Argh! I hate the buttons!
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

I've given it a week and I've gotta gripe about the volume and power buttons.  They're way too sensitive and their placement makes that sensitivity a PITA.  My old Touch Pro 2 has the volume buttons in the same place but I've never changed the volume unintentionally.  The TP2's buttons are raised just enough to feel and require significant pressure to activate so I can easily find them by touch but I don't have to worry about pressing them accidentally.

 

On the GN, I'm constantly changing the volume.  Pick up the phone, hit the volume.  Hold it sideways, hit the volume.  It takes so little pressure to activate the buttons that they may as well be touch panels.  It's really annoying.  Same with the power button.  On the TP2, the display is toggled with a flush button on the top of the phone.  The only time I'd hit it by accident was when I had the display slid up and was typing on the physical keyboard.  But it didn't lock the phone so I could just hit it again and pick up where I left off and it was completely out of the way in portrait mode.  The GN's power button is just as sensitive as the volume buttons so I keep hitting it when I pick it up.  Unlike the TP2, this not only turns the display off, it locks the phone.

 

I'm sure I can find a way to disable the buttons but it really shouldn't be an issue after this many generations of smartphones.  Maybe Samsung will add a bit of foam under the buttons in Rev B to increase the pressure required to activate the buttons.

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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
dirkbonn
Specialist - Level 1

jtown wrote:

I've given it a week and I've gotta gripe about the volume and power buttons.  They're way too sensitive and their placement makes that sensitivity a PITA.  My old Touch Pro 2 has the volume buttons in the same place but I've never changed the volume unintentionally.  The TP2's buttons are raised just enough to feel and require significant pressure to activate so I can easily find them by touch but I don't have to worry about pressing them accidentally.

 

On the GN, I'm constantly changing the volume.  Pick up the phone, hit the volume.  Hold it sideways, hit the volume.  It takes so little pressure to activate the buttons that they may as well be touch panels.  It's really annoying.  Same with the power button.  On the TP2, the display is toggled with a flush button on the top of the phone.  The only time I'd hit it by accident was when I had the display slid up and was typing on the physical keyboard.  But it didn't lock the phone so I could just hit it again and pick up where I left off and it was completely out of the way in portrait mode.  The GN's power button is just as sensitive as the volume buttons so I keep hitting it when I pick it up.  Unlike the TP2, this not only turns the display off, it locks the phone.

 

I'm sure I can find a way to disable the buttons but it really shouldn't be an issue after this many generations of smartphones.  Maybe Samsung will add a bit of foam under the buttons in Rev B to increase the pressure required to activate the buttons.


This the exact reason that Verizon gives you a period of time to return or exchange it for something you like better.  If you don't feel you can get used to the buttons (or can't) then return it and try something else.  Or go back to your TP2.  I'm sure after 20-25 days you will be able to decide, if not sooner.

 

Other than the sensitivity of the buttons.... anything else you dislike or something about the phone you really like?

 

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
Wildman
Legend

Have you concider installing Volume Locker from market?  This has worked well for me for some time..

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hourdb.volumelocker&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxL...

 


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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

It's not a deal breaker.  It's just annoying and, at this stage of smartphone development, an issue that shouldn't exist.  Which just makes it more annoying.  :smileyhappy:  I'll give Volume Locker a shot.

 

Edit:  I've tried Volume Locker and Volume Control +.  Neither actually disables the volume buttons.  Persist seems to do the job.  I'm guessing it'll be a few weeks before some apps get updated for ICS.

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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
21stNow
Master - Level 1

But dirkbonn's comment is still valid, as the button placement is not a problem for everyone.  People's hands are different sizes, and they exert different amounts of pressure when they hold the phone.  Yes, some phones may work for more people than others, but there probably isn't a phone that is universally "good" in its ergonomic design. 

 

I don't have the problem of accidentally hitting the power and volume buttons when I hold the Galaxy Nexus, but you do.  Our hands are probably different sizes and we hold the phone in different ways.  Other people detest the placement of the power and headphone jacks, whereas I like them. 

 

I think that this is what dirkbonn is referring to when he says that this phone may not work for you.  It doesn't mean that it is a bad phone.  It's just not ergonomically correct for you.  This is why there are Sleep Number Beds; different people require different things.  Maybe they will have a "Press Number Phone" in the future!  :smileyhappy:

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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
jtown
Contributor - Level 3

I guess you missed my point that the combination placement and sensitivty is the problem.  My old phone has volume buttons in exactly the same place but require a firm press to activate.  I followed my observation with a suggestion that could reduce inadvertent button presses without altering the fundamental design of the phone.  I never said it is a "bad phone".  I said it's a design flaw that can be easily remedied in future manufacturing runs.

 

The fact that some people don't hit the buttons doesn't invalidate my observation.  I must have really hit a nerve.  Time to move on.

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Re: Argh! I hate the buttons!
bjrosen
Newbie

Your right Persist is the only app that works, Volume Locker and Volume Control+ don't.

The volume button placement is a disaster. I bought a windshield mount so that I could use the GN as a GPS. It was very difficult to put the GN into the mount without the volume being turned off. The On/Off button is also way to sensitive, however it's positioned higher up so it's easier to position the phone in the holder so that the grippers on the holder don't shut down the phone (it happened to me once before I figured out what it was). The off button on the Palm Pre that I just replaced was on the top of the phone and I never had an accidental shutdown on that phone in the two years that I owned it. I've had several in the two days that I've had the GN.

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