Soft/On Screen Buttons Potential Problems

[koolbon]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I don't understand what the big deal about wanting the buttons as part of the screen is for a phone. I understand in merging gingerbread and honeycomb, the code would have to merge the two types of buttons used, but I don't get why they need to be a part of the screen on a phone. Its not like you can ever get rid of them---you always need a home button, and you'll still need menu and back since those aren't built into any apps and google isn't going to have every developer re-write their apps. Since those buttons will always have to be there, its not like we're gaining any screen space. Also, now more of the screen needs to be lit up, which means more battery used. I think I'd prefer if the buttons stayed how they are now. Somebody explain why I should want this (not why its happening, I get the merging the 2 OS thing).

I've been thinking the exactly same thing. I really don't see the advantage of it. The phone might look really clean and cool, but that's about what I can think of as an advantage. Those buttons will have to be there all the time to be able to function except for movies games maybe. Even then, the buttons will have to appear at some point and it's only adding more steps to do things. I thought they will at least keep the size of the phone manageable with 4.6 or whatever the screen size they are coming out with, but looking at the leaked image that's not the case either. Buttons being there all the time might even make the screen ugly being some type of mismatches with apps you are running. I am dying to see how they are covering all the aspects of these cases.

 

[oxymoron]

What's the one major thing that differentiates Android from iOS? Diversity. Android has it, with a plethora of hardware manufacturers and devices. What does Android also have that iOS doesn't? Fragmentation.

ICS addresses this, bringing uniformity to the Android platform. This is the purpose. The benefits of ICS will become more and more apparent over time. Developers no longer have to worry about the fragmentation, only minimum system requirements, just as you see on a box of software you buy for a PC. You'll know right away whether or not you can run the app.

This is my take on it. This is a big step for Android, and only serves to tighten the grip they have on the marketshare.

I'm all for it.

The Nexus with ICS brings...
- better hardware
- ease of development
- more fluid, powerful UI
- better USER EXPERIENCE

Apple cannot currently compete with this. The only thing they will have left, is a better ecosystem.

I like where Google/Android is going. This is very exciting to me.

*customized tapatalk signature*

 

[DolfanCole]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

What's the one major thing that differentiates Android from iOS? Diversity. Android has it, with a plethora of hardware manufacturers and devices. What does Android also have that iOS doesn't? Fragmentation.

ICS addresses this, bringing uniformity to the Android platform. This is the purpose. The benefits of ICS will become more and more apparent over time. Developers no longer have to worry about the fragmentation, only minimum system requirements, just as you see on a box of software you buy for a PC. You'll know right away whether or not you can run the app.

This is my take on it. This is a big step for Android, and only serves to tighten the grip they have on the marketshare.

I'm all for it.

The Nexus with ICS brings...
- better hardware
- ease of development
- more fluid, powerful UI
- better USER EXPERIENCE

Apple cannot currently compete with this. The only thing they will have left, is a better ecosystem.

I like where Google/Android is going. This is very exciting to me.

*customized tapatalk signature*

But manufacturers will still put a skin on the OS, whether it's Sense, Blur, TouchWiz or whatever. So, there will still be fragmentation.

 

[oxymoron]

But manufacturers will still put a skin on the OS, whether it's Sense, Blur, TouchWiz or whatever. So, there will still be fragmentation.

True, but overall less of it. A friend of mine works for MGH here in MD. They mostly do apps for iPhone/iPad, but also a few for Android. His biggest complaint as a developer for Android has always been fragmentation. He is very excited for ICS. Coming straight from a developer, that makes me feel good.

In my opinion, this is a step in the right direction. I only see it getting better.

*customized tapatalk signature*

 

[Mooem]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

No one can say with certainty how much of a significant impact a slight increase in display size will have on the battery. There are more variables to battery life than just the display. I don't think we really know enough about the hardware to make that call just yet.

That being said, it seems the on screen buttons are just a natural progression from having hardware dedicated capacitive buttons. The screen is capacitive, so why not extend it to the already dedicated buttons as well? I agree in that I also don't see it as a feature that has any significance right now but it could open doors down the road in later iterations of Android that very creative people can take advantage.

