OT: Calling all front panel calculator designers...



#2

The design for the uWatch2 is hotting up, and I'm likely going to need some help with the front panel membrane keypad design.

I know there are plenty of excellent conceptual calc designers on this forum, so who wants to show off their skills and design the front panel for the new uWatch?

A free watch and eternal fame is on offer to the winning designer(s) (assuming it all comes together and works of course)

Here is an initial key layout sketch:

22 keys with 6mm row spacing. I figure anything smaller would be impractical.

The case and front panel are 50mm x 35mm (with rounded edges), and the LCD window is in the position specified, and this can't really change.

I'm going to need:

1) actual real-size graphics in the desired colours (there is probably a colour limit (i.e. 2 or 3 colours). Key graphic can be any shape you like really, but it will have circular embossing for the dome key.

2) A suggested keypad layout. The current layout could change a bit in key placement, but I think it's probably optimum already.

NOTE1: there may be some side navigation buttons, but I don't think these need to be marked on the front panel.

NOTE2: Bare in mind the uWatch2 is going to be "application centric" so that means users will be able to download apps to the calculator and call them up as needed, so there needs to be main "app" or "mode" button that does this. Perhaps this could be a side button.

NOTE3: The keypad needs to be algebraic/RPN neutral, so kind of like the current uWatch with its ENTER/= and brackets buttons. No BIG ENTER button on the bottom rows, sorry, we can't afford to waste a key there. But perhaps double width buttons beside the LCD?

NOTE4: This is not just an RPN calc, so don't get carried away, the regular punter will want to use it too for all sorts of things.

NOTE5: Some logo above the screen is probably in order, I'm just thinking maybe a simple "µ2" or something like that.

Any help appreciated!

Thanks

Dave.

Edited: 20 Apr 2009, 12:17 a.m. after one or more responses were posted


#3

My first shot at a key layout:

C___________MODE

X-Y_________MENU

EXP_________ENTER=

+/- 5 6 7 8 9 X /

_._ 0 1 2 3 4 + -

Dave.


Edited: 19 Apr 2009, 8:49 p.m.

#4

I'm no designer, but i think it should be something like this:

       ___________
EEX | | HOME
+/- | | UP
. |___________| ENTER/=
0 <- # # # # -> 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Where # is a key for a softmenu, <- and -> are arrow for scrolling the menu left or right a page, UP goes up a directory and HOME takes you to the root menu. So make the entire thing menu based, even the arithmetic functions. I realise that i haven't included backspace/delete key, but there aren't enough keys.

#5

I don't mind that actually. But you are dedicating 4 menu keys to function buttons which isn't really necessary when you can just press a MENU button and have the keys mappings change, like how it works on the current uWatch. That's a more efficient approach for limited key systems I think.

The left and right scroll buttons can probably go on the side of the watch.

Dave.

#6

I'm not really any good at this, but here is something losley based on the 4-banger we discussed a while back.

SHIFT |           | MODE
x-y | | ?
EEX |___________| ENTER/=
+/- 5 6 7 8 9 / *
. 0 1 2 3 4 - +

And shifted:

  INV |           | MENU
Rv | | ?
? |___________| undo
STO . . . . . 1/x y^x
RCL . . . . . . .

Where the numeric keys 0 - 9 and - & + are:

	SIN  COS  TAN  LN   LOG
! sqrt R->P H.MS Q DEG D->R
INV inverts the operation of the subsequent (shifted) key stroke. For the numerics, - & + these are:

	ASIN  ACOS  ATAN  e^x  10^x
? x^2 P->R ->HR Q^-1 RAD R->D

The others are y^1/x and R^.

The MENU is there for extra functions hidden away. There are two '?' in the shifted positions that I can think of nothing overly useful. I guess one could be PI or a constants menu.

- Pauli

Edited: 19 Apr 2009, 10:45 p.m.


#7

Thanks Pauli.

Only problem with SHIFT functions is you limit the number of functions you can have on the keys, and the front panel display looks really "busy" with all the info. So menu options for all functions is the best approach I think.

Remember, this isn't just a scientific calc.

Dave.

#8

Good morning!

Great concept so far. I'm afraid I am no kepad designer, but I would prefer the six buttons beside the display to be double width (as you suggest in note 3) and unmarked. Application dependent softkeys (your display provides enough pixels for that!) would be the main and only reason for me to buy such a device!

