Apple to Remove Home Button from Next iPhone?

[JMcEntegart]

Will the new and improved iPhone 5 have fewer buttons?

Apple to Remove Home Button from Next iPhone? : Read more

 

[ben850]

This would be nice.. buttons create a weak point in the device.

We've all dropped our cell phones at one point or another. I was actually clumsy enough to drop my iphone into a river. Luckily it went straight to the bottom instead of downstream. Some how the phone still worked, and i think that is due to it's overall sealed design. Less buttons would make for an even more tight/airproof casing.

Not to mention that moving parts eventually fail when used enough times..

 

[Ragnar-Kon]

So I was sitting here reading the article, finding it interesting and whatnot... and then realized that society has gone so far downhill lately that a button on a phone warrants an entire article.

 

[Guest]

Why not. But aside from the button issues----You know what I would really like to see Daddy Steve Jobs do? I would like to suggest that he place an area where you can attach a lanyard/cellphone strap just in case the customer would like to place a lanyard (like in the old Nokia phones from the past). I cannot tell you how VALUABLE that is to me, who has slipped/dropped my phone but *accidentally* catch it all thanks to a cellphone strap or lanyard. Just my $0.02. Please consider it apple!

 

[razor512]

They can easily make a button waterproof.

the iphone has a really bad lack of buttons. This forces users to have to take the item out of their pocket to use it. this is a major security risk.

It is very common here in NY to see someone holding their iphone out in the open while listening to music on the bus. Then occasionally, someone will run past, knock the person over in their seat and grab the iphone and run away.

The 3 main devices where this happens is iphones, ipods and the sidekicks, the main thing they share is in order to use they have to be held out in the open, just waiting to be stolen.

 

[alyoshka]

You mean there are still idiots out there who steal this kinda junk?

 

[JOSHSKORN]

Still don't care about the i(diot)Phone. Get a DROID!

 

[Vampyrbyte]

Apple will decide in their infinite wisdom that the phone would be better without a screen. Afterall users don't actually need any feedback from their device at all.

 

[Guest]

Predictable haters are predictable.

The idea that there are people who still suppose one phone to be 'better' than another phone in any way really entertains me. Let's be clear about this; closed ecosystem != "phone for idiots". If this was the case then I'd be a pretty well qualified idiot, along with a lot of even more intelligent people who use iPhones.

Any iPhone user would argue that Android users are the idiots for choosing an operating system that has releases and updates more frequently than the sun sets. Ultimately, does it matter?

Choose a phone that suits you, grow up, and stfu trolling iPhone articles (however frequent they are). Without competition, no one device would be anywhere near as good.

 

[maigo]

It has buttons?

 

[idisarmu]

[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]Still don't care about the i(diot)Phone. Get a DROID![/citation]

If you're bashing the iPhone, then you just might be an idiot. It's one of the most powerful phones out currently, only bested by the hummingbird-powered phones (and the only 2 phones I can think of are the galaxy S and Wave). The iPhone is actually a damn good PMP and MID with decent phone capabilities. However, the thing I hate about iPhones is that you need iTunes to use them. iTunes is slow as molasses and struggles with music libraries exceeding 100gb. Winamp, on the other hand, still searches like a champ through a 500+ gig library.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]Ragnar-Kon[/nom]So I was sitting here reading the article, finding it interesting and whatnot... and then realized that society has gone so far downhill lately that a button on a phone warrants an entire article.[/citation]
if you don't like the article, then go read something else, why post such a stupid comment

 

[willgart]

They adapt the design to the level of the customers... too many buttons raise too many questions to the support team because too complex for an Apple user ;-)

 

[theuerkorn]

Gosh, 8 spams in a row! Who actually buys stuff that way, since if nobody did they probably wouldn't bother.

Anyway, gestures instead of a home button? It's all doable. However, the home button will remain in some fashion, since it does multiple things and one of them can't be done by gestures: killing a stuck application (which sometimes makes the phone's interface unresponsive).

Further, I really would like a button that works as a camera trigger (can be one of the volume buttons for that matter, but hitting the screen icon is a bit of a challenge in self portraits.

[citation][nom]alexkitch[/nom]Predictable haters are predictable.The idea that there are people who still suppose one phone to be 'better' than another phone in any way really entertains me.[/citation]
^ +1 ^

 

[burnley14]

I prefer a physical button, really. And I don't think it's a great comparison with the nano either, since the nano's "back" gesture is merely swiping the current page to the right. That won't work on the iPhone, since that gesture is already used all the time for numerous things. The only solution is going to be something more complex or ungainly to differentiate that gesture from other gestures. In the end, stick with the physical button. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

 

[hellwig]

[citation][nom]theuerkorn[/nom]However, the home button will remain in some fashion, since it does multiple things and one of them can't be done by gestures: killing a stuck application (which sometimes makes the phone's interface unresponsive).[/citation]

Reminds me of the old Macintosh computers. In particular I think it was the Mac Classic I owned. Anyway, you could get a software crash that would lock the computer. The only way to correct it was to unplug the computer (bad idea) or insert a special plastic knob (or perhaps a paperclip) into the side of the computer through a vent hole to press a hard-reset button (unlike the convenient, and external, reset buttons on every PC case at that time). I'm just saying, don't be surprised if Apple removes this feature, and then chastizes you for downloading an App (from their App store) that had the audacity to crash on their phone. Remember, it ain't broke, you're just using it wrong.

 

[belardo]

I wish my Samsung Android phone has PHYSICAL buttons for Home / back / menu...


Hey Hellwig. I have an old Mac Classic... its crashed, but from the sound of it - I think the HD damaged. I get error message and that drive is SOOOOOO loud. the thing has been in storage for like 4+ years since the last time it was turned on. Finding replacement SCSI drives.... not going to happen.

 

[gumbedamit]

I have to say, there seems to be bias for the Iphone:
"The iPhone, seen by many as the original modern touchscreen phone, actually has quite a few real buttons to compliment its large screen. "
What large screen or is that a bit of sarcasm?
The Iphone is a very nice phone, but please be real about it's shortcomings. worried that Steve will send you to jail.....

 

[fishlikehell]

Jobs wants it removed so that he alone can push it and "multitask" through all the news outlets that must write or talk about every rumor that is rumored about.

 

[cadder]

Buttons are a weak point. My daughter's 6 month old iphone4 had its home button stop functioning so she had to go to the Apple store and exchange it. It would be expensive if the buttons fail just after the warranty expires.

I think the screen on the iphone is too small, particularly compared to other smartphones on the market. This doesn't have to make the handset that much larger though. The Samsung Captivate for instance measures 4.18 x 2.5 x 0.39 with a 4" display, the iphone measures larger than that at 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37, but only has a 3.5" display. (The Captivate is the only Android phone I've handled. Its display was notably larger than my iphone but the phone itself did not seem to be any larger.)

Also, the Android phones seem to have the "home" button on the screen and not with a physical button. Is Jobs stooping to copying Android?