Develop Bugs

No buttons on GN: no ports of other ROMs?

Would this be the case? I enjoy having good selection of ROMs with different looks
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Can't see why that would be the case, unless you're thinking about Gingerbread roms, which would make no sense.

FISKER_Q said:
Can't see why that would be the case, unless you're thinking about Gingerbread roms, which would make no sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its a dumb question but would htc and samsung etc make phones with no buttons? I believe you can use ics with physical buttons as shown on nexus s.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

jay_993 said:
Would this be the case? I enjoy having good selection of ROMs with different looks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well why would you want a Gingerbread ROM ported to the Galaxy Nexus? That's the only way you'd have an issue.
Once custom ROMs are based on 4.0, it'll already have the hooks to run with on-screen buttons and not hardware buttons. That's part of ICS, not just this particular release.
Problem solved...

jay_993 said:
I know its a dumb question but would htc and samsung etc make phones with no buttons? I believe you can use ics with physical buttons as shown on nexus s.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but all ICS releases will be made for phones with no buttons, unless you're anticipating someone building ROMs on Android 2.3 for some reason.
Any custom ROM that comes out will be ICS based, so there's really no reason to worry. The ONLY one that might be in some trouble at first is MIUI, but I'm sure some intrepid dev out there will fix it.

SomeGuyDude said:
Yeah, but all ICS releases will be made for phones with no buttons, unless you're anticipating someone building ROMs on Android 2.3 for some reason.
Any custom ROM that comes out will be ICS based, so there's really no reason to worry. The ONLY one that might be in some trouble at first is MIUI, but I'm sure some intrepid dev out there will fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt ICS releases will assume phones have no buttons. The emulator in the SDK for ICS is still button-based. I think the ICS base software will be agnostic to the button arrangement, and then vendor-specific hardware drivers will then determine whether virtual buttons or physical buttons are used to interface with the OS.

Chirality said:
I doubt ICS releases will assume phones have no buttons. The emulator in the SDK for ICS is still button-based. I think the ICS base software will be agnostic to the button arrangement, and then vendor-specific hardware drivers will then determine whether virtual buttons or physical buttons are used to interface with the OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well of course the emulator will be button based, as you can't touch the screen of your laptop
But yes, I get your point. The idea is the manufacturer chooses whether to use buttons or not. I think they'd be stupid to include buttons though, when the soft buttons will obviously make the experience much better.

jay_993 said:
Would this be the case? I enjoy having good selection of ROMs with different looks
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS will work if you have or don't have physical buttons.
http://gizmodo.com/5853298/will-your-android-phones-buttons-still-work-with-ice-cream-sandwich

I think the focus is ports such as MIUI... but either they'll include the hooks for the buttons or 3rd party controls... or custom launchers like the ICS launchers we have now.
Not to worry
G2x - 2.3.7 CM7
Transformer - 3.2 Revolver OC/UV

martonikaj said:
Well of course the emulator will be button based, as you can't touch the screen of your laptop
But yes, I get your point. The idea is the manufacturer chooses whether to use buttons or not. I think they'd be stupid to include buttons though, when the soft buttons will obviously make the experience much better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't really think through your point...
If you can't simulate touchscreen input on the emulator, how are you going to perform all those touch-based actions in Android on the emulator? Did you think that on the emulator, you press buttons to do everything?
The answer is that with the emulator, you use mouse presses to simulate touchscreen input. Which means that, if the softkeys are a standard, always-present part of ICS, then in the emulator for ICS those softkeys would be on the screen. However they are not, which means ICS works just fine with hardware buttons, and hides the softkeys when they are present.

Chirality said:
You didn't really think through your point...
If you can't simulate touchscreen input on the emulator, how are you going to perform all those touch-based actions in Android on the emulator? Did you think that on the emulator, you press buttons to do everything?
The answer is that with the emulator, you use mouse presses to simulate touchscreen input. Which means that, if the softkeys are a standard, always-present part of ICS, then in the emulator for ICS those softkeys would be on the screen. However they are not, which means ICS works just fine with hardware buttons, and hides the softkeys when they are present.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was making a joke about it. Easy tiger.
They're just simply running 4.0 in the old emulator so the emulator interface is the same whether you're running a 2.3 or 4.0 AVD.

martonikaj said:
I was making a joke about it. Easy tiger.
They're just simply running 4.0 in the old emulator so the emulator interface is the same whether you're running a 2.3 or 4.0 AVD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought you might have been making a joke, so I wasn't overly critical, but tone doesn't come across well over the web...
Sure, they reused the old emulator interface. But that already tells you everything you need to know. If ICS doesn't work with physical buttons, then they would either need to revamp the emulator, disable the physical buttons and put on-screen buttons on the emulator display, or just leave the physical buttons there, but they would do nothing and on-screen buttons would be displayed. The fact that the emulator works without change, already tells you that ICS supports physical buttons and can hide the on-screen buttons when they are not needed.