Like in this example here (sorry, not my photo):

And another thing to attract the fans of "glow in the dark" products (like myself :-) ): If there is enough space above and/or below the LCD for little glass tubes about 20mm long and 2mm diameter, then permanent lighting with GTLS light sources might be an option ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTLS ). I bought one of these "Traser" watches recentely and this is just so cool. Nearly as cool as LEDs...

Greetings, Max


#9

Quote:
Great concept so far. I'm afraid I am no kepad designer, but I would prefer the six buttons beside the display to be double width (as you suggest in note 3) and unmarked. Application dependent softkeys (your display provides enough pixels for that!) would be the main and only reason for me to buy such a device!

That could be possible, but then you'd have to have them displayed on the screen permanently for it to be user friendly enough, losing a fair chunk of your 128 pixels. They could of course only pop up when you press a menu key, but you'd have to otherwise memorise them.

BTW, just so it's clear, any "double width" keys are only double width in graphical appearance on the silkscreen, the actual keypad dome is circular in either the center or off to one side.

Quote:
And another thing to attract the fans of "glow in the dark" products (like myself :-) ): If there is enough space above and/or below the LCD for little glass tubes about 20mm long and 2mm diameter, then permanent lighting with GTLS light sources might be an option ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTLS ). I bought one of these "Traser" watches recentely and this is just so cool. Nearly as cool as LEDs...

Will the white LED LCD backlight be enough to keep you amused?

I can add a tilt sensor so it turns on automatically when you tilt your wrist :->

Dave.


#10

Hello!

Quote:
Will the white LED LCD backlight be enough to keep you amused?

I can add a tilt sensor so it turns on automatically when you tilt your wrist :->

The tilt sensor is an excellent idea: Not just to turn on the backlighting, but also for displaying the softkey labels for a couple of seconds without needing to press a menu-key.

Regarding the backlighting: I spend quite a number of nights at hotel rooms every month. Having a luminous watch (with alarm!) beside the bed can really be useful sometimes. If I need to press a button or shake the watch to turn the backlight on, I can switch on the room light as well.

Greetings, Max

#11

For some reason, the mention of a tilt sensor immediately bought this to mind: laptop computer


- Pauli

#12

If you want to have it RPN/ALG neutral, you'll need primary parentheses. A first shot front panel may look like this:

        ____________
<-/C | | Rv/(
MENU | | x-y/)
EEX |____________| ENTER/=
+/- 5 6 7 8 9 x /
. 0 1 2 3 4 + -
MODE will be just another menu. By MENU 0 through 9 and .0 through .9 we can reach up to 20 menus. With a menu displayed, keys 6 through 9 will turn into soft keys, and Rv will display the next level of this menu, and C will return to the previous level or exit the top level.

Without a menu displayed, Rv will roll down in RPN or open a parenthesis in ALG, <- will delete as usual, and pressing <- twice will act like C.

Walter

Edited the last sentence.


Edited: 20 Apr 2009, 12:15 p.m.


#13

Do you think there's enough space on the front panel to print two items per key? ie 2nd functions?


#14

Quote:
Do you think there's enough space on the front panel to print two items per key? ie 2nd functions?

Most likely. The entire front panel is 50mm x 35mm, so it's easy to do mock-up's of a layout actual size and find out.

But like I've said, you have to have a menu system anyway, so might as well put everything in the menu and keep the layout visually clean and simple. The more I think about the more I like Max's idea of keeping the side keys as soft only-keys, from a visual simplicity point of view. But you have to figure out how the work that on the screen without taking up too much space or being annoying.

Dave.

Edited: 20 Apr 2009, 6:37 p.m.

#15

hi,
i'm going to suggest something completely different:

keep a conventional key layout, with a row of function keys that have a dedicated line on the display. the function keys would then flip though a series of options as a scroll wheel located on the side of the calculator/watch/thingy was turned.

btw, i don't wear a watch... so i'm much more inclined towards a mini-calculator :-)


#16

That would not be physically possible with a watch design of course, only a "mini calculator" as you say. That's not on the cards at the moment though, sorry!

Dave.

#17

How about using the numeric keys themselves as menu keys? Pressing and releasing a number enters it in the usual way. But holding it down and then pressing another number key without releasing the first performs some function. A list of what those functions would be could pop up automatically on the screen after the first key had been held down for a short time.