For instance, it could allow you to add more dedicated buttons, extra notification display, gesture control, make it theme-able according to app context, etc. Imagine being able to add a dedicated camera shortcut so you don't have to hit the home button first to find the app either on your home screens or the app drawer.

In the end, the point is about opening up more possibilities. The aforementioned ideas may not necessarily happen in ICS or even in the short term. But it does gives OEMs, developers, and Google more things to play with. After all, hardware dedicated capacitive buttons are inherently restrictive which make none of the above possible. Software is easier to modify than hardware.

Just my two cents.

 

[Forgetful]

On screen buttons is a huge improvement.

The ability for app designers and development to include any menu buttons they think are or are not necessary.

Rotation like in honeycomb.

Larger screen size.

And to the complaint about it taking up just as much space or having to click twice to back out or a video- That is a simple UI problem which could be solved in many ways. For one, a simple touch in the area where the buttons disappeared to activates the button's function (like a invisible button in some apps)



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[koolbon]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

Larger screen size with buttons taking up the bottom space all the time?
A touch to bring up the buttons and touch a button again... that's clicking twice to me.
We need those buttons one way or another. I just hope they have very good reasons to move onto software buttons. I haven't seen any significant reason for it yet.

 

[6tr6tr]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

On my Honeycomb tablet, when i rotate the screen to different orientations, the buttons rotate as well.

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This plus:

1. bigger screen space without needing to make phone bigger
2. Ability to make the buttons look better over time (as the UI evolves)
3. Ability to add more buttons based on context (whereas the capacitive ones cannot be changed)

 

[fargles]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I am back and forth on this... I have the Droid X2 and it has a nice massive screen, and the buttons are barely there. there is probably a 2.5 inch space from the bottom of the screen to the bottom of the device, one inch for the verizon logo-____- and less then a half an inch for the four buttons and a little microphone hole. The rest is space, so my buttons are barely in the way and they are buttons that I prefer being there all the time.

Now i like the idea of all gestures and no buttons or buttons that only show up at some times.

I dunno how I feel about this, I guess I'm kinda neutral lol

 

[drbugsmn]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I do a bit of android work, my guess is that for apps that declare for any pre-icecream level of compatibility, it will probably leave them there (maybe like mentioned previously make them small and out of the way, then zoom them when selected?) for backwards compatibility. What I'm hoping (no proof, I don't have the 4.0 sdk) that for apps that declare a min version of ice-cream sammich, allow the dev to define the behavior. pure speculation on my part, but it would be cool.

 

[dsignori]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

On screen buttons is a huge improvement.

How, specifically? What exactly will they improve? IMO nothing ..

The ability for app designers and development to include any menu buttons they think are or are not necessary.

How is this a benefit? All the buttons are already here now before ICS, and take up zero screen real estate. Apps can add any "buttons" = functions to their apps now without any need to fiddle with menus. Again, this doesn't seem like a benefit. I still see "take away some of my screen to give me buttons I had before ICS already".

Rotation like in honeycomb.

Do you really want 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the already-slim landscape height to be taken away by virtual buttons? I don't. This works great on tablets which have the size to do this. Phones don't have the size for this to make sense

Larger screen size.

Whatever screen size a phone has now will be decreased by being usurped by menus. This equates to smaller screen sizes to me.

And to the complaint about it taking up just as much space or having to click twice to back out or a video- That is a simple UI problem which could be solved in many ways. For one, a simple touch in the area where the buttons disappeared to activates the button's function (like a invisible button in some apps)
...

