How Often Do You Use Landscape Support On Your Pocket PC?

[Ed Hansberry]

I was having a discussion with some friends about how much they used their Pocket PC in landscape mode. I rarely use it, whereas I had one friend that uses it almost exclusively. I am interested in all Pocket PC users that have landscape support, whether it is built in on a Windows Mobile 2003 SE device or via a third party app like NYDITOT. Those of you that use it, reply in the forum if you have 2003SE or a third party app.

[OSUKid7]

Less than 25% of the time, but I do make use of it.
Using WM2003SE

[foebea]

Who me?

Well, I have a 2215 with no landscape support. I tried NYDITOT and I realized the answer to the name - because it makes my PPC stop working :)

However I use my PPC in landscape about 75 % of the time. Most of my use falls into programs which make good use of landscape:

Watching movies with Betaplayer
Reading books in µBook
Playing various games, the best of which are usually landscape
(no offense to Astraware. still good even though they are portrait)

There are some other applications I use that use landscape and many that do not, but these are among the most heavily used.

[LarDude]

Device: Tosh e805
OS: WM2003 SE

Landscape mode used for:
(a) viewing certain webpages (i.e. with tables, etc...)
(b) Terminal services client
(c) some Excel spreadsheets
(d) Betaplayer
(e) Mapopolis

Since re-assigning one of my hardware buttons to toggle between Landscape and Portrait, I find that I toggle back and forth very readily and naturally (almost as readily as one might use a scroll bar -- perhaps more).

[njl2016]

I'm using an iPAQ rx3715 (or used, since I had to send it back to HP for repairs)

Anyway, I only use landscape mode for viewing pictures/videos and web browsing, which is probably 50% of the time.

[jmbneaf]

YES - I am in the minority here; but, I use Landscape, while in VGA Mode 640x480 (using SE_VGA), 100% of the time. Its the primary reason why I got my iPaq HX4700.

If an application does not support or work well in VGA Landscape mode, I don't use/buy it. Tweaks 2k2 .NET and SE_VGA allow me to set my HX4700 with larger fonts / scroll bars, while RipBoard gives me a big usable keyboard (when I'm not using Caligrapher) for input. Surprisingly, a lot of apps do work in this mode (some much better than others).

Developers making future improvements and upgrades, in my opinion, need to support all four video modes (normal QVGA portrait, QVGA landscape, VGA Portrait, and VGA Landscape) in their applicaitions. Those that do this will have a better following for newer hardware.

-JB

[Qythyx]

I think the way you framed thi poll is misleading.

For example, I leave my iPAQ cradled next to my desktop PC for about 9 hours a day. I use it during this time since it shows my daily tasks and/or calendar. This is in portrait mode.

On my commute, though, which is a much smaller percentage of time, I might browse the web, read email, or watch a video. All of these I do in landscape mode.

But, even though the percentage of time I use landscape is small, the importance of this functionality is not small at all.

[johnm]

When I got my 4700 I was thinking I'd use the landscape VGA mode all the time - nope. Turns out I'm in portrait for almost everything except watching movies with betaplayer of course.

[mcsouth]

I fall into the "occasionally" category - I use landscape for movies, of course, but with other apps, the one I use almost exclusively in landscape is Textmaker, which I use quite a bit. Otherwise, I rarely flip to landscape for email, web-browsing, tasks, etc.

[x999x]

I use nydiot for landscape mode whenever I choose to browse the web, which is roughly 50% of how I use my 4155. I pump up the virtual resolution and rotate to landscape mode to make the best of my already hampered pocket-webbrowsing experience.

It doesn't come as a suprise that the results for people using landscape are so low, especially for those on machines with native support but lack vga displays. On that note, I never understood the point of native support on non-vga devices since the toolbars were still the same awful size, reducing your view even more as a result.

[sfjlittel]

My primary device now is the ux50 which is a landscape device but not a pocketpc. I voted for the last option, as I don't have a wm2003SE device and using nyditot does not yield a useable situation. My 3970 is still up to the job, although wifi is something I miss sometimes.

[mf24]

I picked the "less than 25%" option. Landscape is much better than portrait for browsing the web.

I've got SE on my Toshiba. (My warranty is up now so I can admit I d'led it from Toshiba UK.)

[R K]

On an HTC Blue Angel (WM2003SE), I use landscape about 25% of the time.
I would probably be using it more but the integrated thumb board is oriented toward the portrait position.

