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[Q] I don't get capacitive buttons

Does anyone see the advantage of a capacitive button?
It might have been cheaper to produce it on the front which is why I think they use it, but I can't think of any advantage they have from regular buttons. You can't feel them, and I can't think of any user advantage for them besides (maybe) it being easier to program to other functions.
Am I the only person who does not like them?

Dratini said:
Does anyone see the advantage of a capacitive button?
It might have been cheaper to produce it on the front which is why I think they use it, but I can't think of any advantage they have from regular buttons. You can't feel them, and I can't think of any user advantage for them besides (maybe) it being easier to program to other functions.
Am I the only person who does not like them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're much less wear prone. There's nothing mechanical to wear out. You can press a cap button all day without stress or fear of breaking or wearing it out.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium App

I also like how to give haptic feedback so you know if you have pressed it
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

It would be possible to have haptic as well even with a button though right? With television remotes, I had never had the problem of them wearing out even after decades of use, and I would assume that people would replace their phones faster than it could wear out, although both are very valid points.

Much easier to clean, less prone to wear, safer overall. If you leave your phone out on a deck in the rain screen up for a few seconds, there is practically no where for that water to enter your phone, just the speaker. With buttons, trackball etc. (blackberry) water enters all of those crevices and journeys down to your circuit board.
Likewise, dirt or pocket lint always finds its way into buttons.
Keep in mind your remote's buttons are likely 3x the size of a phones buttons (at least).

As a lot of other people said, they are much less prone to wearing out.
However, they can get annoying as sometimes you can accidentally press the button.

mySlide 4G Keyboard? Good? Bad?

First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.

natehoch96 said:
First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the keyboard, sure I wish it had a dedicated number row but no biggie. It feels great my fingers. The only thing I'd really change at this point is moving the .com button. I'm constantly hitting that when I want an "a". But I really don't understand why there are so many reviews trashing this keyboard. I'm very particular about my hard keyboards and this one fits in with my high standards.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I think given the amount of real estate that the keys could use on the phone. That they are too tiny and close together. I'm constantly hitting keys I didnt mean to. And to reach some of them it feels akward, I have to reach further than feels natural. Namely the space bar feels too far to the left.
The response time seems fine. Keys work smoothly. It's just a bit off for me, and not really a comfortable keyboard to use. I'm sure I will adapt and eventually wont notice it anymore.

I really didn't think I would like the Slide's keyboard after using the Touch Pro 2 for so long, but it isn't that bad. The only thing I find myself doing is hitting the '.com' key more often than not when I want an 'a'. I've only had the phone since Tuesday, so I'm sure that with a little bit more time, it won't be an issue.
I think the keyboard is quite usable, and I can type at a relatively quick speed on it.

hah, funny how different typing styles result in different annoyances with the keyboard.
I'm quite liking it, personally. the G1 is still my favorite of the hw keyboard android phones I've had, but the slide is just fine. the only things I would change:
-the back button is pretty inconveniently placed for my typing style. it's not uncommon for me to be typing a sentence and when I end it I accidentally hit "back" and lose everything (unless it's a text or whatever that saves a draft). I also hit "menu" occasionally when typing a comma.
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
some things that I really like about it so far:
-however superfluous they may be, the leds at the top of the keyboard that tell you if you have caps or alt on. nice touch.
-spacing is nice. I look at, for comparison's sake, the D3 and can't imagine how anyone with hands bigger than a toddler can type accurately on it. the slide has good spacing and while I agree with azscrewloose on the size of the keys (they could be a smidgen larger), overall, it feels good even with huge hands like mine.

I've never used a slide-out keyboard before but all-in-all this phone feels really nice. The most awkward part for me is the spacebar but I love the www./.com button and caps lock/alt leds, it makes it easy to punch in numbers. The keys they chose to make default work very well. And I think once this phone gets root/s-off/overclock it's going to be a force to be reckoned with.

this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.

fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol... this happens with any phone from any manufacturer on any carrier. any electronic device, for that matter. it's called a hardware defect and sometimes it happens. get a replacement and get over it.

pmcqueen said:
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was one of my worries. Although I have never owned a QWERTY keyboard phone, I imagine some tactile feedback would be nice.
fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I agree with pmcqueen, just because your phone had problems doesn't mean every phone did. And I certainly wouldn't get rid of Android due to this, it is a great and probably the most powerful phone OS out there. Get a replacement, I guarantee that it won't have the same problems. And if it does, contact T-Mobile and get a free Sensation and a discount on your plan or something lol.

