Touch screen features on Kaiser vs Elf/Cruise - Tilt, TyTN II, MDA Vario III General

Not that I am really disappointed with the Kaiser, but I have been wondering as of late if the Crusie might be a better fit for me. All things considered, internally the two are pretty similar with the only additional feature of the Crusie being FM radio, which I would probably use.
Externally, the Cruise goes SANS keyboard in favor of the touch screen. In keeping with the touch screen design, it has far fewer buttons over all and has a slight size advantage.
So looking at it, the package is pretty attractive, seems less prone to mechanical wear and tear and I find myself wondering if I could do without the slide out keyboard. I am pretty good with the block recognizer, and in cases where I might use a keyboard, some of the adaptations of the iPhone soft keyboard seem like they would be a decent alternative for my relatively light keyboard use.
Getting down to it though, I am a bit concerned I would be disappointed with the touch screen, and if the touch screen does not work well, I would definitely rather have the keyboard.
So my question is if anyone has some hard facts on the differences between the screen technologies. does it work like the iPhone where it responds only to touch, not to inadvertant tabs while in you pocket or in the case?
Can anyone can provide a "hands on" comparison between using the touch features on the Kasier, vs using the touch features on the Cruise. Or given that the Cruise is pertty new, is the Elf screen technology exactly the same such that trying one out would give me a good indication of how the Cruise would work?

Related

Touch Diamond 2, Touch Pro or HD?

hi all,
i am planning to buy a new htc model and i am thinking about getting either a td2, hd or pro. currently in our country we only have hd and pro, td2 will be available in 2 weeks time. wgich do you think should i get and why?
By the way, do all of them have haptic feedback? it was never mentioned in any site i checked.
Thanks everyone!
Cheers!
You could think of it in this way:
They are all the same with the following differences:
1-Diamond2 is the smallest & cheapest.
2-HD is similar to Diamond2 but bigger in size, bigger screen (in dimensions) & more expensive.
3-Touch Pro2 has slideout keyboard and screen is middle sized between the other two. it is also most expensive.
If you meant Touch Pro1, then it has the smallest screen of all three, but it does have a keyboard.
So based on your prefrences, you can only decide.
im planning to buy a new htc device this coming weekend, does the hd have the same rom with the td2? because i saw in some reviews that the td2 has more tabs and new touchflo. is the back housing of the td2 gets scratched easily? is the hd upgradeablo to 6.5? sorry for the questions.
thanks all!
Hey man, I don't own any of these devices, but I am planning on buying a td2.
Heres my comparison :
TD2 has better video recording,slightly nicer pictures than the hd but a smaller screen but improved tf3d(respond better), TD2 will also get a official 6.5 wm upgrade when it's out. Also has landscape qwerty keyboard now.
Too bad it has a extusb port for headphones, you have cheap converters though
HD has a big ass screen, but lower video recording resolution, is more of a pda than a phone. However, won't get a official 6.5 wm upgrade, but roms give you that, it runs on the hd. Also a 3.5mm headphone jack, very nice feature. However, feels really big, you can see this as a pro or con.
Tpro2 has a real keyboard, but a 3.2 mp camera(both hd and td2 have a 5mp camera), don't know if it gets a official wm 6.5 upgrade, this phone is too expensive in my opinion. Pretty much same features as td2.
It depends on what you are looking for, if you are looking for a phone like htc phone with better ability to make pictures and video and a slightly more polished software, go with the td2.
If you like watching videos and like a big ass screen, go with the touch hd.
If you want the same features as the td2, with a real keyboard but a worse camera, go with the tpro2.
Moneywise, I would say TD2 if you want the best deal.
Overall, in my opinion, I would say get the Touch Diamond 2 or the Touch HD.
Hope it helps
thanks zerosilver
my maincincern about the td2 is its back cover which scratches easily. does it have a haptic feedback? i heard hd has it.
orouborus said:
thanks zerosilver
my maincincern about the td2 is its back cover which scratches easily. does it have a haptic feedback? i heard hd has it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TD2 has haptic feedback and its screen is as sensitive as an Iphone's. Except that it can also sense fingernails, while the Iphone can't.
aLKayeL said:
TD2 has haptic feedback and its screen is as sensitive as an Iphone's. Except that it can also sense fingernails, while the Iphone can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what about the back cover, does it get scratched easily? so td2 is better than hd?
aLKayeL said:
TD2 has haptic feedback and its screen is as sensitive as an Iphone's. Except that it can also sense fingernails, while the Iphone can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WRONG. Haptic feedback does not mean it's a capactive touchscreen (aka iPhone's thermal touchscreen). It's not also, that's the difference between windows mobile phones (most of them anyways) and the iPhone. iPhone has thermal (capactive) touchscreen and htc uses a pressure touchscreen which goes by pressure points.
Just to be pedantic, capacitive is not thermal. It use the fact that your fingers can conduct electricity, so touching the screen change the static charge of the screen locally. Nothing to do with temperature, deal cold fingers would work as well as warm ones ;-)
But because it is based on conduction, capacitive screen are intrinsically more sensitive than resistive ones (based on pressure). The slightest touch is enough to change the static charges, in fact it already change slightly even before the finger touch the screen. On the other hand, there are no stylus that work for capacitive screen, at least for now (except fat conductive ones, but they do not allow drawing anymore than your fingers).
So resistive screen still have an advantage: you can get very precise drawing using sharp objects with pinpoint contacts (stylus, fingernails,...)
BTW, TD2 has much better finger detection than my older PDA....but on the other hand, handwriting recognition and drawing does not work as well: it is accurate in term of positioning, very accurate, but it is slow: drawing a line or curve on the screen work, but the curve appear with a very noticeable lag behind the stylus. That makes handrawing or handwriting possible but slow (I have to slow down my hand to get good results).
Anyone noticed that?