Chirality said:
I thought you might have been making a joke, so I wasn't overly critical, but tone doesn't come across well over the web...
Sure, they reused the old emulator interface. But that already tells you everything you need to know. If ICS doesn't work with physical buttons, then they would either need to revamp the emulator, disable the physical buttons and put on-screen buttons on the emulator display, or just leave the physical buttons there, but they would do nothing and on-screen buttons would be displayed. The fact that the emulator works without change, already tells you that ICS supports physical buttons and can hide the on-screen buttons when they are not needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I'm 100% sure ICS is set up to work with either on-screen or hardware buttons. Its pretty well exemplified by the SDK ports of ICS running just fine on a Nexus S with hardware buttons, and the fact that manufacturers are saying old phones (pre GN) are getting ICS upgrades. I think Goog would be stupid to make it only work on all-screen phones.
All I was saying is that I think manufacturers would be dumb to make new phones with hardware buttons and ICS, as the software buttons work so much better. Just as we saw with honeycomb, a few tablets used a hardware home key or something like that, but most just used on-screen buttons.

Most likely we will see more phones with hardware based buttons in the future. The button-less design will be standard for high-end phones but on the smaller phones with smaller screens where the size of software buttons will take up to much space. I think that the option to use hardware buttons will stay as an options for years to come.

martonikaj said:
Oh I'm 100% sure ICS is set up to work with either on-screen or hardware buttons. Its pretty well exemplified by the SDK ports of ICS running just fine on a Nexus S with hardware buttons, and the fact that manufacturers are saying old phones (pre GN) are getting ICS upgrades. I think Goog would be stupid to make it only work on all-screen phones.
All I was saying is that I think manufacturers would be dumb to make new phones with hardware buttons and ICS, as the software buttons work so much better. Just as we saw with honeycomb, a few tablets used a hardware home key or something like that, but most just used on-screen buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly do software buttons work better? I would much prefer hardware buttons with real tactile feedback because it's much harder to accidentally press them.

Chirality said:
How exactly do software buttons work better? I would much prefer hardware buttons with real tactile feedback because it's much harder to accidentally press them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for one they're dynamic, meaning they can adapt to whatever changes in lighting, orientation, etc.
They can also be changed after the fact, for example if Google decides that there should be a search button instead of, or in addition to, the button(s), then they will adapt it on the software side.
Failure of the buttons is also dependant on the touch sensor failing, and not just wear and tear from the user, i know the trackball on my Nexus One was becoming increasingly frustrating because of that.
Lastly as for the con that it's easier to accidentally press, i disagree. I can't speak for Google's implementation, but there are a variety of software options to prevent stuff like that from happening.
For example the already existing capacative buttons cannot be activated unless you actually click on them, or atleast that's how it is on my phone, yes the touch required is otherwise light, but could likewise be adjusted in the software.

FISKER_Q said:
Well for one they're dynamic, meaning they can adapt to whatever changes in lighting, orientation, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no advantages to this. If you have hardware buttons with real tactile feedback, you can press them in your pocket without looking at it. You don't need fancy virtual buttons that change icons and dim, all you need are real, physical buttons.
FISKER_Q said:
They can also be changed after the fact, for example if Google decides that there should be a search button instead of, or in addition to, the button(s), then they will adapt it on the software side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this is a potential pro, the chances of this happening are slim to none. For this to work, Android would have to truly do away with physical buttons and make software buttons an integral part of the platform. Physical buttons and virtual buttons remain viable options for the platform, which means that the platform can't make changes to the button specification at will.
FISKER_Q said:
Failure of the buttons is also dependant on the touch sensor failing, and not just wear and tear from the user, i know the trackball on my Nexus One was becoming increasingly frustrating because of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to see some statistics to back up the claim that physical buttons fail before touchscreens do.
FISKER_Q said:
Lastly as for the con that it's easier to accidentally press, i disagree. I can't speak for Google's implementation, but there are a variety of software options to prevent stuff like that from happening.
For example the already existing capacative buttons cannot be activated unless you actually click on them, or atleast that's how it is on my phone, yes the touch required is otherwise light, but could likewise be adjusted in the software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touchpanel makers have been trying for years to master the technology to prevent accidental presses, but none of them work as well as a real button that you have to depress to activate. I think if you were honest with yourself you'd agree with this, any reasonable person would.

Lil Jones said:
Most likely we will see more phones with hardware based buttons in the future. The button-less design will be standard for high-end phones but on the smaller phones with smaller screens where the size of software buttons will take up to much space. I think that the option to use hardware buttons will stay as an options for years to come.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you're thinking this through. When you remove the hardware buttons, the screen gets larger. The net real-estate you have for screen+buttons stays the same, but now the buttons can change/move.
Chirality said:
How exactly do software buttons work better? I would much prefer hardware buttons with real tactile feedback because it's much harder to accidentally press them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you don't need the buttons (games, videos, camera, etc.) they go away. Leaving you with MORE screen then you had before.
Software buttons can dynamically change. They get brighter or dimmer with the screen, they rotate with the phone, and the buttons can change (add or remove menu button for legacy apps) depending on where in the OS you are.
Not to mention that with ICS software buttons, the positioning is standardized. No more rearranging of the buttons from android device to android device and manufacturer to manufacturer.
---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 PM ----------
Chirality said:
There are no advantages to this. If you have hardware buttons with real tactile feedback, you can press them in your pocket without looking at it. You don't need fancy virtual buttons that change icons and dim, all you need are real, physical buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why do you need to press the home/menu/back/search buttons on your phone in your pocket?
While this is a potential pro, the chances of this happening are slim to none. For this to work, Android would have to truly do away with physical buttons and make software buttons an integral part of the platform. Physical buttons and virtual buttons remain viable options for the platform, which means that the platform can't make changes to the button specification at will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its pretty clear that ICS is moving Android towards a buttonless design. When the Nexus comes out with no physical buttons, I think they're sending a pretty serious message about what they want manufacturers to do and what Google sees as the future of Android.

