I just got handed my friend's old EVO LTE when my phone (Galaxy Victory) got run over and crushed by a car. I'm not usually into the trend of big screen phones, which is why I went from flagship devices like the original EVO to lower tier ones like the Victory, but I must admit that it was nice to use a flagship device again when I was handed this. Nice display and solid build quality. Also, I needed a replacement phone quick and he upgraded from the ELTE a while ago already, so I take what I can get.
Here's the thing- I want to like this phone. But I'm actually finding the ergonomics really irk me. Maybe I'm just not used to it, so I want to hear from you guys if I'm just crazy or are these concerns legitimate.
Biggest issues I have are the two most commonly used buttons to me, power and back, are the two hardest to reach. When phones were smaller, it was OK to have a power button on top. But once we are going bigger than 4", maybe even 4.3" at the most, I feel like anyone who doesn't have huge hands is going to struggle to reach the power button with one hand. Back button seems even more of a struggle unless I use both hands (maybe lefties don't have this problem?). I rarely use the task-switch button in casual use of my phone, so I really wish the back button were there instead, but I see a lot of devices put the back button on the left side so I guess that's a thing. Still- it seems silly that I can't reach either of those buttons where they are on a phone this size. At least Samsung puts power buttons on the side and back button on the right, all relatively reachable with your right thumb.
Next issue I have, and this is a weird one... when typing in portrait orientation, I find myself hitting home instead of spacebar. A lot. Just yesterday I was trying to type with one hand, and it went home 3-4x while trying to type a single sentence. I eventually gave up and held the phone in landscape with two hands, where I no longer had this problem. Odd thing is that I've owned other phones with capacitive buttons, heck even the Victory I owned before this had the home button in the same location, and was even a smaller screen so it should have been a MORE common problem, but its never happened to me. Is this a me thing? I tried searching google for solutions but I couldn't find any references to anyone having this problem. Weird.
Next up is holding the phone to my head. For some reason, the screen stays active when I'm talking, and I hear and feel haptic feedback as my face is navigating things without my consent. Last time I got off the phone, I somehow ended up in the HTC Media Link menu option. I had to side down the top bar to get back to the dialer and end my call. This happens on every call I make. Maybe its just a setting that got borked somewhere? I mean, I'm pretty sure these phones all have proximity sensors to shut off the display, right? This one I can probably do something to fix, but overall my experience has not been an overwhelmingly positive one so far.
I sort of miss the size and usability of smaller phones like the victory, but no way I'm going to spend money on another one considering its age. Maybe I should consider the Galaxy S4 mini? Or tell me, am I just crazy and not used to this?
Here's the thing- I want to like this phone. But I'm actually finding the ergonomics really irk me. Maybe I'm just not used to it, so I want to hear from you guys if I'm just crazy or are these concerns legitimate.
Biggest issues I have are the two most commonly used buttons to me, power and back, are the two hardest to reach. When phones were smaller, it was OK to have a power button on top. But once we are going bigger than 4", maybe even 4.3" at the most, I feel like anyone who doesn't have huge hands is going to struggle to reach the power button with one hand. Back button seems even more of a struggle unless I use both hands (maybe lefties don't have this problem?). I rarely use the task-switch button in casual use of my phone, so I really wish the back button were there instead, but I see a lot of devices put the back button on the left side so I guess that's a thing. Still- it seems silly that I can't reach either of those buttons where they are on a phone this size. At least Samsung puts power buttons on the side and back button on the right, all relatively reachable with your right thumb.
Next issue I have, and this is a weird one... when typing in portrait orientation, I find myself hitting home instead of spacebar. A lot. Just yesterday I was trying to type with one hand, and it went home 3-4x while trying to type a single sentence. I eventually gave up and held the phone in landscape with two hands, where I no longer had this problem. Odd thing is that I've owned other phones with capacitive buttons, heck even the Victory I owned before this had the home button in the same location, and was even a smaller screen so it should have been a MORE common problem, but its never happened to me. Is this a me thing? I tried searching google for solutions but I couldn't find any references to anyone having this problem. Weird.
Next up is holding the phone to my head. For some reason, the screen stays active when I'm talking, and I hear and feel haptic feedback as my face is navigating things without my consent. Last time I got off the phone, I somehow ended up in the HTC Media Link menu option. I had to side down the top bar to get back to the dialer and end my call. This happens on every call I make. Maybe its just a setting that got borked somewhere? I mean, I'm pretty sure these phones all have proximity sensors to shut off the display, right? This one I can probably do something to fix, but overall my experience has not been an overwhelmingly positive one so far.
I sort of miss the size and usability of smaller phones like the victory, but no way I'm going to spend money on another one considering its age. Maybe I should consider the Galaxy S4 mini? Or tell me, am I just crazy and not used to this?