Question

Can anyone tell me whether it is possible though Phonegap to get Android Device Orientation in degrees (angle of the phone relative to the ground)? Also, is it possible to get the Magnetic Field as well?

Answer 1

PhoneGap Docs

The compass is a sensor that detects the direction or heading that the device is pointed. It measures the heading in degrees from 0 to 359.99.

The compass heading information is returned via a CompassHeading
object using the compassSuccess callback function.

function onSuccess(heading) {
    alert('Heading: ' + heading.magneticHeading);
};

function onError(error) {
    alert('CompassError: ' + error.code);
};

navigator.compass.getCurrentHeading(onSuccess, onError);

If you want to access the rotation-degrees of the x,y or z axis of the Phone you can simply use bare HTML5. Here is a great article about it: THIS END UP: USING DEVICE ORIENTATION

Code example:

  window.addEventListener('deviceorientation', function(eventData) {
// gamma is the left-to-right tilt in degrees, where right is positive
var tiltLR = eventData.gamma;

// beta is the front-to-back tilt in degrees, where front is positive
var tiltFB = eventData.beta;

// alpha is the compass direction the device is facing in degrees
var dir = eventData.alpha

// deviceorientation does not provide this data
var motUD = null;

// call our orientation event handler
deviceOrientationHandler(tiltLR, tiltFB, dir, motUD);
}, false);