I love the overall design of Droid and Droid X. But what's up with the physical buttons? Why can't Moto make them touch buttons? Pressing a touch buttons feels so different compared to pressing a physical button. And with Android, you have to touch the screen and press those buttons ALL the time. It feels so awkward and uncomfortable to switch between touch screen and physical buttons.
Am I the only one?
I actually like the physical buttons. I'm sure there are others like you that don't like them, but to me they are no big deal.
I prefer having the physical buttons, I like knowing that I pressed the button, not assuming that the system received my input.
HostileJava said:
I prefer having the physical buttons, I like knowing that I pressed the button, not assuming that the system received my input.
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^^ This... As a person coming from the Nexus One and its non-physical buttons I'm very happy with this. No more hitting home or menu 3,4 or 5 times to get it to register.
I'd have to think the physical buttons are also useful in letting you wake up the phone ergonomically rather than having to reach around to the top power button.
I too like the physical buttons. Not sure what it would feel like the other way though .. may like that too.
Not that it helps a "VZW Slave" like me, but you could always go with an EVO. It has capacitive buttons, doesn't it?
I had EVO before returning it and got DROID X. I didn't like touch buttons on EVO because sometimes I accidently brushed Search button while holding the phone and the search box popped up while I am trying to do something. So I actually prefer physical buttons over touch buttons. The only touch button on DROID X that I don't like is the Camera button. They should've made that touch screen to take photo. I fixed that easily by using Vignette camera app.
I am all for the physical buttons. Nexus One buttons often times wouldn't register.
Zaphod-Beeblebrox said:
... you could always go with an EVO. It has capacitive buttons, doesn't it?
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I had the EVO for a few weeks. I could never figure out a way to hold it, especially in landscape, without pressing the search button all the time. There are downside to physical buttons, but I'll take the X's hard buttons over EVO's soft ones any day.
Like the others, I love the physical buttons. Id always hit search on my Droid, even with the lip at the bottom. With the X, I only hit buttons when I mean to.
I'm with the OP, I like the touch screen buttons. I came from a Blackberry Storm 9530 with physical buttons, to a Droid without, and a Droid X with the buttons again.
I definitely prefer the the latter. It looks smoother and the physical buttons just seem a big awkward to be honest. However, everyone has their opinion and I am happy with the Droid X. I do hope we can eventually install some custom ROMs though.
I am rather fond of actual buttons... Though, coming from a Blackberry Storm, The Home/menu keys are "backwards"
akajetta said:
I am rather fond of actual buttons... Though, coming from a Blackberry Storm, The Home/menu keys are "backwards"
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I went from a Droid to an Eris to my X. All 3 had the buttons in a different order :facepalm:
I would say Moto could've done a better job on the buttons. They're workable, and I puffer then to soft ones, but there're not separated, so hard to tell which you're on by touch alone. And they are a little too wobbly. The buttons I remember on my Axim 51x and Palm Vx were ideal.
I enjoyed/enjoy the physical buttons on my Voyager. They were far apart and I couldn't place my thumb over the entire keyboard. Now moving on to a touch only phone (whenever Verizon ****ing ships it) the biggest thing that drew me to the Droid X was that the keyboard was much MUCH easier to use over the Incredible.
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why can't they make those as button instead of touch.Hate those !!!!
I agree, I kept hitting the home button when i try to bring up the list of programs or the other way around.
maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'd MUCH prefer a capacitive button to a physical one, You never have to worry about getting dust in it and it always looks much cleaner (literally and figuratively)
For those of you who own it and use it often, the simple question is whether the placement of the power button gets in your way?
I am right-handed and thus hold tablets in my left hand to poke at it with my right hand. Since I don't own one yet, I haven't had much experience with day to day use and whether 'just grabbing it' often results in hitting the power button accidentally.
As well as whether when you have it in your lap or on something (backpack, lap, blanket, whatever) if the items underneath, assuming they are not perfectly flat, accidentally hit the power button as well.
