That's where his button is: the scary secrets of a smart button for a smartphone. Review and nuances of using the Xiaomi Mi Key button Smart button for a smartphone

Comparative review four solutions

In modern mobile OS the question quick access key phone settings can be considered already resolved. Swipe from below or from above, touch the desired icon - and you have already turned on vibration alert, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and much more. But to accomplish these simple operations You always have to turn your attention to your smartphone. Sometimes this is completely inappropriate: for example, at an important meeting or exam. Today we will look at some simple gadgets that can solve this problem by using the 3.5mm headphone jack that all modern mobile devices are equipped with.

Packaging and equipment

We received four gadgets for testing: the famous Chinese company Xiaomi, and .

Only iKey is unique in its packaging - a blister in the shape of the Android logo

There is no point in the extensive set of gadgets: these buttons themselves look like a bonus from some generous seller Chinese smartphones. Thus, by the way, one of them came to us - it was a pleasant surprise. iKey and 360 Klick are supplied as is. Mi Key has a clip for the headphone cable. A logical solution: you can always have everything you need with you to use the audio output in two scenarios.

Design and Operation

All buttons look approximately the same - like ordinary connectors for an audio jack. Only Klick (far right) stands out by the absence of one ring.

There is a little more variety in the color of the buttons. iKey and 360 Klick have gold, Klick has silver, Mi Key has black.

Let's move on to the most interesting part - use. All gadgets here are united by compatibility: only Android is supported. For testing, we used a Sony Xperia C smartphone and a Ramos i10 Pro tablet, a review of which is scheduled for the near future.

Already at the beginning of testing, the issue of compatibility with Sony Xperia C. The audio jack of this smartphone is truncated on one side, for the sake of streamlining the body:

An analysis of all gadgets using a tester showed that pressing a button closes the microphone contact and the ground (1 and 2 in the diagram)

The photo of the buttons in profile clearly shows that the two left accessories with gold tips (iKey and 360 Klick) have a wider gap between the contacts that are connected when pressed. For this reason, they are not compatible with the truncated audio jack of the Sony Xperia C. There was no such problem with the other pair of buttons. The Ramos i10 Pro tablet is compatible with all four accessories as its 3.5mm jack is not truncated.

It turns out that all the accessories we are considering are, in principle, interchangeable, and the problem may only lie in the little things described above. Therefore, nothing prevents you from installing one of the listed buttons and at the same time using the application from the other. This was confirmed during testing. Therefore, it makes sense to consider applications that perform the work of simple accessories.

iKey

Software for iKey from the official website in the form of an apk file. The simple application has an English interface.

iKey can recognize single, double and triple clicks. The list of assigned functions is very extensive. Memory clearing works without problems. For the “Send Message” command, the text and recipient of the message are immediately assigned - well suited for emergency situations. Photos, videos and audio received using iKey are recorded in separate folders created by the device.

The set of settings is small, but needs clarification. If iKey does not work when the screen is off, sometimes the “Enhanced Mode” option helps out. But the manufacturer warns that this consumes more energy. You can set the speed of multiple clicks, in the range from 0 to 1000 ms. But in reality, this doesn’t help much in setting up the normal perception of double/triple clicks. In order for iKey to at least occasionally perceive them correctly, you need to set a large gap here, at least half a second. But in this case, the meaning of the accessory is partially lost, because it takes more time to activate the function. With 100% probability, only a single click will work.

The most “branded” accessory of the four, Xiaomi Mi Key, for some reason only has an application in Chinese by default. Fortunately, the manufacturer completed the work, and as a result, even the Russian language appeared.

The Xiaomi button supports up to ten clicks and counts the number of clicks made.

In the Mi Key application, it is possible to create a quick command menu that will be called up after a set number of clicks. Scenarios of several actions are also available.

Although Xiaomi Mi Key saves photos in standard folder Android, unfortunately, there is no point in this, since the end result is frames similar to the one shown on the left. The “Real time” option is puzzling: without it, the button seems to respond with a deliberate delay. However, even this does not help the Xiaomi Mi Key: single presses are perceived perfectly, but double presses practically do not work, as is the case with iKey.

