Palm working on joystick for handhelds

Bob Russell · 05-05-2006, 04:48 PM

Only once before can I think of a handheld that included anything like a joystick, and that would be the HP 4700. But I hear less about how wonderful that touchpad was, and more about how HP made a huge design mistake.

Well, Palm has a patent (US Patent Nbr 6806865) which has a nifty way of integrating a joystick on a handheld into the d-pad, using the tip of a stylus attached as the controller. There's no reason to expect it to show up any time soon on devices, but it's always fun to consider the possibilities. (Make the jump to the full article for a full-sized diagram.)

steve_mcgahey · 05-06-2006, 03:56 AM

The Tapwave Zodiac also has/had a joystick - and there's quite a following of users who use it for console emulation!

Shame Tapwave died - the Zod was promising.

Laurens · 05-11-2006, 12:22 PM

Anyone remember the Gravis gamepad from the mid-90s? You could screw a stick on the joypad.

Robert Marquard · 05-12-2006, 02:16 AM

There are several ways to implement a minuscule joystick.
IBM had one already on their notebook keyboards.

This sensor http://www.elmos.de/produkte/katalog....01/index.html
would be another way to do it (without any mechanical parts).

05-05-2006, 04:48 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Palm working on joystick for handhelds Only once before can I think of a handheld that included anything like a joystick, and that would be the HP 4700. But I hear less about how wonderful that touchpad was, and more about how HP made a huge design mistake. Well, Palm has a patent (US Patent Nbr 6806865) which has a nifty way of integrating a joystick on a handheld into the d-pad, using the tip of a stylus attached as the controller. There's no reason to expect it to show up any time soon on devices, but it's always fun to consider the possibilities. (Make the jump to the full article for a full-sized diagram.) Attached Thumbnails

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05-06-2006, 03:56 AM	#2
steve_mcgahey Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2006 Device: Tapwave Zodiac 2	The Tapwave Zodiac also has/had a joystick - and there's quite a following of users who use it for console emulation! Shame Tapwave died - the Zod was promising.

05-11-2006, 12:22 PM	#3
Laurens Jah Blessed Posts: 1,295 Karma: 1373 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The Netherlands Device: iPod Touch	Anyone remember the Gravis gamepad from the mid-90s? You could screw a stick on the joypad.

05-12-2006, 02:16 AM	#4
Robert Marquard Delphi-Guy Posts: 285 Karma: 1151 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: iLiad, Palm T3	There are several ways to implement a minuscule joystick. IBM had one already on their notebook keyboards. This sensor http://www.elmos.de/produkte/katalog....01/index.html would be another way to do it (without any mechanical parts).

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