I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.

Blue6IX said:
I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do wish that the backlighting was more generous, but hopefully there will be an app for that once the phone is rooted.
Plus, for the arrow keys, the optical scroll pad works great!

Keyboard is not to my liking
I had the "mySlide 4G" for a week. I hated the keyboard. I have used a G2 a couple times, the slide fails to match that experience. I thought after a week I would get used to the keyboard, that did not happen. I hated it and returned the phone, even though i am currently phoneless I am not going to get that phone. I hate software keyboards so much, I thought this phone was going to be amazing. The keys are spaced to wide, I thought that would accommodate my fat fingers, but it was worst than the G2. I did not get the feedback I was expecting, the keys are a bit too far in for my taste. The slide mechanism felt flimsy after a couple days use and battery life was terrible compared to my previous nexus one.
TL;DR The keys do not have good feedback and are too far apart. Battery life is meh.

I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.

cberbes said:
I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.

The 4g slide's keyboard definitely needs some getting used to.
I LOVED the 3g slides keyboard and thought it would be pretty much the same.
The buttons are MUCH more sensitive and are taking time to get used to.
I liked the g2's buttons (as far as feel) better, and I liked the original slides the best. I've been reading that people have been keyboards that have different feels so you mileage may vary. I noticed pressure differences in the two 4g slides I bought (mine is ultra sensitive).
Once we have root, one of the FIRST things I'm doing is editing the keymappings and making the retarded www.com key a tab button. WTF are people that lazy that it warrants a dedicated key? I understand TAB with linux since it autocompletes and I use a shell and ssh a lot. Oh well.

pmcqueen said:
almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, that's it. Good call. I just looked at both of my keyboards and I think you nailed it on the head. Which of course brings up another issue with the physical keyboard....more of a software issue than anything. I can NOT get the physical keyboard set to auto-punctuate and auto-cap. With my G2 running CM7.1.0, I have auto punctuate and auto cap, so I don't have to worry about apostrophes, capitalizing "I", and what not, and double space ends the sentence.
I miss those features.

I'm getting used to the keyboards lack of tactile feedback but the lack of a dedicated number row is my biggest annoyance. If u could hold the buttons down and get the alt function that would help a lot. Hopefully a new rom can give us that option. I do miss my touch pro 2 kb...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App

I'm on the fence about what I think. On one hand, I actually prefer having such wide spacing between keys, a shallow travel, and soft response. I'm the type of person who loves the keyboards on palm phones since the centro; I like that soft touch, and I like that I can input with my nails if i need to. But the problem for me is that response among keys is uneven, on my model at least, with the keys towards the outwards edges being perfect, whereas a few keys towards the center, like the "t" and "g", barely provide me with any feedback. So little that I was actually looking around to whether I can enable virtual keyboard sounds or vibration feedback when using the hardware keyboard. I wonder whether its just a quality control issue because I haven't seen others have problems with specific buttons like that, they might just not like the keyboard at all but I haven't read about an uneven response.
Which is a shame because otherwise the phone is absolutely spectacular, and imo the best overall android offering out there. I have no issues whatsoever with using a virtual keyboard, but given the possibility, I'd rather use a physical one to save real estate and for the sake of my fingers.
However, I've only had the phone for 2 days, and I have clearly noticed that the keys are "breaking in". It was much worse the first day, but now response has improved substantially. I can tell because some of the outer keys had little response as well before but now click more satisfactorily after I spent a good amount of time pressing keys randomly in the notes app to wear the keys in.