[Q] Has anybody used a capacitive stylus?

Having come from a long line of WinMo phones, all of which had resistive screens, I have ordered a Dell Streak based purely on its size. I am a heavy PDA user and a light phone user.
However, two of the things that I really like about the resistive screen are that (a) I can have a lot of information on the screen at any one time and click on any of it with the stylus and (b) I can use handwriting recognition for all of my text input.
I realise that a capacitive screen cannot do either of these, but I am wondering how effective the capacitive stylii that are advertised actually are.
Anybody got any experience with them?
Got one, don't use it. There may be differences in quality, the one I have works 'reasonably' well, but not well enough to use on a regular basis, it has a flat sponge type of tip.
The first one I bought from eBay turned out not to be for a capacitive screen (seller refunded without argument) so you do need to be careful.
I have one, use it often to draw on the streak. It does take a bit of getting used to, but they're accurate and feel a little more organic (because of the soft tip) than 'regular' styluses.
Got one, don't like it. It came free with some screen protectors.
I'm not sure if it's a high quality one or a cheap one (exspect branded), but I can't get on with the spongey feel of the tip.

[Q] Stylus-Nexus S

Anyone have any experience with a stylus? Found these online, thinking about trying one out unless someone has advice..
http://goo.gl/eZn0h
LovellKid said:
Anyone have any experience with a stylus? Found these online, thinking about trying one out unless someone has advice..
http://goo.gl/eZn0h
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really sure those would work so well...they were necessary for older touchscreens because they had difficulty determining where you were touching when the area being touched was so wide (the width of a finger versus the width of a ballpoint pen tip). Also the tips of those are very wide so it seems like the whole benefit of using a stylus would be lost. I wouldn't recommend it.
kenvan19 said:
I'm not really sure those would work so well...they were necessary for older touchscreens because they had difficulty determining where you were touching when the area being touched was so wide (the width of a finger versus the width of a ballpoint pen tip). Also the tips of those are very wide so it seems like the whole benefit of using a stylus would be lost. I wouldn't recommend it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC is attempting to resurrect the stylus with HTC Flyer tablet
But yeah, I wouldn't recommend using it either.. at least not for a smartphone.
For a tablet? Don't see the point in this either but it'll be interesting to see what creative ideas HTC brings.
I have a stylus. It has a sponge type tip which emulates a finger i guess lol. It works perfectly fine! I use it bc i wear gloves at work.
I bought a case on amazon, the "S" shaped one, and it comes with 6 screen protectors and a stylus very bad quality pen. It works on nexus screen...
http://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-GOOGL...VEBI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1298659197&sr=8-4
I have a couple of cheap iphone touch stylus and they simply work (they work hit or miss with nexus one and MT4).

