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This is only about certain behaviours of the Back button. On my Samsung phone I have four buttons on the front of the phone plus volume control and on/off butto

This is only about certain behaviours of the Back button. On my Samsung phone I have four buttons on the front of the phone plus volume control and on/off buttons on the sides. The four buttons are invisible in dim light and even after using the damn thing for a year I'm uncertain of which button is where. As far as I'm concerned the buttons are broken.

maggit 15y ago
I have seen the Samsung Galaxy S, and the hardware buttons on the front have several problems: 1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever 2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light 3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me My HTC Legend has none of these problems: I can find the buttons in the dark by feel, and the iconography is clear. To me, the back and menu buttons (and to a lesser degree the home button) are helpful tools that I use all the time. I am planning on getting a Galaxy Nexus as soon as I can. The only worry I have about this phone is the lack of proper hardware buttons that I can locate and use by feel alone. I love (some of) the hardware buttons. So maybe it's just Samsung's implementation of the buttons that is broken, and not the concept of Android hardware buttons. I don't know :)
- weaselspice 15y ago
  Why claim it has several problems if you've only "seen" a Galaxy S. "1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever" Wrong - You can enable haptic feedback for the menu/back buttons "2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light" Wrong - They are backlit, making them easier to see in dim light "3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me" Personal experience varies, I would say they are pretty self explanatory, if not, takes about 2 seconds to learn. The bulge on the back/bottom of the Galaxy S allows you to instantly know which way your holding it, thus you always know exactly where the capacitive buttons are, regardless of whether it's dark or in your pocket. Don't worry, you'll love the Galaxy Nexus, Samsung are producing top quality phones atm. Don't be put off by all the naysayers "cheap and plasticky" comments.
- imperialWicket 15y ago
  I have a Samsung Captivate (AT&T's Galaxy S) and while I have been quite disappointed with the device at a high-level, my issues have not been with android or the hardware buttons. > 1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever You can enable haptic feedback or tones (cringe), neither of which has substantial effect on battery life. > 2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light True. > 3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me While this may be true, they quite consistent with all the other android phones. (Are you specifically concerned about the having an icon for menu instead of the "menu" text?)
  - maggit 15y ago
    > You can enable haptic feedback or tones (cringe) Both of which are a poor substitute for feeling the button depress. However, I was mostly concerned about feeling the button and the edges of the button before pressing it (to be able to use the buttons without looking), but I realize now that this might not be included in the commonly accepted meaning of "tactile feedback" ;) > Are you specifically concerned about the having an icon for menu instead of the "menu" text? No, but I am concerned about the poor choice of icon to represent the menu. The back-button is understandable, but why does it go forward before it goes back? And finally, my biggest problem: What does the icon-less button in the center of the Galaxy S do? I have no idea, and the only way to figure out is to test it. (If I have to guess, I'd say it's the home-button, which is otherwise lacking and is the closest in functionality to the icon-less iPhone-button) (Image for reference: http://androidspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Samsung-Galaxy-S-cell-phone-04.jpg http://androidspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Samsung-Ga... ) I was also thinking about what I suppose must be the home-icon on the Galaxy Nexus. ( http://www.google.com/nexus/img/content/introduction.png http://www.google.com/nexus/img/content/introduction.png ) This icon exhibits the classical problem of over-abstracting. It is no more a home or house than it is a shift-key, up-arrow or pointed rock. Compare with HTC Legend: http://cdn.cbsi.com.au/story_media/339301189/htc-legend_1.jpg http://cdn.cbsi.com.au/story_media/339301189/htc-legend_1.jp... From the left: 1. Obviously a house (and therefore a home), even with a chimney, while still being clear. 2. Obviously a menu-button. You unfortunately have to read it, but it is at least unambiguous. 3. Obviously a back-button. (No forward motion) 4. Assuming that the user has learned the weird currently popular icon for search, obviously search. Otherwise not a good icon. ---- I hope this clarifies my original post :)
joelhaasnoot 15y ago
I have an older Samsung phone with a 4 way directional pad, but I sure am going to miss that. Most new phones don't have one (HTC Legend had an optical one) Having to navigate everything by touch isn't perfect either...
Raphael 15y ago
That's funny. I had the opposite problem with my Motorola Droid. The 4 buttons were too bright and distracting from the screen. I found an app for rooted devices that turns off the button backlights, which is fine, because I memorized the positions: back, menu, home, search.