It might be hard to hold down two adjacent keys at once given the pitch of the keyboard. A slight variation would be to not require the first key to be held down for more than about 0.5s, time enough for the keymap to pop up. It could then be released and the second key pressed.

I can see two advantages for this: (i) it would allow the MENU key to be omitted; (ii) there'd be no need to press MENU repeatedly to reach a particular function. The disadvantage would be that you'd have to learn where your favourite functions are!

Just a thought, anyway.

Nigel

P.S. I love the V1 uWatch!


#18

Some Nokia phones had a menu system where every page was selected through a sequence of numerics and the value was displayed in the top right corner of the display. Thus, once you knew where the menu was, you could reference it by its index more quickly than manually selecting each level from the tree. Maybe you could use this idea if the menus become very deep ?


#19

Quote:
Some Nokia phones had a menu system where every page was selected through a sequence of numerics and the value was displayed in the top right corner of the display. Thus, once you knew where the menu was, you could reference it by its index more quickly than manually selecting each level from the tree. Maybe you could use this idea if the menus become very deep ?

The latest uWatch beta firmware kind of works like that, you can "hot key" to various commands in deep nested menus.

Dave.

#20

Here's a variation on the similar themes, but with a nifty graphical illustration ;-) :

This assumes that the MENU and MODE buttons would be on the sides. Also suggests that the menu functions would be accessed with the keys on the sides of the display. Looks like there will be plenty of room in the display for more than six function labels, so I propose that F2, F4, F7 and F9 would be accessed by pressing two keys at once, which may or may not be a good idea. I toyed with the idea of putting a bunch of menu labels under the second row, such that to get a menu you would press the menu key, then one of those keys instead of having to press the menu key as many times as it takes to get to the one you want.

Good luck, I can't wait to see the hardware!

Jeff


#21

No one's mentioned where the letters are going to go yet :-)

Text input will be useful on this device. any ideas?


#22

so, what are the chances of a third button row and an alpha key to access letter code. that's 24 below plus the two lowest side buttons to make 26. maybe some punctuation on the other side buttons?


#23

Quote:
so, what are the chances of a third button row and an alpha key to access letter code. that's 24 below plus the two lowest side buttons to make 26. maybe some punctuation on the other side buttons?

A third row is physically possible, but the key spacing would be almost unusable. People already complain about the 8mm x 5mm key spacing on the current uWatch. So I settled on an arbitrary 6mm spacing for this one as the keys will be raised in a dome that should make it easier to press without hitting others.

No point making a fantastically small keyboard with lots of keys if no one can actually use it.

There is room for 6 more buttons, two rows of 3 on either side of the screen, but I thought that would look "a bit much" and not as visually appealing as the current layout with the key centered half way between the bottom row keys.

I can't see a huge need for alpha keys, as inputting large amounts of text would be pretty horrible any way you do it. But an alpha button on the side would be possible. Even with the current number of key would could double up on letters, pressing the alpha key twice.

Perhaps we should just cram an extra 6 keys on there while maintaining the 6mm spacing, sacrificing visual appeal for functionality? Comments?

Dave.

#24

Just my 0.02 €

I assume that a 2nd legend is possible. Menus can appear on the lower edge or on the right edge of the display. My idea is very much incomplete.

#25

Nice work Jeff, I like it, that's certainly getting close.

Quote:
This assumes that the MENU and MODE buttons would be on the sides.

Yes, I think this will work best in practice. It's how my beloved CFX-400 used to work.

Quote:
Also suggests that the menu functions would be accessed with the keys on the sides of the display. Looks like there will be plenty of room in the display for more than six function labels, so I propose that F2, F4, F7 and F9 would be accessed by pressing two keys at once, which may or may not be a good idea. I toyed with the idea of putting a bunch of menu labels under the second row, such that to get a menu you would press the menu key, then one of those keys instead of having to press the menu key as many times as it takes to get to the one you want.

I don't think the dual key system will work, as people already complain the keys are already cramped with a single finger.
Simpler to have F1-F6 on the sides, and F7-F10 on the 4 keys below the display I think. Not that there is any real need to print the function numbers beside the keys, as the LCD soft button text will make it obvious these are soft keys.

Oh, and I'd swap the +-*/ divide keys to the more familiar

* /

+ -

Quote:
Good luck, I can't wait to see the hardware!

I should get the LCD's and case tomorrow, and I'll hopefully have a circuit soon once I figure out what processor it's going to have, and a few other key component choices. And then comes the PCB which will give us some real hardware to play with and stick in the box.

