Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 waves goodbye to on-screen Android buttons: good idea or not?

53. Dinged posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:12 10 0

Coming from a nexus and galaxy device. I prefer a physical Home button for the most used functions such as waking it up, going to the default Home screen and checking the time.

It's simply easier to use a single finger and tap a physical button to "wake" a phone vs "waking" a phone with a side button than moving your finger to the virtual home button for a follow up function.

Additionally, I used the tactile feel of the Home button to return to a default screen while driving where I have my most useful driving apps so that I can minimize time spent looking down at my phone.

55. Dinged posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:18 2 1

Virtual buttons need to be awoken first with another physical button which can be a pain in certain instances.

59. Dinged posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:27 3 0

Google most likely focuses on virtual buttons to avoid any similarities to the iphone which may cause a lawsuit. Additionally, they can put a patent on the idea to prevent competing OS's from using the idea.

82. Nadr1212 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 23:46 0 1

This is A TERRIBLE IDEA!!!! The screen pictures qnd words look way smaller 2 me
And 2 think u were gonna stay like ur old, good, original self Note Tablet!!!!!!

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69. andro. posted on 25 Jan 2013, 15:58 0 0

Definitely as good thing,many many people would love to have the option to auto hide the bottom bar on their android tabs

73. jroc74 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 17:28 0 0

I dont like them. It takes up screen real estate. For me...its a good move. When I had the G Nex...my least fav feature were the on screen buttons. I have a Maxx HD now....and I still dont like them...lol.

They do disappear when watching Netflix. But I also still have the same problem I had with capacitive buttons and games...accidental presses and gettign kicked out the game. Android and the game devs are doing better with pausing games when this happens....I still hate it tho.

89. kclgphilsbsa posted on 26 Jan 2013, 20:49 0 0

anyway, there is a 70% chance that these images are fake :D
i dont remember any valid leaks of Sammy new flagship models being uploaded everywhere a month before the official annncmnt..
if this wud be the real note 8.0 den Sammy has a month to listen from d consumers and put sermons against their DESIGNERS!!!! hahahaha

6. Aeires (unregistered) posted on 25 Jan 2013, 09:48 23 3

Because they rotate with the screen. I like them too.

8. cezarepc posted on 25 Jan 2013, 09:50 17 6

+1 for on-screen buttons.

31. yougotkilled1 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:57 9 2

Also I think the phone looks much better with no buttons to display when the phone is on sleep. The screens on the galaxy nexus and the 4 look awesome when the display is off.

34. Aeires (unregistered) posted on 25 Jan 2013, 11:02 7 2

Agree with that, the solid glass fronts do look great.

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41. darac posted on 25 Jan 2013, 11:45 4 1

Capacitive buttons can look just as cool - they are completely undistinguished on galaxy S3, when not in use.
I really prefer capacitive buttons for now - the current phones using the on screen ones are not having any less bezel compared to classic models.
Way too much of screen space is wasted on the Nexus 4, for example, and here I completely agree with the article.

I also think tablets should have capacitive keys (both for portrait and landscape mode ) because their bezel is abundant anyway.

But this particular solution by Samsung is hideous

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57. jamrockjones posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:24 0 0

I concur, I like the appearance of on screen buttons, especially on tablets. It's not always just about screen real estate, there's also convenience (like when you turn the screen), also in some applications more options come up. I think it's a forward looking approach and I'm all for it. Now if manufactures could figure out a way to make the screen go closer to the bottom and sides of the phone.

58. Zero0 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:26 2 0

That and that it can change with advancements in UI. See the Droid DNA's lack of a menu button (which ends up taking up screen space anyway) and the general clunkyness of the Galaxy S3.
Want Google Now on the Galaxy S3? Hold down home, then press a button on screen.
For Google Now on a Nexus, just slide up from the home button.

It also looks really nice with the screen off.

62. rdaex posted on 25 Jan 2013, 14:04 3 0

Something I just found recently. On the S3, if you hold menu, it shortcuts to google now.

Yes, still a press, but its pretty easy, and you dont stand a chance of missing the gesture a la GNEX

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84. blinkdagger posted on 26 Jan 2013, 03:12 0 0

And also it can be tweak to show more than just those 3 default buttons. It can be arrange to personal liking too. *cough*aokp*cough*

9. RaKithAPeiRiZ posted on 25 Jan 2013, 09:52 3 2

same here

43. ChrisG posted on 25 Jan 2013, 11:51 0 0

I don't really *like* the on-screen buttons on my Galaxy Nexus, but they don't bother me at all, either. I don't miss the "wasted space." I do like the smooth, button-free glass front of my phone, though. Less places for dust to build up!

61. wendygarett (limited) 6 days ago posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:58 2 1

physical button increase bezel and the end reduce screen size as well, in order to keep overall size the same...

14. RaKithAPeiRiZ posted on 25 Jan 2013, 09:56 5 8

i kind of think the design is nice (confession bear)

27. neutralguy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:38 2 1

*another bear drags you out*

28. neutralguy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:39 0 0

They should put an interactive capacitive button if they really want to separate it from the screen like what meizu did.

72. umadd (banned) posted on 25 Jan 2013, 17:18 1 0

If they got rid of all the capacitive buttons and made it landscape orientation, it would looks really good, like the Nexus 10.

13. justme posted on 25 Jan 2013, 09:56 4 2

Exactly! This device seems very much geared to portrait mode,which is odd. And it is ugly...I'm hoping it comes in black; it might look better then.

23. ogy_dogy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:19 2 3

Never was a big fan of sammys design dept., i like my tablets thick and heavy :D

52. taz89 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:10 2 1

It's why I hate on screen buttons because there's no way to hide them
... They take up valuable space when playing games and web browsing where you want the full screen and in some games they just come in the way.. If they were to provide a gesture ie swipe up from the bottom bezel to show and hide buttons...its possible to do with root but I want it to be a stock feature...took then I will prefer physical buttons

66. ogy_dogy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 15:04 0 0

I agree with you there, simply hiding them would solve everything, if im not mistaken a launcher allowed me to hide the status bar on my froyo tab, i see no reason why this can not be done in jb or ics...

21. rusticguy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:13 2 0

Ubuntu is working with this concept for context menus i think and that's why they advertise -- "Content, not controls" on their site --
http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/design

I am sure Samsung must be itching to copy this concept sooner than expected :)

39. darac posted on 25 Jan 2013, 11:36 0 0

Amen to that

22. rusticguy posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:15 1 1

I am allergic to aluminum and all artificial jewelry stuff. Gold is ok for me to touch.

30. bparkerson posted on 25 Jan 2013, 10:52 0 0

We share identical thoughts, taste in devices, and opinions on this article!! No...I won't share my Woman!!! LOL

54. taz89 posted on 25 Jan 2013, 13:16 1 1

On screen buttons are still there when web browsing or playing games etc...it only seems to disappear during video..also look at the nexus 4 and s3 they pretty much same size yet the s3 has bigger screen and physical button so your 1st point isn't necessarily true..also even though the nexus 4 is 4.7" actual usable screen is 4.5" in other than videos...

71. Feanor posted on 25 Jan 2013, 16:15 0 0

It's stupid to even compary dude. Physical buttons are always bigger and always fixed, so already by concept they cannot save any space. Now if LG didn't manage to reduce bezels on the Nexus 4 is their design problem, it doesn't have anything to do with their on-screen buttons. The Xperia ZL has on-screen buttons and it manages to reduce bezels admirably and thanks to them it has a 5 inch screen and smaller real estate than the GS3. This is really possible only with on-screen buttons.

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