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this is not a rant thread but what is what is what is the hype about capacitive screens?
for one i enjoy using my nails to click stuffs on the phone and wont this be more precise?
i do not have the fortune to have a capacitive phone before but i really want to know what is so good about this?
So many pple cant be wrong right?????????
(p/s I WANT A HTC TOUCH HD 2 NOW )
First post in a long time!!!!
Well, maybe some of you have noted that i was not posting haha. its because im busy at school.. all those knowledge things etc.
Ok, when i saw that title i was already thinking in something that could make a revolutionary change O:!!
Actually, you can fit a resistive screen layer on a capacitive screen surface.
Just with the needed configuration, driver and alternation between screens (ie: using resistive for pen works as writing programs and capacitive for multi-touching things)
Imagine, using the fingertip to scroll smoothly and writing with a pen at the same time ;D! (Just an idea... no one would do that, but anyone could do ;D)
Just with the right libaries, drivers, software and OS modifications.
cuff cuff M$ could try this on its phone or for the new wm7 cuff cuff...
Just an idea ;D!
See ya !!
The sensitivity!!! Can someone confirm if the HTC HD2 has the same sensitivity to the iphone? I know it will be much better than resistive...
leobox1 said:
i do not have the fortune to have a capacitive phone before but i really want to know what is so good about this?So many pple cant be wrong right?????????
(p/s I WANT A HTC TOUCH HD 2 NOW )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
leo... while your waiting on the LEO, just go to an at&t store and play with one on an iphonie
capacitive means that you can put a screen protector on it and it will be pretty much just as sensitive =]
but perhaps the best part is that you can just glide your finger over the surface and it will respond...resistive screens are much less sensitive.
I have read somewhere that HTC was working on a capacitive stylus though..sothat would be the best of both worlds =]
am i right to assume,
resistive = precise but not sensitive
capacitive = not precise but sensitive
Isaygarcia said:
First post in a long time!!!!
Well, maybe some of you have noted that i was not posting haha. its because im busy at school.. all those knowledge things etc.
Ok, when i saw that title i was already thinking in something that could make a revolutionary change O:!!
Actually, you can fit a resistive screen layer on a capacitive screen surface.
Just with the needed configuration, driver and alternation between screens (ie: using resistive for pen works as writing programs and capacitive for multi-touching things)
Imagine, using the fingertip to scroll smoothly and writing with a pen at the same time ;D! (Just an idea... no one would do that, but anyone could do ;D)
Just with the right libaries, drivers, software and OS modifications.
cuff cuff M$ could try this on its phone or for the new wm7 cuff cuff...
Just an idea ;D!
See ya !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wont it be thick? the screen..
leobox1 said:
this is not a rant thread but what is what is what is the hype about capacitive screens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Resistive screens work by detecting pressure, so you have to press on them, sometimes quite hard. Capacitive screens can detect the lightest of touches. So capacitive screens tend to be more responsive. If you're trying to type on an on-screen keyboard at speed then a capacitive screen is usually far better - you can actually type rapidly rather than having to methodically press. each. key. one. at. a. time.
Another important difference is that, for practical purposes, resistive screens cannot support multi-touch - they can only detect being pressed in one place at once. That means they can't do things like iPhone-style pinch-zooming which requires the phone to track you pressing in two different places at the same time. (There are multi-touch resistive displays but they're too expensive or difficult to use on a device like a phone).
The upside of resistive screens is that you can press them with almost anything. A conventional stylus won't work on a capacitive screen, neither will your fingernail - only skin. So you can't stab the screen with a convenient pen-top, and it won't work if you're wearing gloves. There has been some work done on creating special capacitive styluses - I'm not sure how well they work in practice and they're not yet widely available.
skulk3r said:
capacitive means that you can put a screen protector on it and it will be pretty much just as sensitive =]
but perhaps the best part is that you can just glide your finger over the surface and it will respond...resistive screens are much less sensitive.
I have read somewhere that HTC was working on a capacitive stylus though..sothat would be the best of both worlds =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A capacitive one works like the touchpad of a laptop. Sometimes i would prefer a capacitive screen on my Touch HD but sometimes even not. Because you can get much easylier error inputs with a capacitive screen. It just needs that your finger touchs slidly the screen and a input is made. But with a resistive screen you really have to press on it.
A screen with both tecs would be nice, have read something about this, but don´t remember who is inventing this.
Don't know if it's because it's capacitive, but the iPhone screen always seems more readable in direct sunlight compared to my Touch Pro (or Touch 3G, or Touch).
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits. I also can't get my head around pinch to zoom - I love watching iPhone users trying to demonstrate the feature with one hand, sort of juggling it around trying not to drop it. I prefer double tapping on the bit you want to zoom in on. I can't wait to play with a Leo and see which works best in a 'Windows Phone' environment.