I have to talk to a membrane keypad place to see what's possible, that's a pretty crucial step. At present I don't know if they can do the key spacing, what they can offer for a display window (cutout or clear window), colours etc.

I already have a 3D model spinning on my screen , but doesn't help much :->

Dave.

Edited: 20 Apr 2009, 7:44 p.m.


#26

Quote:
I don't think the dual key system will work, as people already complain the keys are already cramped with a single finger.

OK, I think you are probably right.

Quote:
Simpler to have F1-F6 on the sides, and F7-F10 on the 4 keys below the display I think.

My only objection to this would be that in your latest design, F1 to F6 would be dedicated soft keys (which is great), while F7-F10 would still require other keys to do double-duty. Also, this would break the nice symmetry of having the soft-key label directly left or right of the function name in the display.

With the above said, your latest rendition looks great, much better than my simple rendition.

Jeff

...

#27

A question: why are people putting - and / at the edge not + and * ???

On my uWatch, accessing edge keys seems a lot easier than those in the middle. Maybe something to do with my fat and clumsy fingers, but I'm surprised nobody else has noticed this.

- Pauli

#28

Here is a quick 3D mock-up with 6 extra buttons:

Yes, the case is the real actual case I'll be using (without cutouts).

The 6 extra buttons isn't too bad, and all still on 6mm spacing.
The soft keys deliberately left blank for visual appeal, although you could argue that they should be used for something when not in MENU mode. MENU mode could be left on permanently if the keys are blank, but that would reduce the usable screen area.

As you can see, probably room for more keys on top if you wanted to cram them on, but it's probably already pushing the boundary of visual appeal.

The alpha key would be in the upper right corner to match the location on the overlay, so maybe no need for a label. MODE and NAV keys on the side somewhere.

Dave.

Edited: 20 Apr 2009, 9:11 p.m.


#29

The alphabetics running left to right, bottom to top????


- Pauli


#30

Quote:
The alphabetics running left to right, bottom to top????

Sorry, I'm a PCB designer, and origin is always bottom left, so that's how my mind thinks!

Is there an industry defacto alternative?

Dave.


#31

Left to right, top to bottom is pretty common.

- Pauli


#32

Quote:
Left to right, top to bottom is pretty common.

Somehow that just doesn't "feel right" with the keys split at the top.
Comments?

Dave.


#33

Like it is (ie bottom to top), the alphabet conveniently stops before the "C" key. clearly the C (or delete) key must be available whilst entering text. Going to to bottom, this key would have to be skipped.

Additionally, im wondering if the top left key (opposite C) should be labelled "shift" or "2nd" or "F" (?) or something, as a general 2nd function key. right now on the uW1, 2nd page operation is part of the menu system which means it has to occupy one of the soft menu keys on every page. Having a dedicated key would allieviate this. Do we really need X<>Y on a dedicated key (eg could it be a shifted op?). It would be nice to have the 6 soft keys free of baggage.

Further to this idea. i suggest the alphabet labelling skip this shift key, so that the labelling is like it is, but the top right soft menu keys gets to be "Z" (just before C). This creates a nice symmetry and allows a shift/2nd/whatever key to be available whilst entering text (lowercase/punctuation etc. etc). would be a route to more characters and other stuff.

Also, the shift/2nd key could be generically useful all over.

?


#34

Quote:
Do we really need X<>Y on a dedicated key?

In my opinion, yes!
Quote:
It would be nice to have the 6 soft keys free of baggage.

Doesn't Dave's latest incarnation do so, i.e, aren't the six-soft keys dedicated soft-keys?

...


#35

In RPN mode, the arrow keys can duplicate as roll up/down, x<>y and del. This is why my design (see above) does not offer these. I tried to avoid a too "calculatric" legend and therefore have put the few calc keys like sqrt, E or the parentheses on 2nd functions and have put more generic keys like ESC (duplicates as clear) in prominent places. Without a true 3x4 numeric keypad, arranging the digits bottom to top is not neccessary. Having 1-4 right below the display make it easy to use them for function keys. Mem is meant as a generic way to store/retrieve information und should act as a means of storing/recalling numbers in calc mode (Mem+1:RCL 1, Shift+Mem+1:STO 1)

#36

Hello!

Quote:
Do we really need X<>Y on a dedicated key (eg could it be a shifted op?). It would be nice to have the 6 soft keys free of baggage.

