Menu and Navigation app concept

[Neo_e6]

I have a vision in my mind of an application that would greatly enhance usage of the Rokr e6 and other Motorola phones with touch screens. This is a better place than the bounty forum to post this app idea because I want to stimulate interest in this concept. Especially interest in those that develop apps for the benefit of all of us.

I really like the way that you can move through menus on the iphone and some portions of windows mobile 6. It wouldn't be hard to write an application that would sit transparently over the built in menus and buttons of the rokr e6, allowing for "gestures," like sliding one's thumb horizontally across the screen to move into the main menu or dialing mode. I imagine it simulating the animation by using a screen shot of the desktop as the next menu loads, then showing it slide away, replaced with a screen shot of the next menu sliding into place. A kind of prefetch might speed this up or possibly having the dialing, sms, main menu screens already "opened" in the background. (Question: could preloading for this purpose be done with minimal effect on battery life?)

Gestures like this would be very handy with browsing through images. Also scrolling up and down through the main menu would be much easier, with "safe" areas on the top, bottom and sides of the screen that if your thumb started on them and then slid horizontally would move you between deferent categories of icons (office, games etc.) with the animation "trick" described above. Or sliding vertically would scroll up or down. This would be a great improvement since the scroll bar is quite narrow for using your finger.

Also, a horizontal "sliding" gesture could be a great way to move between open applications. I wouldn't expect this application to be compatible with everything run on the e6, but enhancing the GUI alone would be wonderful.

I hope this gets people excited about my idea. Hopefully Blackhawk or others consider taking up this project



Cheers

-Johnnie

[rnistala]

Nice idea. But does this not require a multi-touch capability?

[Neo_e6]

No, it would not.

Do you mean "multi-touch" as in a capability that...

consists of a touch screen (screen, table, wall, etc.) or touch pad, as well as software that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points, as opposed to the standard touchscreen (i.e. computer touch pad, ATM), which recognizes only one touch point.

Such a capability is useful when you need to manipulate multiple objects on screen simultaneously. I don't know if the e6 can do this, but this isn't necessary.

I'm describing single motions, button presses or "clicks". The rokr e6 already processes these single motions with your finger or stylus. Also, others have already created applications that use the touchscreen, like emulators and etc.

This software could sit transparently above the GUI, waiting to capture "gestures" or other single movements, then pass these instructions to the GUI.

I can manage by using the edge of a finger for a small button, or feeling for a narrow scroll bar, but if these things can be controlled more naturally, this would be a great improvement.

[glevin]

nice idea!
GUI like a pic flow... hehehe