Do you like hardware buttons for your phone?

[trainplane]

With the rumors that Windows phone 8.1 forward will remove the need for the three front facing buttons (back, home, search) and the camera button, it's very likely phone makers will make phones without these. Would this be a deal breaker for you, you don't care, or are you glad the buttons are gone and are software only?

 

[Bryan Sayas]

With the rumors that Windows phone 8.1 forward will remove the need for the three front facing buttons (back, home, search) and the camera button

Removing the three front facing buttons? Yes. But the camera button? Heavens no! I don't even believe ditching the camera button would likely happen.

 

[Kaushik Dash]

I have always liked the feel of hardware navigation buttons.. They give a primium feel. And camera button? Heavens no! I hope no OEM dumps it.

 

[89caps]

I'm not sure how much I will like on screen buttons yet, but I don't think it will be too bad. I would like a haptic feedback option. Definitely want the camera button to stay.

 

[Jan Tomsic]

I see absolutely zero sense in on-screen buttons, unless they are configurable. Since this is WP, they probably won't be, so why waste pixels on the screen for buttons when you can leave them on the bezel? On 925 the bottom bezel is only slightly taller than the top one, and it doesn't bug me at all. I also hate it how on my Nexus 7, virtual (on-screen) buttons go into landscape when I move the tablet, wasting precious pixels (there's only 800 of those and a lot of screen is wasted for buttons and notification bar).

Hardware camera button is the best thing that happened to camera phones. I had one on Arc S, but it was positioned so awkwardly that I never used it, I almost dropped the phone if I tried to press it, on Lumias, it's perfect. I don't care much if it stays or not on cheaper models, but a PureView without a camera button is a waste of technology. I take all my photos with the hardware button on my 925.

 

[Manny C]

I know when the next wave of devices gets announced I'll certainly be hoping they have a variation that will have the capacitive buttons. I'm not fan of on screen buttons, I had them on my Nexus 7 and just didn't like them so much. They are absolutely perfect on my 925.

 

[Narathan]

I don't mind on screen buttons. I've read that in 8.1 you can tap to "minimize" them, giving you more screen in return when you're watching a movie or playing a game. It's probably going to be like in Android where you can return the on screen buttons with a swipe from the right to left. And personally I never really liked the hardware buttons, I always hit them with my handpalm when watching a movie or reading an article. Very frustrating.

It also opens up more hardware that runs Android with on screen buttons I guess, so that solves that problem. Only downside I see myself is that the devices will have less less signature (is that the word?) to be indentified as a Windows Phone... But could be interesting too. Won't mind a Sony Z2 with WP8.1 on it AT ALL.

 

[Bryan Sayas]

It also opens up more hardware that runs Android with on screen buttons I guess, so that solves that problem. Only downside I see myself is that the devices will have less less signature (is that the word?) to be indentified as a Windows Phone... But could be interesting too. Won't mind a Sony Z2 with WP8.1 on it AT ALL.

You lost me in this part. I don't think those buttons is what defines a Windows Phone.

 

[BIGPADDY]

I prefer on the display/software only after using my Z1.

With the capacity button I always use to hit them by mistake.

 

[Jan Tomsic]

With the capacity button I always use to hit them by mistake.

After a year and a half, I still accidentally press 'home' instead of 'space' on my Nexus 7. With hardware buttons this rarely happens (never with physical, rarely with capacitive)

 

[RustyU]

Having been using Nexus phones for the past year and a half, on screen buttons are great.

They're no different to use than capacitive ones, but can disappear when not needed and can be changed in future if needs be.

Also I find they are in a more comfortable position than capacitive ones that are below the screen.

 

[jhoff80]

I'd love hardware buttons for search, home, and back, the problem is no Windows Phone devices have them.

If it's down between capacitive dedicated buttons and on screen buttons though, I think I'd prefer the latter.

 

[svenhassel]

I love hardware buttons, specially the "windows" one in the Ativ S. It?s the only WP that I know that can turn on using the "windows" button .

Capacitive buttons that cannot be disabled or customized are a disgrace. The "Bing" button is terrible :angry: .

The most useful button of all: the camera one. I won?t buy a phone without it onwards as long as I have a choice.

 

[freestaterocker]

I love the physical home button on my Ativ S, but would be cool with onscreen buttons. As long as at least one OEM continues to manufacture flagship WPs with the hardware camera button, (preferably MS) that will be the OEM that gets my money.

 

[mary beth hale]

Love the physical home button on my ativ s as well. Hope to keep that and the camera button. Not too crazy about on screen buttons

 

[Guzzler3]

Personally, I don't care. Either way works for me. I foresee the phones without dedicated buttons (physical or capacitive) will just have the icons at the bottom of the screen (back, win, search) and they won't move if you rotate the phone. You might complain that you will be loosing some screen real-estate, but I don't foresee it being that much of a loss.

Now the dedicated camera button... I will miss that dearly. But if that is the price to pay to get deeper penetration of the Windows Phone in the marketplace, so be it.

 

[odin09]

The camera button would be the biggest hit for me also. It is one of the things that make me love windows phone. Hopefully it will remain for high end models.

 

[dav8o8]

Leave the camera button alone, please!

 

[poiman]

Give me the 3 hardware buttons. The new software buttons look so small, I can't imagine them being finger friendly.

 

[Sport Driver]

I do not like HW buttons on the front but I love camera button. I would probably search phone with camera button, those will probably be Nokia and Sony.