IF it is solved in some way, that just creates parody with what we already have and we haven't gained any usability. There is a chance this could be workable I hope, but I can't get past the need for actual buttons available for me without having to click-to-see them or that take up persistent screen space

 

[marrrio_]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

wouldn't the software buttons allow the phones to be thinner....?? less hardware to take up precious internal real estate

 

[drbugsmn]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

wouldn't the software buttons allow the phones to be thinner....?? less hardware to take up precious internal real estate

Not in this case, as they are capacitive buttons, and part of the screen digitizer. Here is one I used on my OGD when it went bad Amazon.com: Verizon Motorola Droid A855 Touch Screen Digitizer Replacement Glass Repair Part: Electronics

 

[pe1]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I don't think you're getting it. Picture this, you are now watching a video on your current android phone. You want to go BACK.

- You now need to click once
- With ICS and the rumored virtual buttons (if they disappear), you now need 2 presses.

No, I do get it. The point is it's now configurable. Which is better: to have a bit more screen space, or to only have to click once? That really depends on the app, and with on-screen buttons, different apps can make different choices. Watching a video, I'd much rather have the extra screen space, and the extra click isn't a big deal. Lots of other apps will prefer to keep the buttons visible and minimize the clicks. And that's why it's better: each app can do what's best for that app.

 

[dsignori]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

No, I do get it. The point is it's now configurable. Which is better: to have a bit more screen space, or to only have to click once? That really depends on the app, and with on-screen buttons, different apps can make different choices. Watching a video, I'd much rather have the extra screen space, and the extra click isn't a big deal. Lots of other apps will prefer to keep the buttons visible and minimize the clicks. And that's why it's better: each app can do what's best for that app.

Oy ... Now (before ICS) you don't have to choose, you get both. Screen space and 1 press buttons. We don't have to decide now which is "better" as we have both, currently ...

 

[wyseguy77]

Oy ... Now (before ICS) you don't have to choose, you get both. Screen space and 1 press buttons. We don't have to decide now which is "better" as we have both, currently ...

I like the direction ICS is taking us and i'm excited to give it a shot, I'll judge after. So
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[yapkuen]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

Whatever screen size a phone has now will be decreased by being usurped by menus. This equates to smaller screen sizes to me.

But whatever screen size is lost to the soft keys is reclaimed by expanding the screen into the space previously occupied by the hard keys, without having to make the overall device larger. Even if the extra on-screen space can never be used for anything other than the soft keys, that's a net benefit to me because I'm tired of phones constantly getting larger and larger.

 

[Errola0]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I'm genuinely confused, why are people thinking the virtual buttons will be configurable by app developers? Maybe I'm just not correctly understanding what everyone means :-\.

We already have a bar of virtual buttons in Honeycomb and the app developers can't just mess around and change it as to how they feel fit(which would be bad).

The way I see it virtual buttons simply look cool and allows the buttons to rotate with the device, that's cool and more than enough reason for me.

 

[solahcin]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

I think we need to give MD a break. One reason software buttons are good news is that the old default configuration had too many buttons (four creates an asymmetrical layout which Samsung were right to change IMO), arguably the wrong buttons (not sure many people use the search button) and most importantly it was missing a multitasking button. Win Phone 7 uses long press on Back which isn't good, but Android uses long press Home which is much worse. Lots of users don't even know it exists and wonder what's going on when they stumble upon the multitasking menu by accident.

Now please let the real ICS home row icons be the blue-white ones that were seen on a Nexus S ICS video a little while back, not the odd dotted circle icon (with green Messaging??) seen on the latest leak...

 

[CynicX]

Re: Soft/On Screen Buttons- Whats the point?

Honeycomb has been using it forever and its a vast improvement.

When watching a video the buttons turn into small un noticeable dot with the screen behind them. So screen size is uneffected however phone size can be smaller without the need for space for buttons.

The buttons with honeycomb can actually change, like right now on my tablet I have a back button, home, multitasking button and the "settings" button of the app I'm using if the dev decides to use it. The on screen buttons will rotate with the screens orientation portrait or land scape.

With on screen buttons software devs have a lot more options too, changing the colors of the buttons, being able to hide them change and add them etc etc.

I didn't see the purpose was either until I had it. Now gingerbread feels cheap and the real estate wasted on the phone just doesn't make sense. Its like the button on an iPhone. Do you want a button there or a bigger screen without effecting the phone physical dimensions?