book form on a smartphone

[Mi An]

More than 3 years ago, when I got my HTC Touch Pro2 (Syd), I happened upon an unintended way of holding it, enabled by its tilting screen. I refer to this modality as book form, inasmuch as I use this daily while reading, and it looks like an open book. There's a gap between the screen and keyboard while open where I place my index finger and the weight of the device rests there (most convenient while lying down, when I'd otherwise have to grip the device rather than merely letting it rest in my hand) in portrait orientation, my thumb naturally falls on the keyboard's arrow keys for convenient page-turning. I read every night, have for years, even long before I got Syd. But now, having been spoiled by this book form, I don't want to go back. Am I the laziest person ever? Probably, but I can live with that so long as I get my book form.

I'm resigned to planet earth never again seeing another phone with a tilting slide-out landscape keyboard, so I'm finally considering the horrifically unthinkable. If you're easily spooked, stop reading now to avoid the nightmares. Yup, that's right... a 3rd party bluetooth keyboard case. Cheap feeling, prone to breakage, bulky, battery draining (BT4 would be perfect for keyboards -- but I've yet to see anyone use it in hardware), a second battery to keep charged, preventing you from using other peripherals like tailor fit holsters, extended batteries, protective casings and the like... I'm about ready to give up the search for a tiny droid meant to only be used as a phone while I retain Syd for reading and some related PDA activities and find a normal mainstream phone, re-converge, and case it in something like this:

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I've only found this for various iphones and the Galaxy S III, with references to a piece that will make it fit the upcoming GS4, but there could be others as well. I've mostly found this exact same chinese made board (or very slight variations in key layout) rebranded under different names or often, sold without any listed branding. I haven't yet come across any competition, but if/when I do, I intend to post it here. This specific board looks horrendous evaluated as a keyboard. Checkout that right justified spacebar and the top number row which may or may not be accessible when tilted. No space between the keys and I'd be surprised if they had good feedback, all things considered.

But it does look like it would do book form justice. Right now my top candidate for a phone is the Note 2 (if I'm gonna go big, might as well go really big). I like the idea of SAMOLED, and if I'm gonna pay for an upgrade, I'd like to get as much of one as possible. I already read with a black background and would be thrilled to get advantageous battery life on account of that. The Note 2's screen is non-pentile, and while I have no first-hand experience comparing pentile and non-pentile, I do know a little about text fuzziness and how it can become uncomfortable to read over extended periods even if you haven't consciously noticed it in advance. Your eyes see it even if you don't. So an S3 is probably not an option, but an s4 might be, depending on what they do with it. I can't find one specifically for the Note 2, but this one comes in 2 pieces -- a case that fits the phone specifically, and the board, and they lock together. I could toss the case portion, buy any case for the Note 2 and glue that case to the board. As long as I'm going ghetto, I might as well locate my duct tape.

It'll be some time before I actually pull the trigger (I'm aiming for a 2014 purchase), so more options may present themselves. In the meantime, please feel free to treat this thread as an exhibit of a truly strange and exotic user somehow preserved over the ages and transplanted from another time. Pointing and laughing is tolerated and sociology experiments are expected. Please, however, refrain from actually poking the OP. It might prompt more long-winded posts on topics no one else has ever heard of, much less cared about before.

[questionfear]

Not to throw a wrench in the works but you might want to make sure your preferred keyboard and apps work with the arrow keys. I know with my Logitech keyboard for the iPad that I can't use the arrow keys to scroll up/down in Safari.

Just to throw out some random ideas, what about a D-Pad/game controller attachment? If it works with reader apps for scrolling that might open up more options for you.

[Mi An]

Not to throw a wrench in the works but you might want to make sure your preferred keyboard and apps work with the arrow keys. I know with my Logitech keyboard for the iPad that I can't use the arrow keys to scroll up/down in Safari.

Just to throw out some random ideas, what about a D-Pad/game controller attachment? If it works with reader apps for scrolling that might open up more options for you.

Syd runs Android now. All the apps I aim to use down the line respond to her arrow keys. Over the years, more apps have become capable of responding to them.

I will try to keep an eye open for game pads. That's a good source of potential alternatives. Not sure I've ever seen one with a tilt mechanism, but I haven't exactly paid close attention either. Thanks =)

[questionfear]

I got curious and did some googling.

This guy DIY'd up a slightly tilted setup using a GS3 and a PS3 controller: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sam...ontroller.html

If the D-Pad works on reading apps you could probably have a pretty sweet setup for relatively cheap.