Click

The Klick app is available from the Play Store. The gadget is able to perceive not only short, but also long presses. To unlock this function, you need to select the “Long Press” line highlighted in red and in the window that appears for selecting a program for processing, click “Always” and “iKlick”.

There are fewer available commands than competitors, but some of them are very useful. “SOS” sends a preset SMS indicating the current location of the smartphone. "Camera" allows you to choose whether to take a snapshot or simply launch the corresponding application.

A set of “Switches” switches is available for quick access. In the settings, you can add two more gestures to the main ones, combining a long and short press.

In the Klick app, you can't set a time interval for multiple clicks. And despite this, it perceives them more stable than the competitors discussed above. Single and double clicks are read without problems, but triple clicks are read only sometimes. It takes at least 7 seconds for the device to respond to a long press, and even then the response is not guaranteed.

360 Click

The most “Chinese” gadget of the four. Application downloading from the official website and has an exclusively Chinese interface. Searches for translations on the forum did not lead to anything. But the main functions are clear, in general, even without translation.

We tried all the settings, but the utility could not offer us more than a single/double click. So the facepalm logo of the World Cup football looks appropriate in this case. In terms of functionality, the 360 ​​Klick application is inferior to its competitors, but it recognizes two preset gestures not so badly - according to our observations, it is slightly less stable than Klick.

conclusions

Shortcut buttons for the audio jack, of course, in some circumstances can add the necessary functionality to a smartphone/tablet, making it much more convenient to use. But you shouldn’t place high hopes on them: among the four reviewed, only Klick was distinguished by its stability in recognizing more than one click. To use with this application, it is not necessary to buy a button from the same manufacturer: as we have seen, they are all usually interchangeable.

However, before purchasing, we advise you to check that the audio jack on your device is of a suitable, standard shape and that the selected application supports it. Otherwise, 2-10 dollars spent on a gadget will not be as bad as the time spent on choosing.

Today we will talk about a rather controversial accessory, namely a physical button that can be connected to the headphone jack and assigned various actions to it. Let’s try to figure out how convenient and necessary it is in this review.

A little background

This great idea originally appeared on kickstarter - Pressy (link). The project was quite ambitious and quickly reached the amount required for commercial implementation (about 700 thousand dollars). At first the idea took off, and there was a lot of excitement - mentions of the accessory were in almost all major technical publications. After all, the idea is really good - a miniature button that can be connected to the headphone jack of a smartphone (Android/iOS) and programmed for various actions, for example: one press turns on the flashlight, two presses take a picture with the camera, one short press and one long press launches some or an application - there can be a huge number of combinations.

But despite the excellent idea and good implementation, the excitement quickly died down, since the creators are asking about $30 for a very simple device (a headphone jack with a resistor inside and a clock button on top). And this, in my opinion, is a lot for such a simple device.

And then, as usually happens, Chinese manufacturers picked up the idea and made a lot of “Klick quick buttons” under different names (Klick, MiKey and others), but completely identical from the technical side. The price, naturally, has dropped significantly - and varies depending on the quality of workmanship from 5 to 15 dollars, which corresponds to this simple device. Next we will talk about one of the Chinese buttons.

Meet - Click

Among the huge number of different Chinese click quick buttons, it seemed to me that the quality of execution (both the button itself and the application for setting it up) stands out with one under the simple name “Klick” (the manufacturer even has a website - link).

When the button arrived from China, the quality did not disappoint me: both the button itself and the packaging were all very presentable.

Upon arrival, the box was not wrinkled, but became so already in my possession while awaiting review.

Click - packaging

When opened, the box unfolds, and on its inside we see brief instructions by use.

Klick - equipment

Case for Klick

In addition to the button itself, the package includes a keychain ring and a small case that can be attached to a protein ring or to a headphone cord.

Android applications for working with the button

If you simply connect the button to your smartphone, it will simply be identified as headphones. Therefore, before doing this, it is worth installing applications. There are several options for Android.

Press It! Power Button Psre sy

This application can be downloaded from Google Play(link)from the creators of Psresy. Free version It has enough poor functionality; There is interesting feature fake call (when you press a button, the smartphone starts ringing as if it received a call). It works somehow incomprehensibly - sometimes it reacts to clicks, sometimes it doesn’t, and why is not clear. I don't recommend using this compared to other applications.

