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 :)
> 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?)
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-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 ) 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.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.
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I hope this clarifies my original post :)
The only real problem I can find with not having a mechanical button is that you may sometimes bump your finger onto one of the buttons, and will find yourself suddenly in the home screen. This actually happens to me a lot in the Nexus One, but I also blame that on failed multi-touch implementation that ends up sensing my finger in some spot it's not in, or when the capacitive sensor senses my palm holding the phone through the case.
The HTC Legend menu button isn't consistent with the design of the other buttons, and it's very ambiguous. To me 'menu' is the equivalent of the home button; I expect it to take me to the home menu. Another interpretation is that it would take me to the home menu of the current application I am using, but this function is very similar to the back button.
The back arrow doesn't symbolize a lack of forward motion (it just points right to left). There are many languages (Hebrew, Persian, Japanese. Sometimes Latin and Greek too) that read from right to left defeating the universalness of the icon.
The search icon is actually designed very well as it is consistent with most devices in the world.
On the other hand is the home icon isn't very well designed on the Galaxy Nexus, but it would be very impossible to confuse the button for a shift-key, an up-arrow, or a pointed rock (I don't understand how you got the connection between a hardware button and a rock, I feel like you are just nitpicking at this point, which is why I am nitpicking your post).
In defense of the Galaxy Nexus having 3 icons instead of 4 is really more effective (why have a menu & home button, and I don't think a lot of people use the search button), it's just too bad the icons weren't designed better.
I would tend to agree that the Galaxy S image you provided offers a confusing button layout for an android device.