[jigwashere]

I don't understand your intent. If you simply want a lazy way to hold the device, a Flygrip would do the trick nicely. Turning pages should be easy enough with a flick of your thumb. I think it's a reasonably lazy way to go since it wouldn't add as much weight as a BT keyboard case, meaning you'd be able to read longer without fatigue.

Or, is part of your intent to get a physical keyboard? Virtual keyboards have improved significantly, and on a screen the size of the Note, you should have more success.

[Mi An]

Thanks for the link QF. I don't have a ps3 controller, so cost wouldn't go down, and the resulting form factor would be very different from how I read now, but it's still interesting. Were I to get a gamepad, I'd look for one that slide out like a slider qwerty, tilted with a space between the back of the phone and face of the pad.

I don't understand your intent. If you simply want a lazy way to hold the device, a Flygrip would do the trick nicely. Turning pages should be easy enough with a flick of your thumb. I think it's a reasonably lazy way to go since it wouldn't add as much weight as a BT keyboard case, meaning you'd be able to read longer without fatigue.

Or, is part of your intent to get a physical keyboard? Virtual keyboards have improved significantly, and on a screen the size of the Note, you should have more success.

It's an interesting option, and I'll keep it in mind, thank you kindly probably more as a plan B though. Normally, I'd let it rest at that, but since you did inquire as to my intent, I will try to explain further. I'm not trying to impose my many likes or dislikes on anyone, mind, but here they are.

I've already found my lazy way to hold and control the device especially while lying down (I read every night for at least 15 min, sometimes an hour or more, comfortably) in one package -- the tilting slider. Flygrip only addresses one of those areas (woulda been really nice in my TX and m500 days though). It might do it well, but I'm still biased towards my two-birds-with-one-stone approach that I already know works for me, which is priced similarly, and doesn't add enough weight to particularly concern me.

When flicking or tapping for page turning, far too many times I inadvertently pull up a menu (no thank you kindle, I don't want to look up that word) -- and this is further complicated at the moment by how slow Syd is at everything, but it isn't the only issue. I also have oily skin and prefer not to touch the screen and obscure it when I'm reading. Clarity goes a long way towards eye comfort in reading sessions for me. To wit, I've had arthritis since I was a small child, and my hands have been especially affected. Holding my arm up is not an issue, but gripping a smartphone and repetitively reaching my thumb to turn pages every few seconds is. On Syd I tried volume keys and face buttons for page turning before happening on to book form and realizing how handy it was to rest my thumb on the arrow keys. It was serendipity that the form factor and arrow keys went together so well for me.

I would love a good keyboard as well, but as I noted above, the one I located doesn't seem likely to be very good. There are lots of sliding keyboard options, but few that slide and tilt, so I may be out of luck. Virtual keyboards have indeed improved. I was interested in swype-esque boards (which I think is a standard option in one of the newest versions of android), but didn't take to them in practice. Swiftkey was eerily () capable of predicting my next word while I was using it on Syd, and I suspect I'll use it again for very short text entry, and perhaps I will like virtuals better on a larger screen (though I didn't on a 7" tab).

I think touchscreens are fantastic. Very versatile. But I like buttons too. They're just more convenient for me in a number of cases, enough so that I'm willing to sacrifice in weight/bulk to get them.

[jigwashere]

What if you were to take a mini BT keyboard like this one and make your own "book jacket" to hold the two together? A little velcro on each device and something akin to a TX flip cover (or folio).... Just throwing ideas out there.

[Mi An]

It would certainly give me more flexibility to choose a good QWERTY. That's kind of what I'm thinking of as a plan B -- that combined with your flygrip. Before I found the keyboard above, I was toying with a DIY version that would use a call button on a hacked 3.5mm wired headset for page turning (plus some software to interpret those presses as dpad down, I think it would have been doable, no bluetooth or battery needed) inside a case of my design to mimic book form. I suspected I might have trouble actually delivering on it since my history with DIY projects is pretty mixed (Syd is still waiting for a custom tailored seating for her 1-size-fits-all crib, 3 years later ), so even if I had designed a really good jacket... But only needing to anchor the board to the phone (or a commercial case on the phone) and not worry about designing a good grip alternative reduces the workload considerably. It's a good idea, you shouldn't have thrown it out there, you should have charged me for it

[jigwashere]

It's a good idea, you shouldn't have thrown it out there, you should have charged me for it

For future reference:
lucy.jpg

[Mi An]

I think I should feel a little injured, but it's such a great deal...