martonikaj said:
When you don't need the buttons (games, videos, camera, etc.) they go away. Leaving you with MORE screen then you had before.
Software buttons can dynamically change. They get brighter or dimmer with the screen, they rotate with the phone, and the buttons can change (add or remove menu button for legacy apps) depending on where in the OS you are.
Not to mention that with ICS software buttons, the positioning is standardized. No more rearranging of the buttons from android device to android device and manufacturer to manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sense there is some conceptual confusion here. Both you and FISKER_Q said something about on-screen buttons being dynamic and can change with what the software is doing. Let's clarify things a bit.
We are actually talking about two different kinds of buttons here. The first kind are the button widgets displayed on the screen, they can have different appearances and functions and appear and disappear depending on what the software is doing. Let's call them dynamic buttons. The second kind are buttons that are always present and always do the same thing. Let's call them static buttons.
Obviously a touchscreen mobile device needs dynamic buttons, they are an integral part of the current UI paradigm. But does it need static buttons? Well...it needs at least one, the power button. Without it, you won't be able to turn the phone on. But does it need a second one? The answer is yes, it needs a home button. Without it you won't be able to return from a full screen application that wasn't designed with an exit function. This is why the iPhone has a giant button underneath the screen. And in fact, in ICS, the three virtual buttons only go away during video playback. They are still there, possibly dimmed, during any games or other apps. And this is only because the video playback app is a standard part of the OS, so it's safe to let that app hide the home button until a user taps the screen. Imagine if any app could hide the home button. Then you can write a malicious app that hides the home button and doesn't let you exit the app, forcing you to restart your phone.
So we established that a mobile device needs at least a second static button. Now the question becomes, given that you need this button to be always present and always doing the same thing, why make it into a dynamic, virtual button? Why do you need it to dim, change orientation, change function, move around? You want this button to be static, predictable, easy to locate. Users should be able to press this button without any graphic indicating what and where it is. This is why I said physical buttons can be pressed in your pocket without looking at it: not because you would ever need to do that, but because with a physical button, particularly as few as 1 to 3, they are so easy to locate and press that you don't even need any lights or graphics indicating where they are.
Obviously Android realizes the necessity of at least two static buttons, that's why they designed the home button to behave the way it does on ICS, where it is treated differently from other buttons. Now it is the decision of the Android designers to include not just one, but three static buttons as a standard part of the system. But here we are not concerned with this design choice, what we are concerned with is the fact that there needs to be at least one of these static buttons besides the power button, and the properties that these buttons must have. Given these properties, why should these static buttons be dynamic, be able to dim, be able to change orientation, be able to change function based on context? Why shouldn't they simply be physical buttons that can always be easily located, easily pressed, and difficult to trigger accidentally?

Chirality said:
Obviously a touchscreen mobile device needs dynamic buttons, they are an integral part of the current UI paradigm. But does it need static buttons? Well...it needs at least one, the power button. Without it, you won't be able to turn the phone on. But does it need a second one? The answer is yes, it needs a home button. Without it you won't be able to return from a full screen application that wasn't designed with an exit function. This is why the iPhone has a giant button underneath the screen. And in fact, in ICS, the three virtual buttons only go away during video playback. They are still there, possibly dimmed, during any games or other apps. And this is only because the video playback app is a standard part of the OS, so it's safe to let that app hide the home button until a user taps the screen. Imagine if any app could hide the home button. Then you can write a malicious app that hides the home button and doesn't let you exit the app, forcing you to restart your phone.
So we established that a mobile device needs at least a second static button. Now the question becomes, given that you need this button to be always present and always doing the same thing, why make it into a dynamic, virtual button? Why do you need it to dim, change orientation, change function, move around? You want this button to be static, predictable, easy to locate. Users should be able to press this button without any graphic indicating what and where it is. This is why I said physical buttons can be pressed in your pocket without looking at it: not because you would ever need to do that, but because with a physical button, particularly as few as 1 to 3, they are so easy to locate and press that you don't even need any lights or graphics indicating where they are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, we didn't establish anything. You established that you think the phone needs a 2nd static button. And why? Because you're worried about malware taking over the buttons? You can write a malicious app now that disables your hardware home button (or any other button, for that matter) too. How is that ANY different? Just because its hardware doesn't mean that it doesn't link to software at some point. If you think about it, Android already has software buttons, they're just linked to hardware switches on the front of the phone....
Obviously Android realizes the necessity of at least two static buttons, that's why they designed the home button to behave the way it does on ICS, where it is treated differently from other buttons. Now it is the decision of the Android designers to include not just one, but three static buttons as a standard part of the system. But here we are not concerned with this design choice, what we are concerned with is the fact that there needs to be at least one of these static buttons besides the power button, and the properties that these buttons must have. Given these properties, why should these static buttons be dynamic, be able to dim, be able to change orientation, be able to change function based on context? Why shouldn't they simply be physical buttons that can always be easily located, easily pressed, and difficult to trigger accidentally?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, android actually hasn't realized the necessity for at least 2 buttons. Its actually quite the opposite. They've gone from wanting 5 static buttons, to ICS+Galaxy Nexus only having 1, the power button. The home button will always be in the same place when you need it, it is just able to disappear in full-screen apps to allow them to use the full real estate of the phone's front panel (and not just movies. Books, games, web pages, etc.).
You make it sound like because the software buttons are able to rotate with the phone or fade out during watching a movie or reading a book that they won't come back when you need them in the exact same spot when you're done with the full-screen task. It is just as easy for a user to remember where a software button is as it is to know where a hardware button is. Software just brings more consistency across the platform, where software buttons will always be in the same spot.

