Turn off "field" that drives the stylus

[phredog]

Any idea how to turn off the stylus? There is no obvious way via settings, and nothing came up on Google.

I will never use the stylus (no comment). My GN is strictly a micro tablet (no SIM, and airplane mode always is on so it is not a phone). I thought if the field that drives the stylus is off I maybe can get better battery life.

Just a thought.

Edit: I still need the capacitive touch screen to detect my finger.

 

[El Presidente]

Doesn't the stylus work on the same principle as your finger? So there's would be no way to turn the "field" off.

 

[phredog]

Doesn't the stylus work on the same principle as your finger?

Yes and No

My iPhone does uses a capacitive touch screen to sense my finger, but does not produce the AC magnetic field required by the Samsung stylus. The same is true of the ATM machines that we make at work.

The magnetic field excites the resonant circuit in the stylus and the stylus uses it for power. So long as I am using my finger, in theory, the magnetic field is not required to be switched on.

However I do not know if Samsung uses the same technology in its touch screen that we use in the ATM machine business. The stylus and the touch screen may be closely tied together.

My GN was purchased when they first came out. I have since learned that the GN had gone though several revisions before it was discontinued in favor of the GN2. I have what I believe is a first generation motherboard. That explains why the phone has so many problems, and why the stylus never really worked to start with.

 

[El Presidente]

Interesting. I didn't know that's how it worked, thanks.

I've had a little google around and much like yourself, I can't see a way of doing it.

At the very least, I imagine you'd need root and a compatible kernel, but again I'm not having much luck finding one of those either.

I'll have a dig about though.

 

[phredog]

Disabling "problemware" like "Voice Talk" made a huge difference on my GN. I have read that others have experienced the same. Now if I root my GN I am sure there are other tricks I can do to tweak it.

I gave up on the stylus. I guess it never really worked on the first generation motherboards. That is why I was hoping to save some battery by turning the field off.

 

[ifb-online]

Doesn't the stylus work on the same principle as your finger? So there's would be no way to turn the "field" off.

The S-Pen sensing is completely separate from the capacitive sensing in the touch screen. The S-Pen is a Wacom passive digitiser. Wacom is the No.1 maker of graphics tablets for digital artists and photographers. You can use styli for these tablets on your Note. I used to have an HP tablet/laptop that employed the same Wacom pen inking system. It's cool because it's pressure sensitive and the pen doesn't need a battery.

It's true that the screen needs to provide a field in order to resonate with the stylus, but this will only be active when the pen is sensed. So when the pen is not used I doubt that much extra energy is used. The function to sense the pen initially will use much less energy than when the pen is sensed and in use.

 

[phredog]

It's true that the screen needs to provide a field in order to resonate with the stylus, but this will only be active when the pen is sensed. So when the pen is not used I doubt that much extra energy is used. The function to sense the pen initially will use much less energy than when the pen is sensed and in use.

Hmmm, I do not see how the stylus can be detected at all unless the field is on. If there is no excitation, then the resonant circuit can not power the pen. Perhaps the power usage is very small. I had assumed the field is where my battery "juice" is going.

I wish they had offered a version without the stylus for cheaper.

 

[mpw]

...I wish they had offered a version without the stylus for cheaper.

You may be interested in the new 'Mega's for your next handset.

 

[ifb-online]

Hmmm, I do not see how the stylus can be detected at all unless the field is on. If there is no excitation, then the resonant circuit can not power the pen. Perhaps the power usage is very small. I had assumed the field is where my battery "juice" is going.

I wish they had offered a version without the stylus for cheaper.

Like all sleep modes the detection is there, just in a low power state, only looking for the presence of the pen at a low frequency. Once the pen's presence is detected on or near the surface of the screen the system will switch to full resolution detection mode.

The whole point of the Note (and all Note-branded Samsung phones and tablets) is the pen - if you don't want a pen you should probably have bought an S3 - the screen is only slightly smaller, or the S4 now. But I don't think battery life will be significantly different.

tdodd has shown that a Note can be run very economically with some careful management of apps and widgets. Also, the battery stats don't show the pen being a significant source of power drain.

 

[phredog]

Like all sleep modes the detection is there, just in a low power state, only looking for the presence of the pen at a low frequency. Once the pen's presence is detected on or near the surface of the screen the system will switch to full resolution detection mode.

The whole point of the Note (and all Note-branded Samsung phones and tablets) is the pen - if you don't want a pen you should probably have bought an S3 - the screen is only slightly smaller, or the S4 now. But I don't think battery life will be significantly.

Thanks that makes sense.

I was traveling in when some showed me his GN. I had never seen one before. The tunnel vision kicked in. All I saw was the big screen. I have big hands, so it is perfect. I immediately ordered one out of Germany. Bad move! Samsung will not support it out of region. Furthermore I have the first generation motherboard.

I owned the phone for several months before I saw the commercial. I remembered that It had a stylus. On the first generation GN, the stylus is too sensitive to the environment (magnets, etc) to be useful. My finger never fails.

I have a Galaxy S duos for travel, and IPhone for work. I use my GN as a tablet for the Kindle app and so on.