N95 Accelerometer Links and Thoughts
I know I’m way behind on this, but honestly, since I’m using the N81 8GB, I’ve let Christina borrow my N95, so I haven’t really had a chance to test any of this stuff. In case you’ve been living in an S60-hole, it’s recently been publicized that the N95 (all three versions) has an accelerometer built in. This little chip is similar to what’s built into the iPhone and the Nintendo Wii controllers, allowing the device to use motion and orientation as inputs, basically.
I reported on the first version of RotateMe a long while ago, and while that was never (to my knowledge) officially signed, the developer is already pushing v2.0 out, with support for the N95’s accelerometer, so that you can simply turn the handset to landscape mode and watch the display auto-rotate. Not too shabby! There’s a video you can hit after the break.
Other followups include an app directly from Nokia that Christian Titze over at Symbianworld found, it puts a ball on your screen, and you can move the phone around to move the ball. Note that this is different from this game that I found earlier, in that the new app does not use the camera, but the actual accelerometer chip.
Not to be left behind, Dr. Jukka, the man behind such must-haves as Y-Browser, Y-Tasks, and Y-Alarms brings us Y-Inclinometer, for the off-roading types. This simple app requires that you set your phone perpendicular to the ground in your vehicle, and it will show you the degree of incline you’re on. Also, building more on the community aspect of S60, the graphics and icon for Jukka’s new app were created by the one and only p@sco! I love the collaboration, guys!
These are of course proof of concept, but my thoughts are mixed. I have to wonder why on earth Nokia didn’t make a bigger deal about this when the N95 was launched? I mean, with the Jesus phone coming out and all, this would have been something nice to be able to show off, rather than have a third party guy who can’t even get his apps signed discover and develop for it. I’m sure there were factors here and there, but still, this is something that I think Nokia should have put to more use in the UI. I’m hoping we see more accelerometers in more devices soon.
Good question. Probably, they would have if they could have..
I mean they probably were not ready to make a big splash of it at the time, and wanted to road test it more to have it then fully incorporated to the TS UI etc. etc. or something like that?
AFAIK, it IS utilized in the camera app, right (to orient the pics automatically)?
Yes, the accelerometer IS used IN the camera app, but the camera is not used FOR these accelerometer apps. That’s what I intended to say, though my wording might have been off a bit.
No, sorry, your language was clear, I just wanted to double check if this is indeed used in the camera app already.
To Nokia:
Please ipmlement the “switch screen orientation by handset orientation”-funktion in the next firmware update von the N95 and all other handsets with an accelerometer.
Make it available as an option, like the “auto-keylock when slider is shut”-option. That way, everybody can decide for himelf if he want’s to use the feature or not.
And if you want to do it really good, let the user set that option for each application sepperately like:
- use accelerometer
- don’t use accelerometer
- use global settings
Thanks
Floriel, why don’t you put these into the S60 wishlist on s60.com?
I think a read a few days ago that some mor N-Series phones have such an accelerometer. Is this true and can apps linke this be used on other phones linke the N81?
@Viipottaja: My wish is not published jet…
It’s published now, so you can head over to the Feature Wishlist and rate “Screen Rotation by accelerometer”
I also wrote an application using N95’s accelerometer for capturing images. The purpose is to reduce the chance of getting a blurry image on your phone. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRcRRZ65Fno
can any one shwo me how to use the Accelerometer i have tried so many app just to see if it work i got it workin on the rotate me app but i want to use it when i am seleting my music plz let me no thanks
how can i download that