Battery Gauge for windows XP? - Off-topic

I'm a fan of the battery gauge style used by batti / vistahide / etc and would like to run a similar display on my XP laptop. Frequently I'm running an app in full screen, and loose track of batter status (as displayed by a widgit / in the taskbar / etc). I'd really like a gauge that's always on top, and consumes a few pixels accross the top of the screen to show me what I want to know.
Any ideas?

ooo that does sound like a good idea. who made vistahide anyway?

Try "Notebook Hardware Control (NHC)", it's simple to use, require small resources, but powerfull enough..
What is Notebook Hardware Control (NHC)
With Notebook Hardware Control you can easily control the hardware components of your Notebook
Notebook Hardware Control helps you to:
- control the hardware and system power management
- customize the notebook (open source ACPI Control System)
- prolong the battery lifetime
- cool down the system and reduce power consumption
- monitor the hardware to avoid system failure
- make your notebook quiet
Easy to use, friendly program surface and for free
NHC isn't only very powerful; it has a friendly program surface, it's easy to use and free for private use. A large number of users appreciate these advantages and NHC becomes one of the leading programs to control the power and hardware of modern notebooks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Homepage => Click me...
Screenshot => Click me...

This does a whole lot more than just battery status but it may be worth a look. Doesn't install to the top of the screen as such but can be configured to stay on top wherever you put it.
GKRellm

just rainmeter. do not search for ****ty apps.

This is not the official site but i cannot remember where i got it now, i feel one of the more useful ones in the realms of the net
http://mattcollinge.wordpress.com/software/power-meter-plus/

chris10230 said:
This is not the official site but i cannot remember where i got it now, i feel one of the more useful ones in the realms of the net
http://mattcollinge.wordpress.com/software/power-meter-plus/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks chris10230. This isn't exactly what I had in mind (displays on the side not the top like vistabar/batti) but it gets the job done.
The other solutions would probably work too, but I suspect at a higher resource cost.
Thanks to everyone that contributed

Elegant solution for Vista/Win 7
Although it does not help me directly, since I'm running XP, this is a neat solution that uses cursor modification and a few other display mechanisms to get the job done
http://en.battcursor.net/details.aspx

