Screen rotation lock
by Volker Weber
I think the iPhone was the first phone to use an orientation sensor to rotate its display from portrait to landscape and back. Great feature if you are standing or sitting upright. Not so much, if you are lying down or are resting on your side. That's where you need a lock that turns off that rotation. The iPad currently has that lock above the volume rocker, but with iOS 4.2 that goes away and is being replaced with a mute switch like the iPhone has:
The reason of course is that iOS 4.2 provides that capability on the screen. Double tap the home button, swipe right, tap the first icon, tap the home button. That is four to five actions depending on how you count them. I would really like to ask Apple to make the switch configurable. I strongly prefer the rotation lock over the mute switch configuration.
One of the great features of the BlackBerry Torch is that the slider provides a similar experience. Slide it open and it will force the display to portrait. You can't force it to landscape though. The Palm Pre can be hacked to turn the orientation sensor off by sliding it open. In that case the screen is just locked in its current position. I find that feature to be indispensable on both the Torch and the Pre.
Windows Phone 7 and Nokia N8 don't seem to have that capability.
Comments
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Nokia N95 was probably the first phone to have orientation sensor hardware. It was not utilised by default in the first firmware, though.
OT:
in the first firmware of the N95 was nothing (!) utilised :D
OT END
Nevertheless it was nothing but amazing :-P