Ouzo said:
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits. I also can't get my head around pinch to zoom - I love watching iPhone users trying to demonstrate the feature with one hand, sort of juggling it around trying not to drop it. I prefer double tapping on the bit you want to zoom in on. I can't wait to play with a Leo and see which works best in a 'Windows Phone' environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well obviously pinch-zoom is not designed to work one-handed, but then neither is using a stylus. One advantage of pinch-zoom is that it lets you pick which part of the screen you want to zoom in on and exactly how much you want to zoom in by. Using a zoom-bar doesn't give you any control over where it zooms - it'll always pick (say) the top left hand corner of the screen as a reference point; double-tapping lets you pick where to zoom, but not by how much. Other solutions require additional gestures or presses. Pinch-zooming is also extremely intuitive - non-technical people get the hang of it instantly. Other types of multi-touch gesture are often very intuitive too; for example, running Google Earth on the iPhone, if you want to rotate the map you simply take hold of it and twist.
I think it's interesting how many people were claiming that resistive is better than capacitive whenever they were trying to bash the iphone, yet now those same people can't wait to get their hands on the Leo's capacitive screen.
Personally, I'd rather have resistive. The difference in sensitivity isn't great (so many HD reviews said how close it was to the sensitivity of the iphone). Multitouch is overrated. You can easily zoom in and out with a circle motion on a resistive screen. For me, neither of those capacitive advantages comes close to the benefit of being able to select with a stylus far more accurately than you ever can with a finger. No need to pinch-zoom in to select that link on a web page, or to select a cell in a spreadsheet. That's what's important to me.
capacitive is not good for drawing precise pics right?
HP tablet laptops have some hybrid of resistive and capacitive screens. They have a switch on the side that flicks between them and so they support multi-touch AND stylus
HP Laptop
My mates got one and its dead impressive. Just a shame the screens only 12" If they had them on 17" laptops like the one im using i'd be well up for it!
Capacitive and pinch zoom are both well overrated!
I can touch the screen of my X1 and it responds - no pressure. And I can zoom in by double tapping. Can't see what all the fuss is about to be honest. Probably something started by iPhone fanboys!
Ouzo said:
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. I don't want to lose the accuracy of a stylus. Why should I have to zoom in to click a small link with a fat finger, when I can click it unzoomed with a stylus? Same with a cell on a spreadsheet.
Multitouch is just a gimmick that really doesn't add anything useful. Either double tap or use the circle gesture to zoom/unzoom.
RIM applied for a patent for a dual capacitive/resistive screen about a month or two.. so someone is working on it.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/05/rim-patent-filing-reveals-hybrid-capacitive-resistive-touchscr/
Monty Burns said:
HP tablet laptops have some hybrid of resistive and capacitive screens. They have a switch on the side that flicks between them and so they support multi-touch AND stylus
HP Laptop
My mates got one and its dead impressive. Just a shame the screens only 12" If they had them on 17" laptops like the one im using i'd be well up for it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats my laptop, did not know it had a hybrid screen. there no switch on the side, the pen works and the multi touch works (i think, if i press in 2 places it the marker goes to the middle) without press any switch.
People who say there x1, diamond 2s and so one are as sensitive as an iPhone, have not tried seeing how gently you can touch it.
I do like capacitives screens, but I will feel lost without a stylus.
Has anyone else noticed on the iPhone, it doesnt respond to a touch with a nail, but if you touch with you finger and then without taking your finger off put it so only your nail is on the screen it still responds!?
Hopefully HTC will soon release the capacitive stylus that isnt a joke like the pogostick one.
Shasarak does make a very good point though regarding the extra operation being involved after double tapping in a particular area - I guess I'm taking the 'scroll wheel' on my Touch Pro for granted and using it to do the second operation without even thinking about it ; )
As an aside, boy would I like to see physical scroll wheels with navipads underneath make a return, not to mention dedicated camera buttons!
I can't say for other tablets, but on the Transformer at least the soft keys for back, home, and multitasking are hard to use like they are. This tablet is so wide that it feels sort of silly to use it in the portriat orientation and it’s just a little too heavy to be held with just one hand in landscape for any significant length of time, so after a while I find myself gripping the sides with both hands and using my thumbs for navigation. This is all well and good until I need to use one of the soft keys at the bottom. It seems like they would be so much more useful at the top, so that you could hold onto the tablet with two hands and still be able to hit the back button quickly if you need to, which I always find myself doing when I'm on the internet and trying to go back from a page that had loaded a flash video. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this but I literally have to hit the back button 4 times really quick in succession or the page with the flash will just refresh over and over again.