Clean, simple, efficient, and minimalistic - a discussion of the Nexus 7 stock ROM.

I'd first like to give everyone a big hello as I am normally a wall flower in this sense. I wanted to discuss the whole evolution in the mobile and PC world, specifically using the nexus 7 as an example. For instance I tend to find the new PC keyboard much easier to use, and the predictive text with auto correct seems to actually help than hinder. I am excited to try the new swype like keyboard in 4.2 but I'm hoping it soon takes on the keyboard in keymonk. I have noticed that things seem to be running much smoother in 4.1.2, namely screen transitions. In my experience the slides used to have a slight jitter, yet now they are back to their flawless motion. I am a not urked that we don't have a micro expansion or a rear facing camera as both features were put in the galaxy tab 2 7inch. I have experienced one drop already, it fell screen down completely naked and only suffered a small scrape to the bezel of the device. Lastly I'd like to see some more nexus friendly peripherals, like a manufactured attachment for surface charging or cases with built in storage and batteries. Sure you'd face the ever ugly sacrifice size for capacity and performance..but what can you do. I was a bit upset when only patrons who purchased the 16 got upgrade offers, and I'm hoping that by the end of the year maybe if the device goes through enough revisions I can claim my warranty and maybe get a newer model. Oh and one final note is a fine point stylus! I would love a stylus like the note, it seems so much more accurate compared to the rubber tips. Maybe bluetooth enabled so it can use angle sensors, or provide map able keys. Or maybe a nifty half case keyboard like the I pad and windows 8 tablets have. So in turn I want to hear what others think on that level. Maybe we can get some solid ideas in one place for the higher ups to see.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

