Resurrecting the Past: Revisiting MuSense for Window Mobile

This article is a departure from my usual entries, but I’m excited to share the story behind MuSense a gesture-based media controller. Originally released on the community XDA developers, MuSense was designed during my university days for Windows Mobile 6.1+ devices like the HTC Touch Pro, Touch HD and other Windows Mobile devices.

Unfortunately, by the time I published the application, it was too late to gain any significant traction as Android and iPhone were emerging and already dominating the market.

Join me as I reminisce about the rise and fall of Windows Mobile and how Microsoft’s lack of foresight sealed its fate in the smartphone industry.

MuSense is an application that allows its user to control the devices music playback functionality by utilising the accelerometer on-board a the device. The user can then perform a number of different tilt/shake gestures which in turn perform a assigned action. More details can be found below.

At present MuSense interacts with the HTC Audio Manager. Ideally the HTC Sense interface is required to be running to provide navigational access to your music library.

Instructions

It’s pretty simple to use, upon launching MuSense “Enable whilst unlocked” is checked simply click the “Start MuSense” and its running. The default settings work fine, if you want to tweak the sensitivity/detection axis angle ranges you can do that on the “Config” tab.

There are some helpful reminders built in to the application. But the best way is to have a play and you will soon pick it up.

MuSense functionality can be run whilst:

• 1. Device is unlocked.
• 2. Device is locked.​

Requires

1. HTC Sense/Manila to be installed on the device.
2. The HTC Audio Manager to be installed on the device.
3. Device equipped with a accelerometer.
4. Some music on your device.
5. WVGA/VGA based device.
6. Around 57kb of storage space.​

Tested devices

1. HTC HD2
2. HTC Touch Pro 2​

It may work on other devices, please let me know if it works for you and I will update this list.

Important

Gestures can only be performed while the device is out in front of you with the screen facing the sky.

MuSense Functionality

1. Tilt gestures to control playback, these include:
   • Tilt Left – Previous Track
   • Tilt Right – Next Track
   • Tilt Up(towards user) – Play
   • Device Shaken – Pause​
2. Customisation over the axis detection values and sensitivity.
   • Left and right axis detection value and range in which detection occurs.
     • Manual Mode – Manually refine the axis values using sliders.
     • Assisted Mode – Use the accelerometer to assist in finding the axis values that are right for you.​
   • Shake sensitivity detection.
   • Shake detection on or off.​
3. Sleep functionality.
   • Customisable “sleep in X mins”.​
4. There is also logging functionality.
5. MuSense checks that Sense and/or HTC Audio Manager is running.
6. MuSense will reset configuration settings if there is a problem reading the file and/or incorrect values are detected.
7. MuSense can run on:
   • Continuous – Always active unless device enters standby.
   • Or only on the lock-screen – Will only function on the lockscreen.​
8. MuSense will stop running when screen is manually turned off, if the device is held/placed upside down (3.5mm jack facing the sky; an example being when it’s in your jeans pocket) MuSense will pause until the device is held in the correct orientation where it will resume functionality (accept gestures and perform an action).
   9. And finally there is some help dialogue incorporated into the application.​

History

I created MuSense because I enjoy hiking about and on bright days rather than squinting at my phone, pressing numerous keys and on-screen buttons. I came up with a solution to control media playback via the accelerometer and simply just tilt my device left to go to the previous track or tilt right to skip track, this then evolved in to MuSense.

A future with Android

The following is planned for the Android version, given that there is enough interest:

1. Support for multiple Media Players through media events.
2. Choice of Flick gestures over Tilt gestures and vice versa.
3. Re-assignment of actions, example. Shaking the device skips track instead.