This is a way to explore the sensors on your Android device, and it comes in 3 flavors:

App (free, limited to one sensor),
Home Screen widget,
Live Wallpaper.

The original mood ring is a chemical thermometer, and we take that simple idea into the world of your device’s sensors:

Thermometer
Magnetometer
Accelerometer
Proximity
Light

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The widget and live wallpaper versions give you lots of customization options, including the color scaling and a range of artwork.

The live wallpaper version even tells you your mood when you touch it.

Temperature Sensor

Not all devices will have one.

Mood Ring queries The System (Android) to determine whether such a sensor is present on your device. A toast should appear if NO sensor is detected.

Temperature Readings

The System (Android) operates on a “push” model; Mood Ring is notified of new sensor (temperature) readings when they are available.

Different sensors behave differently. The Temperature sensor does not provide continuous readings like the Accelerometer or Magnetometer sensors. If the temperature is stable, many minutes can pass between readings.

This is especially frustrating when starting Mood Ring, and all you get is “Waiting” for five minutes!

The chronometer resets on every reading, to help ease your anxiety.

The temperature sensor in most devices is accurate to 1 degree Celcius (1.4 degree Fahrenheit). Other devices may have different operating parameters.

The Color Wheel

You may have noticed that the ring itself changes color throughout the day, in a certain pattern.

Likewise, the temperature scale itself changes color in a certain pattern.

This is thanks to our Friend of the Ages, The Color Wheel.

All you need to remember is this clever mnemonic: Roy G. Biv.

Each letter is a color in the wheel’s cycle: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

In the Widget version, we inverted the color wheel on the temperature scale, so you get Indigo at low temperatures, and Red at high temperatures. Yes, we left out Violet; it gets too close to Red.

Widget Features

If you were kind enough to give up some dosh, you can just put The MRT right on your Home Screen.

If you don’t know how to do this, read on!

Hit the Menu Key.
Select the “Add” command.
Select “Widgets”. The “Choose Widgets” menu appears.
Scan the list for “Mood Ring” and select it. The Configure Screen appears.
The default settings are okay, really. Just select Ok at the bottom.

The same Configure Screen, called “Mood Ring Settings” also has an Application Shortcut. This should appear in the Home Screen applications list. If you can’t find it immediately after installing, you can restart your phone, or you can make a shortcut to it.

Hit the Menu Key.
Select the “Add” command.
Select “Shortcuts”. The “Select Shortcuts” menu appears.
Select “Applications”. A brief delay while it scans for apps, then the “Select activity” menu appears.
Scan the list for “Mood Ring Settings” and select it. The shortcut appears on your Home Screen.
Do Not Select “Mood Ring by eScape” if you still have that installed. That is the free version, not the Configure Screen.

It’s not a Toy!

t’s totally fun, but please do not subject your phone to extreme temperature changes, just to watch the Mood Ring operate!

This is very very bad for your phone.

We obviously take no responsibility.

Your Phone is Hot

And so are you for owning one!

You may notice that the displayed temperature is higher than the “ambient” temperature, and this is a correct observation.

The same is true of any thermometer; it is sensitive to local temperature sources.

In this case, it is the heat of your phone’s electronics. Since everything is close together, there is not much opportunity for isolating the sensor from this. Try running Mood Ring while your phone is charging, and see how hot that gets!

Newer devices now have a sensor called “ambient temperature” that actually gives an accurate reading of the environment.