Related

[APP][07-05-2009] OzzY's Action Screen 0.9

OzzY's Action Screen 0.9​
After looking for nice, fast and versatile action screen, I decided to make my
own. For you guys, I've used skin from Fabliv's Action Screen V5 (with some
changes), and I also made one skin for myself (maybe I'll post it if someone is
interested). Current version is VGA-only and intended for Raphael (flashlight
support, great thanks to NetRipper for useful example). This is initial version,
I hope more development will follow, if there will be an interest...
FEATURES:
very small and self-contained (one EXE, ~90KB)
extremely fast, no managed code, pure C++
build-in Raphael flashlight support, both normal and bright modes, no timeout
keeps flashlight on after pressing power button (display goes off)
build-in Bluetooth and WiFi mode toggle function
support for landscape mode
to exit app without action, just tap the empty space (HTC logo)
bonus action, activates task manager (taskmgr.exe) when D-PAD center is pressed
TO DO:
customizable buttons, of course
keyhook for binding to other keys than long press call
skin changing support (as for now, you can use ResHack and edit JPGs)
add app exit after a timeout (just say you want it)
well, any ideas are welcome
KNOWN ISSUES:
tested only on WM6 VGA emulator and my Raphael
it is said that using flashlight in bright mode for extended periods can burn LED, YOU ARE WARNED!
LICENCE:
This program is FREEWARE. You can do whatever you want with it, except
selling it and distributing under your own name. Please give credits if you
can - but this is not required. Have fun!
This program is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either
expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the
quality and performance of the program is with you. Should the program
prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or
correction. In no event will any copyright holder be liable to you for
damages, including any general, special, incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use or inability to use the program (including but not limited
to loss of data or data being rendered inaccurate or losses sustained by you
or third parties or a failure of the program to operate with any other programs).
Blah, blah, blah... Now, I feel more secure...
SCREENSHOTS & DOWNLOAD:
Thanks, looks good!
Thanks for the app. working good on my TP.
Thanks, guys! If you have any ideas or suggestion, any comment would be welcome!
Thanks, I will test it on my Raphael.
thanx!!!
for me, new appointment and new task would be great. maybe more then 9 possibilities to choose from?
12 Buttons
Great job the_ozyrys.
Is it possible to have 12 Buttons layout instead of 9?
12 buttons, won't it make the screen to much crowded?
I'm currently working on version with 6 of 9 buttons
customizable (except those controlling flashlight),
plus customizable action of D-PAD center, maybe
this will be better idea?
This is nice cab addition.
Thanks for the post!
Looks nice I'll keep a watch on it. Making it more user customizable will make it much more attractive to users for sure
thanks for your hard work this works great!!!
Thanks for this App!
Is it possible to change or edit the Icons and functions in this App?
Great JOB!!!
Awesome app. I am using it in my ROMs now. A lot lighter than some of the others out there. Also, hope you dont mind, I changed the skin a bit to flow well with my default theme of the ROM.
Thanks, jmckeejr
Also, I dont think it would be a bad idea to make 3 more links on the bottom. Would make it more productive and wouldnt waste the space on the bottom(although my logo looks good there )
Of course, you can change skin as you want, I can even provide you Photoshop file with current skin, if you want... I'm working on more advanced version of this app, unfortunately currently any Raphael-related work is on hold because of end-of-academic-year-related stuff, but stay tuned...
Photoshop template would be awesome. Make it easier for ppl to edit only certain parts. I use resHacker to change out the images, and then resign it. Is there a better solution?
Well, there idea behind this app is to be as simple as possible,
and standalone, meaning that .exe file is sufficient to run it...
Any idea how to maintain this and provide user-friendly skin
support? Hmm, maybe built-in default skin and loading custom
skin from DLL, if it's available? Frankly, Reshacker is more
user-friendly than most skin-making apps...
P.S. As for templates,this is everything I can give you for now:
http://ozzy.uzyszkodnik.net/Action.zip
You could possibly do something like Tene did with PCM Keyboard. use a zip containing the images, skin.ini, etc. Rename the zip to .skn or .skin or whatever. I am perfectly fine with editing the images inside the exe, but I know not everyone would think to do such a thing. Would be nice to somehow make it keypad friendly, but then you lose the incredibly light weight.
how do u change the icons? i would like colorful icons
savior02 said:
how do u change the icons? i would like colorful icons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use reshacker and save the image from the .exe file. Edit and replace. Save and then sign with mssigner.
Any updates yet Ozzy. Sweet app cant do without it.

