micro-USB, so I imagine company uses same connector here too...also, I never really got the speaker part of the V12 LCD to sound well, but the Vibrate LCD w/lanyard is nice to carry around as I can have a vibrate caller ID hanging around my neck/pocket and not have to whip out my X7500 just to check who's calling...will need to try this with my SHIFT to see if I can get caller ID from Shift)
Also, this could be a cool feature to someone who knows how to use it (maybe our fellow xda folks)
Updateable firmware (anything we can use here?)
No price yet, but info on their site and hi-re images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with the Plantronics headsets that have multi-point.....however, first we need to get it working on the winmo side......
I'm optomistic that the BT will be coming to WM side eventually...
finally, no one report back this bt devices actually works with SHIFT.
PS: shift in WM side still can not open bt.
To: johnQ , can you find any news from China and Hong Kong , that anyone have able to solve the bluetooth and sd card and mic & earphone use on the windows mobile side ? Please share with us if you manage to get some computer / handphone dealers able to hack and enable the above functions , let us know how to get it done ? Thanks and best regards - jimmunsw
Sounds like it 'should' work but various reports on the internet, including the official apple site, shows that maybe it doesn't.
Anyone has one?
cigaro78 said:
Sounds like it 'should' work but various reports on the internet, including the official apple site, shows that maybe it doesn't.
Anyone has one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, thought I'd help with my own thread.
I bought one. Yes it's expensive, but not more expensive than 'foldable' bt keyboards that I tried and unfortunately don't work (as in stuck keys, shoddy fragile designs, etc).
It's VERY SMALL - which is great. The box it comes in is VERY SLIM - doubles up as a carrying case which makes it even more convenient.
The quality is excellent - as you would expect from Apple. It's using AA batteries (comes shipped with them in fact) which a major plus as anyone who travelled to remote places without mains sockets will tell you.
Downside: it's never been intended to work with an Android phone. I have it paired alongside a logitech bt mouse, and yes - IT WORKS - but it also randomly FCs the settings screens. It has NO MAPPING FOR ANDROID - so all function keys are rendered useless. There is an F1 that maps to 'menu' and escape seems random. That's it.
As far as I can tell - no one has come up with a mapping file for it. You cannot map shortcuts to actions on the phone. So no, you WONT be playing nova2 with a WASD setup. You won't even have a working shift key, which is very annoying.
Conclusion:
It's expensive, and it doesn't work so great. Yet, I still can recommend this purchase because 1) other keyboards wouldn't fare better. 2) Chat becomes possible. Word document become possible. When typing mails, forums posts and what not it still trounces the onscreen keyboard.
My Cheapo EBay keyboard also suffers from the lack of a shift key. In my book this makes it all but unusable
unles u r nto txt spk an dont uze punkuashun r commaz r antin like dat, then it's not for you
cigaro78 said:
Well, thought I'd help with my own thread.
I bought one. Yes it's expensive, but not more expensive than 'foldable' bt keyboards that I tried and unfortunately don't work (as in stuck keys, shoddy fragile designs, etc).
It's VERY SMALL - which is great. The box it comes in is VERY SLIM - doubles up as a carrying case which makes it even more convenient.
The quality is excellent - as you would expect from Apple. It's using AA batteries (comes shipped with them in fact) which a major plus as anyone who travelled to remote places without mains sockets will tell you.
Downside: it's never been intended to work with an Android phone. I have it paired alongside a logitech bt mouse, and yes - IT WORKS - but it also randomly FCs the settings screens. It has NO MAPPING FOR ANDROID - so all function keys are rendered useless. There is an F1 that maps to 'menu' and escape seems random. That's it.
As far as I can tell - no one has come up with a mapping file for it. You cannot map shortcuts to actions on the phone. So no, you WONT be playing nova2 with a WASD setup. You won't even have a working shift key, which is very annoying.
Conclusion:
It's expensive, and it doesn't work so great. Yet, I still can recommend this purchase because 1) other keyboards wouldn't fare better. 2) Chat becomes possible. Word document become possible. When typing mails, forums posts and what not it still trounces the onscreen keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
I assumed its the A1314 you're talking about?
I am not able to code so I write here.
There are many Apps out there witch will make the Android Smartphone become a WiFi Trackpad oder Keyboard.
