One of the concerns for an N9 owner is the lack of a dedicated hardware key or shutter for the camera. We now have to hunt around in the app-launcher screen to find the icon and click it to open the camera. I am thinking about alternate launching mechanisms.

IIRC, the double-tap to unlock feature of the N9 is based on the accelerometer, which detects the direction of the tap and if in the direction of the screen, unlocks it. What I am proposing is to harness this feature.

ie, Double taps on the back of the device (as opposed to the screen) should automatically launch the camera, irrespective of whether it is locked or unlocked.


Will this be possible? Is the module responsible for this behaviour open or closed? How difficult will it be to implement this? Developers, it would be great if you could answer!

Dude, all you have to do is swipe halfway up out of an app and hold it there... this will bring up your shortcuts, one of which is the camera.... Easy as!

Ok, from a locked state, count the number of actions/taps/swipe required to open the camera app

1. Double tap to unlock (or click on lock button)
2. Half swipe up
3. Click on camera

With shutter/hardware key, this action is reduced to one. I am thing about similiar one-action camera launcher for N9

Apparently it's using the screen and not the accelerometer to unlock the device.
I'm not sure if the accelerometer's driver generates interrupts for double taps, or if mce supports that, in any way it can be used if so

Oh, from this thread http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1038610, I was under the impression that double tap detection was through the accelerometer.

If it is infact using the screen to detect the tap, then this should be a feasible alternate idea:http://www.ideasproject.com/ideas/11592

Yeah, it was thought to be the accelerometer, but tapping just next to the screen (front camera) doesn't wake the device up.

AFAIK the screen is off but generates an interrupt on double tapping, so you can't read gestures before it's on.

I really want see one of the hard buttons act like a two-stage shutter button once in the camera app.
Instead of having to use the on-screen button... Similar to what the L800 has now.