Joystick v Dpad

[Stephen Beesley]

Over the weekend I picked up a new mobile phone. After much internet research and going back and forth between all the mobile shops around I picked out the Sony-Ericsson T610 - and so far I am very impressed with it.

http://www.betalink.ru/tovar/foto/tel/sonyericsson_t610_b.jpg

Now one of the hardware features that has got me thinking is the joystick control. It would have to be the easiest navigation device I have ever used on a technology device and I would love to see one on a Pocke PC in place of the dpad.

The clamshell equivilent of the T610 (the V600) has the dpad rather than a joystick and is (IMHO) not nearly as user friendly.

I am curious to know what others out there think about the joystick as a control method on a Pocket PC.

BTW - I really love the cool Aluminium casing on this phone. It reminds me of the metal case on my original Jornada 545. Now that is something else I would love to see back on a Pocket PC....

[Aerestis]

That looks really nice. Yeah, the joystick is much better. I really wish more things used them too. I think the problem is that joysticks seem very unprofessional at a glance, really gamey and kiddy. Don't you agree? They remind me of atari, even when on handhelds or other cool gadgets.

[Stephen Beesley]

That looks really nice. Yeah, the joystick is much better. I really wish more things used them too. I think the problem is that joysticks seem very unprofessional at a glance, really gamey and kiddy. Don't you agree? They remind me of atari, even when on handhelds or other cool gadgets.

Yes that could definately be the case, but I think the implementation on the T610 is pretty much spot on. it both looks good and works well

[Anthony Caruana]

If you like the T610, wait till you get your hands on the T630. I've got one and it is awesome.

Like you, I really dig the joystick. It works very nicely. I also have a T68i and it has been improved markedly since that phone was developed and released.

The main difference between the T610 and T630 is in the screen. I'm told that the T630's screen is better, especally in bright sunlight. I can't comment personally as I have not used a T610.

[Aerestis]

So jealous :)

I was just thinking and I remembered the nintendo 64 joystick. It got into pretty rough condition fairly quickly, do you think the joysticks would do the same on handhelds and phones? I know my sega genesis had a nice directional pad for years, but the n 64 joystick died quickly. Maybe that's the problem, they just wear out?

I would still prefer them, it's not like using your phone requires jerking the stick in different directions or anything either. Hm, the people making these usually make informed decisions on how the hardware should be, so I'm really curious as to why there is an obvious lack of joysticks. Do they take up more space?

I find the joysticks I have played with in stores functioned better than the generally sticky directional pads on other models.

[Stephen Beesley]

If you like the T610, wait till you get your hands on the T630. I've got one and it is awesome.

Like you, I really dig the joystick. It works very nicely. I also have a T68i and it has been improved markedly since that phone was developed and released.

The main difference between the T610 and T630 is in the screen. I'm told that the T630's screen is better, especally in bright sunlight. I can't comment personally as I have not used a T610.

Yes - I was thinking of holding out until the t630 became available here in Ireland, but just could not wait! The t630 does look like a great phone. As for the screen so far no problems. That said the quality of sunlight here in the Emerald Isle is not quite the same as a summers day down the beach back home in Oz.

The only thing I do regret is that I went with a Vodafone phone and over here they do some serious "rebranding" of the phone. In particular you are stuck with some pretty poor vodafone supplied icons on the settings page whatever the theme you install. I could always get a terminator cable and reflash the phone, but I don't think I want to void my warranty at this early stage :D so I will probably live with that little inconvience.

[Stephen Beesley]

I find the joysticks I have played with in stores functioned better than the generally sticky directional pads on other models.

For me I think this is the key point. In my use sofar the joystick just seems so much smoother than any dpad I have used.

[Janak Parekh]

That might be true, but that's just because you haven't experienced a good dpad ;)

If you ever see an i700, try its dpad. It's extremely clean. Not perfect for gaming (no real diagonals), but excellent tactile feedback and it's quite precise.

--janak

[Zack Mahdavi]

I think a Joystick would be a nice alternative to a D-pad, although I don't really see how much different it could be. I agree, however, that pushing down on a joystick feels more comfortable than pushing down on a D-pad.

I love my Sony Ericcson T610. However, it has some quirky bugs in the operating system. After you've connected to your phone via bluetooth too many times without rebooting, the operating system will slow down a lot. When you navigate to the "more" section on the front page, you'll see 2 options: "Turn bluetooth on" and "turn bluetooth off". Clicking on either one will freeze up the operating system. You have to remove the sim card in order for the phone to work correctly again!