My hope is that since I don't see many/any posts dedicated to the subject.. that it's good news and the power button isn't that big of a deal.
Thanks. Can't wait for the Wifi X (cause I missed the 25% off chance).
I have never accidentally hit the power button. I'm right handed too.
The biggest issue you may have with the buttons placement is when you have the device on a flat surface, it requires you to lift the top left of the Xoom to hit the button. Personally, this hasn't bothered me at all. I barely just have my device laying flat on a table, usually it rests in my lap or my hands.
But I can almost assure you, problems with accidentally hitting the button probably will not arise.
I do have a gel case on mine though, but i just took it off to test this for you:
Running my finger across the back of the Xoom with decent pressure still won't cause the button to be pushed in when my finger crosses it.
So resting it in your lap wouldn't cause an accidental push.
And if it does for whatever reason, a gel case would do good to counteract that since it makes the button deeper down. but the way its set up, you really should see no problem.
Agreed! I most of the time actually have to search for the button especially when using the trick to turn it upside-down when charging. I think the design is good and I agree that I hardly have it laying flat either since the viewing angles are mediocre
My beef is with the volume buttons. Too tiny. The power button is high enough that it avoids accidental contact with hand during one handed operation.
ZBoater said:
My beef is with the volume buttons. Too tiny. The power button is high enough that it avoids accidental contact with hand during one handed operation.
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Agree'd, it took me about this whole first week to get use to these volume buttons. They are kind of hard to press in depending on the angle you're coming at them, and the Case makes it harder because you're unsure when you're trying to hit the buttons it you're actually hitting the buttons because of the huge space between them.
I like it where it is. It's very convenient.
Couldn't be in a better place, very convenient, for me.
Evo Better Than The Best...
I have never accidentally pressed it, I actually like it's placement quite a bit, it makes sense for me because of where I hold the tablet from.
Elysian893 said:
I have never accidentally pressed it, I actually like it's placement quite a bit, it makes sense for me because of where I hold the tablet from.
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Same for me...right handed.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Thanks everyone.. the answers are what I expected.. just wanted to confirm. 19 votes at the moment and 100% of them say the power button location is just fine. Thanks again.
1st post here!!! Great forum BTW. No problems at all with hitting the power button by mistake. Xoom is a great device. Needs a little polishing, but all in all a great device!
I have never once hit it by accident. I've also never had any trouble pressing or finding it when I DID want to. After a day of getting used to it, it really is an extremely natural position to have it in.
Yes, the one inconvenience is if it's lying flat on a surface, and you intend on turning the screen on and then leaving it in that position. Really though, when is this ever going happen?
This is Android though. So if the ability to fully map one of the volume buttons (on the upper-left side of the xoom) to turn the screen on/off doesn't already exist (via an app or ROM), you can bet it will soon. I've seen forum threads with titles suggesting such an app already exists, but I've never looked for it myself bc I don't think it's necessary
Add me to the group that loves where its at
+1,
I like the location of the Power button and have never had issue.
That's the only thing I'd change about the hardware. I like the standard '4 softkeys' layout used in many other android phones, a hard button is just harder to use, prone to mechanical failure, and not as elegant.
I think Samsung was trying to keep the same layout as the Galaxy S, but since the rest of the phone is so different, I wish they hadn't.
Well... I'm sure that some day in the near future, there will come a phone that's simply one giant touch screen with like a millimeter bezel. We dont really need the softkeys either.
harder to use? seriously?
and why are soft keys sturdier than hardware keys???
i like having hardware to rely on, i feel more sound knowing i can always long press to get my task manager going, idk if id trust a soft key task manager.. i feel like if my phone is lagging the soft key may as well.. well it may all just be in my head, but i feel better
As nice as my samsung vibrant soft keys were, they lag terrible after the stock fw. I dont mind hardware button and didnt remember samsung galaxy s ever have a problem with the hardware button.