[APP] [updated] 4x4 Gyrometer/Inclinometer/Landmeter

Hello friends.
I am looking for an application for measuring car x and y tilt for offroad uses with 4x4 vehicle. Only one suitable app I found is the Kai's water level with its gyrometer feature,but this is very small and in my case I don't need bubbles,so I want to get a software to do my job,but with much larger indicator,angles and warnings as this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QegwIr4dle8
Is there anybody here,who can mix both functionalities of these softwares for me(cause I am not skilled with C)to one application? Super graphic effects aren't necessary.
Thanks in advance.
Very cool idea. I found this http://sites.google.com/site/srlappsproject/home/on-the-level-app its for android but looks cool.
This is very ideal,but for iPhone
http://appshopper.com/utilities/clinovintage
TomasNM said:
Hello friends.
I am looking for an application for measuring car x and y tilt for offroad uses with 4x4 vehicle. Only one suitable app I found is the Kai's water level with its gyrometer feature,but this is very small and in my case I don't need bubbles,so I want to get a software to do my job,but with much larger indicator,angles and warnings as this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QegwIr4dle8
Is there anybody here,who can mix both functionalities of these softwares for me(cause I am not skilled with C)to one application? Super graphic effects aren't necessary.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In truth that's not a difficult app to write, however, I think you'll have issues if you are planning on using it on the move, as the sensor only measures the gravity that it perceives, so if you move the phone around, it gets terribly confused as to where "down" is.
I'm guessing you want to know that an incline of over x degrees is likely to cause the vehicle to tip, etc, but if you are bumping over rough ground, then you'll never get an accurate reading anyway IMHO.
Cheers,
Steve.
Well,I know,that the sensor reacts also for acceleration,because normally it measures inertial forces and the result is not depended only on the gravity. Anyway,it should be okay,because I need it for very slow motion of the car in difficult terrain and I want to see,if my tilt angle(especially to side) is in tolerance,because I don't want to flip the car on the roof. Are you skilled with this "easy" programming?
I would be happy to do the graphics for it just tell me what you need.
TomasNM said:
Well,I know,that the sensor reacts also for a acceleration,because normally it changes inertial forces and the result is not depended only on the gravity. Anyway,it should be okay,because I need it for very slow motion of the car in difficult terrain and I want to see,if my tilt angle(especially to side) is in tolerance,because I don't want to flip the car on the roof. Are you skilled with this "easy" programming?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't necessarily say "skilled", but I wrote the Touch Incall Screen Tweak which turns on/off the screen during a call based on the orientation of the phone, so I'm familiar with working with the accelerometer.
Cheers,
Steve.
Okay,I will prepare demo application tomorrow for PC. I want to have the functionality of the software in video,but with comparable graphics as Kai's bubble level gyrometer(visible horizont). It will be lonely one application of its type on the world,so you can be rich.
Maybe a little something like this. The buttons at the bottom would change color depending on the alarm setting for each angle. You could change that setting by pressing the corresponding button. The numbers in the buttons would give you the actual ° reading.
Just a thought.
Ok, I pulled a stupid moment, there would only be 2 axis, Yaw and Tilt. I was thinking 3D
Also the Waterlevel app found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=411550 has the open source files posted with it, may save some time.
For me is enough to have just 2 axis. The front-end angle and side angle. The image posted before is quiet perfect,but we should have 4 buttons for X-warning,X-max,Y-warning-Y-max,when I hit one of them,I will be able to adjust it. Of course some notifications for these warnings are welcomed as well as angle value visible on the screen all the time.
Next thing what is also welcomed is the power-on ability to prevent auto-dim/off the display. All the things should be visible from the driver's place,when the phone is fixed on the dashboard,so the fonts should be big enough and of course the calibration function to be present.
With this picture you have saved me lot of time spended with programming the PC demo-now isn't needed,because all features are explained.
Anyway,thank you for your help and willingness.
Something more like this? Then pressing the X or Y button would take you to a setup page that you could set warning sounds for yellow or red and you could also set degrees for the setpoints of yellow warning and red warning for each axis.
Quiet perfect!
Can you enlarge the degree fonts and locate them to the bottom corners nearby the circle? Also the labels "Actual" are not necessary. Into the top corners maybe you can locate Calibration button and options/exit(if it will be fullscreened). The warning sounds is also not bad idea...
Like this?
Absolutely perfect!!!
Well done mate.
Now just make it working and it will be super. Are you able to make it alive?
Sorry I do not have that talent, wish I did.
Oh,what a shame. I'll try to take some developers here...
I think this needs moved to the developers thread.
Please, make this dream come true! I'm looking for this kind of software too!