Pros of the application:

• fake call function.

• unstable operation of the application;
• It is impossible to configure which scripts work when the screen is locked and which do not.

Miclick (MiKey)

The application is from Xiaomi, it is not on Google Play (it is pre-installed on Xiaomi smartphones), you can download it from 4pda, there is a translated version (link) - thanks to the user malchik-solnce.

The application works stably and clearly - as it should. You can program 10 events (from one to 10 presses in a row). There are quite convenient scenarios (in addition to the standard ones): for example, you can clear the memory of running applications, lock the screen, mute the sound, or take a screenshot.

• stable work;
• many convenient scenarios (memory clearing, screenshot, etc.);
• quick response to pressing a button.

• the application does not distinguish between long/short presses;
• it is impossible to configure which scripts work when the screen is locked and which do not;
• not on Google Play.

Click

This application is from the manufacturer of the “Klick” button and can be downloaded from Google Play (link). The application distinguishes between long and short presses, this is very convenient - this significantly reduces the number of clicks on a button required to execute a script (for example, 4 quick presses is no longer very convenient, one short, one long is much more convenient). It works very stable, but, unfortunately, it has few “special” scenarios (like clearing memory and the like), there is a rather interesting opportunity to take a picture with the camera by pressing a button without launching the camera application (even if the screen is locked), but in reality nothing Good things don’t come out of such pictures; you still need to see what is captured by the lens (strictly speaking, this function is also available in other applications, but it only worked correctly for me with this one).

For each scenario, you can choose whether it will work when the screen is locked - this is convenient, because if you carry a smartphone in your pocket, you can’t escape accidental single clicks.

• stable work;
• the application distinguishes between long/short presses;
• It is possible to configure which scenarios work when the screen is locked and which do not.

• few special scenarios.
• There is a slight delay (~1.5 sec) from pressing the button to executing the script.

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To sum it up, I can say what I liked most latest application. The delay when pressing, of course, slightly spoils the impression, but without the ability to choose which scenarios work when the screen is locked and which don’t, it’s not very convenient to use the button (it will still be pressed accidentally), and the ability to configure combinations of long/short presses - this is also very convenient.

Using the Click Button

We seem to have figured out the application, now it’s time to connect the button to the headphone jack of your smartphone.

The button fits into the connector very tightly and stays there firmly - you won’t be able to accidentally lose it. Of course, it sticks out a little from the body, there’s no way around it, but it’s strong appearance This does not spoil the smartphone or interfere with its use.

It is worth understanding one obvious thing: when the button is connected, you cannot connect headphones/headsets to the smartphone. If you are used to frequently using the headphone jack for its intended purpose, then plugging the button with the headphones is not convenient. This was a very pressing problem for me, since I was used to using my smartphone as a player. But it so happens that now I use two smartphones, so I transferred all the music to one, and use the second one with Klick. If there was only one smartphone, then, I think, from additional button I would most likely refused and used the connector for its intended purpose.

Despite the fact that a fairly large number of scenarios can be configured per button (on average, more than five), it’s really not convenient to use more than three or four - if you need to press the button more than three or four times to start, then it’s easier to just start the right application using traditional methods and not having to count a bunch of clicks.

When choosing applications for quick launch through the button, I was guided by two principles: applications that are used most often, and applications that you may need to launch as quickly as possible (for example, the camera). Also, when setting up, it is worth considering that an application configured to launch with one click will inevitably be triggered accidentally (the button will be pressed in your pocket or something else), so it makes sense to configure it so that one click will only work when the screen is unlocked.

Of course, to get used to a new button on a smartphone, to select applications that are really convenient to assign to it, to remember to the level of automaticity how many times you need to press for this or that scenario to work, it takes time. But after walking around for a month, you involuntarily start looking for Klick on all the smartphones you get your hands on.

A few words at the end

Despite the brilliant idea, such a button will not be convenient for every smartphone user. Therefore, if you are thinking about purchasing, you should think about whether it will be convenient to occupy the headphone jack, and what scenarios will be executed when pressed.

