Molehill time: Nokia Lumia 920 – super sensitive screen pocket activation? What’s that proximity sensor over there doing?
UPDATE:
The latest issue seems to be something making a mountain out of a non-existent molehill. Sources:
http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-lumia-920-super-sensitive-touch-screen-a-potential-battery-drain-issue
http://reach.jdbpocketware.com/topic/128305-to-nokia-ref-lumia-920/
Now this doesn’t drain battery because somehow this technology uses more battery.
The issue is that if you some how press the lock or camera button in your pocket, because of the super sensitive screen, it would some how keep the screen active and drain the battery.
At first, some users who were unaware of WP had a genuine concern with the phone screen activating itself in your pocket. N9 for example had a very intuitive double tap to wake up the screen. What if that was an issue here? Well you’ll need to press the lock screen button first and then swipe up. Now lock button first has become the next issue.
1) Firstly, you actually have to press (or even hold for camera) the buttons on the side. When in the pocket, that’s quite a difficult task to manage. I just tried with my Nokia Lumia 900, to press the buttons by pushing the side with buttons onto a table/hard surface. I tried it on a pillow for a soft surface. I tried it on my leg. On my arm. I tried slamming the side of it. Erm. No. I tried rolling it on my leg. No. The screen wasn’t activating at all.
But still, what if some how I put my hand in my pocket, activated the phone screen and left it there for my pocket to keep the screen active till battery death? (Er why? Because these are potential issues, great to sort them out now rather than when the devices are out in public :p)
2) There’s something in the phone called a proximity sensor. It would be quite an oversight if this wasn’t implemented as an added piece of mind type of thing to prevent the screen from being usable when in your pocket (just like how it turns the screen off when you’re making a call).
If it’s missing, this would be the simplest fix ever. Either way, sorry naysayers, this one is a non issue.
Some people make it their job to delight in the misery of others, to the point that, because they dislike an OS, they will even attack hardware features which would other wise be praised should it be on their favoured OS.
The next point some will make is that is it even useful? There’s already been conversations by some that being able to use something other than your finger might not even be useful at all! (I wouldn’t be surprised if they were once part of the camp hailing the resistive screen of the N97/N900).
The Nokia Lumia 920 takes both skin touch, so feather light swipes, as well as touch from a pen, glove etc etc etc – but it’s not resistive. You don’t need to push down (anyway, the screen is gorilla glass, not plastic). In the freezing cold I don’t need to take my gloves off to answer that call or find my missed call. If I’m cooking and I’ve got wet hands or food on them, I can use the back of a wooden spoon to scroll up along the recipe app. If I somehow had long false fingernails, I can tap away with them. If I was Edward scissor hands, I could fashion you a tree in the face of Stephen Elop and then initiate a skype call with you using only my scissory hands.
p.s. I’ve asked clarification from Nokia just for confirmation on this topic. I’ve seen comments saying proximity sensor fix is mentioned by Nokia but I have not seen this in videos.
Cheers outdated os for the tip.
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Sites That Link to this Post
- Nokia 回應超級觸控螢幕的關係而擔心手機很快就沒電的問題 | WP7Call | October 2, 2012
- NokConv: Nokia explains the Super Sensitive Screen : My Nokia Blog | October 2, 2012
Nonissue, right now the proximity sensor doesn’t block interaction from the power button and thus the screen will turn on even when the sensor is covered. The camera button however works differently, that doesn’t activate anything if the proximity sensor is covered. One can turn that off though in settings so the camera button will always start the camera, regardless of it being in your pocket or not.
Now, we don’t know anything about WP8 as it stands right now. It would be easily possible to implement the same kind of thing for the power button as well. Ergo, problem solved.
Never did like to browse WMPoweruser thanks to its sensationalist articles. As for Phone Arena, I only use them for phone reviews and rarely read articles from them. JDB Pocketware? No idea, so no comment.
But I will echo what another member wrote over at WP Central which is that these tech blogs are willing to vent their anger at WP and Nokia when it comes to Smoked by Windows Phone and the 920 ad controversy but when it comes to chipping (and other) problems on the iPhone 5 and Samsung’s S3 problems, the anger is either toned down or non-existent. Talk about strong bias towards Apple or Android.
