Need your support for the UX50!!!

[sting0r]

Hi, I wrote to Mapopolis to see what their plans for support are for the SONY UX50. I would love to use my bluetooth gps with this device!!! In the reply, they mentioned sony is working on some type of utility for developers that would allow for more apps to support the UX50 unique resolution. If any interested people could write mapopolis and sony maybe we can get this thing going!!!! Thanks for looking!!

Here is the interesting reply that I got:

Hi,

Here's a summary of what we've found out about the UX-50 so far.

1. Mapopolis will run on the device and connect to Bluetooth GPS.
2. The menu can be accessed, but the lower screen buttons are
chopped off.
3. Sony changed the scan codes of the hardware buttons, so zoom
in/out and detail plus/minus are not currently working.
4. Sony is said to be working on a screen rotation utility to
switch from protrait to landscape. This should give our
program full functionality - albeit sideways! I don't any specific
information about this.
5. Two owners have told me that Mapopolis "flies" on their machines.
6. And yes, that's Sony's 480x320 screen turned sideways. Many programs
will have trouble with this until Sony releases that patch.

You are the 4th person to inquire. Please ask Sony about that screen
rotation doohickey, and consider starting a Yahoo group so you can
collect other ownners of this device and flood us with requests. :-)

I've started an email notification list for UX-50 owners and will send
you more information when it becomes available. No promises, but if
enough people buy this machine, we WILL want to support it. As you can
guess, however, supporting landscape mode would be a "one-off" for us
right now, and I know of no other manufacturer who has produced or
announced a product with the landscape screen.

Finally, it's a mystery why our program can't display in the 320x320
area. This may be a bug in Sony's display driver. (Our program makes
standard calls for "hi-res" and works on all other Sony 320x320 AND
480x320 screens.)

Thanks for your inquiry. I'll write you when I have something solid
to share.

Regards, and enjoy that new Sony!

Lamar

[sting0r]

Forgot to tell everyone where to write!?!!

For mapopolis please send an email to support@mapopolis.com

Anyone know of a place to write to at sony that will get to the PDA area so they know we want them to release the screen utility ASAP????

[RougeStar]

Sony has a develloper section dedicated to Clie/Palm OS development, that may be a good place to start.
btw (I am running Mapopolis 5.19 with no problems, so far)

Cheers..
BR

[sting0r]

Thanks....U are running Mapopolis, but you aren't runnnig it in Landscape right??? Please email mapopolis if you haven't to ask them to update the app!!

[RougeStar]

I am ruinning it in LS (not full screen) and no buttons are cut off, also there is a button that will rotate the screen 1/4 turn for each button press. I will wirte their support and request UX-50 support.

Cheers.
BR

[sting0r]

Thanks....There must be some other people interested in getting this working!! Please send emails to sony and mapopolis.....

[sting0r]

I have been informed that only one person has emailed mapopolis?!?@!?!@

Come on, please take a minute and email mapopolis. The more developer we can get interested in this, the better the chance we will have from sony to release the tools that they and we all need!!!!

Thank you!!!

[CliePet]

Can you please clarify what you are asking for ???

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> 1. Mapopolis will run on the device and connect to Bluetooth GPS.
> 5. Two owners have told me that Mapopolis "flies" on their machines.

Good

> 2. The menu can be accessed, but the lower screen buttons are
chopped off.

Thats an app problem. The Sony CLIE SDK gives a programmer enough information to make 480x320 (or more typically 450x320) landscape mode apps. Nothing more is needed.
The SDK update was release in early August.
http://www.us.sonypdadev.com/top.html

> 3. Sony changed the scan codes of the hardware buttons, so zoom in/out and detail plus/minus are not currently working.

That's a app problem.

> 4. Sony is said to be working on a screen rotation utility to
switch from protrait to landscape. This should give our
program full functionality - albeit sideways! I don't any specific
information about this.

This is an often rumored piece of code. This should not be necessary.

> 6. And yes, that's Sony's 480x320 screen turned sideways.
> Many programs
> will have trouble with this until Sony releases that patch.

Many programs will not exploit the extra size until the app developers fix their problems.
It sounds like they are treating the UX like the NX/NZ. They need to add a few more lines of code to handle the differences.

=====

All the issues you have described are Mapopolis app problems, and should be relatively simple fixes.

The only thing that would require a lot of work is to have a PORTRAIT display of the map on your LANDSCAPE UX50. That's not a good feature IMHO. A LANDSCAPE mode display makes more sense (and is a heck of a lot easier), since the UX50 is a LANDSCAPE device.


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Bottom line: your challenge remains of getting Mapopolis to fix their app -- just don't let them blame Sony for why it can't be done right now !->