ICS Wasted Screen Space?

So here's a thing.
I've been using and loving my Galaxy Nexus since launch day but one thing has always nagged me. I've always felt that this expansive screen didn't seem that big. I was caught up in the novelty of Ice Cream Sandwich's 'On Screen Buttons' and this new screen relative navigation paradigm to a point that I was glad to give over a large percentage of screen real estate to something that was new and novel.
I now suggest that after prolonged and optimistic use this paradigm is a waste of screen space.
I was swayed by the promise that this section of my precious screen would dynamically adjust and adapt to app specific requirements but as far as I can tell all it does is turn from icons to dots while running some apps and graciously disappears while using 2 (two) other apps (YouTube and Video).
For the most part it stays EXACTLY as it normally appears completely negating the whole point of moving these buttons to the screen!
With the reveal of the HTC OneX, which has pretty much the same sized screen, I've seen what properly used screen real estate can look like. It 'looks' bigger. The screen looks much bigger.
I think Google is wrong in promoting this screen based button layout. Either they change how these buttons persist in the interface and this is supported by 3rd parties or they give the 'whole' screen back to apps. The Galaxy Nexus has a beautiful screen but a 'not insignificant' portion of it is practically useless.
As GNex user what do you think about this?

I'm rooted and running aokp b27 so can hide the navigation buttons at a click of a button and have the full screen for all apps. Can then use button savior or similar or the options in the power menu for home back etc.
Want the navigation buttons back again, click of a button again.
Give it a try
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I think swiping up and down (like the notification pull down) would be awesome
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium

This would be awesome indeed!
So you guys know what I mean right? Seems like a waste right?
monoxide.tryst said:
I think swiping up and down (like the notification pull down) would be awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ShiroEd said:
This would be awesome indeed!
So you guys know what I mean right? Seems like a waste right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope...I I like the sleekness of the front without ant buttons on it when it is off.

dave83uk said:
I'm rooted and running aokp b27 so can hide the navigation buttons at a click of a button and have the full screen for all apps. Can then use button savior or similar or the options in the power menu for home back etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The half pint mod (reducing the nav bar height) is mush more useful. I'm using it at 24dpi and I hardly notice its there and keeps the functionality.

ezcats said:
Nope...I I like the sleekness of the front without ant buttons on it when it is off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah me too but I wish they would disappear more often than they do ala Gallery,Video,Youtube.
The HTC OneX is sleek when it is off too. It's only when you turn it one do you see the buttons so its exactly like the GNex but with more usable screen space.

dave83uk said:
I'm rooted and running aokp b27 so can hide the navigation buttons at a click of a button and have the full screen for all apps. Can then use button savior or similar or the options in the power menu for home back etc.
Want the navigation buttons back again, click of a button again.
Give it a try
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This...I have no on-screen buttons on my GN. 4.65 inches of pure ICS beauty!

But you gain screen space in the same sized chassis because you don't have capacitive buttons down below the screen... You're not any better or worse off screen size-wise when you use on-screen buttons. Its really a wash if you think about it...
I prefer on-screen because they hide when you've got something full-screen up, and they rotate with the UI. And when you turn off the screen, the buttons 100% disappear.

is also use AOKPs setting to hide the nav bar but only when im gonna play games pretty much
theres a way also to use the volume rocker as back and home buttons
here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1521252

I too think the screen buttons are a wasted opportunity and would disappear more often.

RogerPodacter said:
I too think the screen buttons are a wasted opportunity and would disappear more often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they could do it a little bit more, but remember ICS is meant to be more "user friendly" and not as technical. You shouldn't have to read a user manual to know the gestures to hide and restore the buttons.
I think it would be a very very poor decision on Google's part to just have the phone hiding and restoring buttons "randomly" when you enter different apps or modes.
The best thing about this paradigm is that the buttons can be updated with the OS. We aren't stuck with the buttons that come on the hardware. For example right now 2.3-optimized apps rely on the placement of a "menu" soft key in the action bar at the bottom, but as apps are updated we'll no longer see that button.