I like this keyboard a lot. The only thing that absolutely sucks about it is that when using it your hands cover the bluetooth radio. For me since I am constantly listening to music on my phone via my bluetooth headphones... I am constantly annoyed by skipping music during texting or browsing. So I generally use the touch screen keyboard while listening to music via bluetooth.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App

On another note, does anybody know if their is a version of the stock gingerbread keyboard available with hardware spelling suggestions? The hardware keyboard is a lot more usable for me when used with suggestions. Better Keyboard has it and works well, but its prediction simply isn't as good as either gingerbread's or HTCs, mainly because it doesn't correct a lot of words where you type in an extra letter. And HTCs keyboard, though good as well, simply annoys me because it alwaayyysssss autocorrects "lol" to "LOL", which though minor, I find incredibly irksome when texting. No one uses caps for lol unless they are actually find something hilarious. Everybody knows that lol doesnt actually mean you're laughing out loud most of the time, lol. See? I didn't laugh.

ICS on phones with capacitive buttons?

The Nexus is going to have a 4.6" with no capacitive buttons. Realistically you end up with about 4.3" of working screen space. ICS is designed with this type of device in mind.
What happens when ICS is ported to devices with capacitive buttons like the Bionic, GS2 and Photon? I presume ICS will be programmed to use the capacitive buttons, correct and eliminate the digital selections. Otherwise, we lose .3" of screen space on our devices and have a row of useless capacitive buttons. Anyone with info on this?

It will be just like what it is now but when there are no buttons you get the buttons

If you check up on the ics port
That came out yesterday or the day b4. You will see that there are no capacitive buttons. Also its been confirmed that ics WILL come out for g..b Devices..... so we're ok when the update or rom comes out
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

See here:

I was thinking that they might be considering something along the lines of what the ICS Launcher is like....you get the softkeys or whatever when on the homescreen and a few menus but that's it....once you navigate away they are gone.
You can see what I am talking about here to get an fairly good idea of what ICS is or at least could be like on your device.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=18664302#post18664302
This is only a launcher and not a ROM or the actual ICS...for any newbs out there.

with ICS on a button'd device
menu=menu
home=home
back=back
search=search
home longpress = multitask.
software buttons will not display.

DirkGently said:
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Click to collapse
Is that real? It seems a bit odd that the kernel version is still 2.x when ICS (of the Galaxy Nexus) is 3.x.

Theonew said:
Is that real? It seems a bit odd that the kernel version is still 2.x when ICS (of the Galaxy Nexus) is 3.x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both the N1 and NS have the SDK ports being worked on:
http://androidcommunity.com/ice-cream-sandwich-sdk-port-running-on-the-nexus-one-video-20111021/
So this is how the buttons will be configured for older devices.
Google have said that the Source code will be released "soon", which is the word they always use and usually means sometime between now and months from now. Hopefully it won't be a long wait and then we'll have some proper ROMs, like CM9 to play with.

DirkGently said:
Both the N1 and NS have the SDK ports being worked on:
http://androidcommunity.com/ice-cream-sandwich-sdk-port-running-on-the-nexus-one-video-20111021/
So this is how the buttons will be configured for older devices.
Google have said that the Source code will be released "soon", which is the word they always use and usually means sometime between now and months from now. Hopefully it won't be a long wait and then we'll have some proper ROMs, like CM9 to play with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with this google soon could mean 1 month or 2 , and the nexus s getting 4.0 after that galaxy nexus been released kind of sucks I still got my nexus s (only because I want ICS) and I wish it would be released before or something
Sent from my iPhone 4S

mtmerrick said:
with ICS on a button'd device
menu=menu
home=home
back=back
search=search
home longpress = multitask.
software buttons will not display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. I'm pretty sure they'll have an option to either turn it off, or not have it at all on a capacitive button device

Looking forward to these changes. Now, just see how long it takes to come to the bionic.

If the phone already has hardware buttons, the virtual buttons won't be enabled. As simple as that.