In over 35 years of calculator usage, I have not pressed an X<>Y key once (really!). I do not even know what it's there for...
Also, I cannot imagine why alpha keys could be useful on a calcualtor watch?

Greetings, Max


#37

Quote:
In over 35 years of calculator usage, I have not pressed an X<>Y key once (really!). I do not even know what it's there for...
Also, I cannot imagine why alpha keys could be useful on a calcualtor watch?

Unbelievable!

I use X-Y on my algebraic calc almost every day, let alone an RPN calc. I'd prefer an X-Y dedicated key in ALG mode as well as RPN, but it can probably live with the right bracket as I've shown.

Dave.


#38

Hello!

Quote:
Unbelievable!

I grew up with products made in Texas ... there is (at least: was) no X<>Y key on them. Later, when I could afford HPs, it was to late to get used to such fancies.

And regarding the colour: What's wrong with black and white only?

Greetings, Max


#39

Max, you must have started late. My first TI had an x<>y key:

SR-51A


#40

Hello!

Quote:
Max, you must have started late. My first TI had an x<>y key...

My first calculator was not a Ti, but a Privileg 883 actually (there is a picture on "typenkorb"s website, but the link contains blank spaces) with no X<>Y key. After that, I got a Ti-59 that broght me through my last two years of school and all the way through university. No X<>Y key eiter!

Greetings, Max


#41

Quote:
Hello!

My first calculator was not a Ti, but a Privileg 883 actually (there is a picture on "typenkorb"s website, but the link contains blank spaces) with no X<>Y key. After that, I got a Ti-59 that broght me through my last two years of school and all the way through university (thats why I always say I owe a lot to Ti!). No X<>Y key eiter...

Greetings, Max


#42

Quote:
there is a picture on "typenkorb"s website, but the link contains blank spaces

Replace the spaces by "%20". This is standard URL syntax.

Edited: 21 Apr 2009, 12:58 p.m.

#43

Quote:
And regarding the colour: What's wrong with black and white only?

I think it looks ok on the screen, I'm just wondering what it will look like on the wrist as a membrane overlay.

The idea is (I think) to make the watch as subtle as possible, to make it more wearer friendly so you get less of those "what is THAT on your wrist?" comments Perhaps the white might stand out a bit too much (too much contrast)?

Dave.

#44

Labeling rearranged from the top left, 2nd shift key added, and alpha chars centered.

I'm really starting to like this layout.

Basic calc keys on bottom two rows, next two most used keys (EXP and +/-) next row up, then some RPN/ALG neutral keys, then two menu opp type keys. Evened out by the 6 unlabeled soft buttons. Very symmetrical :-)

Not sure about what is best for a soft key graphic.

All of this is actual size too, from my PCB/3D model. I have no idea about colour - and my wife agrees!

The case will be black.

Dave.

Edited: 21 Apr 2009, 8:08 a.m.


#45

Yep! i like that layout too. or it's very very close to it!

#46

Quote:
Not sure about what is best for a soft key graphic.

How about the ever popular arrow?

(the above incorporates a few other subtle changes - just trying to secretly influence to my preferences if possible.)

..


#47

Why not leave them blank?

It should be obvious what they are for when a menu is displayed.
Plus the whole will look less cluttered.

I like the other subtle changes.

- Pauli

#48

Ok, now I've been thinking...

I'm trying to keep the cost down on this thing, and side switches are expensive. Given that I'm already paying for the front panel, extra buttons there are free. So how about use the space above the screen for some extra buttons?

5 extra - Left/Right arrows, HOME and MENU keys, and the u2 symbol would actually be the backlight key (I really like that).

HOME would get you back to the main application kernel screen (exit the program you are in).

The only thing lacking is up/down keys.

Dave.

Edited: 21 Apr 2009, 6:07 p.m.


#49

Where's the aforementioned trackball? Any chance for a jog dial on the right side? Could be used to scroll through code, menus, data. Final dimensions? X,Y,Z?


#50

Quote:
Where's the aforementioned trackball? Any chance for a jog dial on the right side? Could be used to scroll through code, menus, data. Final dimensions? X,Y,Z?

Final dimensions are as quoted before - 50mm x 35mm x (approx)13mm

Trackball may not be workable in practice, but I have not done much investigation in this area.

Jog dial is still a possibility, will see if it can fit.