While do agree to TS in a certain capacity but I also think it would make the device very unintuitive for new users which is the point of ICS.
That's why we have custom roms. At least now with gnex, we have the hardware that to make it happen if the user choose to
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

The lack of physical buttons was one of my major considerations in getting the Galaxy Nexus rather than waiting for the HTC One X. That and the lack of removable battery. And the not wanting to wait. But I digress
ICS is designed to work with the soft buttons, and I've been enjoying how well they work on my Touchpad. So far I'm loving them on the Galaxy Nexus. To me they seem to get out of the way fairly often.
Another thing - I'm coming from a Nexus One. The funny thing about the Nexus One's capacitive buttons are that they do not work very well while wearing gloves. Even thin gloves. The rest of the screen works just fine, but switching apps, or bringing up the menu, or starting a search are all near impossible with gloves on.
With the Galaxy Nexus' soft buttons, everything is screen, so everything always works!

One thing for sure, youtube videos on wifi HQ look friggin FANTASTIC on this phone. No buttons and pure minimal black front, its truly beautiful. Buttons would diminish that effect/look.

martonikaj said:
But you gain screen space in the same sized chassis because you don't have capacitive buttons down below the screen... You're not any better or worse off screen size-wise when you use on-screen buttons. Its really a wash if you think about it...
I prefer on-screen because they hide when you've got something full-screen up, and they rotate with the UI. And when you turn off the screen, the buttons 100% disappear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC One X is actually slightly shorter than the Nexus, while having a slightly bigger screen.
On-screen buttons are a better solution to physically separated buttons in my opinion. The issue is that the Galaxy Nexus should be considered as a 'beta' for this type of implementation. Not only because the software isn't perfect, but also because of the physical attributes of the device. The space above and below the screen is far too much, and perhaps this is due to current technological limitations. Look at the space below your screen - you 'could' easily get a set of capacitive buttons in there.
If the spaces below and above the screen were reduced by 0.5cm each, the OP would have never made this complaint, as his device would be much more compact than a device with equivalent screen size and capacitive buttons.

Evangelion01 said:
The HTC One X is actually slightly shorter than the Nexus, while having a slightly bigger screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true and when I saw a video on YouTube comparing the GNex with the OneX it just struck me that the on screen buttons of the GNex were just taking up screen for no real functional gain whatsoever.
They rotate. Big deal. That makes no difference to functionality. I'd rather more screen.
They disappear. Rarely. When they do we all love how the screen looks. The OneX will be like that ALL THE TIME.
Their behaviour is inconsistent across applications. They disappear completely when viewing video (awesome) but we get three dots when viewing images. Why?
Check out the side by side comparison between the GNex and OneX and you can clearly see that both are the same sized phone but the OneX has SIGNIFICANTLY more available screen real estate. A LOT MORE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF9bhcNV5wU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
One of the things I love the most about the GNex is how minimalist it looks when turned off. Just a black slab. No buttons. But this is the same for many phones with capacitive buttons that turn off with the screen.
I simply cannot see any benefit to having on screen buttons *as it is currently implemented* in Ice Cream Sandwich.
Another thing to consider with persistent on screen buttons is the issue of screen burn in on AMOLED screens. A lot of GNex owners have started to see this already myself included. While this is an issue with the hardware it is a well know issue with AMOLED screens yet Google went ahead regardless.
I love the GNex but I'm now waiting to see what the SIII has to offer. If I'm going to the trouser busting bother of carrying around a large screen I want to get use out of it!

Changing the scaling of objects on screen will allow for more space on the screen. Plus, I think it looks nicer. Why not utilize the screen? xD
This thread covers how todo so. Though, some roms do have a modification option built in.

I've just Rooted (Finally!) and flashed AOKP b27 and IT'S AWESOME!!!
Amongst many other cool things it enables you to change the dpi for the Nav Bar making it really thin and freeing up loads of screen space while keeping full functionality!
Sha-WHEET!

monoxide.tryst said:
I think swiping up and down (like the notification pull down) would be awesome
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With nova launcher you can do that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Why did HTC choose physical buttons?

I love everything about the One series, wish they'd used software buttons like ICS is supposed to have.
e.g. on most legacy apps, we'll now have a whole bar just to show the menu button. Thus you have a row for the menu button, and below it another for the capacitive ones. With soft-keys, they get combined and you have more screen space.
Plus software can modify the button bar to put other details and buttons, change orientation etc. Soft-keys are simply better.

ECrispy said:
I love everything about the One series, wish they'd used software buttons like ICS is supposed to have.
e.g. on most legacy apps, we'll now have a whole bar just to show the menu button. Thus you have a row for the menu button, and below it another for the capacitive ones. With soft-keys, they get combined and you have more screen space.
Plus software can modify the button bar to put other details and buttons, change orientation etc. Soft-keys are simply better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't disagree more. Legacy apps will be updated over time; physical buttons don't need anywhere near as much power to backlight as an LCD display, and require essentially no processing power to operate. By placing the buttons on the screen, you're requiring an inefficient LCD backlight to light those buttons, wasting processing power on rendering the screen, and not to mention that since those on-screen buttons can't be disabled, you're permanently wasting valuable LCD real-estate (and hence forcing a non-standard screen aspect ratio, since LCD panels are an off-the-shelf part and aren't typically designed to add extra menu bar pixels to the standard aspect.)
This will in not too long provide a better aspect ratio and more on-screen real estate in well-coded apps, doesn't sacrifice any screen real estate over a screen that always has the menu bar because it lacks physical buttons, and it will measurably improve battery life over a display providing the same real estate for apps *plus* a full-time LCD menu bar.
It's a big win, as far as I'm concerned, that is largely misunderstood so far by people not thinking about the bigger picture.

