correct me if I'm wrong. I've noticed that most of the criticism of iPhone/iTouch are by people who don't own one. Nothing wrong with not owning one, but to me haptics is like sugar. Unless you finish the can of cola you really don't know if a pepsi is better than a coke. (Pepsi wins its taste tests b/c it is sweeter and people have a positive reaction viscerally to the sweetness, but by the time they get to the end of a can/bottle that feeling isn't the same which is why Coke wins in total sales.)
Alex is right. There is a lot to balance here and it is hard to break apart the intricacies. 1) primary controls like answering the phone, volume, and even skip song have physical controls either on the device, or in the headphones, so this is really a non-issue. (BTW, when the iTouch first came out it didn't have volume controls on the device (or headphones) and this was a major complaint of mine ... Gen 2 of iTouch put them on the device. 2) haptics. The kind of haptics that are available right now for touch are a bit well "sweet" (in the bad way). It feels neat, but its actual usefulness is way down. I have been experimenting with competitors and internal Moto products since the LG Prada came out and the ROKR from Moto. Moto has the far better technology, but both even at their best is well not all that functionally or even viscerally useful tot he total experience. 3) Hard keys vs. soft. This is a personal choice I think to some degree and depends largely on use patterns, but I do have to agree with one strong point that someone said. On a device of this size, we know we are limited by the number of keys. This means that in many primary usage scenarios some keys on a hard keyboard will never be brought forward. colon and slash for instance are always hidden. Or the "@" key. In a virtual keyboard the board is much easier to rearrange. 4) The pocket scenarios: Per point 1, I think most pocket scenarios are covered. 5) No keyboard is ONLY about its physicality. how it is supported (or not) by the software will ultimately make the biggest difference in the success. 6) screen real estate. If I don't need it why is it there. A SIP keyboard (virtual slide-in) definitely allows for more space. Once more It is a lot more functional than a true slider b/c sliders tend to break compared to fully whole body embedded. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=33524 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
