Growing Panel for the XPERIA X1 (Pre-Release)
From pocketnow.com
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Contents |
Introduction
What sets Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 apart from other PocketPCs is the approach to the user interface. We've seen different manufacturers attempt to optimize and liven up the Windows Mobile experience by creating their custom interfaces overlaying the default WinMo interface. From SPB Mobile Shell to Yrgo, TouchFlo3D to BellUI, none compare to Xperia panels and the functionality it boasts.
Each panel serves different functions. At work you might want to use a professional panel - email, calendar, contacts, etc. At home a more casual one might be appropriate - applications, music, games, etc. Going for a job or hitting the gym? Bring up the media Panel.
Unfortunately till a few weeks back, the whole Panel concept seemed to have gone to waste with the lack of Panels available and limited functionality available on them. But with time things turned a bright corner - developers at XDA developers released a panel for the TF3D interface from Touch HD, SPB released their SPB Shell Panel, and now we have more panels being released including, but not limited to, the CNN Panel, On The Road Panel, Skype Panel, and the upcoming SPB Shell 3.0 Panel.
One panel that has grabbed attention of many was found on the leaked R3A ROM of Xperia which is expected to be released soon. 'The Growing Panel' is an animated panel similar to the Fish panel but with more functionality and a much cooler experience.
The Panel Interface
At first look, it seems that not much "important stuff" is happening on this dynamic panel other than the current date and time. Visually appealing, the panel can be thought of as a screensaver on your desktop – growing plants, falling leaves, bees and snails... definitely not a panel that you'll be switching to at the office or on the road, but one that you can switch to when at a party or at a dinner, or simply when you just want to look at it.
Once you start playing with the panel, the first thing noticed would be that it kept changing with time. The sky turned a light blue and then the moon came up, and slowly made across the sky... and now the moon is almost out of sight and the sky a bit brightened. Similarly, raindrops appear when it is raining outside.
Next are the small insects on the panel. Bees flying by, worms crawling on the plants, fireflies in the air, and snails on the ground. Hit the bee or the ladybird and the phone buzzes, hit a snail and it hides itself inside its shell and stays there – hit it again to get it moving again, hit the firefly and it flickers... This is definitely a panel worth having!
The Panel Functionality
And then comes the actually functionality on the panel. As expected the clock at the top-left corner of the panel brings the time & date settings screen. It is the flowers and plants that actually represent different stuff. For instance the middle flower in the screenshot below represents e-mail. When a bud, you have no mail... but when blossomed, you have mail. Not only that, the flowers differ depending on time as well as when the panel is switched.
The flower to the right (red bud in the screenshots) represents phone calls. The flower on the left (yellow one) is SMS. The plant with the purple flowers (right side of the screen) is for phone profiles and the single stem with leaves on the left is for battery. When the device is being charged, the ground below the battery plant starts glowing... white sparks rise from the light and travel upwards fading half-way across the plant.
At the bottom of the screen are really small plants – sort of like grass – with white tips. These are hooked with Wi-Fi. When Wi-Fi is turned on and connected to, flowers grow there. The stronger the strength of the signal, the more flowers there will be. Additionally, when you have a meeting in the calendar a butterfly appears on the panel – reported to fly higher when meeting is closer. The mushroom on the screen represents Bluetooth – when activated the mushroom evolves and turns blue.
The phone profile plant wilts its flowers based on volume of the device and chosen profile (for me it only updates/changes the top two flowers). The Battery plant turns from brown to green starting from the top – the more the plant turns green, battery percentage is as less.
Welcome Holidays
The panel adjusts itself according to the time/day as shown in the screenshots below.
Christmas comes with tree lights on the plants in the background and a slight layer of snow on the ground.
Easter comes with Easter Eggs laying on the ground.
Halloween with its spooky pumpkins.
And of course, the Valentine special.
(The holiday screenshots are courtesy of Sera_6969 at XDA Forum)