ECrispy said:
That's the only thing I'd change about the hardware. I like the standard '4 softkeys' layout used in many other android phones, a hard button is just harder to use, prone to mechanical failure, and not as elegant.
I think Samsung was trying to keep the same layout as the Galaxy S, but since the rest of the phone is so different, I wish they hadn't.
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Guess it's a preference thing...'cause I actually like the physical button in the middle...
I don't like the button also, samsung tried to follow the iPhone recipe but the phone is just that good that it did not need to. doesn't need a hw button in my opinion.
soraxd said:
i like having hardware to rely on, i feel more sound knowing i can always long press to get my task manager going, idk if id trust a soft key task manager.. i feel like if my phone is lagging the soft key may as well.. well it may all just be in my head, but i feel better
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TBH these days all buttons are "soft keys". They just send a signal to an input controller. If it locks up, tough
The hero had a hard-combination that rebooted it in almost any situation (call + menu + end call), but they are physical buttons...
What does this mean? Well, tbh you can get to your task manager just as easy with a soft-key capacitive button, as if it's locked up, neither will work (presuming we are talking the same definition of locked up being hugely loaded on CPU, where a task needs killed?)
I hated the soft keys on my Nexus One. They seemed very finicky to register and had a couple of hundred millisecond delay before the haptic feedback kicked in as well, which made them very unpleasant to use.
The S II's software keys seem much nicer to use, but as far as I'm concerned I would ideally like all the keys to be hardware, as on the HTC Desire.
i have mixed feelings. the softkeys are better for ergonomics and speed of flow. tapping around the screen quicly to do your daily tasks and then tapping the back or menu button just flows easily, they are all screen taps and only need light pressure. tap-tap-tap-TAP-tap-tap etc
but having to throw in a hardware button into that ruins the muscle motion. tap-tap-tap-tap-tap and press-tap-tap-tap. its way easier to just go with all touch screen taps rather than having to switch it up to a hardware button.
HOWEVER, the physical button makes it better for screen wake up to not have to always hit the power button. and in a "smart" world the physical button would also be a notification light, so that would be the other advantage. but samsung didnt think too hard on this last point...duh.
I agree with the point about wakeup - its easier to hit the big button. I wish phones would let you use any of the hardware buttons to wakeup.
RogerPodacter said:
i have mixed feelings. the softkeys are better for ergonomics and speed of flow. tapping around the screen quicly to do your daily tasks and then tapping the back or menu button just flows easily, they are all screen taps and only need light pressure. tap-tap-tap-TAP-tap-tap etc
but having to throw in a hardware button into that ruins the muscle motion. tap-tap-tap-tap-tap and press-tap-tap-tap. its way easier to just go with all touch screen taps rather than having to switch it up to a hardware button.
HOWEVER, the physical button makes it better for screen wake up to not have to always hit the power button. and in a "smart" world the physical button would also be a notification light, so that would be the other advantage. but samsung didnt think too hard on this last point...duh.
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Agree with every word. Not a deal breaker and I never used the search button except as a long press so I dont miss that. Any hard button can break though which is a downer and this one being the home button it will certainly see plenty of use. Hopefully the button is robust unlike the hardware buttons on my N1.
Must say I wasnt sure coming from a Desire on having 3 buttons and 2 of those being touch...
But i love it and can't get use to using my Desire S now!... love having the 3 buttons with the proper buttom as the home
I think it's a smart decision to have at least one hw key. I hate having to stretch finger all the way to power button to unlock my phone. I personally prefer all hw keys like Xperia's.
Hope expansys ships my today's order in time for weekend
I love having 1 hardware button and 2 soft keys (I'm glad there is no search button, I hate it).
The hardware buttons on my old Desire is what sold it to me over the Nexus. I love the big button that's easy to find in the dark.
I do miss the search button but Samsung have got around that wherein if you hold down menu the search box comes up in apparently that require one.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I want call and end buttons. BUT
Touch buttons are way easier to use and navigate with while tapping.