Dave.

Edited: 21 Apr 2009, 9:30 p.m.


#51

Any chance for solar across the top?


#52

Quote:
Any chance for solar across the top?

As we say here in Australia - two chances, buckleys and none!
Sorry.

Dave.

#53

Hi,

how about assigning the numbers like below

1 3 5 7 9


0 2 4 6 8

looks quirky but easier to find...

PS - this is my first post...


#54

I like it, it does make sense to me.

#55

Just my opinion, I think this kind of number-keys arrangement is good, but something keeps making noise on me. I know this is very personal and subjective, but...

If we count from 1 on ("natural" numbers), my suggestion would have been:

1 3 5 7 9
2 4 6 8 0

If we count from 0 on, it could have been

0 2 4 6 8
1 3 5 7 9

In other words, reading (or scanning) direction should be "down, then up & right" (as in the abovementioned examples); or "right, then down" (as in "0 1 2 3 4; 5 6 7 8 9" or "1 2 3 4 5; 6 7 8 9 0").


I know, it's the old "calculator vs. telephone" keypad discussion; "higher up" vs. "lower up", so to speak; but since we are not keeping the 3 x 3 matrix that calculators use, I think it's better to put the numbers in "reading order" as suggested above...


Edited: 24 Apr 2009, 7:41 a.m.


#56

That's it. I like your first suggestion

1 3 5 7 9


2 4 6 8 0

I felt quirky in my suggestion because of the location of zero. The zero key is now closer to the Enter key. Easier to type like 100, 1000, etc. This looks much natural now.

Edited: 25 Apr 2009, 8:47 a.m.

#57

Looks great to me!

#58

Looks great! One little change would make it even better: What about swaping decimal point and Enter key, so that the Enter key has a more prominent position (like on a computer numeric keypad)?


#59

Quote:
Looks great! One little change would make it even better: What about swaping decimal point and Enter key, so that the Enter key has a more prominent position (like on a computer numeric keypad)?

Yep, I agree, will do.

Dave.


#60

Here is another suggested layout with a rough scanned drawing.

The general layout was chosen to minmize finger movement across the
face of the watch, to keep the fingers away from the screen when
scrolling the display, to logically keep keys together, and to have
a layout familiar to the classic HP placement:

-group the numbers from top left to bottom right in decreasing
numerical magnitude. There have been many suggestions for the
number placement lately, because; all of them look strange.

-keep the zero, one, change sign, decimal key, and C clear backspace keys together

-group the aritmetic operators in a heirarchical order as we see
them on our calculators

-I chose the rectangular keys, for the keys that perform operations,
to differential them from the round numeric keys
representing the numbers. I like the position of the square
Enter key (historically similar), and I also like the the position
of the C/ESC key close to the numbers zero, one, and decimal,
where it can be used for backspace editing.

-if there will be arrow navigation keys, keep them all together,
to minimize finger movement, and in the top right hand corner of
the case to leave the screen free when a right hand user is scrolling the display

-the top of the calculator may not have things spaced out symetrically,
but designers gave us the HP33S design (I own one and like its quality
but not the layout).

Just my opinion, thanks for your consideration.
Dennis Trafananko


#61

I love this one, makes perfect sense!

Cheers

#62

- I wonder whether it would be better to swap the ENTER and ESC keys: if you wear this on your left wrist, you will use your right hand to operate the buttons. You might tend to obscure the display when operating the buttons on the left?

- I liked Dennis's suggestion of using different-shaped key indents as a visual cue to different functionality, especially for a keyboard with a small number of colours. For the soft-keys, how about a stretched "D" shape and its mirror image; the straight edge adjacent to the display to 'cue' it to the menu there. Just don't get sued by Dolby labs.

- Nobody has yet mentioned hex entry mode. Nice support for hex would suggest a desire to keep A-F close to the number keys (or maybe they'd be soft-keys?)

- As a 'joggle' navigator was mentioned at one point in the past, I feel obliged to draw attention to http://midp-calc.sourceforge.net/Calc.html - a java mobile phone calculator that uses the phone joystick to implement menu-based selection for all the calculator functions. Of all the phone calculators I've tried, this is the first that has I might actually use in anger on the small screen of a mobile phone. Oh, and RPN. And scientific. Did I mention the complex number support (soo useful in the grocery store). Worth a look.

Neal.

Edited: 27 Apr 2009, 5:30 p.m.


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