| Posted by Jean Ichbiah ® , Mon, Oct 07, 2002, 17:27:37 | Forum |
We are pleased to announce FitalyVirtual, a virtual version of FitalyStamp to work on machines such as the Clie NR70 and the Samsung SPH-I300. This beta version works on the NR70 and the next version will also address the Samsung.
As we will show now, FitalyVirtual combines the functionality of the Fitaly keyboard with that of a simple launcher working like SwitchHack or McPhling.
| The image on the left shows FitalyVirtual on the Clié NR70. FitalyVirtual is a "skin" covering the virtual Graffiti area and modeled after the design of FitalyStamp. In addition to the Fitaly keyboard functionality, FitalyVirtual also acts as a launcher: Just under the Fitaly keyboard is the Application Bar: The buttons numbered 1 through 9 are user-defined and can serve for one-tap activation of applications and special actions. Here we are showing buttons 1-6 associated with Datebk5, Address book, MemoPad, WordSmith, and Bridge. Button 7 is the backlight toggle and 8 and 9 are Page Up and Page Down. The button at the right of 9 shows the position of the builtin Qwerty keyboard. The rightmost button calls FVSetup, to setup user-defined buttons. |
Of course this is only an example but it remedies what is a major drawback of the NR70 when used in tablet mode, namely the lack of an easy access to standard application — since hardware buttons are only accessible in clamshell mode.
| This second image shows what happens when you tap on the leftmost icon of the Application Bar: A list opens on the left allowing you to select one of the 12 most-recently used applications. This display is similar to that of launchers such as SwitchHack and McPhling and you can select any of these application by a tap on its line. Note that these 12 applications are distinct from the 9 of the Application Bar. This means that you can get quick access to 21 applications. The ones on the Application Bar are accessed with a single tap; the ones of the most-recently used list with two taps, counting the tap on the leftmost icon. |
| Assigning applications to buttons is done with the dialog shown on the left. Tap on any of the buttons numbered 1 to 9 and then select the desired action. The assignement is immmediately reflected by showing the selected icon on the Application Bar The assignable actions include all applications currently on the Palm device. They also include actions that correspond to the hardware Up and Down button, the Ronomatic pen stroke, and the backlight toggle. |
| Tapping on the FitalyVirtual Toggle To restore FitalyVirtual, tap on the smaller version of this toggle below the menu icon. |
Click on FitalyVirtual to download this beta version of FitalyVirtual. Note that this version requires the use of an extension manager such as XMaster or HackMaster.
The zip archive includes two files:
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You can now start using FitalyVirtual. For example, tap on an icon of the Application Bar to start working with an application. |
For those of you who used the first beta version, you will need to Uninstall the prior Fitaly Skin from FVSetup before Step 2. Note also that the new version no longer uses SkinManager. Also, you need to disable the prior version of FitalyVirtual before deleting it and installing the new one.
This second beta version is freely usable. It expires on November 1st. A version usable on the Samsung SPH-I300 will be released shortly. The final version will license for $25 ($15 for existing Fitaly and FitalyStamp registered users.)
Comments on this beta-version can be posted directly on the Palm Fitaly forum.
We hope you enjoy this new version of Fitaly. Some of the new features that you can see now will also be added to a future version 3 of Fitaly and FitalyStamp.
Jean Ichbiah and Alan Jay Weiner
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