1. Bryontro's Avatar
    I believe that there is a valid reason to disable the accelerometer. In my case I had planned on using the Storm on my motorcycle for both music and navigation. The idea would eliminate clutter on the bike.
    I just received a RAM mount for my storm and mounted it on my bike and took a ride. Immediately, I realized that going around a curve on the bike and the vibration that a bike has, sends the storm into portrait/landscape fits. It basically makes the Storm useless for my bike. I sure hope that it becomes an option to lock the storm in either landscape or portrait mode. It's a real bummer in my case.
    04-25-09 11:19 PM
  2. izzyncade's Avatar
    why would you want to?
    04-26-09 02:30 AM
  3. paultyler_82's Avatar
    Wow, there seems to be a lot of demand for this and quite a few valid reasons... If RIM doesn't include it in a build soon, I may have to look through the API's to see if there's a way to do this in a simple app, if there is, the App itself shouldn't be too hard to make, though I don't know how the accelerometer works with the software exactly, I'll look into it.
    04-26-09 02:38 AM
  4. imme40's Avatar
    well since mercury is what allows the screen to change orientations, maybe a hardware switch that you could slide could keep the mercury from flowing?

    just a far out guess from a noob who has no idea what he's talking about.
    Not to burst your bubble but I doubt that its a hardware thing. If it triggered the event to change orientations then the app will act accordingly.
    If hardware could fix it the we would just need something to disable it

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-26-09 02:54 AM
  5. Bryontro's Avatar
    why would you want to?
    Check out my post #27. I found a valid reason yesterday for the motorcycle touring crowd.

    Btw, Like your signature. I'm one of those active duty military, family of 4, pay my taxes, tea party attendee, so called right wing extremest guys too. Better be careful. I'm liable to get PO'ed and go on a shoottings spree with my 8 year old's Nerf gun.... Geesh...
    04-26-09 09:05 AM
  6. Bryontro's Avatar
    Wow, there seems to be a lot of demand for this and quite a few valid reasons... If RIM doesn't include it in a build soon, I may have to look through the API's to see if there's a way to do this in a simple app, if there is, the App itself shouldn't be too hard to make, though I don't know how the accelerometer works with the software exactly, I'll look into it.

    Oh, bless you. Think you could have it out before 24 May? I start a 5k mile road trip to 4 corners (NM,UT,AZ,CO) then. It would give it the app the ultimate test.. No pressure. ha.
    04-26-09 09:10 AM
  7. leathernuts#WP's Avatar
    Its needed badly!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-26-09 09:56 AM
  8. paultyler_82's Avatar
    Well, so far, I can't seem to find anything in the API to just lock the screen in place, the apps that don't switch orientation are doing it by basically just ignoring the accelerometer... so this is going to have to be a little more complex. I have to make the system ignore the accelerometer the same way the apps do when the setting is on. So far, I haven't been able to override the system successfully and once I do, I'm not sure how to extend it to work with EVERY application other than just the Main Screen... I think I need a better understanding of how BerryBuzz and other systemwide applications work. Due to the JVM there's no easy way of just intercepting the accelerometer signal... Anyway, still working on it.
    04-26-09 09:44 PM
  9. Bryontro's Avatar
    paultyler, I thank you for your efforts.
    04-27-09 04:08 PM
  10. jostrat21's Avatar
    Well, so far, I can't seem to find anything in the API to just lock the screen in place, the apps that don't switch orientation are doing it by basically just ignoring the accelerometer... so this is going to have to be a little more complex. I have to make the system ignore the accelerometer the same way the apps do when the setting is on. So far, I haven't been able to override the system successfully and once I do, I'm not sure how to extend it to work with EVERY application other than just the Main Screen... I think I need a better understanding of how BerryBuzz and other systemwide applications work. Due to the JVM there's no easy way of just intercepting the accelerometer signal... Anyway, still working on it.
    Good luck Paul. You have no idea how excited I would be if you could pull this off. I feel like this would be a best-selling app if it can be done. Any way, keep us posted on your progress and thanks for trying.
    04-27-09 04:44 PM
  11. jostrat21's Avatar
    Bump.