Personally I'd rather have the capacitative buttons and more screen space! Moving the buttons on-screen is a move toward the iOS style, which I think has too many buttons cluttering the display.
Barry Fruitman
Comet Apps

BarryF said:
Personally I'd rather have the capacitative buttons and more screen space! Moving the buttons on-screen is a move toward the iOS style, which I think has too many buttons cluttering the display.
Barry Fruitman
Comet Apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every one is entitled to their opinion, but for me I see it as a very good decision. Google must have too or they would not have put it in ICS.
I think not requiring devices to have capacitive buttons will hopefully lower the cost of devices some cause OEM's will not have to put them on their new devices. Also it will hopefully extend the life of a device seeing as their is no non needed external hardware buttons to worry about them malfunctioning.
I personally have a Acer Iconia A500 tablet and I love the virtual buttons at the bottom in Honeycomb. You get better response times from the onscreen keys then with hardware keys, or at least that is what I have noticed when using my tablet and my HTC Sensation side beside. Also I am sure sense this is the initial implementation of this on all Android devices that it will get more development to this feature. And who knows you might even be able to hide and summon the keys at will some how either now or in the future. Of course from what i have seen the older devices with capacitive buttons will still use those buttons and not have the virtual buttons on screen, unless there may be a need for them by certain apps. So unless you upgrade to a Android 4.0 native device, the virtual buttons will not really effect you right now.

BarryF said:
Personally I'd rather have the capacitative buttons and more screen space! Moving the buttons on-screen is a move toward the iOS style, which I think has too many buttons cluttering the display.
Barry Fruitman
Comet Apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you do have more screen space!
Unfortunately, you're looking at this all wrong. You have a 4.6" screen, 4.3" with the buttons. That means that when you need it—videos, gaming, etc.—you have 4.6"; when you have the buttons, you're down to 4.3". If you were to have capacitive buttons, realistically, you'd have them on the bottom accompanied by 4.3" of screen. And when you're gaming, watching videos, or using any other full-screen app... you'll still only ever have 4.3" of screen.
This is not bad. This is not "cluttering" the screen with buttons. This is maximizing the usability of each and every physical inch of your phone. You're not losing screen real-esate, you're losing the capacitive buttons and adding more screen.
And the best part? Phones will start looking a lot better. Losing those icons on the bottom makes for a much cleaner design. The future is here, and I'm liking it.

Dripz167 said:
This. I'm pretty sure they'll have an option to either turn it off, or not have it at all on a capacitive button device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed, Devs will come up with a solution

How do you feel about the physical home button now?

When the first came out I was disappointed that it was going to have a physical home button. Have had phone now since it was released (Verizon) and I gotta say it doesnt bother at all. In fact it feels like it should be there. Not sure how it would feel without it actually.
You wish it wasn't there? Used to it now? Love it...hate it?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I've grown to like it. At first I thought I would hate it but after using it some I like that it's a physical key (and that I have the option to turn off the LED backlights on the menu and back keys)

I like it, plus it doesn't really hurt to have the option.

I like it for waking the device. Reminds me of my Nexus One. Like the other poster I also love that Samsung made it so we can disable the backlight for the softkeys. On my Thunderbolt it took a separate app for that. I vote yes for the home button .

After spending 2 years with 4 capacitive buttons on the Vibrant, I find the physical button to be preferable. I love being able to find the home button by feel.
On the Vibrant I would frequently manage to hit the menu or back buttons by mistake, especially in low light conditions.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Stresa said:
I love being able to find the home button by feel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. I was accidentally hitting the back and menu buttons on this sgs3 until I put a case on it. Now all is well.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

I wish it was capacitive like the back and menu keys. The one thing I do like it for is the ability to wake up the phone. A lot less cumbersome than having to reach for the side of the phone.

Still hate it. Soft keys on CM10 are the way to go. Makes multitasking so much better.

I would like it more if it were sensitive, it almost had to be pressed just right and with a bit of force, makes me wonder how long it will last....
That being said I still would prefer it to not be there.

I actually really don't mind it. it comes in handy

I'm still not a fan. I feel like a physical button is more old fashioned. I have to physically move something when there's a perfectly good alternative that's both standard and more responsive. I also find a uniform row of capacitive buttons more elegant than a mix 'n' match arrangement of capacitive and physical.

It doesn't really bother me, but I definitely prefer all soft keys like the Galaxy Nexus. In fact, I still have my GNex and whenever I go back to it for a spell, I remember how much I miss the soft home button. On the other hand, the GS3 has more screen real-estate than the GNex, so that makes me feel better. But ultimately, we could have both: larger screen like the GS3 but with all soft keys across the bottom. I just feel like it takes too much time to press the home button all the way down when I could just lightly touch the soft key...