Updated [16/11]: [App] [G-Sensor] [Brand New] The XSense v1.0

Credits:
Foremost, let us all acknowledge Koushik for his brilliant "Sensors" library upon which most if not all non-HTC apps that use the G-Sensor, Light-Sensor, and Navi-Sensor are built, simply ingenious. Moreover, I would like to recognize No2chem for the NeuLed2 library which is an equally exquisite peace of code that allows access to the Diamond/Pro Leds. Without those two guys, accessing these advance interfaces on the diamond/pro would be inapproachable at best.
Reason: Since I bought my Diamond, I constantly thought HTC gave it a lot of sensors but nearly no .."Sense".
......... X-Sense ...........
* Hopefully, an innovaton & integration of RANDOM but needful features...
Features:
1. Courtesy Settings:
- Select Volume Profiles to activate on Face-Down & Face-UP events. Choose from: None, Silent, Normal, and Vibrate. You can also choose to suspend the Phone when its facing down (duh!).
- Automatically activate/deactivate the Speakerphone during phone calls depending on the phone's posture. In other words, if you're not holding the phone up then it will automatically activate the Speakerphone.
2. Notifications-Sense:
- IF there is/are any outstanding notification(s), the device will vibrate whenever you move it at customizable intervals: Missed Call(s), Voice Mail, and SMS only.
3. Stylus-Sense:- When the Stylus is in/out: Will play faint sound + Blink the Back button's light +/Vibrate. Moreover, the device will vibrate whenever you move it at customizable intervals.
- When the Stylus is out and the device is moved: Device will vibrate twice on every posture change + blink the Back button's light to REMIND you that the Stylus has not been placed back in. This goes ON until the Stylus is placed where it should be.
* Uses "in.wav" & "out.wav" files in the \XSense\ Dir; you can use whatever wave files for this.
4. General Settings:
- Polling Interval: From 200 to 3000 Miliseconds. This determines the rate at which the G-Sensor is polled. Lower values give higher response times and fluid operation at the cost of battery life & CPU utilization.
- Flash Navi Lights: Will blink button lights to notify you of Profile changes and Stylus In/Out.
- Vibrate on Events: Will induce very subtle vibrations to notify you of Notifications and Profile changes.
- Suspend when UP-Side-Down: Your phone will suspend if you hold it up-side-down (duh!)
- Light Navi Button When Suspended: Will do just that. This is an independent setting that turns ON the Navi button's light at suspend time, and OFF at Resume time (this is Event Driven, so no polling is involved). This feature really helps if, like me, you want to see where the damn thing is in the dark - before you launch it against the floor.
6. Installs to "\Program Files\XSense", and Creates 2 shortcuts:
"Start Menu\Programs\XSense" and "Startup\XSenseSvc".
Program Settings are saved to the Registry at "HKCU\Software\XSense\".
Use of System Resources:
1. Diskspace: 162 KB RAM footprint: 374-535 KB Battery: NOT observed.
2. CPU Usage: %0.29 Average. Spikes for 2 seconds to %2.7 - %8.5.
* Indicated CPU usage occurs ONLY when there is an EVENT (posture changed, stylus in/out Sounds playing,
etc)
Logic:
- During phone calls, All features are suspended except the Speakerphone-specific code.
- Program will respond to posture changes only 2 seconds after they have occured, this is to
avoid unintended operation ( as much as possible ).
- Vibration: The way I like it is in waves of 200 miliseconds length! I generally hate vibrations, so if you want it at 201 ms. you're welcome to make your own program and enjoy the merits of your personal taste.
- This prgram Registers Event Handlers for: "G-Sensor", "Incoming Call", "Phone Call in Progress", "Stylus in/out", and Power Manager events. DO NOT move it to Internal Storage, you have been warned.
Requirements:
.NET 3.5 + Diamond or Raphael.
Restrictions:
Only for the Diamond/Raphael (vis-a-vis, it will crash on any other device!)
Bugs/Limitations:
Knock yourself out...
Disclaimer:
This program is provided strictly on "as is" basis. It is intended only as a proof-of-concept. Although fully functional, it must NOT be considered for daily use. This software is very likely to compromise the integrity of your data as well as invariabley cause your device to malfunction in any way, shape, or form. Therefore, the developer shall be absolved of all responsibility towards testers and/or their computers & devices. While using this software you agree to be solely liable for all and any damages you do to yourself, your device, or any damn thing you possess and care for!
Release Notes:
- Download & Install the CAB
- Run the XSense from your Start Menu\Programs, customize to taste, and enjoy!
- IF you want it, download it from the Diamond section.
NOTE: Further releases/upgrades will NOT work on the Raphael/Diamond PRO.
wheres the cab?
Cab?!?
This program sounds sweet.. Im willing to give it a go, but no cab.
This is like the april fool joke for the wireless charging app. It's a joke, the app is too good to be true
/Closed
klasital said:
This is like the april fool joke for the wireless charging app. It's a joke, the app is too good to be true
/Closed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fell for that too man, it was NOT funny tho! Its October btw..
shirreer said:
I fell for that too man, it was NOT funny tho! Its October btw..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And you still haven't posted the app...
Roger
96cobra said:
And you still haven't posted the app...
Roger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Released: On first post.
Release: available on the first post. Tell me what you all think (compliments/complaints)...
shirreer said:
Release: available on the first post. Tell me what you all think (compliments/complaints)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can i have your permission to review this app on a video? i have a youtube dedicated to the FUZE but also other stuff
looks promising and nice
Nice but . . .