But there is so far no App which underutilized the camera and LED Light to emulate a real mouse. This would be great because it would be a good option to control f.e. a game which is streamed via Remote Desktop onto a tablet. The tablet itself is attached via HDMI to the TV and the PC is in another room. So you would have less lag on the mouse. A BT or 2.4GHz mouse is not an option because of the distance.
What I think is that it should be possible to use the camera sensor and the LED light to track the movement of the smartphone (maybe also use the accelerometers). An optical mouse works mostly the same way. Maybe you would need a special underground (like a grid which you might be able to print at home) as the software might need it to track the movement.
Unified Remote
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Relmtech.Remote&hl=en
No; Unified Remote will not do what he asks. Note that he said there are many apps that will let you use the smartphone's touch surface as a trackpad. That would include Unified Remote.
There are no apps that do what you want because it would be pretty much impossible. The LED flash, assuming the phone has one (not all do) is not a precise laser, it's a bright light. It also eats battery like a mofo. But aside from that, the camera could not track the movement by watching reflections from the flash. Not accurate enough for mousing, at least.
Your best bet (aside from using the screen as a track pad) would be to utilize the accelerometer, but that would be horribly inaccurate. And that's your second-best option after the touch screen. The camera is not even an option.
Exactly. Unified Remote, GMote, Droidmote isn't what I thought of. Why do you think the camera won't be able to to this job? OK, it wouldn't be a 1000 dpi gaming mouse but with a lower resolutiobn I think it should work. At least with an aid like a printet grid as a mousepad. I think of the first optical trackballs which also needed a dotted ball to detect movement.
And I know it wouldn't be easy and would not work with every phone out there. If it would be easy it propably would be around.
I haven't tried this personally, but it does exactly what you're describing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1157472
Its a project which hasn't seen development for awhile.
Im sorry if im not really understanding this but why not just use a real mouse... from what your saying you want to make ur camera and the led light to act as the mouse laser / sensor.. for 1 im pretty sure the camera isnt fast enough to pick up fine motion
Show me a mouse that works via wifi... BT or 2.4 GHz doesn't work on distance.
Mr. Mozuse is nearly what I looked for. But now with the phone lying flat on the table and not holding it in the air.
Has anyone had any luck finding something like this? This would be extremely useful for those of us carrying around laptops but who hate to use the built in trackpad and would rarely pack another bluetooth mouse. Lay my phone down and using it as a mouse would be so useful.
Use Smartphone as a mouse
I am a student and I usually use a BT mouse in conjunction with my laptop at school but on occasion, for example today, I forget to pack my mouse into my bag. I personally don't like track pads, and I think it would be nice to have a backup option.
I have the Samsung Galaxy S5 and I was wondering if instead of using the LED flash, what about the heart rate sensor, red laser, for your light source. The red light is more focused and would require less power.
Its true this concept would NOT have High resolution but it should be accurate enough for the average user.
Rather then just saying it wont work, Is there anyone that has tried to make it work?
Can't we use lesser autofocus sensor ?
I don't know much about coding and tech things but is it possible to use lesser autofocus sensors ?
nothing new on this front? any unstable sources available? i could have a look at it
Does anyone have any experience/recommendations for an Android-based car stereo head unit? My old stereo has just died, so I am interested in what people think of the currently available ones. I have a double din space.
eBay seems to have several available that are similar to this: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/ca-fi-is-an-aftermarket-android-car-stereo-that-wont-fit-in-you/
There are ones where the Android part is essentially a separate tablet (probably not what I'm after, judging by the videos) http://www.erisin.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=253
Parrot make this single-din stereo: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Parrot-Aste...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1343930713&sr=1-24
There are no doubt many others too. Prices seem to be in the £200 - £280 range which is about my limit.
Nobody has any experience of these or opinions at all?
I think I'm leaning towards the Parrot as it's rootable, and the single-din size is more likely to fit whatever car I get after my current one.
Bump for this thread. I just recently thought about getting into one of these units too, my only concern is how "locked down" they would be in terms of getting rid of their default launchers and crap they have. I basically want a way to just have android by itself running on the car - I can get apps for just about everything else. Ideally I want a clone of my phone on the car that would sync with my phone. Or better yet, simply a way to have a "remote display" for my phone. That way, anything I'm doing on the car side of things would be the same on my phone, like a received email, new internet bookmark, or something like that.