I did a handset exchange with T-Mobile... but the new handset does the same thing. I'm hoping that the T630 fixes these bugs.... gotta wait till October though for my contract to expire.. :?

[Aerestis]

I've used good d pads, but not on handhelds. I'll pay more attention next time I'm in a shop...

Do joysticks allow diagonals?

[Trimac20]

Hmm, somehow I don't think adding a joystick to a PPC, which is a very business-orientated device would be such a good idea. I mean, if PPC manufacturers designed a PPC specially designed for gaming (like the Tapwave Zodiac does for Palm) then yeah, but I still prefer the D-pad for navigating through lists.etc. I just find it more comfortable. The joystick would also have to be fairly flat and low (which does not have a comfortable feel) so it does not protrude too much.

And there's the other thing. I love just about everything about my 4350, except (excluding the dismal memory, lack of jog-wheel, low-res...anyway..) the cheap-looking plastic cover. The back-cover looks alrite, but the shiny front looks like it came from the junk heap at the end of a production line producing cheap novelty children's frisbies. A metal covering gives a more 'expensive' and 'sophisticated' finish which complements the Armani suit, and oh-too-expensive Italian designer shoes of a successful businessman.

[Stephen Beesley]

Hmm, somehow I don't think adding a joystick to a PPC, which is a very business-orientated device would be such a good idea. I mean, if PPC manufacturers designed a PPC specially designed for gaming (like the Tapwave Zodiac does for Palm) then yeah, but I still prefer the D-pad for navigating through lists.etc. I just find it more comfortable. The joystick would also have to be fairly flat and low (which does not have a comfortable feel) so it does not protrude too much.

The implementation of the joystick on the T610 is not only very functional and comfortable but has a very business like appearance IMHO. As can be seen in the photos at the start of the thread the, the joystick sits in a slight depression which means that it does not protrude from the body of the phone any more than the keys. The actions are very positive in all directions and is equally at home navigating through menues or controlling a game.

I really believe that a well implemented joystick would be right at home on a PPC - even in the pocket of Armani... (although I think the combination of a nice black Zegna suit and an Aluminium clad PPC (with joystick of course!) would be the combination for me :D)

[Stephen Beesley]

I love my Sony Ericcson T610. However, it has some quirky bugs in the operating system. After you've connected to your phone via bluetooth too many times without rebooting, the operating system will slow down a lot. When you navigate to the "more" section on the front page, you'll see 2 options: "Turn bluetooth on" and "turn bluetooth off". Clicking on either one will freeze up the operating system. You have to remove the sim card in order for the phone to work correctly again!

It seems that the rather intrusive Vodafone branding on my t610 does have an upside then. One of the things Vodafone does is replace the more option on the front screen with a link to their WAP portal "Vodafone Live". I was curious about what the missing menu included, but given your bad experience maybe I am better off not knowing :D

Now I just have to download the t610 theme creater and crank out some PPC based themes!

[Aerestis]

I have a dumb question. How are these phones better than regular phones? Is it just that they can do some more stuff like play little games and look nicer? That's good enough for me, but I am assuming they do more.

[Stephen Beesley]

I have a dumb question. How are these phones better than regular phones? Is it just that they can do some more stuff like play little games and look nicer? That's good enough for me, but I am assuming they do more.

Well I am not sure what you mean by "these phone", but assuming you are refering just to the Sony-Ericsson t610 well the answer would probably be that it is pretty much a regular mobile phone! It has a camera, BlueTooth, Tri-band and GPRS, has basic contact/task/calander functions and is able to play java and morphun games - but then the same is true of alot of mobile phones in its class. It is certainly no Pocket PC phone edition or Smartphone when it comes to features, but it does pretty much everything I want and comes in a pretty neat shinny package!

[Aerestis]

ahhh ok, cool. I should have been more specific but you told me everyhting I wanted to know :)

Ever since this joystick thing came up, I'm starting to really dislike that my d-pad. :? I almost want to make sure the next handheld I get has a comfy joystick. But sometimes I get like that, and I change my mind really quickly. I guess I'll find out when I get a new handheld :)

I wonder if any smartphones have joysticks

[Zack Mahdavi]

ahhh ok, cool. I should have been more specific but you told me everyhting I wanted to know :)

Ever since this joystick thing came up, I'm starting to really dislike that my d-pad. :? I almost want to make sure the next handheld I get has a comfy joystick. But sometimes I get like that, and I change my mind really quickly. I guess I'll find out when I get a new handheld :)

I wonder if any smartphones have joysticks

Have you tried playing with a Zire 71 before? It has a joystick. I don't think the joystick on the Zire 71 adds any more functionality to the handheld that the D-Pad already adds, though.