OK first off I love this program it works very smoothly, except for one thing, and I am sure this is a simple fix. I unzipped and copied everything to the root folder of my device. Started the application and it starts working, very cleanly I might ad. However the stylus function isn't working for me. I am sure it just has to do with the file of the wav, should I put these in any specific folder?
XERO_Racer said:
can i have your permission to review this app on a video? i have a youtube dedicated to the FUZE but also other stuff
looks promising and nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go right on man, and thanks for the "cheer up". Enjoy
jewill00 said:
OK first off I love this program it works very smoothly, except for one thing, and I am sure this is a simple fix. I unzipped and copied everything to the root folder of my device. Started the application and it starts working, very cleanly I might ad. However the stylus function isn't working for me. I am sure it just has to do with the file of the wav, should I put these in any specific folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tell me more:
- Did the stylus-out/in sound EVER play?
- Did you change the original wav files?
- Is the phone's system volume (not the Ringer) loud enough to be heard?
Notes:
- The wav files (in.wav and out.wav) are supposed to be in the same directory as the program.
- The original wav files are subtle, they are meant to merely "hint" at you.
Glad that this app really works. Maybe in the next release you could add some settings so we can customize it as we wish. The only small problem that I encountered is that the phone doesn't turn back to loud mode when I flip it unless I push the wake button to turn the screen on. This can be annoying sometimes because I missed a call this way...
Good job on this app. It's really subtle but useful at the same time.
bedobela said:
Glad that this app really works. Maybe in the next release you could add some settings so we can customize it as we wish. The only small problem that I encountered is that the phone doesn't turn back to loud mode when I flip it unless I push the wake button to turn the screen on. This can be annoying sometimes because I missed a call this way...
Good job on this app. It's really subtle but useful at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you mate. I intend to create a settings screen altough that would be both cumbersome and useless for the current feature-set except for the stylus sounds.
I am thinking of adding a launcher to the stylus events, perhaps a new note would open on stylus-out, then save+close on stylus-in.. who knows, eh?
As for the missed call......LOL... I think that's just the point ...Seriously though, WM devices cannot survive the battery strain if they don't sleep (suspend). So, we do with what we got
Cheers
only issue i am having is.. I would prefer not to have the navi lights on all the time... whether the phone is face up or down my navi lights are always on
Short Review
ok soo far i tested the app and i have to say is this is a real good app, only problems im encountering is the vibration is very very faint, but i guess thats ur deal of conserve battery life? theres no problem to it and besides...speaking of battery life, leaving the NavLight on and messing around with the app for 5 mins straight didnt even take a percent off of my battery, ill try for a more deeper battery challenge but anyways, heres a list of suggestions, pros and cons, btw this app makes my TouchPro look 5000 times more cooler too something ive been wanting on this phone
PROS:
-Courtesy Sense seems to be very effective
-doesnt kill my battery much(yet)
-not a CPU Heavy app, still can run TP flawless
-Stylus Sense is responsive
-not a memory heavy app
CONS:
-Response of every "sense" is very slow, takes like 2 seconds to switch
-Courtesy Sense can sometimes be out of control, can possibly switch the volume off and on since i have my TP in my vertical case(but that can be fixable i guess)
-Cant close the app(if user decides to) but theres a way to close it through task manager(not HTC TM though)
-Backlights dont light up anymore if app is in use
-Cant unmute unless you switch the device on
Suggestions:
-Make a settings menu where u can adjust the poll speed and sensitivity and what Senses you can turn Off or On
-Should make the Stylus notification light blink every 15-30 seconds or 1 min at the most
-Also to add on the Notifications Sense is the famous blinking LED Light whenever you shake the device
-Close/Exit option onto the app
-When the device's volume is set on silent or vibrate, the Common Sense should be turned off until the device volume is set back to normal
-and probably something crazy, the Party Light Mode, where you can make the lights blink with noise or fade different paterns or blink with some random pattern just for FUN lol
Overall Score 9/10 and thats my honest opinion...this is a great app especially in Alpha stage
Video Review coming up this weekend, ill be posting a link soon, thnx for the great app
Video Review
here ya go everyone, a review video courtesy of me feel free to subscribe if you like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds2Brq8L_dY
XERO_Racer said:
here ya go everyone, a review video courtesy of me feel free to subscribe if you like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds2Brq8L_dY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro, let me thank you for a VERY groovy flick, I enjoyed every bit of both your written and video reviews.
I must praise you further for a great job at a thorough & constructive critique. Your stylish review and suggestions are valuable and are noted with all due enthusiasm. I will try my utmost to reflect what I can on my next attempt - the Beta. Also, I will contemplate creating this "feast of lights" you're craving as a token of gratitude for your effort
Cheers
Here's v1.0 ... fully customizable.
This seems to be unneeded around here, So... for the few who want it, y'all can download it from the Diamond Section - In the meantime, I'll be contemplating ways of making new versions unusable on the Raphael for the obvious unpopularity of this device, and equally evident lack of enthusiasm from those who have it
Cheers