My wife has the Galaxy Nexus and I think I prefer the touch buttons. I'm use to the home button but think the phone would have been slightly better without it. Although I do like that it wakes up the phone.

I agree you don't have to worry when your physical button is going to go.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

coming from an iPhone to the SG3... i have to say i have grown accustom to having the physical button over the past four to five years and i cannot say that i would enjoy the phone as much as i do had it not had the physical button. i tend to find myself holding the phone with three fingers behind and my thumb resting gently over it as leverage, makes the phone feel more secure in my hand (i don't have a case yet).
the only problem i have found with the physical button is that it actually managed to get the top right corner "Stuck" under the phone bezel somehow and the button was constantly being pressed. all i had to do to "un-stick" it was gently push the button towards the bottom of the phone.
other than that... no problems.

Sorry double post...

I like it, but the side buttons are a pain in the butt. I always, always hit the enter key when I hit back after typing and sending a message.

Rarely use it. I prefer to use the back button to clear out of tasks when possible. OCD

I prefer a capacitive button instead.

I really like it but I think mine is already wearing down as it feels like there's something inside of it
Sent from my Rooted, Synergized (1.7) and now unlocked bootloader VZW S3!

Android big design problem.

hi guys...
since i started using an android phone i've been surprised of how the interface is poorly designed for the comfort of the user, one of the major issues for me is the "back button", and the problem is a lot worst with phones with screens over 4". everytime you need to go back you have to move your finger to the lower part of the phone where this button is located and if you dont have big hands it is very uncomfortable, it is even painful after a while,
i think that those buttons should be removed from android, now with ics and jellybean there is that software buttons that keep the same problem and also are a waste of space on the screen.
every app should have its own "back button" in some place that is easy to reach with your finger like the apps for the iphone ( dont kill me for using the iphone like an example in this particular aspect).
what do you guys think???

rodmc123 said:
hi guys...
since i started using an android phone i've been surprised of how the interface is poorly designed for the comfort of the user, one of the major issues for me is the "back button", and the problem is a lot worst with phones with screens over 4". everytime you need to go back you have to move your finger to the lower part of the phone where this button is located and if you dont have big hands it is very uncomfortable, it is even painful after a while,
i think that those buttons should be removed from android, now with ics and jellybean there is that software buttons that keep the same problem and also are a waste of space on the screen.
every app should have its own "back button" in some place that is easy to reach with your finger like the apps for the iphone ( dont kill me for using the iphone like an example in this particular aspect).
what do you guys think???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, iPhone has the back button embedded in the app and many are saying they need to implement dedicated back key in their phones. So its all about personal choice bro.
And I don't think Android needs to remove the back key and if you've used an iPhone you would know the hassle using it without a back button. Many iOS apps have back key located at various areas in their UI. So a normal user, who don't have much experience in using smartphones would get confused easily. But if dedicated back key is there, it makes all easy.
EDIT: Regarding the ICS/JB soft-keys option, if the manufactures think its a waste of space, they can simply disable it by modifying a line in one of the xml files. And if they decide they need not have to give their phones any hardware/capacitive buttons, they'll enable it. So google have given this feature as optional, and why would anyone think of removing that handy feature.

coolsandie said:
Well, iPhone has the back button embedded in the app and many are saying they need to implement dedicated back key in their phones. So its all about personal choice bro.
And I don't think Android needs to remove the back key and if you've used an iPhone you would know the hassle using it without a back button. Many iOS apps have back key located at various areas in their UI. So a normal user, who don't have much experience in using smartphones could get confused easily. But if dedicated back key is there, it makes all easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think the back button is useful, but this is an ergonomic problem.. i think having a back button in the app it is a better solution, the waste of space on the screen also sucks, and i doubt that some pepole could be confused by a button with a back-arrow icon on it

rodmc123 said:
i think the back button is useful, but this is an ergonomic problem.. i think having a back button in the app it is a better solution, the waste of space on the screen also sucks, and i doubt that some pepole could be confused by a button with a back-arrow icon on it
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Click to collapse
After all, everyone gets a User-Manual with their phones. And every people that have paid for their new shiny phone would die to boot up fast and they'll look around, and by looking around they can easily know, the arrow stands for the Back key. :silly:

