design vs one handed operation

[gabbott]

So I've now owned the S4 for about 3 weeks. (Came from 2 Nexus phones, a Nexus S and then a Gnex). I'm really enjoying it, it's a change of gears from a pure google phone experience but for me, it's just that, a little bit different, some things better, some things I miss. Anyway, I digress.

I am certainly appreciating the 5" of screen real estate and in order to accomplish that in an almost similar size of the S3 they reduced the amount of bezel. This brings me to the one annoyance of it's design. The small amount of space left at the bottom for the buttons. I tend to operate my phones one-handed using my thumb to navigate the screen and use the buttons. I don't consider myself to have overly large hands but man there are times when I go to hit menu or back with my thumb and end up hitting something on screen instead. I just put an otterbox commuter on my phone and with the protective lip it accentuates this issue.

While having offscreen buttons is nice for that little bit extra of screen given to browsing the web and whatnot, it does make me sometimes miss the onscreen buttons such that my gnex had. They were certainly easier to hit.

Anyway, it's something I'm going to live and I'll have to find ways to adjust. But I can tell from the past 3 weeks that it'll be the one annoyance I'll have with the phones design.

 

[mikeshinobi]

Yeah I'm with you on this.

The people who own the apps I use probably love me - I'm constantly hitting the ads at the bottom when I'm meaning to hit the back button.

 

[benhmadison]

I went from the GS3 to the Nexus 4. The first week or so I really missed that physical home button, but after getting used to the on screen buttons I don't think I could go back now. I've used the GS4 and I do agree that those buttons way down on the bottom can be hard to hit with one hand. But as you said the trade off is more screen real estate.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[sunnysland]

I've had the same issue and I'm a woman. Just going to have to adjust.

 

[Cigar-Junkie]

Same here, always used my Gnex necked. I decided to try the otter box commuter and that little bit of bulk throws me off. I am scared I will fumble my phone when running and playing Ingress so I will keep the box for now.

 

[anon(5421739)]

I've had this problem before as well, but I think I'm getting used to handling the phone.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nyc_rock]

Yes. Those buttons are tough to deal with sometimes. Had the phone for a week and I am getting used to it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bespinct]

While I generally adjust to the physical buttons OK, I wish they would keep them capacitive. It's a bit of a whine, but the extra effort to depress a button is one of the reasons I couldn't stand the BlackBerry I had from work. Although in started as a blackberry user, I don't ever want to go back to a physical keyboard.

Steve

Posted via Android Central App

 

[gabbott]

While I generally adjust to the physical buttons OK, I wish they would keep them capacitive. It's a bit of a whine, but the extra effort to depress a button is one of the reasons I couldn't stand the BlackBerry I had from work. Although in started as a blackberry user, I don't ever want to go back to a physical keyboard.

Steve

Posted via Android Central App

Yep, I'm with ya on the physical button. After years of just tapping, having to actually push a home button takes some getting used to.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

Pretty much adjust... I has a Nexus 4 and the touchscreen buttons were cool... I loved it... Coming to a GS3 I had to adjust, and some it's I do press the back button accidentally... But it's not a big thing really... U will get used to it

Sent from my Galaxy S4 Exynos!

 

[jokout1]

Well, I guess I'm used to the physical Home since I'm coming from a GS3, but I really like the ability to wake the phone from the Home button instead of "feeling" for the On switch on the side...a little thing but use this multiple times every day when I wake the phone to check messages and time

Cheers

Cheers

 

[r2t]

I don't have the biggest hands in the world neither. I always struggle to reach the button of the phone. For easy one hand usage, I just downloaded an app which is similar to assistive touch on the iPhone. This allows me to have a little sqaure button on the screen that allows me to press and go home. You can move this little square anywhere on the screen, so you don't have it in the way most of the time.

There are many of them in the Play Store. I would recommend checking them out.

Sent from my GT-I9500