Comments on Vibration API

By: iH8

2012-12-14T12:12:53Z

I really love the MSN nudge idea: http://dev.ih8.nl/demos/vibrate/ No, really! We need more bling

By: Ravindran

2012-12-14T06:24:55Z

I hope user should get some say/allow on whether he should allow the site to use vibrate API. (similar to desktop notification API in Chrome desktop browser)

In desktop era, SetForegroundWindow (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms633539(v=vs.85).aspx) is the most abused API by desktop applications. Eventually Microsoft changed the behavior to just flash the taskbar entry.

By: psobko

2012-12-07T16:46:33Z

I really hope this never comes to my iPhone. Apple’s had a history of cracking down on apps that abuse vibration, in fact it’s even impossible to create a sustained vibration with the iOS SDK. The last thing we need is unregulated access to this feature. The less hardware the browser has access to, the better.

By: Alex

2012-12-07T16:03:48Z

Maybe pr0n companies will adopt this “new technology” faster than the rest of us… AGAIN :P

By: Jean Ceugniet

2012-12-07T07:33:43Z

“Make the tab jiggle” !? Please God no ! A persistent animation was annoying enough, imagine shaking all the content of a tab.
I think it can be well used on a mobile : i once developed a site where alert windows could be critical (a one-cent bidding playful website), and buzzing could have been a real plus on mobiles.

By: Rick

2012-12-07T05:51:56Z

Next thing I want to see is desktop browsers providing support for these things.

Vibrate, for example, could make the tab jiggle. Or play a fake vibrate noise.

By: Chris Strat

2012-12-06T22:14:01Z

That is brilliant – I am loving how there are API expanding deeper into the device.

One that I am really keen on finding is one to prevent the screen from dimming/locking.
Are you aware of any that are out there that work across iPhone and Android browsers?

By: David Walsh

2012-12-06T17:51:33Z

Good point Andrew. Features that are more invasive, like Geolocation and getUserMedia, do require permission via prompt; vibration isn’t invasive but could be misused. That said, browsers do provide popup blocking so…who knows. I wouldn’t be opposed to the Vibration API being a setting.

By: unscriptable

2012-12-06T17:42:00Z

Hey Dave,

Nice write-up!

Speaking of standards, shouldn’t the sniff for “vibrate” look more like the following?

// Standards ftw! var supportsVibrate = "vibrate" in (clientInformation || navigator);

Regards,

– John

By: Andrew Champ

2012-12-06T17:29:08Z

@Steve Edson I don’t believe it should need to ask. If it’s annoying just close the site. I tested it and it won’t run in the background if Firefox isn’t the focused application.

I know where you’re coming from w/ it being annoying, but it’s the same w/ popups, popunders, blink, css3 animations, etc… if you don’t like it, close it and blame the developer for using it improperly. :)

By: Steve Edson

2012-12-06T17:13:32Z

Great article, appreciate the code samples. I think this could be great if it’s widely supported and used properly. I’d like to see mobile browsers add an option to turn it off, like you can with location services. It could be very annoying if a website is constantly buzzing at me.