Software buttons can be disabled for more screen real estate.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

joshnichols189 said:
Software buttons can be disabled for more screen real estate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They certainly can't in ICS on tablets, I must admit I haven't tried an ICS phone yet.

Of course they can be disabled, e.g in video playback they go away. And there are ICS api's developers can call to modify the buttons. There are custom rom's that features such as search button to the button bar, which isn't possible with hard buttons of course.

ECrispy said:
...e.g in video playback they go away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know about on a phone but on a tablet they don't go away they are just replaced with very small dot. So the bar is still there and you still lose the screen space.
I really like hardware buttons, I don't like the "menu" bar but as you said this is for legacy apps so the pressure should be put on the app developers to update their apps inline with ICS.
Like said prev, hardware buttons give more screen, correct aspect ratios, use less power, and in the long run the menu button will become redundant.

ECrispy said:
Of course they can be disabled, e.g in video playback they go away. And there are ICS api's developers can call to modify the buttons. There are custom rom's that features such as search button to the button bar, which isn't possible with hard buttons of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They certainly don't "go away" on ICS tablets. The bar is still there, the buttons are just replaced with less-distracting dots.

I love the physical touch buttons on the bottom, rather have them than touch screen ones anyday
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA

Google themselves have said that Android is moving in a direction where there should be no physical buttons. e.g. lets say Jellybean removes/adds a button, now some phones will need to be redesigned for it, just like they had to remove search & menu when moving to ICS. But a phone with software buttons doesn't need to change the hardware. It's more future proof.
I think this kind of change will take a while but eventually it will happen. There are still many people who prefer hw buttons and HTC wanted to accomodate them I guess.

I don't have an ICS tablet, I'd guess the reason is there is enough space on a tablet screen so they don't go away.

I prefer hardware buttons, BUT:
If using soft button means that the phone actually gets smaller,
i choose soft buttons.

ECrispy said:
But a phone with software buttons doesn't need to change the hardware. It's more future proof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Frankly, future-proofing is meaningless for as long as Google requires that end users go through a carrier and/or a manufacturer to get updates, and in the process guarantees that almost all Android products will be abandoned by the wayside before they've even stopped being sold (and the few that get updates will get them late, if ever.)

I just don't understand why they had to abandon the menu button, it was perfect...
I don't understand why we need a multitask button when you could just keep home pressed for the same result.
I didn't use a GN so won't comment on the software buttons much, I think it could really work if they added options for it in default ics so people who don't use custom roms and such could deal with them as they wish.
as for the menu bar on htc one.. it will eventually have a option to hide it (a V arrow on the bar)
it did in a previous software version but I guess they forgot to add it in the final build
and if you wanted it back all you had to do is keep multitask button pressed

@OP: drop by GNexus forum, there's quite some guys not happy with the screen size they loose with softbuttons. There's even an option on AKOP ROM to disable softbar.
I'm quite happy with hard buttons on One X, I just find stupid the solution HTC found to replace the menu button.

Disabling the soft buttons on the Galaxy Nexus is a commonly requested feature because tons of app developers haven't yet updated their apps to hide them while in full screen, not because of some half-baked idea that the loss of that extra 84 pixels of height somehow detracts from the user experience. Furthermore, the loss of screen real estate doesn't mean anything when 99% of the current apps are configured for the old 5:3 aspect ratio. Lots of old games look funky when you disable the soft buttons, because all the OS does is stretch it to fit.
Soft buttons are better because nobody can make up their minds on the design of the UI, so you might as well just leave it open to customization. Don't blame Google, blame the app developers.

HTC listened...
Maybe HTC listened to the majority of the HTC users and followed through with hardware buttons or maybe it is an HTC thing to keep hardware buttons as to Apple with their Home button.

I just want my search button back... that was perhaps the one (and only )good addition the US carriers made to their devices. IMO.

I can't find the article but an HTC executive was quoted as saying it's necessary to support Sense.

I'm happy they did it. The buttons on the galaxy nexus look like crap, the black isn't black enough to use it for passive buttons.

H-Cim said:
I'm happy they did it. The buttons on the galaxy nexus look like crap, the black isn't black enough to use it for passive buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The.majority of GN roms alow you to change both the brightness and colour of the on-screen buttons so that isn't an issue for most people. I actually prefer them, particularly as you can add or change the configuration of the buttons easily.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Hardware Menu Button Remap CM10.2