I'm sure the amount of landscape users will grow as more landscape oriented devices come out, such as the T-Mobile MDA IV.
Of course, this is the reason why integrating landscape support into the OS is so important. Now manufacturers have a chance of bringing out innovative devices that use this orientation.

[cmonkey]

I use landscape on my x50v around 75% of the time, mostly for IE, Betaplayer, and PocketSNES.

Portrait is just inconvenient for stuff like web browsing and reading Ebooks.

[R K]

I use landscape on my x50v around 75% of the time, mostly for IE, Betaplayer, and PocketSNES.

So do you still use the buttons near the D-pad for PocketSNES when in landscape?
I was thinking about getting an Axim X50v for emulators but I was wondering how easy it would be to use it for gaming in landscape.

[g-funkster]

I use landscape on my x50v around 75% of the time, mostly for IE, Betaplayer, and PocketSNES.

Portrait is just inconvenient for stuff like web browsing and reading Ebooks.

I would love a picture of how it is you are using PocketSNES in landscape mode on an x50v :lol:

[pr0vider]

Only with Mapopolis and Textmaker, but well worth it just for those two programs.

[cmonkey]

I use landscape on my x50v around 75% of the time, mostly for IE, Betaplayer, and PocketSNES.

So do you still use the buttons near the D-pad for PocketSNES when in landscape?
I was thinking about getting an Axim X50v for emulators but I was wondering how easy it would be to use it for gaming in landscape.
It really depends on what genre of game you're playing. Playing Metroid or Mario, or basically any type of action game is masochistic. Its wonderful for RPGs though, as you rarely need to use more than one button at a time. Currently, Final Fantasy 3 is stealing most of my free time.

[MadBison]

640x480 Landscape is the ONLY way to view web sites on a PPC.

Otherwise, I sometimes use it in some Excel Spreadsheets, not much else.

Most apps are geared for portrait, which is fine by me.

David

[TMann]

But, even though the percentage of time I use landscape is small, the importance of this functionality is not small at all.

Ditto. I only use landscape mode for websurfing, but it's important enough that I have mapped the "rotate screen" function to one of my hardware buttons. (I use DoubleLauncher, so each hardware button can have multiple functions.)

The other program that I use that I would have like to have use landscape mode for is for eBook reading. Unfortunately, I am using an older version of Palm Reader (2.4.1) which is running in "Forced VGA" mode via Tweaksk2k2. Palm Reader won't display properly in landscape mode, so all of my eBook reading is in portrait mode.

(I'm a Dell x50v user.)

TMann[/i]

[mattp]

I use my A716 and NYDITOT for Textmaker like mentioned above, and for movies.

Also, I use landscape for my remote control software because my IR port is on the side of the machine. For viewing .pdf docs in adobe reader, I use landscape and crank up the resolution (mostly for docs that can't be reflowed or don't look right reflowed). The text is small, but I can read it and I can fit the entire width of a page across the ppc.

I never thought of using it for Mapopolis because my car mount holds the ppc in "portrait."

I'd probably use landscape more if I didn't have to soft reset in between.

[crimsonsky]

I would imagine that landscape would be more compelling for owners of VGA devices than for those like myself (rx3115) with QVGA screens.

I only use it for the very few times I use IE. (Thunderhawk and NetFront are my browsers of choice). Otherwise, on a QVGA screen, there's little gained by it.

[jimski]

Less than 25% for viewing videos, viewing/editing an occasional spreadsheet or logging into our Citrix servers. I don't really browse the web that often and when I do, most of the sites I visit are well formatted for the screen so I don't even think about it.

Running a 4705 with WM2003SE (of course).

[bigkingfun]

I use it maybe 25% of the time with WM2003SE (x50v).

I don't use it nearly as much as I thought I would. The main thing I use it for is ListPro. I've got some lists that I refer to a lot that have some long entries. I can see much more of them in landscape.

Aside from that, it's usually on a whim for no reason other than the fact that I can.

[zarxic]

I have an Axim x50v. I'd say I use it about 25% of the time or so. I use it for excel, list pro, and when I'm using pie. I also don't really use it with the standard vga either, takes up too much room. I only really use it when I'm using se_vga.

[carphead]

X50v - 2003SE.

I use PIE and BetaPlayer. But the best use is using a app called "RemotelyAnywhere" which is a remote control app for Servers and Desktops.