    Any more information on this?
    05-01-09 12:52 AM
  12. paultyler_82's Avatar
    So far, no luck, I've gone about it at least two separate ways now, but both methods aren't very stable, I think I've managed to crash both the simulator and a friend's test unit several times now. I'm still trying, but it really seems that RIM doesn't like people messing with the underpinnings of the GUI. The keyboard won't cooperate at all, so that's another thing I'm needing to figure out. Just letting you all know, still working on it.
    05-01-09 08:19 AM
  13. jostrat21's Avatar
    So far, no luck, I've gone about it at least two separate ways now, but both methods aren't very stable, I think I've managed to crash both the simulator and a friend's test unit several times now. I'm still trying, but it really seems that RIM doesn't like people messing with the underpinnings of the GUI. The keyboard won't cooperate at all, so that's another thing I'm needing to figure out. Just letting you all know, still working on it.
    Thanks for the update, Paul. Good luck!
    05-01-09 02:50 PM
  14. flash4866's Avatar
    Count me in with the crew who would love to disable the accelerometer.

    I've always used Blackberrys with the suretype keyboard (Pearl and whatever was before that) before the storm, so I very rarely use it in portrait mode.
    05-01-09 04:27 PM
  15. Burn Notice's Avatar
    I agree with you man, I think the phone should now have Universal Landscape Mode. Some things are meant for landscape (Typing, Web Browsing...) but the Home screen does not need an acceleromteter option, along with all menus and scrolling through emails.

    If any of you have used the LG Dare, it has the perfect balance for Portrait/Landscape. Only the Typing and Browsing go landscape, so you dont have to bother with it while holding it.

    I find when I am walking or running at a faster pace the Storm will jumble while I use it making the orientation switch all the time.
    05-02-09 10:19 AM
  16. jostrat21's Avatar
    I find when I am walking or running at a faster pace the Storm will jumble while I use it making the orientation switch all the time.
    LOL, yep, texting while walking can be pretty entertaining with the storm. If I always had two hands free, it would not be an issue to just keep the phone in landscape, but since most of the time I hold the phone with one hand, the slightest movement while walking and I'll look up, then look back down and it's switched itself from portrait to landscape, then I have to wait for it to orientate itself to what I want.

    I do not think it would be hard for RIM to code in an option to globally ignore the accelerometer, because they've already written it for both the dial pad screen and the current call screen. For instance, if you're looking at the dial pad screen in portrait, but then rotate the phone to landscape, the view stays in portrait. Then, while continuing to hold it in landscape, if you bring up application switcher, and press the homescreen icon, it will immediately pop up already in landscape. So it's not as if we need to disable the accelerometer or turn it off, we just need RIM to give us the option to ignore it either for all OS applications, or even better, globally (for me, it'd be nice for opera to stay in one view or the other until I told it to re-orientate).

    I think it would be really hard for a third party developer to do this. I think it would involve re-creating all UIs on top of the stock UIs. Even if that was done, which would be a big improvement, it still would not ignore rotation in third party apps like google maps or opera mini. But any way, I applaud anyone who is trying to figure out a way to do it. On the other hand, RIM could probably do it fairly easily.
    05-02-09 02:12 PM
  17. imapepper2's Avatar
    This is an application I would be happy to pay for.
    05-08-09 09:51 AM
  18. 28firefighter's Avatar
    I don't know about you guys, but even if the home screen could lock to one way with some stability, it would be worthwhile. Personally thats my biggest pet peeve with the accelerometer - when I have it in my holster and take it out and its in landscape mode. I have to wait for it to come back to portrait mode - although that's not the end of the world, it's really the only issue I have with this phone.

    You mentioned above that you got this to work with just the home screen...was it pretty stable?
    05-08-09 10:25 AM
  19. csbrown147's Avatar
    I dont know if there is a way to do it but why would you want to?
    05-08-09 11:18 AM
  20. paultyler_82's Avatar
    Well good news folks, I was starting to have a bit of luck with this app, but I have discontinued work on it... because it's now available in another app. As some of you may have noticed on the frontpage of Crackberry, mobireport has released Storm Rotation Wizard for $2.99, there's another called StopTilt that also came out but it's a bit more at $9.95. I've stopped because both of these apps are stable and do what needed to be done, so, I recommend either solution to those of you looking for one.
    05-13-09 09:41 PM
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