But what seems even better than having the soft keys at the top is to just not have them at all and instead use a multitouch gesture based system for doing the same things. I believe the iPad had something similar in an early developers build of iOS 4 or 5. The gestures could be designed with thumb use in mind and maybe a thin strip along sides of the screen to serve as an area where the gestures can be preformed. Or one thick strip could be used on one side to completely replace the huge bottom bar, which seems to both be in the wrong place and take up more space than it needs
I like it how it is. But I am strange.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
One of the coolest features on ICS is the lack of capacitive buttons on the phone. the nexus has done it, the tablets have done it - why do companies like HTC and Samsung insist on using capacitive buttons on their ICS ready flagship phones? Isn't it time we get rid of these buttons once and for all?
Some people like or are used to buttons...
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
While people still buy phones with buttons... manufacturers don't have reasons to change
I guess, cause users still like them..
I for myself, would love to have a trackball and I would even pay some bugs more to have a new ICS device with a trackball.
For sure, it's cool without any buttons, but usability of a trackball is unbeatable.
Sent from my Premium Xx
I think it will happen in the next round of phone releases. You can see with the new lines coming out that they have diminished the number of buttons transitioning, if you will, to the no button design.
The only advantage to having the physical buttons it's the screen realestate is not taken up by the nav bar. For example, the 4.65 in Galaxy Nexus is much smaller than the 4.7 in of the One X. As the nav bar buttons take up the bottom at all times, though im sure they still auto hide when necessary.
You get the idea...
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
I'm one of those old fashioned people who actually likes hard buttons on my phone. As I see it, I want fast access to the actual phone. I realize I'm one of a dying breed who likes the answer and end buttons, among others, but the main function of my phone is to be a phone. I like to be able to feel for the buttons in a dark room or in my pocket. I like that if my digitizer dies, I can still make and receive calls until a replacement arrives. Yes, hard buttons are just one more thing to go wrong, but they provide me with more benefits than anything.
-- Sent from my TouchPad using Communities
cajunflavoredbob said:
I'm one of those old fashioned people who actually likes hard buttons on my phone. As I see it, I want fast access to the actual phone. I realize I'm one of a dying breed who likes the answer and end buttons, among others, but the main function of my phone is to be a phone. I like to be able to feel for the buttons in a dark room or in my pocket. I like that if my digitizer dies, I can still make and receive calls until a replacement arrives. Yes, hard buttons are just one more thing to go wrong, but they provide me with more benefits than anything.
-- Sent from my TouchPad using Communities
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Benefits of Capacitive and Hard keys out way the "cool factor" of the navigation bar.
~E.R.A.
Some people may like it. But I believe its essential. In case the screen freezes or touch stops responding theres always a hardware button to get through right?
I think sum people dont like to use touch phone..
I'm generally OK without mechanical buttons on the device. I do wish it had a dedicated camera button. Taking pictures by tapping the screen makes it much harder to get a good, quick picture.
I'd rather my row of four capacitative buttons than a few on screen icons. It bothers me when there is screen real estate not available to apps, as is the case when there are buttons there. I'm sure they can probably auto hide or whatever, but they are there at least some of the time and I'd rather just have them as buttons.
The on-screen buttons have a lot of disadvantages as well, one of them is you can't quick reset your phone. If touchscreen stops responding, you can do nothing!
A minimal button is at least needed!
Samsung does it to copy iPhone. All they care about is stealing users from Apple. Since most Apple users aren't sophisticated, they get scared when they see a phone with no buttons.
tahsin.arnob said:
The on-screen buttons have a lot of disadvantages as well, one of them is you can't quick reset your phone. If touchscreen stops responding, you can do nothing!
A minimal button is at least needed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well not necessarily true as power buttons more than likely won't go away, as well as volume buttons which can be used for a hard reset in the event the touch screen is unresponsive.
In Android devices, I want mechanical buttons. There ease the situations, like advanced user methods. However, on WP7 (f.e. Lumia 800/900) i dont want mechanical buttons, but capacitive yes. On-screen buttons? Danke, nein. Camera button wont standard at everywhere.
Sent from my Blade using XDA
Because some buttons are actually pretty necesary. Power button, for example. How else are you gonna use your phone?
Many times I do wish there were send and end buttons.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA
masondoctorjt said:
Many times I do wish there were send and end buttons.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA
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Click to collapse
Yup. One of many reasons I still use my HD2.
IMHO none of the reasons listed so far makes sense. The Samsung Galaxy series has garnered enough reputation that people will buy the damn thing with or without buttons. I think it's something with their designers or someone further up in the company that got scared about lack of physical buttons (even though power and volume buttons are still there.)
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.
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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!
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
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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???
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.