DIY Moto Keyboard Mod

After the Livermorium keyboard mod finally failed, I got to work to create something myself, using my trusty 3D printer.
As a basis I am using an generic mini bluetooth keyboard. This thing comes under a variety of names, one of which is Jelly Comb IBK-26IM, but there are a lot of other names for this thing. Additionally to the full six-row keyboard (including dedicated rows for numbers and F-keys and keys like alt, ctrl, esc or shift) it also offers a mediocre touchpad for mouse control.
In the current iteration I only use a 3D printed clamp that connects the keyboard to the smartphone. This is a very simplistic approach but already this is a lot better than only using a touch keyboard.
I made a version that used laptop hinges from an old laptop to fold the keyboard to the back of the phone when not used (Motorola Backflip style), but the laptop hinges were way to strong. So I am currently working on a design using 3D-printed adjustible-strength torque hinges. I am thinking of making a double-hinged design that allows the keyboard to be folded both over the front (laptop style) and the back (Motorola Backflip style), so it can protect the keys and display when stored, and still be used in landscape with the keyboard out and in portrait mode with the keyboard folded to the back of the phone.
These designs I am working on will replace the back plate of the keyboard to reduce the thickness of the whole thing. I am also thinking about adding lead weights to the bottom of the keyboard to balance the top-heavyness, which is an issue, though surprisingly not a major one.
I also made a clamp to connect the smartphone with a Playstation 3 or XBox One controller.
Is anyone interested in either 3D-print files or 3D-printed parts for this? I can adjust the clamp part to work with about every smartphone.
Instead of putting lead weights.. try design it to have a kick stand.
BTW, it awesome for your work so far. Please continue and update here the improvements.
I would love to have one if all fit - slim - easy and most of all, work out perfectly...
Thanks for the interest and the feedback!
Where would you put the kickstand?
I have been using the clamp for a while now. It works pretty nicely. I am not sure if a joint is entirely necessary, since I can just pop the phone out of the clamp if I don't need the keyboard. I will build and test it though, just to see if it is an improvement.
A nice project. :good:
Though there already exists some clamshell variants like the Gemini and the Cosmo
My interest is primarily in a slider - though of course your solution is much better than touch-only.
I have my hopes up high for the "Q-device" hinted at e.g. here and until more news on that, i'm using a Snap-On keyboard for the Samsung S8- (Unfortunately it does not work completely on S9-, see this https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s9/accessories/keyboard-cover-s8-modified-s9-t3841101
ADD:
Just an Idea, depending on how the 3D-print and the hinge is joined. It could be nice if the two 3D-parts meet, and had some suitable cut-ins so it 'snapped' in place at a couple of angles. e.g. closed, open 120 degrees and open 180 degrees.
And If you can get hold of hinges like the Lenovo Yoga, it would be clever if it could bend over and stay in a couple of more angles, including 360 too...
Thank you!
The hinged version isn't actually a clamshell since it does not close with the display and the keyboard on the inside, but rather on the outside. Compared to a clamshell device this does not offer any protection for the screen and the keyboard, but it allows using the display in portrait mode without having the keyboard dangle off to one side. A double-hinged design would allow for both, closing it like a clamshell and also folding the keyboard to the backside.
I would prefer a slider as well, since it is a middle ground between both designs. The keyboard is protected and the screen is not, but you can still use the device in portrait mode. I have two problems with a slider design, though. First, I haven't found any 3D-printable (or cheap and very small buyable) sliding mechanisms. Second, because the sliding mechanism needs to attach to the top of the keyboard, I cannot build it into the back of the keyboard as I am doing with the folding mechanism. The back half of the keyboard is virtually empty and also the shape is pretty simple. So for the folding mechanism I am just going to replace that back half, thus saving a lot of thickness.
I attached renders of the backflip mechanism. Two of the renders show the device in the folded state, with the keyboard being on top, keys facing up, and the phone being on the bottom, screen facing down. The third render shows the mechanism in the opened state. The smartphone is inserted into the thin hoop part and the top half of the keyboard is screwed onto the wider flat panel on the right.
I will post pictures as soon as I'm done printing it and got it to work.
And also, thanks a lot for posting the link at the Keyboard Mod indiegogo page!
Dakkaron said:
.
.
I attached renders of the backflip mechanism. Two of the renders show the device in the folded state, with the keyboard being on top, keys facing up, and the phone being on the bottom, screen facing down. The third render shows the mechanism in the opened state. The smartphone is inserted into the thin hoop part and the top half of the keyboard is screwed onto the wider flat panel on the right.
.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see, only 'backflipping'
You might consider something like this they even mention that you can request a sample, But 500 for $100 that should be enough for your immediate needs
I think I will first try it with 3D printed joints, since there I can adjust the resistance. I already tried it with other laptop hinges, but they were extremely tough, so it was impossible to fold the device without breaking something. Maybe there is something like that with adjustable torque, that would be good.
The version I am currently working on will work like the Motorola Backflip, which is where I got the term from.
Edit: @eske.rahn: I just saw your edit to the first post. Cut-ins sound interesting. I'll have to see if I can get something like that to work.
Dakkaron said:
I think I will first try it with 3D printed joints, since there I can adjust the resistance. I already tried it with other laptop hinges, but they were extremely tough, so it was impossible to fold the device without breaking something. Maybe there is something like that with adjustable torque, that would be good.
The version I am currently working on will work like the Motorola Backflip, which is where I got the term from.
Edit: @eske.rahn: I just saw your edit to the first post. Cut-ins sound interesting. I'll have to see if I can get something like that to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what the correct technical term is, perhaps "Locking hinge", what I mean is something along these lines integrated, but with a limited number of positions
https://www.yeggi.com/goto/l52hmXJ/...03endmN/Qq7Sc29yaqOXKY5nh04POrrC04a_smZusqZ2W
---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 PM ----------
Dakkaron said:
I think I will first try it with 3D printed joints, since there I can adjust the resistance. I already tried it with other laptop hinges, but they were extremely tough, so it was impossible to fold the device without breaking something. Maybe there is something like that with adjustable torque, that would be good.
The version I am currently working on will work like the Motorola Backflip, which is where I got the term from.
Edit: @eske.rahn: I just saw your edit to the first post. Cut-ins sound interesting. I'll have to see if I can get something like that to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might also consider a completely different approach with the two halves always parallel, and the mechanics at the ends, like this table thing.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61PZJuntwQL._SL1500_.jpg
(sort of most primtive 'slider', and if the arms got different lengths, you can get a tilt also)
This locking hinge design looks pretty simple. Should be no problem to incorporate that into my design.
A friend of mine had a smartphone a few years with this parallel-arms-design. I can't remember what it was. I think some Samsung phone. I don't think I can make this in 3D-print in the required size... I am thinking about a real slider though. Have to see if it is possible.
I tried printing the hinged design, but I don't have a good printing direction, since neither the top nor the bottom of the keyboard half are touching the floor. I need to rework this. Didn't have much time this weekend.
slider vs hinge
i get it that a hinge is easy to implement but would it not be better to try a sliding action over the hinge since it would allow for a end design
@Dakkaron If you're going for a DIY-solution, I'd suggest modding one of the many existing QWERTY-cases for the Galaxy S4, S5 and iPhone.
Several years ago I had one of those for my S4. The problem is, these are hard to come by, unless you live in the US.
I was also a backer of the keyboard mod, actually only bought the Moto Z because of that about 1,5 years go (and then had to replace it with a Z2 Play half a year ago).
As someone who was craving a keyboard smartphone for years, this is really frustrating.
In 2016 I switched to a Blackberry Priv - up until then I had an imported Droid 4 - but the lack of root and its terrible keyboard drove me away.
A few days ago I got a Gemini PDA and while it definitely has its benefits, it's not nearly as practical as a daily driver as a slider would be.
I wish I could just find one of the lucky few who got the keyboard mod and buy it from them for a hefty price.
As someone who struggles with these highly impractical touchscreen keyboards - even after 1,5 years - I'm really frustrated.
I simply don't get why many years ago smartphone producers suddenly forced keyboard-less phones on us up to the point where most people forgot about them.
It's not like people suddenly said 'we don't want a hardware keyboard anymore', they just stopped producing models with a keyboard.
But it's not like people don't want a physical keyboard!
I still know a few that just want to have a keyboard again. And everyone who's seen my keyboard phones so far immediately responded positively to them.
It's a shame that the options for people like us are so limited.
noonebikes4free said:
i get it that a hinge is easy to implement but would it not be better to try a sliding action over the hinge since it would allow for a end design
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure a slider would be better for a SPECIFIC combo, but I guess the hinge design is easier to make more general for different types of keyboards and phablets/phones.
---------- Post added at 06:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 PM ----------
I'm certainly with you @Shani Ace
Personally in the waiting for a real slider, I prefer the primitive snap-on solution for e.g. the S8 as an intermediate device over a hinge design (no matter what way it folds).
(and I must admit I'm getting impatient for more information of the elusive Q device. The teaser page offers so little that it's more annoyance than tease...)
@noonebikes4free: I too would like a slider best, but I just have no idea how to make one. I have taken apart the Motorola Droid 3 and 4, so I know how their sliders work, but there is no way I can replicate that in 3D printed plastic and my metalworking skills are non-existant. So it is not a case of me being too lazy to design one, but rather one of me not having any idea how to make one. If you find a good example I'd be happy to clone it.