Contest: BMW theme for car ICE system

Mods: Hope that's ok to post this here, otherwise, please feel free to move it to the appropriate section.
As the title says I am looking for a front-end interface that will run on a double din screen radio/in-car-entertainement system for BMW cars with IBUS.
The interface must provide the following:
- Full screen - vertical view only.
- Icons must show on the screen, providing quick access links to different features (Video, GPS, Audio, OBC functions, CD changer, etc). Icons representing those functions must be designed too.
- A general settings menu that provides access to those icons settings (Path of the application for instance etc).
- A choice of different icons must be available (3-4 per function is enough) and can be changed by the end user.
- The theme must use the BMW amber color somehow (Around the icons for example, and or as a background color). But not too much amber color all over the place either.
- The theme must have other colors available (Same as previous point), but provide the user with a choice of blue, green for instance instead of the amber.
- Must provide an exit button
- Must install as an application (And shown on the applications list) and run in the background all the time (unless exited)
- Must be light but robust.
- A specific icon called (On Board Computer) must be created too and a custom interface designed for it too. The custom interface will show options such as mileage, fuel consumption (Average, current, but also reset) etc. A basic application showing these right now will be enough. We have the IBUS library for those functions.
- The interface must be open source released under BSD license.
- The interface must look professional, no naked body parts, tuned BMW cars with crazy kits in the background etc, just professional.
Please post your mockups and code, even basic code at first, it can be worked out over the next few weeks.
A vote will be started as soon as the themes have been posted.
I will give 250US to the winner of the poll
Thanks for our time
As an e39 owner, I am highly anticipating this! I loathe coding too much to make my own attempt
Can't wait to see what you guys come up with. It very well may end up in my car in the near future!
I really hope some of the great devs we have here can pull through and figure this one out... a whole community of drivers would benefit from the innovation and hardwork
I cant wait to see the end result.
LMAO, yeah good luck with this one. Sounds a little scammish to me.
hi,this is interesting one...lets give some support here!
@djquick
""Sounds a little scammish to me.""
scammish? why you say that? friend...
djquick said:
LMAO, yeah good luck with this one. Sounds a little scammish to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely not a scam.
I wish I had lots of free time on my hands to post scams on the internet, but I don't.
This front-end interface will be used on the first (TBC?) open source radio full in car entertainment system used in BMW cars.
Cheers