maggit 15y ago

I have seen the Samsung Galaxy S, and the hardware buttons on the front have several problems: 1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever 2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light 3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me My HTC Legend has none of these problems: I can find the buttons in the dark by feel, and the iconography is clear. To me, the back and menu buttons (and to a lesser degree the home button) are helpful tools that I use all the time. I am planning on getting a Galaxy Nexus as soon as I can. The only worry I have about this phone is the lack of proper hardware buttons that I can locate and use by feel alone. I love (some of) the hardware buttons. So maybe it's just Samsung's implementation of the buttons that is broken, and not the concept of Android hardware buttons. I don't know :)

weaselspice 15y ago
Why claim it has several problems if you've only "seen" a Galaxy S. "1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever" Wrong - You can enable haptic feedback for the menu/back buttons "2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light" Wrong - They are backlit, making them easier to see in dim light "3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me" Personal experience varies, I would say they are pretty self explanatory, if not, takes about 2 seconds to learn. The bulge on the back/bottom of the Galaxy S allows you to instantly know which way your holding it, thus you always know exactly where the capacitive buttons are, regardless of whether it's dark or in your pocket. Don't worry, you'll love the Galaxy Nexus, Samsung are producing top quality phones atm. Don't be put off by all the naysayers "cheap and plasticky" comments.
imperialWicket 15y ago
I have a Samsung Captivate (AT&T's Galaxy S) and while I have been quite disappointed with the device at a high-level, my issues have not been with android or the hardware buttons. > 1. They are capacitive, so there is no tactile feedback ever You can enable haptic feedback or tones (cringe), neither of which has substantial effect on battery life. > 2. They are made to be near invisible, so you can't see them in dim light True. > 3. The icons on the buttons are not immediately crystal clear to me While this may be true, they quite consistent with all the other android phones. (Are you specifically concerned about the having an icon for menu instead of the "menu" text?)
- maggit 15y ago
  > You can enable haptic feedback or tones (cringe) Both of which are a poor substitute for feeling the button depress. However, I was mostly concerned about feeling the button and the edges of the button before pressing it (to be able to use the buttons without looking), but I realize now that this might not be included in the commonly accepted meaning of "tactile feedback" ;) > Are you specifically concerned about the having an icon for menu instead of the "menu" text? No, but I am concerned about the poor choice of icon to represent the menu. The back-button is understandable, but why does it go forward before it goes back? And finally, my biggest problem: What does the icon-less button in the center of the Galaxy S do? I have no idea, and the only way to figure out is to test it. (If I have to guess, I'd say it's the home-button, which is otherwise lacking and is the closest in functionality to the icon-less iPhone-button) (Image for reference: http://androidspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Samsung-Galaxy-S-cell-phone-04.jpg http://androidspin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Samsung-Ga... ) I was also thinking about what I suppose must be the home-icon on the Galaxy Nexus. ( http://www.google.com/nexus/img/content/introduction.png http://www.google.com/nexus/img/content/introduction.png ) This icon exhibits the classical problem of over-abstracting. It is no more a home or house than it is a shift-key, up-arrow or pointed rock. Compare with HTC Legend: http://cdn.cbsi.com.au/story_media/339301189/htc-legend_1.jpg http://cdn.cbsi.com.au/story_media/339301189/htc-legend_1.jp... From the left: 1. Obviously a house (and therefore a home), even with a chimney, while still being clear. 2. Obviously a menu-button. You unfortunately have to read it, but it is at least unambiguous. 3. Obviously a back-button. (No forward motion) 4. Assuming that the user has learned the weird currently popular icon for search, obviously search. Otherwise not a good icon. ---- I hope this clarifies my original post :)

joelhaasnoot 15y ago

I have an older Samsung phone with a 4 way directional pad, but I sure am going to miss that. Most new phones don't have one (HTC Legend had an optical one) Having to navigate everything by touch isn't perfect either...

Raphael 15y ago

That's funny. I had the opposite problem with my Motorola Droid. The 4 buttons were too bright and distracting from the screen. I found an app for rooted devices that turns off the button backlights, which is fine, because I memorized the positions: back, menu, home, search.