So, I want my menu button to open up menus again, and not the "overflow" menu. What are my options? Do I have to re-install 10.2 and the 0813 gapps and prevent any of the google apps from updating by backing up their apks and resigning them with ZipSigner? Will the unofficially signed apps even work properly anymore? Is there any way to map the menu button to the "navigation drawer" / "hamburger button?" I've tried searching but haven't found any help.
The first time I tried to hit the button one handed was also the first time I really dropped my S3 (small hands). It finally put a crack in my bezel. I was so proud of that bezel! I know that I can swipe from the bezel to the right to open up the "navigation drawer," but I can only get this to work about a third of the time, and only in Google's own apps. Might as well be the charm bar in Win 8. None of the third party apps I use seem to incorporate this swiping feature either, which is why I'd rather enable the overflow three dot display, and remap the menu button. None of the options in the buttons menu in CM are anything I'd use. I just don't get it. They want to get rid of the menu button because devs hide everything there, but to facilitate it they hide everything off screen in a drawer that I have to use two hands to open?
I wish Google didn't dictate that the Action Bar and on-screen navigation controls are the way "things must be." Especially with no consideration to those of us on legacy devices. I rather like having buttons on the bottom of the phone that don't take up screen real estate. I'd like it even more if the buttons were physical like they were on my Evo 4G, and not capacitive. I even miss the old four button layout. I used all four of them all of the time. Why not have physical + per app customizable on screen buttons? Get the best of both worlds? "Because Matias Duarte has not deemed it so." Sounds like Jonathan Ive or Steven Sinofsky.... If I wanted to be told how to use my phone, I would have bought an iPhone or a Lumia....
On a side note, I am less than enthusiastic about the changes Google has been making with the apps. The fonts got bigger in everything, but especially annoyed me in the Play Store. Whitespace, WHITESPACE EVERYWHERE! So now I only see 5 apps at once, rather than the 8-9 that was in the ICS store. Why have a phone with a huge screen if we're going to make everything giant? And so many apps are following these "best practices." Then again, I detest mobile sites and set my useragent to desktop. I guess I just feel that if I'm carrying a computer in my pocket, it should feel like a computer.

Disable & Hide H/W buttons-- Enable Softkeys! HTC One M7

Update:
Hey everyone, I would like to update my project just incase anyone stumbles across this post in the future . I first set out asking if such a glass or plastic screen protector exists that is tinted at the bottom to "black out" the capacitive buttons. I couldnt find anything like it and instead followed synister's advice to use car tint. I used a paper slicer to cut 8.5mm off of the bottom of a plastic screen protector and used that as reference when cutting the vinyl tint. I then applied both pieces making sure the edges touched. It does feel pretty smooth when you glide your finger back and forth; you will feel the line but it is "natural" to overcome.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
*If you use as a guide I cannot be held liable. If you edit the wrong files you can cause your device to function incorrectly. Device needs root.*
I enabled softkeys/onscreen buttons by adding the following line to build.prop. It's really easy to do and not intimidating. Use a file browser with root access (root file explorer). Navigate to />system>build.prop, click it to edit as text, scroll to the bottom, type the following, save and reboot.
qemu.hw.mainkeys=0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To disable the hardware keys is similar. This time navigate to />system>usr>keylayout>synaptics-rmi-touchscreen.kl. When you open this file as text, you will see it only has 2 small lines "key 102 HOME"and "Key 158 Back." Put a hashtag # in front of both lines or simply delete the lines, save and reboot. To disable the backlight I used the app capacitive buttons: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sleepydragon.capbutnbrightness.
And Voila. Worked in both sense 6 4.4.2 and cm11 nightlies. m8 what?

alexjzim said:
Hey guys.
After almost a year I still cant get used to HTC's proprietary 2 button, and now that even HTC has gone virtual I've officially said "screw it."
Although I haven't put a ROM on my phone in a while, this one seems to allows the regular android onscreen virtual buttons in place of the 2 button layout: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2348415. Less screen estate doesnt bother me so much, but using the home button for home, recent apps,and google now does.
Here is where I need the Communities help!: I'm sure everyone values the beauty of their HTC One as much as I do, and I dont want to keep those ugly buttons around if I dont have to. Does anyone know of a plastic or glass screen protector for the m7 that will black out the bottom bar, to basically make those buttons disappear? I wouldn't mind the HTC logo, its just those buttons...
I'm willing to custom order, guinea pig, or bulk order if anyone else wants in on the bandwagon. I'll continue to research myself and will update accordingly, but hopefully I'm not the only one who has thought this .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with root, you can turn off the bottom buttons and turn off the back light.
but you can also go to the store and get car tint and cut some out and place it over the buttons too.

synisterwolf said:
with root, you can turn off the bottom buttons and turn off the back light.
but you can also go to the store and get car tint and cut some out and place it over the buttons too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered some tint online as per your recommendation. I would like to make it appear as if the buttons were never there, not just turn them off. I'll cut the tint into place and cut a screen protector to work together. Still open to more elegant options, but I will try to post pics when it comes.
Thanks for the advice!

bumping once for new info

Why would you want to eat up the screen using on screen buttons....makes no sense your cutting about a half inch of screen for this mod...shrugs....to each their own I suppose.

Wonders_Never_Cease said:
Why would you want to eat up the screen using on screen buttons....makes no sense your cutting about a half inch of screen for this mod...shrugs....to each their own I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you lose some screen real estate but it is actually not as detrimental as you probably think.. With xposed and the sense 6 toolbox you can auto hide the dock in blinkfeed. Using the Fleksy keyboard massively reduces keyboard size. And the buttons auto hide when playing content from YouTube Netflix etc.
It's very doable and puts it more in line with the Moto x which is 4.7 with soft keys. hitting the home button is also less stressful on the thumb and let's you hold the phone higher up to hit that back corner

Can You put up some kind of video guide?
Thanks in advance
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Wonders_Never_Cease said:
Why would you want to eat up the screen using on screen buttons....makes no sense your cutting about a half inch of screen for this mod...shrugs....to each their own I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking the same thing, theres nothing wrong with the capacitive bittons and personally I would not not want to waste screen real estate,
plus even if you autohide the dock, which I know certain apps can do, you need to swipe up before you can use the back, home, task manager keys, adding another step ...
suppose some people prefer touch screen keys to capacitive ones, each to his own.
regards

I think it's still the lesser evil than always having at least one essential key missing. The One's design is total **** in that regard. I can't really reach the power button and often it doesn't respond. There is no menu button. Double tap and hold aren't reliable. I tried several configurations including Logo2Menu, the best one for me is a nav bar, where I have added two further buttons left and right. One menu button with double tap for auto rotate toggle and long press for quick settings. One for screen off and long press screen shot. To me that's the most usable configuration.