Compromise would be really easy to push shallow buttons. Really easy to push. But not too easy.
I like to END my calls with a nice firm push.
I wish it had more hardware buttons!
I personally really hate the lack of an 'end call' hardware button. If you ring someone by accident and the phone crashes and your left on the phone to somone you dont want to be, and your fiddling about trying to pull the battery! Theres loads more examples of needing a hardware 'end call' button. I miss it
Being pretty satisfied with SGS experience I still miss some mechanical buttons on my Hero. It was so convenient being able to initiate a call, hang up and put the phone to sleep without even looking at the screen. Especially I loved the idea of combined hang up/power button on the front panel - when the phone call ends you simply double-tap the button and it hands up and then turns off the screen.
Would you agree this iPhone-like elimination of mechanical buttons sacrifices phone usability for the sake of aesthetics?
i have voted a full qwerty, but i think a camera dedicated button would be nice...
Camerabutton would be awsome
BTW my homebutton isnt working ):
You can answer, hang up and turn the screen off with home and power button, so what you want is partially already there and i prefer it more than any more buttons on the front panel.
Don't know how you would initialize a call with a single button though, as you have to find a contact or type a number.
And i don't quite get it, you have a Hero now or SGS? or both?
opica said:
You can answer, hang up and turn the screen off with home and power button, so what you want is partially already there and i prefer it more than any more buttons on the front panel.
Don't know how you would initialize a call with a single button though, as you have to find a contact or type a number.
And i don't quite get it, you have a Hero now or SGS? or both?
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Sorry, by "initiate" I meant "answer", which is actually available on SGS via home button. On the other hand reaching the power button is not so convenient when I compare it to that on Hero which is located on the front panel and can be easily reached by thumb, no matter what hand you are holding the phone in.
Hey Everyone,
I got my Noreve case, and one thing I'm quite happy with is how it makes the power and volume buttons much harder to hit accidentally.
This is because it reverses the situation:
On the stock note the buttons are higher than the frame. Therefore when you hold it, it's easy to slide over and accidentally whack the power button. With the case, the case is now 'higher' than the button, and you kind of have to deliberately poke your finger in to trigger.
That being said - I was thinking about the capacitive buttons.
I'm thinking of making some sort of 'O' out of tape (?!?) or something, that covers the capacitive buttons. That way if I want to hit the button, I can poke my finger in and hit it. But if I'm just holding the phone and entering text, I am much less likely to 'rub' the back button and lose whatever I'm doing.
Need to find something that's not too cheesy looking though.
My phone is inside a case so I'm not worried about it being thicker and rubbing off in my pocket.
- Frank
You have expressed what I have been thinking about for years, since my first phone with touch-sensitive buttons ( the HTC Touch HD ).
Now I'm on my third phone with touch sensitive buttons ( Touch HD, Galaxy S, Galaxy Note ), and the same issue still plagues me : every once in a while, I would accidentally brush against the back button and it pops me back to the prev screen, which annoys the hell out of me.
Some nice stick-on buttons which require a firm press to activate would be great.
ChodTheWacko said:
Hey Everyone,
I got my Noreve case, and one thing I'm quite happy with is how it makes the power and volume buttons much harder to hit accidentally.
This is because it reverses the situation:
On the stock note the buttons are higher than the frame. Therefore when you hold it, it's easy to slide over and accidentally whack the power button. With the case, the case is now 'higher' than the button, and you kind of have to deliberately poke your finger in to trigger.
That being said - I was thinking about the capacitive buttons.
I'm thinking of making some sort of 'O' out of tape (?!?) or something, that covers the capacitive buttons. That way if I want to hit the button, I can poke my finger in and hit it. But if I'm just holding the phone and entering text, I am much less likely to 'rub' the back button and lose whatever I'm doing.
Need to find something that's not too cheesy looking though.
My phone is inside a case so I'm not worried about it being thicker and rubbing off in my pocket.
- Frank
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