C500 keypress issues explained

[Guest muff]

Hi all

There appears to be a lot of re-discussion of the keypress issues on the C500, so I thought I'd take 5 minutes to explain it - then hopefully we can go back to discussing other things on the phone.

The phone supports multiple simultaneous keypresses on the number pad just fine, no problems there.

[EDIT] this is not true if you install the update[/EDIT]

The problems occur when you press the 'joystick'.

What happens is that the joystick hardware stops the other keypress signals passing through to the OS - but only whilst the stick is pressed in a direction or action.

This means that as soon as you release the stick, the previous keypresses once again reach the OS. So 'jogging' the joystick may create the illusion that multipress works with the stick. It does not, sorry.

This is a hardware problem confirmed by HTC (the phones designers & builders), so there is no magic way to write software around this :)

On a related issue, there are now some buttons that have multiple actions (like the volume buttons). These do not work the way they used to on previous Smartphones. They only create a message on their release or on their being held for a second or 2. ( if you tap and release the key it reports one keycode, if you hold it down it reports another - sometimes 2 others actually)

So if you were planning on using those buttons in your game as action keys, then unfortunately you can't - well you can, but it's more of a click button to toggle kinda thing, not an instant on state - so using it for fast gaming is out.

Hopefully that will clear up any confusion

l8r,

muff

[Guest stclive]

thanks MUFF, this has helped

i was wondering if my joystick is faulty

it clicks left and right

i dont press down on the left or right stick but it moves side to side

its like the joystick is slightly to small for the gap it goes into

[Guest muff]

thanks MUFF, this has helped  

i was wondering if my joystick is faulty

it clicks left and right  

i dont press down on the left or right stick but it moves side to side

its like the joystick is slightly to small for the gap it goes into

erm, not entirely sure what you mean here

but the joystick does press left and right in the same way that it 'rocks' up and down, that's the normal function of it

[Guest stclive]

no, it clicks

i know its meant to rock left and right and up and down

but if i dont press down on it, it clicks

ive attatched a video

http://www.premiershipgoals.net/c500.mpg

[Guest midnight]

oh, and another thing, bit of a nit pick.... the joystick does not support diagonals, and you cannot press action + a direction at the same time. The design of the joystick prevents this (but with the other problems i think most game makers will just avoid the joystick completely)

[Guest muff]

no, it clicks

i know its meant to rock left and right and up and down

but if i dont press down on it, it clicks

ive attatched a video

http://www.premiershipgoals.net/c500.mpg

there is a little play on mine as well, I suppose this is to allow the button to correctly resess for the left and right presses

so it's probably normal :)

[Guest stclive]

phew!!!

thanks mate

:) :P

[Guest PrettyUgly]

you know, the problem sounds very similar to the problem i had with my mio 8390. i noticed it when playing any emulator. my trusty mpx200 is the only phone that can play my games the way i need them to. i use my smartphones for gaming and watching movies so this is important to me. i got excited about the tmobile sda but it looks like it has a multi press problem. looks like i will be going with the mpx 220

[Guest stclive]

just to warn you about mpx220 AWEFUL PICTURE QUALITY :)

1.2 mega pixel mabye but........

.....

[Guest Dannyc500]

I JUST bought the C500 today, fab phone, great features but my joystick doesnt work. :lol:

Ok, it works, KINDA.

I can go down, left and right as soon as i press it, but UP is a whole other matter, it just wont go UP, unless i constantly keep the joystick facing up, in which case 10 seconds later it decides to move its self.

I even tried to let the phone have 10 mins "rest" an come bak and try going up to find it still doesnt work.

Is this the issue u guys are discussing?

Or is this a technical fault with the phone?

Thanks. :)

[Guest muff]

Danny - no that's not the issue we are discussing, that sounds like a fault with the phone to me :)

[Guest damo2576]

i just got a c500 and mine wont go down. sometimes but not always

[Guest Dannyc500]

i just got a c500 and mine wont go down. sometimes but not always

Same with me but not up.

Its been working ok today though.

Ill keep ya updated.

[Guest midnight]

as muff said, that isnt a multipress issue, thats a hardware fault and you should get the phone replaced if the problem persists. Please keep those problems out of this thread as this thread is about the multipress issue.

[Guest peterweg]

>but only whilst the stick is pressed in a direction or action.

My C500 allows key presses when the actiion is held down. On Direction it blocks keypresses. Is this correct or is my phone faulty?

[Guest midnight]

thats correct, thats how it currently works, and thats what this thread is about ^_^

[Guest peterweg]

So, only direction on joystick stops keypress. Joystick action allows keypress. The first item on this post is therefore incorrect?

[Guest bosshogg]

The phone supports multiple simultaneous keypresses on the number pad just fine, no problems there.

unless you've installed the update :x !!!

[Guest winterdude]

Hay dudes,

perhaps some one can check this for me but ..

under picodrive set the action buttons to #,0,*

then play a game (the one ive tested is sonic2)

the * key looks like it is sending mesages with the joistick is also in action

this make a big diffrence to the spikey little guys life expectancy

can some one confirm that im not dreaming

[Guest wez1981]

Yes * key works with pressing joystick at the same time!

LONG LIVE SONIC!!

[Guest _Tala_]

i got excited about the tmobile sda but it looks like it has a multi press problem.

It is different with the SDA. The SDA allows the joystick and the 2 softbuttons to register simultanously. So with the SDA you can perfectly use the joystick and use the 2 softbuttons.

Tala

ps. I also checked the * button and it works too.

[Guest moosery]

Just to throw a cat among the pigeons, I have done some testing and using a bluetooth keyboard (freedom keyboard, www.freedomkeyboard.com), multipress works.

That is to say you can press up and either left/right at the same time without having to let go of up. Great news for driving games.

(if you dont mind having a huge keyboard in your lap!?)

[Guest harry4000uk]

unless you've installed the update  :x !!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm trying to play Mario 3 on Smartnes and no combination of two buttons will work at all. Any ideas

[Guest moosery]

yeah - bug orange until they fix it!! :D

[Guest extravagant]

thx for clearing things up mate