HTC One M7, S-On, TWRP 2.7.0.8, Cyanogen 11 20140621-NIGHTLY-m7, Xposed Framework, Flux Theme, Naxos Taz Icons

hmm. didnt work for me. i installed LMT launcher and disabled the keys. works for me.

Thanks for sharing this! I was hoping there was an Xposed or other root app that lets you enable the stock navbar without having to edit any files directly, but this isn't too difficult, and I've created a backup of my build.prop.
Btw, @psycho_maniac, I tried searching the settings of LMT to do this, and didn't see any options. :/

HitchslapHTC said:
I think it's still the lesser evil than always having at least one essential key missing. The One's design is total **** in that regard. I can't really reach the power button and often it doesn't respond. There is no menu button. Double tap and hold aren't reliable. I tried several configurations including Logo2Menu, the best one for me is a nav bar, where I have added two further buttons left and right. One menu button with double tap for auto rotate toggle and long press for quick settings. One for screen off and long press screen shot. To me that's the most usable configuration.

HTC One M7, S-On, TWRP 2.7.0.8, Cyanogen 11 20140621-NIGHTLY-m7, Xposed Framework, Flux Theme, Naxos Taz Icons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which xpose module allows additional buttons ?
I'm on CM11S, navbar enabled but additional buttons are only menu and search. I would like to add the screen off one

alexjzim said:
Update:
Hey everyone, I would like to update my project just incase anyone stumbles across this post in the future . I first set out asking if such a glass or plastic screen protector exists that is tinted at the bottom to "black out" the capacitive buttons. I couldnt find anything like it and instead followed synister's advice to use car tint. I used a paper slicer to cut 8.5mm off of the bottom of a plastic screen protector and used that as reference when cutting the vinyl tint. I then applied both pieces making sure the edges touched. It does feel pretty smooth when you glide your finger back and forth; you will feel the line but it is "natural" to overcome.
*If you use as a guide I cannot be held liable. If you edit the wrong files you can cause your device to function incorrectly. Device needs root.*
I enabled softkeys/onscreen buttons by adding the following line to build.prop. It's really easy to do and not intimidating. Use a file browser with root access (root file explorer). Navigate to />system>build.prop, click it to edit as text, scroll to the bottom, type the following, save and reboot.
To disable the hardware keys is similar. This time navigate to />system>usr>keylayout>synaptics-rmi-touchscreen.kl. When you open this file as text, you will see it only has 2 small lines "key 102 HOME"and "Key 158 Back." Put a hashtag # in front of both lines or simply delete the lines, save and reboot. To disable the backlight I used the app capacitive buttons: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sleepydragon.capbutnbrightness.
And Voila. Worked in both sense 6 4.4.2 and cm11 nightlies. m8 what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an awesome mod! Could you put up higher resolution pics and/or a video? Thanks!

Given this mod is there any way to disable the virtual menu button that shows up in some apps? It seems that these apps thinks there is no menu button this phone. At least when using Sense-based roms.
Example: Battle.Net Authenticator

guy4jesuschrist said:
Thanks for sharing this! I was hoping there was an Xposed or other root app that lets you enable the stock navbar without having to edit any files directly, but this isn't too difficult, and I've created a backup of my build.prop.
Btw, @psycho_maniac, I tried searching the settings of LMT to do this, and didn't see any options. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you want LMT to do? I've been using it a lot lately on my nexus 6 so I'm curious.

psycho_maniac said:
What do you want LMT to do? I've been using it a lot lately on my nexus 6 so I'm curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not looking for it anymore, but at the time, I was looking for a way of enabling the built in navbar, without modifying system files. Kinda like how an Xposed module could be used to enable the hidden heads up feature in KitKat.

guy4jesuschrist said:
I'm not looking for it anymore, but at the time, I was looking for a way of enabling the built in navbar, without modifying system files. Kinda like how an Xposed module could be used to enable the hidden heads up feature in KitKat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh i was referring to LMT because I just wanted them turned off completely since my new phone (at the time) had the nav bar (oneplus one) and it was hard getting used to only have 2 buttons on the bottom of the htc m7. Now that I use LMT for my main launcher I even turn off the navigation bar. Its pretty sweet. You can have up to 24 shortcuts. I have the nexus 6 now and love it!

It helped me alot my home button got stuck and was pressing it self all the time, Thanks dude

I use a black tape and some transparent tape to cover the buttons .. Lol its look very weird but anyways , its cool ..
Sent from the air

HTC One Max
hi good afternoon i want ask if you can update your project for htc one max ?