~T.J.
I just picked up a "Road Cyberman" from China Jiaho (actually they call it something else, but it's the same as Chinavasion's Road Cyberman, except $100 cheaper).
It's running Gingerbread 2.3.5 and proving difficult to root. No adb on the usb (even with debug option), no google apps (although I found some apks that sort of work) and no adb wireless available.
The devices works fine, but I would like to have a little bit more control over it.
I've tried Gingerbreak and the other get root apks, but no luck so far.
Yeah, I have seen a lot of those units, but I kind of changed my mind. I have recently been looking into doing something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q-UXDi3dm3U
I have been following that company for a while, and they just recently released that video and are taking pre-orders for the new board. My biggest hold up at this point is that I would like to use a single DIN stereo for the "amp" by running the audio from their device into the aux input of my existing stereo. I need to find room to mount both the double DIN screen and a custom spot for the single DIN stereo I already have. I would then have the choice of using the stereo without plugging in the phone if I didn't want to for whatever reason. Alternatively, if I can find a good FM tuner app for my phone and a good customizable dock mode, I could eliminate the stock stereo and just run the inputs into a standard automotive 4 channel amp. This of course means you get nothing for a car stereo unless you connect the phone though, unlike the other plan.
Of course, another thought I had was getting a used double DIN touch screen DVD player and using their interface board to convert it to run the Android screen through it, then run the audio straight into the aux input of the touch screen DVD player. That way you have the ability to use the system "as is" out of the box, OR run the Android device through the screen. I think this is the best option, but it also takes the most money since you have the expense of the used double DIN touch screen unit first. I also wonder about picture quality and touch screen sensitivity with the built in touch screens on those units.
Anyway, just food for thought!
~T.J.
EDIT: One of the other hold ups is the calling. I would like to use an external mic and have audio come through the car speakers, currently using that board you are still calling through the device, thus you would need a Bluetooth headset from my understanding. I would like to avoid that if possible also. This is another good reason to go with the double DIN stereo since some of those support Bluetooth calling already and you could probably make/receive calls that way completely hands free.
EDIT #2: If you were into car monitoring and such also, you could easily get a bluetooth OBD interface and run the software on the phone (such as torque) so you could display live data from your car on your dash also. Something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay-ZvTn3fLo&t=45s
I picked up one of these after my buddy sent me this thread. It's got the power, but needs a root bad. Wish I knew how to find root for an Android device.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17228
Would having the gamevice connected to the phone mean you couldn't also connect the detachable fan? It looks like the 2 things can be used at once as far as I can tell.
I assume you can use it as the gamevice will plug into the bottom port (as in when held as a normal phone) while the gamevice stretched material on the back seems to be thin enough that you will also be able to use the fan connected to the side port just fine.
On a side note, do let us know if this theory/assumption is correct and if the gamevice is a good accessory, with controls for native and self key mapped games and dead zone etc. since I've heard bad stories of older models from them.
I took the plung and bought a ROG gamevice. Firstly, no you can't use the fan at the same time as the controller, while it does fit together as I guessed before, but the side port gets priority over the bottom port when connected together so it then turns off the controls.
Also anyone thinking at this current moment to buy the ROG gamevice, I say DON'T!!! as the controls is horrible for almost everything other then native supported controller games even though there is abit of a dead zone problem on those games it is no where near as bad as in keymapped games as making fine movement to aim for example is almost impossible since the beta keymapper software that ASUS currently has is horrible, from making the left analog stick get stuck in their software that it will hold it in place on screen virtually, you can't map the dpad and will have to try to resort to using the touchscreen for some buttons but doing so will lock the gamevice controls from responding for a little while which will leave you dead in most games. The triggers L2/R2 are placed on a diagonal and makes it harder to press as the outer edge of the button does not press and to be pressed on the less sloped part which is stupid but I guess it might just be a thing to get used to. This needs a major update to be honest.
To end this, I have to say if anyone wants a controller for their phone to go with a gamesir, I been using a G4s before I got the ROG gamevice and it's way better in every way possible, from dpad to good dead zones, support for native controller supported games and has it's own keymapper software for touch based games to make your own buttons as you like.