Playstation PS Vita Review (Pros and Cons)

PSV Review (WiFi):
Rough Draft Copy, just to jot some points down, will organize and revise later, mostly about Vita Pros and Cons, not a game experience review
Pros:
- Great HW quality, solid feeling dual joy-sticks, better than its predecessor
- Quality screen OLED 5” 960x544 (I think OLED has become common place going forward since 2011, where the prices of OLED have fallen enough to be affordable on sub ~5” screens.)
- Responsive touch screen (Capacitive) (Popularized by the iPhone, Capacitive touch screens have become common place for brand name devices for the pass 2-3 years)
- Responsive Gaming action, no lag felt during game play in all games including Wipeout, StarDust Delta (though it’s the least you can expect from a custom tailored game SW and HW solution, unlike generic solutions like Windows, Android solutions where hardware resources available on the device are unknown to the SW developer)
- Lots of hardware controls (Gyro, Accel, and your regular HW buttons)
- Light Weight, easy to hold for extend periods of time (on the flip side, this could mean small battery, and explain the 3-5 hr battery life, since the battery is almost always the most physically dense thus heavy component of a system)
- Loud enough speaker (when not covered by finger)
-CONs:
- Hardware: The SGX543CPU is from 2009 (probably reasonable for a $250 device)
- Hardware: No GPS (probably reasonable for a $250 device)
- Packaging: Typical Sony package, bare essentials, no free bonuses like cheap sleeve common with other manufacturers
- Hardware: Backtouch screen is not 1:1 with the front, due to the Sony sticker offsetting the back touch screen by a couple millimeters up, when you compare by touching the front and back touch screen together with your fingers clamped to approx the same place, you’ll notice the back touch is offset by a few millimeters above the front touch screen. This means the backtouch is not exactly intuitive when used in reference to what you see in the front.
- Game: Wipeout: In Wipeout control mode, moving right finger at many times hits the right d-pad up, reversing the ship unexpectedly, This means the Right D-PAD to a little too close to the action buttons.
- OS: BUG: instability on OS screens, ie: settings, power down
- OS: BUG: Poor automatic WiFi Access Point selection. Vita will automatically erroneously pick the access point with worse signal
- Hardware: speaker placement, causes sound to go in and out every time the finger moves to hit different buttons, inadverdently covering the speaker, recommend bottom placement to avoid accidental covering
- OS: BUG: Bluetooth Stereo a2dp doesn’t reconnect upon device resume
----- poor game sound quality when Party voice is enabled
------have to manually reconnect to headphones
- OS: Interface: interface is very touch dependent, this was the same as Sony’s other newly converted touch devices, they tend to abandon all hardware button controls and force touch screen navigation as if the developers got too carried away by its discovery one day. There are many GUI instances where HW buttons still make more sense even in the presence of a touch screen. Like when there is only 1 button available to press (ie: ok) that should be equally accessible by our familiar X button, practically speaking it’s silly to completely abandon the HW interface. Lazy interface programming
- OS: Interface: Double tapping apps. In all apps/games, to access them, you first have to click on the icon on the app drawer, and then again click on the start button of the program to start the program.. I understand that some gaming information (ie: website, addons) is put in front but given the rarity of usage, couldn’t they be put into the main game screen? Other apps such as settings, friends, party, where there isn’t any other options on the front screen, what is the point in forcing the user to double tap?
- OS: Integration: Party, group apps, Friends, trophies, I’m still confused as to which app to launch for what purpose. These separate programs could have been integrated into one social app, where you can see your friends, select them to text or group chat or trophies.
This gated unintegrated experience forces a lot of guesswork and wasted load times between related apps that otherwise should have been an easy all-in-one integrated experience like other mobile social apps.
- OS: Interface: quick program switch, not allowing the top bar swipe gesture to pull down the list of open apps was a missed opportunity for quick app switch and WiFi on/off switching. The PSV seems to force the Playstation button on users to switch out of apps. Unfortunately, Sony is forcing the touch screen when it makes sense to allow HW button and forcing HW button, when it makes more sense to use the touch screen.
