[BKHAWK3#IM]

I have had the opportunity to get hands on with 2 different Storms and both were running .65. The 1st units accelerometer was so bad that the tech was havin me push the end call key to get it change to landscape. On the 2nd unit I played with transition was nearly seamless even from landscape left to landscape right. So for my question is it possible the problem lies with the accelerometer or is it definetly SW related and my mini test is a fluke.

[sdmilton]

could also depend on how these devices are handled.

[jaykav99]

Good question, but im wondering is the whole thing based on software or does it have a sensor inside of it like the 360. If its built like 360 then its a physical part which of course can break. if its all software then an upgrade should fix everything

[BKHAWK3#IM]

could also depend on how these devices are handled.

Are you refering to handling as in being tossed around and dropped in a drawer or did you mean how a user holds unit?

[scougarb]

Are you refering to handling as in being tossed around and dropped in a drawer or did you mean how a user holds unit?

I think sdmilton was referring to the fact that the phone must be mostly vertical for the accelerometer to work. There is a youtube video floating around here somewhere that demonstrates what I mean. The guy in the video had the phone flat on a table and was trying to make it switch back to portrait mode... doesn't work that way.

[jaykav99]

That angle issue should be interesting, I usually hold the voyager at the 45 degree angle. You would think it will still respond ok but after that vid you never know

[cuban_dudeca]

I think sdmilton was referring to the fact that the phone must be mostly vertical for the accelerometer to work. There is a youtube video floating around here somewhere that demonstrates what I mean. The guy in the video had the phone flat on a table and was trying to make it switch back to portrait mode... doesn't work that way.

Yeah not even the iphone works like that.

[kazn3r]

i can never get the fu***** iphone to go to landscape, damnit!!! I hope I can learn my STORM!

[britishturbo]

OK... it's all down to SOFTWARE.

I'm an engineer and have accelerometers sat on my desk here for some projects I work on... I can tell you for a fact the hardware is working right. It's all software and how the software is set up to work with it...

One thing to remember though... if you set the software to switch the instant the accelerometer got moved... it would keep switching every time you moved it in your hands... you HAVE to have a "debounce" time in there to be sure that the unit has stayed where it for moved to...

[Tumaz04]

I wonder if you could customize the accelerometer. So that it switches faster, kinda like how you can change the sensativity of the screen.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[britishturbo]

To add a little more to what I was saying... an Accelerometer has outputs for each axis... a 2-Axis has XY and a 3-Axis has XYZ...

You get an analog voltage coming out for each axis that tells you which way is up, but you also will get a signal based on inertia... picture it this way... if the Storm switched after only 0.1 second of input... all you have to do to fool it is turn your body 90 degrees quickly, and you could fool the software into thinking you rotated the phone...

So... you HAVE to have some kind of delay, around 0.5 seconds or so to ensure that what the software saw for that 0.5 seconds was a real turn of the device, and not just inertia...

Does that help clear it up for everyone? You would NOT be happy if the Storm was over sensitive... trust me...

And yes it's the same time of accelerometer that's in the iphone, and in the Wii controller....

Cheers!

[kazn3r]

it'd be cool to customize, even cooler if it could learn how the phone sat in your hands. :sigh: developers.

[ClickClack911]

Good info britishturbo!

[Benji-nl]

Good question, but im wondering is the whole thing based on software or does it have a sensor inside of it like the 360. If its built like 360 then its a physical part which of course can break. if its all software then an upgrade should fix everything

It is impossible to do this all with software.
You could do it, with a few cameras but it would drain power like crazy and slow the thing down since it would be making pictures all the time.
An accelerometer is always hardware based.
It is, however, linked to software which decides what to do when the accelerometer detects a change in its position.
This software can be upgraded and this could make it faster.