I’ve been using Klick for a sufficient period of time to get used to it and understand that the accessory is really convenient, and for its sake you can put up with the fact that the headphone jack on one smartphone will be constantly occupied.

Hello forum users! Today I’ll tell you about a couple of gadgets that are useful for your smartphone. This review will focus on the multifunction button, which is inserted into the 3.5mm headphone jack. In the store it is positioned in the section of smart gadgets for phones.

A little history. This button came with other devices in one parcel, and arrived in a record 11 days by Singapore Post. The parcel was sent from Singapore, it seems to me, because of the package, which were in the same package. The small device was packaged separately, in a silicone vacuum bag with a sealed clasp, something like the kind that badges are placed in. The package also included a booklet with QR codes, by clicking on which you can download the “Klick” application (more on this below). The button was also inserted into a special mount so as not to be lost, and this mount can easily be hung on a headphone cord, or simply on a string around the neck.

Now about the functionality. As soon as this button fell into my hands, I inserted it into the phone. And, of course, nothing happened. The phone identified it as headphones. Then I scanned the code on the booklet and went to the Google Play store where I downloaded the "Klick 360" application, and this turned out to be my first mistake. The application is in Chinese, I still haven’t found how to change the language. Then by Google search Play I found and downloaded the "KLICK" application. It's in English, but everything is very clear.

Once the application was installed, I inserted the button again. The phone asked me whether it was headphones or a multi-button. I confirmed that it was a button, and the application menu immediately opened.

In general, this button can be adjusted to four positions: 1 press, 2 presses, 3 presses, and a long press. For any of these actions, you can configure any function of the phone, or launch any application from the installed ones. Moreover, there is no need to unlock the screen and turn on the backlight!

I felt a little uneasy when I read customer reviews on the site. They wrote that half of the functions do not work or are slow. I tested it on HTC EVO 3D and Galaxy S3 - everything works.

I set the flashlight to turn on with one click, and the camera with two clicks. Press three to return to the main menu, and long press to open the VKontakte application. By the way, pressing is accompanied by vibration.

The button hardly sticks out, and even creates protection against foreign objects getting into the headphone jack.

In the video below, I showed the operation of the button and application.

Most useful function I find it quick to turn on the camera and especially the flashlight. Imagine the situation: you walk into a dark entrance, and there is nothing to illuminate your phone except the flash. You start unlocking the phone, then look for the “flashlight” application in the settings, and only then turn it on. At the same time, you look at the screen and nothing else is visible in the darkness. And then he took the phone out of his pocket, pressed it, and the flashlight immediately turned on. You don't even need to unlock the screen or turn on the backlight. It turns off the same way. It's the same story with the camera.

Today I ordered 10 more pieces, only this time on AliExpress, it’s cheaper there in bulk. For souvenirs to friends and to sell to someone at work - that’s it! I advise you to buy!

In the same parcel I received another plug for headphones. Only there is an infrared diode sticking out and with its help (and with the help of a special application) you can control different devices, having a remote control. If I manage to shoot a video today, I’ll post it in the next review.

Thank you all for your attention! I look forward to your questions below.

link to this button (not referral)

In the wake of general enthusiasm, I bought myself some buttons for my smartphone. I found it very interesting to perform various actions in Morse code, and even without turning on the screen.

As a result, it turned out that on the one hand the buttons work, but on the other they are not very convenient to use. I'm not entirely sure that the problem is in the button, since there are enough cockroaches on the smartphone.

However, one of the purchased buttons disintegrated during the process of being removed from the phone, and I considered this sufficient reason for the post. So what follows will be an analysis of the contents of the button using a savage destructive technique.

First, in honor of Friday, a little about pricing policy. I bought the buttons, as follows from the price field, for $0.85 each. Yes, I know that it would be possible to dodge and save more, but that’s not the point now.

So here's Friday's picture: a harsh Chinese discount of 67% OFF after the traditional unrealistic price increase

I also know that this is a copy of some original button, probably Klick. I won’t talk about the original - I didn’t hold it in my hands. I’ll go over the functionality of this button.