“Some people make it their job to delight in the misery of others, to the point that, because they dislike an OS, they will even attack hardware features which would other wise be praised should it be on their favoured OS.”
And most of them seem to be here. The rest of us visit less and less because of it.
+1.
yeah and the android shills are the main reason we keep returning to sites like My Nokia Blog.
Companies like samsung, apple, and google get extremely annoyed when the underdog shows them up, so they get brainless fanboys like josh topolsky (the verge) and tim stevens (engadget) to do their dirty work for them.
you don’t need to pay 600-650 EUR if you want to operate touchscreen with gloves, 250 EUR xperia sola can.
You may say lumia 920′s screen is better bla bla bla, but sola is 400 EUR cheaper.
http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/09/28/glove-mode-demoed-on-the-xperia-sola-video/
Yeah, but it’s a crappy Android. If we wanted that, we’d be on some crappy Androig blog?
Also it’s some weird mode you have to enable, does it work with other objects too? The point of gloves is that you can also hold say a key to touch the screen if you have big gloves.
But it’s not only that which we are interested in. The same reason people don’t want to spend 600USD on the 808 for camera only. They get it because it combines a whole host of other useful features that together make the package very enticing.
But 808 is crappy(only camera, anything else?)
And Sola is one of those Android devices. Thank you, no more of them to me.
Do you guys actually hunt the net for this sort of thing?
How terribly tragic.
This still confuses me. Do the 820/920 have a separate lock button or switch like the N8, or do they use screen taps to unlock like the N9?
If it’s the former, then the proximity sensor would be an additional safeguard to prevent unlocking if the sensor is activated. The N8 will still unlock if you hit the switch with the phone in your pocket.
If it’s the latter, then the only way to unlock is to tap on the screen and have the proximity sensor off, meaning it’s not likely to unlock in your pocket.
I find an unlock switch to be better than a button. It’s easier to accidentally hit a button like on a Blackberry and with a Qwerty keyboard, you can end up pocket or butt-dialing anything
Unlock button, followed by requirement to swipe up the lock screen, followed by security code if set.
Unlock button can get pressed in pocket, especially since it’s a button rather than a slider like the N8. Proximity sensor will disable the screen altogether, OR disable the sensitive touch. Either way, you’re not going to drain the battery, and you’re not going to swipe up the homescreen and enter your PIN in your pocket, nor butt-dial anyone.
Has everyone forgotten when phones has resistive screens? Was it a problem then? No.
Indeed, here I still go with my lovely N900…
Haha yeah, agreed, I’ve butt-dialed a lot more times on a portrait Qwerty phone like the E71 and a Blackberry than on a touchscreen phone.
No, they require the power button to be pressed to even get to the unlock screen, and then that screen has to be slid up. I guess it’s a combination of both proximity sensor and that power button.
the guy who wrote this artical never used a lumia..nw l920 still not released
Why would any blog try and create a story (problem) about a device and a problem it may have when they have not specifically tested that device for that problem. Someone’s looking for page impression or worse, trying to discredit a device before it’s seen the light of day. Lack of journalistic integrity comes to mind.
That’s a rather common complaint with WMPu. They, or at least Surur, like to do those sensationalist headlines. more clicks, yay!
Now if someone really wanted to write something bad about the device
There are 3 problems which i know for 75% are gonna be there in the release of nokia lumia 920
But i wont say them as i am a nokia fan and a Windows phone developer
These 3 problems?
1. It’s by Microsoft.
2. It’s Windows.
3. It’s part of the plan to destroy Nokia by its spawn-of-Satan CEO.
Haha
But its Neither
While the scenario described is just minutely possible in theory, without a device in hand it is just that, theoretical.
The proximity sensor works fine during calls however I have never seen it working during other usage. There may be some usability issue in implementing such a functionality. For example, we hold the phone from both side while playing a game or typing an email. Most of the time the proximity sensor gets covered by left hand. By enabling the sensor for all purposes will make unnecessary turning-off of screen causing a lot of inconvenience.
I would suggest to use a slider like 808( or N8 or X6 or whatsoever came before) to unlock the screen. This will resolve all the concerns.
This is not the Lumia 920. The windows home button is of the old style. ie lumia 900
Some 920 prototype units have the old logo.
Yup, as seen in Engadget’s OIS demoes, it still had the old logo.