rodmc123 said:
i think the back button is useful, but this is an ergonomic problem.. i think having a back button in the app it is a better solution, the waste of space on the screen also sucks, and i doubt that some pepole could be confused by a button with a back-arrow icon on it
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The main problem of the iphones back button is, is that sometimes it had different words, its in different places within the app, and its not simply a back button sometimes.
For example, when I use the keyboard on iOS, I have to tap on an area in the screen to close the keyboard, whereas on android its just a simple tap of the back button. Its just extremely consistent and I found myself tapping the empty area next to the home button on an ipod touch more than a few times expecting there to be a back button.
Although I have never used something as big as the One X, I imagine it would be hard (as you said) to reach the button without risking dropping the phone. But then I guess you buy a phone that fits your hand size, not something too big that you know will be a hassle
Sent from my MB508 using xda premium

If you use your left hand to hold the phone, why can't u use your little finger of your left hand to press the back button (it's convenient to me)
If u use the right hand, u can use the thumb of the right hand to press back.
Just my advice, no offence

rodmc123 said:
i think the back button is useful, but this is an ergonomic problem.. i think having a back button in the app it is a better solution, the waste of space on the screen also sucks, and i doubt that some pepole could be confused by a button with a back-arrow icon on it
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You sound a bit like the commercial for the iphone5 with all that trollin arround here :laugh:
The 4" the sane size for a phone!!! -like speech etc.
If you don't like it you don't buy it. What is all that wining???

chaki- said:
You sound a bit like the commercial for the iphone5 with all that trollin arround here :laugh:
The 4" the sane size for a phone!!! -like speech etc.
If you don't like it you don't buy it. What is all that wining???
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this is not an iphone vs android discussion.. i do not say the back button is not useful the thing is that the location of the button is very uncomfortable in devices with a big screen if you dont have huge hands.
i like 4,3" and 4,7" screens thats why i have a 4,3 screen.. but with the back button down there, atleast for my hand size, it is very annoying to use.
really nobody else noticed this issue?? i mean your finger is most of the time at the middle of the screen and from there you move it like a compass to the upper and lowwer part of the screen, now take a phone with a 4,3 (or bigger) display and try to do that, you have to use your other hand or you have to somehow move the phone so the bottom (where the back button is located) is reachable for your finger and in that process you can drop the phone or end up with tendinitis after a long time of use.

Mitch_Faiz_555 said:
If you use your left hand to hold the phone, why can't u use your little finger of your left hand to press the back button (it's convenient to me)
If u use the right hand, u can use the thumb of the right hand to press back.
Just my advice, no offence
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sorry but what you say does not make any sense, your "little finger" might be ridiculously large and flexible to do that.
chaki- said:
You sound a bit like the commercial for the iphone5 with all that trollin arround here :laugh:
The 4" the sane size for a phone!!! -like speech etc.
If you don't like it you don't buy it. What is all that wining???
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Click to collapse
do you know what is constructive criticism?? i like android, i like my phone i just wish they can improve the back button thing.. is that too much for you?

Personal preference. I like the dedicated back and menu buttons.
Never had a problem with them, makes switching or going through apps much faster than having to locate the back button on each app (which is not always obvious where they put it)

I'm asian. My fingers are relatively smaller than you guys but for me the buttons are very convenient to use. Mine is the S2.
Navigation bar is not a waste of the screen. Why? Because it's not just back key. There are recent apps and home too. For a futuristic full touch phone without any buttons, what do you expect for the alternatives of those 2 other keys? Gestures? That will be hard to be used.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

problem solved in ICS/JB

rodmc123 said:
sorry but what you say does not make any sense, your "little finger" might be ridiculously large and flexible to do that.
do you know what is constructive criticism?? i like android, i like my phone i just wish they can improve the back button thing.. is that too much for you?
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It's really is a personal choice.
I personally love the back button, have no problems using it with one hand, nor do with GF with her small hands and Optimus 4X HD, which is a larger phone than my Galaxy S2. Both of us cite the back button as a large factor contributing to the usability of Android.
If you don't like the back button, you can always switch to the iPhone. This is such a rare complain that I must say that you, OP, are in the sheer minority.
To add on, the fact that Windows Phone implements a back button as well shows that this is a feature that is beneficial rather than detrimental as you believe.