It's the only one that supports VGA that I've found so if your running a PC at 800x600 on a VGA screen you see about 75% of the screen.

[sheik]

Pocket Loox 720 (2003 SE)
When I started using my first VGA pocket PC, the landscape mode was just a novelty. However, once I mapped a button to rotate the screen I found I used it much more. In the poll I chose 'between 25%-75%' - if I'm browsing the web I probably use landscape 50% of the time - it just depends on the website.

I also find that I'll leave the device in whatever mode it was last in for casual use. So if it is in landscape mode and I just need to check Pocket Informant or something, I won't bother switching (even though on balance, I prefer portrait mode for viewing appointments or contacts etc).

To summarise, my next PPC will need to support landscape mode, it's an important feature to me.

/\dam

[Stephen Beesley]

The lack of a properly functioning and easily accessble Landscape mode is one of the things I missed most when I migrated to PPC from the Newton platform.

My first two PPCs were Jornadas (a 545 followed by a 568) and on both of them I used a number of apps to get some sort of landscape support which I mainly used for wordprocessing using an IR keyboard.

With my current Toshiba e755, I have not had any luck getting any of the available apps to work (had high hopes for the new beta of Nyditot (which apparently can work without resetting) but it just does not work at all on my Toshiba.

I just cannot believe that this functionality was not included in the PPC OS right from the beginning. with such a small screen it makes sense to have as much flexibility as possible. Hell the Newton had this from the MP 120 (Circa 1995) onwards and the last of the line (the MP2k/2k1) could change to any orientation on the fly.

[Jonathan1]

24/7...I think my 4705 saw portrait for all of 1/2 hour as I was setting up the various software packages on the thing. Landscape with real VGA enabled is IMHO the sweet spot for the PPC. Too bad there are a lot of software packages that just don’t work in real VGA mode. :? :cry:

PS- I wish to god there was a way to disable that damn trackpad on the 4705!!! I love landscape but I keep hitting that blasted trackpad all the time!!! :frusty:

[155]

I never used landscape support on my pda2k until wisbaradvance 2 released a beta that supported phone edition So I programed an icon on my taskbar to automatically toggle it when I held the stylus on it.

To get people to use it they have to provide a more easy way to switch :) Like in the taskbar or something

Now I use it whenever I'm browsing the web, but not for any other functions.

I love and depend on it

[Damion Chaplin]

Here's my answer:

Never as my PPC does not natively support it and HP deemed my 6-month-old unit to be too old to bother with the SE upgrade. :cry:

And I decided it wasn't that worth it on a QVGA device anyway...

[thenikjones]

But, even though the percentage of time I use landscape is small, the importance of this functionality is not small at all.

Ditto. I only use landscape mode for websurfing, but it's important enough that I have mapped the "rotate screen" function to one of my hardware buttons. (I use DoubleLauncher, so each hardware button can have multiple functions.)

The other program that I use that I would have like to have use landscape mode for is for eBook reading. Unfortunately, I am using an older version of Palm Reader (2.4.1) which is running in "Forced VGA" mode via Tweaksk2k2. Palm Reader won't display properly in landscape mode, so all of my eBook reading is in portrait mode.

(I'm a Dell x50v user.)

TMann[/i]

As a fellow x50V usuer, rather than "waste" a button to toggle between portrait and landscape, give VSRUTIL a try. It displays an icon on the Today screen which toggles for you. I find it very convenient.

[Mona13]

I use landscape for watching movies/tv shows and that's about all. Everything else I use portrait mode on my x50v.

Mona13

[Darius Wey]

I don't even have native landscape support. The joys that were provided in Nyditot slowly died off - mainly due to the fact that WM2003 didn't offer true support for landscape mode. I only ever see myself using landscape during video playback, and even then, that's not provided by the OS.

[asuspocketpcw]

I'm a 25% type so far--2003SE. Gotta have it for those great VGA pictures. Nice for web stuff too.

[MitchellO]

I have found that landscape mode is great for web surfing. It makes websites so much easier to read. Particularly forums and ebay where there are many columns.

[Mona13]

I hadn't even thought about it for internet. It's great! I'm so glad you mentioned it. I use WLAN quite a bit and it's definitely better.

Mona13

[gohtor]

I use it all the time now that I have mce 2005 and record all my tv shows to my ppc. The only downside is that I wished that my ppc would support emultated vga res so that I can actually make use of the remote terminal software.