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Sony Vaio laptops used to have a 'jog dial': a combination dial and button (basically the same as a mouse scrollwheel/button). This provided a very convenient m
by fractallyte 6y ago
Sony Vaio laptops used to have a 'jog dial': a combination dial and button (basically the same as a mouse scrollwheel/button). This provided a very convenient method of navigation, and this looks like a perfect use case for it!
- _frkl 6y agoI remember the Rockbox firmware for MP3 players having something similar. I was (and am still) amazed how efficient the UI/navigation was in relation to how limiting the (hardward) controls were on some of those players. It took a little while to understand how it works, but that tiny bit of learning curve was well worth it.
- amelius 6y agoHow about the dial on the original iPod?
- mongol 6y agoThis was also present on early Sony phones (1998-ish) Top left corner here https://youtu.be/htzwTVNfsRI https://youtu.be/htzwTVNfsRI
- ptx 6y agoAnd a bit later (2002-2007) the Sony Ericsson smartphone series based on Symbian: the P800, P900, P910, P990 and P1.
- frosted-flakes 6y agoI think early BlackBerries had that too. But I think an even better input method is the scrollball, and the small trackpad on later BlackBerries. I have the last one that had a trackpad (the 2014 Classic), and to this day I'm still amazed at how fast and precise it is. Rather than moving a mouse cursor like laptops, it moved the focus from control to control. Combined with a hardware back button beside it, you had full control over the device by moving your thumb slightly. It worked with gloves too! And desktop websites were not an obstacle because it gave you a proper mouse pointer that could precisely target small controls. Nothing else comes close to it. The Classic had a small touch screen compared to today's phones, but I think a trackpad paired with today's phablets would be a great combination.