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Firstly, for the button to work you need an app, which you can download from the link in the QR code almost automatically, or manually - from the link. I probably won’t provide the link, because after downloading it, Avast on my smartphone complained that it might contain a virus.

Color scheme of “covers”-button holders

So I didn’t install the “native” app. And I used a rather simple and concise one, programming it for three functions by single, double and triple pressing. All of them, by the way, are recognized quite well, and the functions are executed accordingly.

The button holder, as designed by the designer, attaches it to the headphone wire

If you insert a button when running program, she will ask what exactly was inserted: headphones or a button, and if you open the program, the programmed actions are immediately visible.

If you insert it without launching the app, the button will turn the player on and off by default. Moreover, if a Bluetooth headset is connected, then there will be sound in it, otherwise there will be no sound.

It somehow worked in the opposite direction too. When a Bluetooth headset was connected and the button app was launched, sometimes a single press of the headset button triggered an event programmed for a single press of the smart button. For the most curious: no, double and triple clicks on the headset do not work, since at the hardware level it itself interprets double clicks as a command to redial the last dialed number.

Well, plus the settings

In general, you can hang on the button: taking a photo, voice recorder, video recording, flashlight, clearing memory, screen lock button, home screen button, calling a number, SMS and launching an application

In this case, photo shooting occurs completely unnoticed, without turning on the screen, backlight or sound. My flashlight turned on and would not turn off again - I had to restart the phone. Launching the application - like clockwork. But I confess, I didn’t check the rest.

In general, one of the advantages is that I can turn on the radio in the morning without unlocking or even opening the cover of the phone. Of the minuses: on my Mijue M880 the iKey app does not start after rebooting the phone. Moreover, if after a reboot you launch the app with the button inserted, the button does not work until you “reboot” it too.

Those. you need to remove the button, insert it, tell the program that it is the button that was inserted, and only after that use it. Actually, it was the repeated reboot of the button caused by repeated reboots of the phone due to a faulty microSD that led to the breakdown of this very button.

Indeed, it simply shattered into pieces: the plug, the upper ring-rim and, in fact, the round “button”. Moreover, I, in fact, did not even see the latter after they separated from the main plug - this happened in the subway, and everything fell to the floor.

A round part and an inconspicuous, but existing ring fixing it, pressed into the upper part of the plug

Only the largest fragment remained in my hands - the plug. For some time he was lying in the pocket of his down jacket, and had no idea that he would become a MySKU star. But here you go.

So, a deadly number.

To begin with, this is probably how the creators of Klick imagined its rich inner world:

Those. microelectronics, board, contacts, practically nanotechnology. But we know that in China equipment is assembled using improvised means and materials. First of all, Occam's razors.

To find out exactly which extra entities were cut off with the indicated tool, I first used tweezers, and then even pliers.

This is what I have left and where it all started

Above

You can see a three-pin plug with a plastic insert pierced with a pin. At first I thought that this was a physical button that was pressed by a decorative round insert. But in reality everything turned out to be much more prosaic, but more on that below.

The lower part of the plug was the first to give way under the delicate pressure of the tweezers. It turned out that it was just a plug, not connected in any way with the two upper contacts

To the front

Then it was the turn of the middle contact. He didn’t want to give up just like that; he longed for achievement. Well, I did it to him with boring black pliers - I crushed it and tore it. However, this did not bring relief - neither to him nor to me.

But it became clear that the secret was not in the second link, but in the first. Since it is clear that the second contact goes up through the insulator

Based on the degree of miniaturization, one could assume that these are genuine nanotechnologies - after all, they had to somehow manage to cram at least some elements into the upper section.

So I had to use the last resort - those same terrifying wire cutters built into any self-respecting pliers. Surprisingly, they cut through the remains of the plug quite smoothly.

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And then I realized a lot. There is no spoon, no nanotechnology. There are no buttons. The upper springy part of the “button” (while it was in place) is simply an elastic plate that closes the upper and middle contacts of the plug. Actually, this event is recorded by Android, transmitting it to the corresponding app.

The report is finished. Happy great and terrible Black Friday and good night everyone! Question and answer session - in the morning :)