Why does every Android phone seem to have a different arrangement of buttons?

[Chris.Nelson]

Even my original Droid and my Droid Razr have Menu, Home, Back, and Search in different orders. Is there some mystical significance to trying out all 24 combinations like the 9 Billion Names of God?

 

[b-jammin21]

I've always wondered the same thing. The OG's button order was ideal to me, especially with the back button on the left. Then, the moved them around on the DX and I never understood why. It doesn't seem natural to stick the back button 3 spaces from the left. I dunno...

 

[Dave12308]

Here's an article talking about that exact thing:

The Problem with Inconsistent Button Layouts on Android - Tested

Basically, there is no reason other than the lack of a standard. The buttons themselves are standardized by Google, but not the layout. The reason for the variations among different designs by the same company is due to the fact that there are different teams working on different devices.

FWIW, the folks who wrote the article seem to think the Droid X/Galaxy S button order (Menu, Home, Back, Search) is the best layout, and they explain why this is so.

 

[Chris.Nelson]

But Motorola doesn't talk to Motorola?!?

I can see it differing between brands but my Droid and my Razr are different!

 

[gflam]

My og and evo 3d are different too at first I hated the way the 3vo was being used to the of but now logically it makes more sense to me how my 3vo is and don't like the setup if my og anymore ha

3vo is home menu back and search

Sent from my evo 3d at 1.8ghz

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

It has taken me almost two months to get used to the difference between the Droid 1 and the Bionic. And they moved the damn power button on the Bionic too!!

 

[gflam]

Was playing with my gfs dinc2 yesterday and I noticed in landscape the soft buttons actually rotate with the phone was pretty cool never noticed this or saw it on any android phone.

Sent from my evo 3d at 1.8ghz

 

[rubiksc00p]

The menu-home-back-search setup is best imho. Settings is used a lot so I like using it on the left, home is used next as much so it is number 2 and back I don't use all that much so I wouldn't want it on the left even though that seems logical. And search I use maybe once a day so it's not as common therefore on the right! That's what I've always liked!

 

[JSM9872]

This thread made me chuckle a little bit. Not about the discussion but how true it is. When I switched from the D1 to the DX I hit the wrong buttons all the time, still do on occasion and I have been using it for a few months now lol.

But now being mostly used to it I do agree that the DX order seems to feel better IMO.

 

[jstafford1]

I wish they'd lose the search button. It took me a bit to get used to the new order, but I don't mind it now. But I never use the search button and look forward to its demise on future phones. Starting with ICS and phones with no permanent soft keys the search button is going away.
As to a lack of a standard, not sure. It seems since Froyo all phones have the menu,home,back,search layout. But I may be wrong about that. I haven't looked in a while.

LLR0717

 

[Arodnum1]

I wish they'd lose the search button. It took me a bit to get used to the new order, but I don't mind it now. But I never use the search button and look forward to its demise on future phones. Starting with ICS and phones with no permanent soft keys the search button is going away.
As to a lack of a standard, not sure. It seems since Froyo all phones have the menu,home,back,search layout. But I may be wrong about that. I haven't looked in a while.

LLR0717

I think you have the Froyo order correct, but I don't mind the search button, admittedly I don't use it much at all, if ever, but i'm glad its there incase I want to use it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums