WTB: Custom Soft Keys for Motorola Droid

[timallender]

I'm the IT Admin for a Engineering company.
We'd like to buy / bounty a droid app / hack to be used by Engineers in the field taking measurements.
The requirements are simple enough, I hope.
Provide a customized soft key interface that can be turned on and off.
When turned on, it replaces the phones native soft key interface with the custom interface providing only a number pad and keys for 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8
When turned off, the phone's native soft key interface is available again.
Should work on all Motorola droids.

The intent is to enter fractional measurements in the field on the droids into spreadsheets (Google Docs / Documents 2 Go).
I'm going to start the offer at $2k. Nothing up front and nothing for partial / broken product. Will undoubtedly have paid follow ups for updates and possible further customizations / new phones.

PM me for contact info and we'll talk on the phone.

[prime]

I'm the IT Admin for a Engineering company.
We'd like to buy / bounty a droid app / hack to be used by Engineers in the field taking measurements.
The requirements are simple enough, I hope.
Provide a customized soft key interface that can be turned on and off.
When turned on, it replaces the phones native soft key interface with the custom interface providing only a number pad and keys for 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8
When turned off, the phone's native soft key interface is available again.
Should work on all Motorola droids.

The intent is to enter fractional measurements in the field on the droids into spreadsheets (Google Docs / Documents 2 Go).
I'm going to start the offer at $2k. Nothing up front and nothing for partial / broken product. Will undoubtedly have paid follow ups for updates and possible further customizations / new phones.

PM me for contact info and we'll talk on the phone.

You want the app to represent the fractions pressed in numeric (0.75, 0.5) form into a live Google doc and/or an excel spreadsheet?

[timallender]

You want the app to represent the fractions pressed in numeric (0.75, 0.5) form into a live Google doc and/or an excel spreadsheet?

Yes, represent the fractions pressed in decimal numeric.

[prime]

Got it. Does the application need to upload the data as it's processed or can it upload the spreadsheet to google docs once it's been completed?

And what is the time frame you would need the application in, say starting tomorrow?

(I don't mean I would begin tomorrow, just using tomorrow as an example for a time frame)

[timallender]

I think you might be over thinking it. Or maybe we're not quite on the same page yet. This should be an interface feature that could be used to input numerical key strokes anywhere you can input key strokes. Think custom softkey num lock mode. I don't know about droid development. So I don't know if it can work like I'm thinking or not. But I'm thinking, when the "app / hack" is "on" (feature "activated"?), it hooks whatever functions pull up the soft key interface, and replaces the stock interface with just a number pad and some fraction keys. When the feature is turned off, stock soft key interface works as it usually does.

This doesn't really have a time frame. We've been looking for something to suit this purpose for years. But we've not liked anything we've seen so far. Very limited, custom engineered devices costing way more than they're worth to us. But, if we can edit online excel sheets in the field on a droid... that makes everyone happy, and I think the necessary interface customization should be fairly easy to accomplish given the open source nature of the droid.

I think this would probably be generally useful to the world at large. The soft key interface sucks for purely numeric mode situations. Which are many. There is a num lock feature, but its buggy and its crowded. The droid will be infinitely more useful as a general purpose data entry device with a well designed soft key numlock mode. And, we're willing to pay something towards that =D

[jeffv2]

i am sure this would be possible, it might even be possible to implement this by making the number keyboard a "new language" so to speak.. so all you would have to do is swipe the spacebar to switch to the number pad.

i have been looking at the source code, its probably really easy to do.

[prime]

I misread and now fully understand what your saying Tim. I would love to collect this bounty, but before you go as far as a custom application I must ask have you used the 'Smart Keyboard Pro' keyboard? Attached an image. You can see it has a dedicated number pad with accompanying symbols (can set a swipe motion to open as well).

[timallender]

I misread and now fully understand what your saying Tim. I would love to collect this bounty, but before you go as far as a custom application I must ask have you used the 'Smart Keyboard Pro' keyboard? Attached an image. You can see it has a dedicated number pad with accompanying symbols (can set a swipe motion to open as well).

No I had not seen this app before. Looking at it online I don't find this screen, but I will try the trial to and let you know. Thanks.

[timallender]

well, i haven't figured out how to get to that screen your showing. It's a different key pad, but not like that. I'll play around with it more over the weekend and see if I can figure it out.

[prime]

well, i haven't figured out how to get to that screen your showing. It's a different key pad, but not like that. I'll play around with it more over the weekend and see if I can figure it out.

long click the '?123' key to get to options, go to gestures, click swipe left, enable 'Toggle arrow keypad'.

When you open the keyboard swipe the keys to the left quickly (may take a few tries to get the hang of it).