mouse for android?

[Stericson]

So I was thinking about an application I could start working on in an effort to learn how to create apps for android and I came across the idea of a mouse for android. I thought about keeping the idea to myself and working on it a little at a time but I conceded that it would take me way too long to produce an app of this caliber, so I have decided to ask for it to be made by someone more experienced with building apps. I was thinking of a transparent cursor that is controlled by the trackball, not touch, and some of the benefits of a program such as this could be selecting and copying text from emails, websites, and easier navigation of websites, I sometimes find myself having prob lems clicking on very small links. The mouse could also give us the ability to select multiple objects. Does anyone else think that this could be a great idea, and is any dev currently working on this or interested in working on this?

Stericson

[newarkdanny]

sounds good, for the copy n paste txt aspect of it............

[jess_lyn]

Hi Stericson,

Have you succeeded in incorporating the support for mouse devices in android? I am involved in porting android to another hardware for which mouse would be useful.

jess

[Crwydryn]

After a quick bit of googling, it looks like the G1 doesn't support USB host mode. It looks like the hardware might support it, but it isn't implemented in the protocol stack. http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=G1_USB_Host

Part of the issue is that according to the USB standards, the host must be able to supply 100ma at 5v. That can be a real issue for portable devices where battery life is at a premium. It would be possible to add on some sort of power boost device that could meet that requirement, though.

In addition to a mouse, I'd love to be able to plug in a real keyboard.

[damnitpud]

I don't think the OP is talking about a physical mouse, i think he means a cursor that is controlled by the trackball like a mouse. This could come in handy, use the left caps key and left alt as mouse buttons. I could see the usefulness of that.

If he did mean a physical mouse, i would suggest it being Bluetooth instead of USB. That way it will have its own power source and not drain from our tiny batteries. There are articles about Android running on the UMPCs which would use a mouse so there should be drivers in the works.

[nolimit966]

I don't think the OP is talking about a physical mouse, i think he means a cursor that is controlled by the trackball like a mouse. This could come in handy, use the left caps key and left alt as mouse buttons. I could see the usefulness of that.

If he did mean a physical mouse, i would suggest it being Bluetooth instead of USB. That way it will have its own power source and not drain from our tiny batteries. There are articles about Android running on the UMPCs which would use a mouse so there should be drivers in the works.

I think a physical mouse would be a fantastic idea. I have the unlimited data package for my HTC Magic and i love it to death, but sometimes i feel a bit restricted whilst using the internet - control wise. A Bluetooth mouse / keyboard and cursor would work great for this case. It would probably open up doors for other uses too.

[jroid]

he's talking about a mouse controlled with the tracball. something like the blackberries have. I think that'll be a great idea

[nolimit966]

i like the sound of that too

[goleaf]

I vote for BT wireless mouse.

[paul roberts]

I vote for BT wireless mouse.

this works on cyanogenmod 6