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The problem of how to use a fixed set of buttons for a variety of purposes was solved much longer ago by the designers of (military) aeronautical instruments: y

The problem of how to use a fixed set of buttons for a variety of purposes was solved much longer ago by the designers of (military) aeronautical instruments: you put them on the edge of the screen which displays labels next to currently active buttons. You designate a few buttons to have fixed functions - that would be the home, back and switch buttons on Android - and leave the rest to be used by the current application.

scoot 8y ago
As used by ATMs. Horrible UX in the age of touch screens. Why is this screen not responding to my touch? Oh, buttons... And even then they don't align to the on-screen text.
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  Nothing keeps you from making those labels touch-sensitive 'in the age of touch screens'. That does mean they need to be bigger than necessary and it has the usual problems associated with touch screens - you need to visually locate the touch zone as there is no true haptic feedback - but it is possible. There is no reason for the screen text not to align to the buttons other than sloppy design.
frosted-flakes 8y ago
Like old Nokias. The ones I'm familiar with had two unlabelled buttons at the top of the keypad, with on-screen labels directly above them to signify what they did.
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  Yes, the system has been used in a limited fashion (two or three buttons on the bottom of the screen) by some manufacturers, Siemens (and their DECT-offspring Gigaset) is another example, as is Philips.
dithering 8y ago
If your purpose is to allow the device to be used when it doesn't have your full attention - like a car radio, for example - I don't think that's a good solution. I have a phone with a knurled power button, and a smooth flashlight button next to it. It's a minor example, but dynamically remapping those buttons would destroy a lot of their utility for me.
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  That is false analogy as you're opposing fixed-function devices - lamp and power - to a device which in principle has an unlimited number of functions. Even if it could also contains an unlimited number of buttons this would still not make it usable in situations where the user has to divide his attention between the device and some other task of higher importance like flying the aircraft and keeping sight of the opponent. That is just why they came up with this interface since it combines the advantages of haptic memory - button three on the left side does this in that situation - with unlimited functionality. All that it takes is a sure way to get the device in 'that situation' and a modicum of experience. A touch screen will never have this possibility as the user always needs to look at the screen to guide the digit to the target - unless the whole screen is turned into a single button of course. Buttons on the side of the screen are not the correct user interface for all activities, as an example they would be inconvenient for browsing the web [1] and useless to sign for delivery of a parcel. [1] ...but not impossible: number the links on the screen as if they are footnotes, number the buttons on the side, click the button which lies next to the desired number. If there are more links than there are buttons the last button can be used to select the next set of numbers. If there are zillions of links the last two buttons can be used to page through sets of numbers. Inconvenient, maybe, but it would work.

scoot 8y ago

As used by ATMs. Horrible UX in the age of touch screens. Why is this screen not responding to my touch? Oh, buttons... And even then they don't align to the on-screen text.

Yetanfou 8y ago
Nothing keeps you from making those labels touch-sensitive 'in the age of touch screens'. That does mean they need to be bigger than necessary and it has the usual problems associated with touch screens - you need to visually locate the touch zone as there is no true haptic feedback - but it is possible. There is no reason for the screen text not to align to the buttons other than sloppy design.

frosted-flakes 8y ago

Like old Nokias. The ones I'm familiar with had two unlabelled buttons at the top of the keypad, with on-screen labels directly above them to signify what they did.

Yetanfou 8y ago
Yes, the system has been used in a limited fashion (two or three buttons on the bottom of the screen) by some manufacturers, Siemens (and their DECT-offspring Gigaset) is another example, as is Philips.

dithering 8y ago

If your purpose is to allow the device to be used when it doesn't have your full attention - like a car radio, for example - I don't think that's a good solution. I have a phone with a knurled power button, and a smooth flashlight button next to it. It's a minor example, but dynamically remapping those buttons would destroy a lot of their utility for me.

Yetanfou 8y ago
That is false analogy as you're opposing fixed-function devices - lamp and power - to a device which in principle has an unlimited number of functions. Even if it could also contains an unlimited number of buttons this would still not make it usable in situations where the user has to divide his attention between the device and some other task of higher importance like flying the aircraft and keeping sight of the opponent. That is just why they came up with this interface since it combines the advantages of haptic memory - button three on the left side does this in that situation - with unlimited functionality. All that it takes is a sure way to get the device in 'that situation' and a modicum of experience. A touch screen will never have this possibility as the user always needs to look at the screen to guide the digit to the target - unless the whole screen is turned into a single button of course. Buttons on the side of the screen are not the correct user interface for all activities, as an example they would be inconvenient for browsing the web [1] and useless to sign for delivery of a parcel. [1] ...but not impossible: number the links on the screen as if they are footnotes, number the buttons on the side, click the button which lies next to the desired number. If there are more links than there are buttons the last button can be used to select the next set of numbers. If there are zillions of links the last two buttons can be used to page through sets of numbers. Inconvenient, maybe, but it would work.