@Shani Ace: I was thinking about these slider cases as well, but as you mentioned, they are very hard to find. Also, they are tiny since they were designed for much smaller phones. I wanted a keyboard that would be about the same size as my phone.
I too got the Moto Z Play for the keyboard mod. Quite a disappointment.
I have been using the keyboard with only a snap-on clip for the last few weeks and that seems quite practical. If I need the keyboard, I snap it on. If I don't need it, I snap it off. But the clamp on the keyboard makes it a very awkward shape to carry it around. But I think I figured out a solution that is almost as good as a slider, and that's a swivel hinge (I think they are called that way). So the phone would then rotate like a Nokia Twist, but with the joint in the center of the side of the phone and it would rotate 180 degrees. That would store the keyboard the same way as on a slider, but it would be way easier to make and sturdier. Combine that with a locking swivel mechanism and easy detachability for when you only need the phone.
What fo you think?
@eske.rahn I actually used those snap-on keyboards for a while on an S6 edge and later again with a S7.
But there were a few downsides which made me switch again:
* no backlight
* it limits screen size significantly (I countered that by reducing the DPI, but still...)
* the display ratio is wierd (some apps didn't scale that well, you have to scroll a lot)
* while the keys were definitely better than those of the BB Priv, they were still not nearly as good as on classic sliders like the Droid 4
@Dakkaron I had to fiddle around a lot with those keyboard cases (something would constantly fall apart, usually the springs) and their mechanism seemed quite simple. Although maybe that was the reason why they weren't stable enough for daily usage, who knows.
From what I remember, the pictures and campaign updates for the moto keyboard mod were quite similar though.
If you scroll down to the section titled "Sliding Mechanism" here, you can still see the pictures of it. Maybe that helps?
Personally, I'm not a fan of swivel mechanisms (also don't need to detach).
Then I'd rather go with a flip (like your current one) or clamshell (Gemini) design, but don't particularly like those either.
Problem is, the Gemini PDA is somewhat impractical when you're on the go. You can't really open it one-handed and the keyboard is so huge (and not backlit) that you end up having to look at it while typing and you need to be a real finger acrobat to input certain symbols.
I was just tempted to buy a Droid 4 or Photon Q off ebay again, but then I remembered they don't support LTE over here...
Guess I really have to wait a few more months. I just hope the q-device will actually make it to a full product.
@Dakkaron and @Shani Ace at least the snap on can be clicked on the back too. (and on the S8 even as a camera protector) But I tend to simply carry the keyboard in the shirt-pocket, as it is so light. And yes the lack of backlight is really bad - especially as they do not have a mode where the software keyboard layout is identical to the hardware one, and this really confuses my memory... It would cost virtually NOTHING for them to offer as an optional layout, and would make it so much simpler to switch, depending on the length of the text we need to enter.
Note that the S8 is much more suited for this than the S6, as the native display is so extremely elongated.
And sure the snap-on is not really a solution. But it is tolerable workaround for some months, until we hopefully get a Q-device. :angel:
(And it is REALLY cumbersome to use in real-life in Danish, the frequently used national letters are a little hard to get, and it does not interact well with the word-prediction/spellchecker - and unfortunately they are VERY common in Danish)
Oh, I thought the S7 was the last device to get that keyboard cover. Guess I mistook the S9 for the S8. ^^
But now I remember another downside: it didn work with custom roms. Has that situation improved with the S8?
If so, that might actually be worth a try, at least for a few months.
I was one of the keyboard mod backers and now I will get the same bluetooth keyboard as you have. So please keep us informed
I found a simple approach with an attachable cover. I'm thinking of adding a simple slide-out mechanism to the back of a cheap case.
Snoere said:
I'm thinking of adding a simple slide-out mechanism to the back of a cheap case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, if you're successful with that, would you mind posting a how-to or even do it for others (for money) as well? Btw I'm also from Germany, so shipping would not be a problem.
Snoere said:
I was one of the keyboard mod backers and now I will get the same bluetooth keyboard as you have. So please keep us informed
I found a simple approach with an attachable cover. I'm thinking of adding a simple slide-out mechanism to the back of a cheap case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can get better solutions for the aPple Iphone6. See e.g. https://eskerahn.dk/wordpress/?p=554
But BE AWARE though standard BT keyboards works on Iphones, many Iphone keyboards does NOT work on standard phones/phablets...:silly:
I know it's a little off-topic, but @eske.rahn Mind answering my question from before (I guess it wasn't really clear, my bad)?
You said you were using the S8 with the keyboard cover. Does that still limited you to stock-based ROMs or is there a solution to use the keyboard cover with other ROMs (like RR, Lineage etc.) as well?
I just got an S7 and the keyboard cover will arrive in a few days, so I'm prepping everything right now to turn it into my daily driver until the q-device is released.

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