Monday, July 30, 2007

iPhone Volume Buttons

Aza Raskin:

In effect, physically rotating the phone into the BoB landscape mode has swapped the meaning of the buttons. The button that used to be in the position that maps to “increase volume” is now in the position that maps to “decrease volume.” The solution is to use software to swap them back.

I’m not convinced, and I think the demo is irrelevant because it uses software buttons. With hardware buttons you remember how they feel and how they’re positioned relative to the corner. The software buttons are centered, and there’s nothing to feel. Especially if it’s in a pocket, I would rather that the buttons behave predictably than have to guess what orientation the phone thinks it’s in and then determine whether it’s switched the meanings on me.

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