ICS POLL .....to have soft buttons or not is the question????

[tdpolo26]

ICS POLL .. droid 4...to have soft buttons or not is the question????

considering we already have capacitive buttons on the bottom would you want the soft buttons or no
me personally i hate them. I tried the on my friends Gnex and i was not impressed. It takes up screen realestate if they dont come up i guess you are SOL. they were not easy to see, and it was just wierd to use.

 

[iGrizz]

It takes some getting use to. However you can infinitely modify them to look and do whatever you want. I love how they disappear when the screen is off. It gives the phone a clean and refreshing look.

 

[JeffDenver]

It takes some getting use to. However you can infinitely modify them to look and do whatever you want. I love how they disappear when the screen is off. It gives the phone a clean and refreshing look.

Thats exactly what I dont like about them. I dont like having to rely on the OS to get access to Nav buttons. If the OS lags, the buttons will lag too.

 

[tdpolo26]

It takes some getting use to. However you can infinitely modify them to look and do whatever you want. I love how they disappear when the screen is off. It gives the phone a clean and refreshing look.

you know i never thought much of the clean look but i guess i do like the look but know that i look at mine i dont really notice them when the phone is not running. However you do raise a valid point. still like a few permanant buttons

 

[Htown315]

Thats exactly what I dont like about them. I dont like having to rely on the OS to get access to Nav buttons. If the OS lags, the buttons will lag too.

Lol I can tell you have never handled a Gnex.

 

[tdpolo26]

Lol I can tell you have never handled a Gnex.

well it was built for the gnex and obviously works pretty good for it. in this thread we are kinda talking about its functionality on other phones. considering the gnex is the only phone on the market without any type of capacitive or hard buttons for controls. so his thoughts about lag or problems could be true with certain builders or roms depending on stability of a os that is adapted for a chip it was not designed around

 

[Htown315]

Ya having 2 sets of buttons would be kinda stupid and a waste of screen space. I am sure the soft buttons will get left out of the moto updates.

 

[tgyberg]

well it was built for the gnex and obviously works pretty good for it. in this thread we are kinda talking about its functionality on other phones. considering the gnex is the only phone on the market without any type of capacitive or hard buttons for controls. so his thoughts about lag or problems could be true with certain builders or roms depending on stability of a os that is adapted for a chip it was not designed around

Actually the first software buttons were there in Honeycomb. Phones with hard buttons wont get the software buttons at all.

 

[JeffDenver]

Lol I can tell you have never handled a Gnex.

You can tell wrong then, LOL

When I used it I found it annoying that they were not persistent, and I think most users will also be annoyed by it. The fact that it is not currently lagging does not mean it wont lag in the future, when apps will take greater advantage of the hardware.

 

[tdpolo26]

Ya having 2 sets of buttons would be kinda stupid and a waste of screen space. I am sure the soft buttons will get left out of the moto updates.

yeah i think it is going to be left out of almost all phones. i have a feeling it really isnt going to catch on but who knows it was an interesting step. I still would like to see a dedicated home and back button at the minimum

 

[JeffDenver]

I still would like to see a dedicated home and back button at the minimum

This.

When I used the Nexus I hated that the buttons were not persistent. It made navigation more of a chore than it needs to be IMO. I predict most users will feel the same way.

 

[Htown315]

I would like to see more phones with soft buttons actually. They work flawlessly (@Jeff Denver). They are there when you need them and disappear when you don't need them to expand your screen size. Basically the only way the nexus is able to rock a 4.65" screen and still be the same size as a razr is due to the soft buttons. Idk just my .02

 

[tgyberg]

Yea, the software buttons are just hell on earth! Not. I don't even notice the difference..

 

[tdpolo26]

I would like to see more phones with soft buttons actually. They work flawlessly (@Jeff Denver). They are there when you need them and disappear when you don't need them to expand your screen size. Basically the only way the nexus is able to rock a 4.65" screen and still be the same size as a razr is due to the soft buttons. Idk just my .02

well i agree with most things in your post.... there is plenty of room for some capacative buttons on the gnex with out shrinking the screen.

 

[JeffDenver]

Looking at the front of the case, there is plenty of room for hard buttons IMO. If they are software based, they will be subject to the same limitations as any other controls on screen. They do NOT appear instantly between screen transitions. I saw this myself when I used it.

They appear fast enough right now, but if the system was to lag (for whatever reason) those controls would lag with it.