Logi_Ca1 said:
It's really is a personal choice.
I personally love the back button, have no problems using it with one hand, nor do with GF with her small hands and Optimus 4X HD, which is a larger phone than my Galaxy S2. Both of us cite the back button as a large factor contributing to the usability of Android.
If you don't like the back button, you can always switch to the iPhone. This is such a rare complain that I must say that you, OP, are in the sheer minority.
To add on, the fact that Windows Phone implements a back button as well shows that this is a feature that is beneficial rather than detrimental as you believe.
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i repeat, im not saying the back button is not useful!! all im saying is that the button is not well placed it is just an ergonomic problem.
for example, it would be a lot more easy to reach if they move to button to the side of the phone (contrary to the volume buttons), i know it sounds like weird place to put it, but if you take your phone you will notice that is a place where you always could easy reach the button without using your other hand or move the phone.

I like the back button too. As I don't need to rely on app developer to setup a back button

rodmc123 said:
i repeat, im not saying the back button is not useful!! all im saying is that the button is not well placed it is just an ergonomic problem.
for example, it would be a lot more easy to reach if they move to button to the side of the phone (contrary to the volume buttons), i know it sounds like weird place to put it, but if you take your phone you will notice that is a place where you always could easy reach the button without using your other hand or move the phone.
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You could use this app (requires root though) :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smart.swkey
It provides on screen functionality for navigation keys, which could be placed anywhere on the screen of your choice.

rodmc123, may I aks what device you are using? I believe it's also a manner of the ergonomics of the device itself. Many flagship devices have large screens and while design is nice, ergonomics may lose. I use the HTC One S momentarily (planning to rid it when new Nexus phones appeal), which is 2.56 by 5.15 inch, with a (screen) diagonal of 4.3 inch. That's too large for me to handle with one hand. Even though I'm not having much trouble using both hands most of the time, I do find it inconvinient I have to.
And indeed, there's the software button vs hardware button discussion. I believe it is simply mostly due to the ergonomics of the device itself, and depending on the OEM, software overlays creating additional bugs. Again, I'm a HTC user, got quite a bit of these stupid design flaws myself.

I can see the OP's point here, I started of with an HTC Hero which had quite a unique design with it's angled "chin" It was just the right size for one-handed operation. I upgraded to an HTC Sensation, being left handed, I run into trouble reaching the home button with my thumb. In fact using all the Hardware buttons at the bottom of the device does require shifting upwards in my palm.
It's got me wondering, would the hardware buttons be better off at the top? This being Android of course we don't need to wonder, we can try it out! Cyanogenmod for example allows full 360 rotation, although I might have to hack the Launcher a little bit to move the static app bar, I'm sure there was a setting for that pre-cm9, No matter it's just a case of editing the source or the layout xml. I'll just have to get used the upside down symbols.

Senzune said:
rodmc123, may I aks what device you are using? I believe it's also a manner of the ergonomics of the device itself. Many flagship devices have large screens and while design is nice, ergonomics may lose. I use the HTC One S momentarily (planning to rid it when new Nexus phones appeal), which is 2.56 by 5.15 inch, with a (screen) diagonal of 4.3 inch. That's too large for me to handle with one hand. Even though I'm not having much trouble using both hands most of the time, I do find it inconvinient I have to.
And indeed, there's the software button vs hardware button discussion. I believe it is simply mostly due to the ergonomics of the device itself, and depending on the OEM, software overlays creating additional bugs. Again, I'm a HTC user, got quite a bit of these stupid design flaws myself.
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i have a motorola atrix 2.. anyway i dont think its the ergonomics of this particular device, i think any phone with a big screen would have the same issue with the back button placed at the bottom.
like i said, at the opposite side of the volume buttons would be the best place if you think of the position of your hand and your fingers when you are holding the phone.