- OS: Interface: Cut and Paste: Again it seems pretty inconvenient whenever you want to move type something you’ve painstakingly typed on the touch pad to a different location, there is no way to do it. You are forced to retype what is already in front of you again. I would have accepted it even if the Copy clipboard was confined to pasting from the same program. For example, if you just see a non hyperlinked URL on the webpage that you’d want to go to in the browser, you’d literally have to manually type it in yourself. Or in the chat program if you want to refer to some text previously typed by copying the quote, again, you’d have to retype the whole passage manually. This might not be as big of an issue with an HW keyboard but when the device is dependent on a small touch screen keyboard, you’d want to make every effort to minimize any unnecessary typing.
By the year 2012, I would have expected Copy and Paste to be the most basic function across all text enabled devices.
- OS: Interface: Text cursor, not accessible by d-pad, forces touch access, but no text cursor handle like on Android and iPhone that allows easy cursor movement between characters. By the year 2012, I would have expected cursor control to have become a basic best practice across all touch enabled devices that have text cursors. (edit: cursor control is actually hidden, you have to press and hold the cursor for a second and the text field will magnify allowing you to drag and move the cursor back and forth. So this is good, but if only it wasn’t hidden to be found by accident.)
- Browser:
----------Double tap zoom is broken on many sites
----------No copy and paste
----------poor compatibility, even simple javascripts that are necessary to open certain webpages properly don’t work, for example I was unable to load the flyer from a simple futureshop webpage at all.
- OS: Interface: App Management:
There seems no way to organize the apps into folders, for example, Action games into one folder, puzzle games into other. On my android OS, I have 50 programs and games, none for which would be manageable if they were all just together in the app drawer, but thankfully with folders on the home screen, I was able to categorize them into their respective folders by functionality.
- OS: BUG:
Flight mode: with flight mode enabled, if you grant an app request for WiFi connection, the WiFi turns on, and the game proceeds. But BOTH the flight mode and WiFi icon remains active on the top bar even when the app has been closed. It appears the apps have no way of telling the OS what it’s done with the WiFi or that the OS should return the WiFi to its original state. In fact, after checking the Network settings, OS indicates flight mode is still enabled even though WiFi is also active. The redeeming factor is that upon closing the app, the WiFi icon does disappear (sometimes). But upon subsequent launch of the app, it no longer requests to enable the WiFi, it just does it automatically. The proper behavior should have been to ALWAYS ask for permission when Flight Mode is enabled, this could have serious implications for hospital settings where the WiFi gets inadvertently enabled without the user’s notice and permission. This is fairly poor hardware handling by the software
- OS: Functionality: Multitasking: The browser can not run without first closing the game. This means it's pretty hard to quickly reference for Walk-Throughs or cheat codes while you're playing a game without either first quitting or having a second device handy. It's completely understandable if games won't multi-task amongst other games, but when even the webbrowser doesn't work, essentially there is no multi-tasking, besides on built-in programs like Party, that needs it to be on for the Party Voice to work in game.
-Reviewer:
Last mobile console: NDS, last played 1 year ago, causal player of mobile games. Occasional PC gamer who enjoys some causal tablet gaming when bored.
Owned Sony devices:
Cameras: DSC-T9
Laptops: Vaio P
e-Readers: PRS-505, PRS-650, PRS-950
Gaming: PS2, PSV
What i was interested in is transfer game play between ps3 and the vita?
I thought that is what i saw on tv...
Any thoughts on that?
davidrules7778 said:
What i was interested in is transfer game play between ps3 and the vita?
I thought that is what i saw on tv...
Any thoughts on that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im curious about that too
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buump bump proof
Buy an Xperia Play
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

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