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Help Droid X awesome except for "physical" buttons......

B

bpman

Member
So far so great with the new Droid X!! I have not had any of the lag problems or battery life issues that I have seen posted. My X is fast and smooth, I love it so far.

Having said that, I can see a potential problem with the physical buttons on the device. When I first started using the X, the buttons were tight and had a crisp feel when pressed. Now after 1 day of use, the" back" button is getting loose and is not nearly as crisp as it was. I don't think it will last much longer. I wish there was a way to back out of a screen or app via a screen button as opposed to the physical one. If anyone knows a way to avoid using the physical button to go back a web screen, please let me know.

Other than that, this thing RULES!!!!!!
 
i agree. i prefer the touch buttons on my old incredible. it makes it feel like a more quality device when there are less things moving. plus dirt and dust couldnt get in the crevices of the buttons on the incredible like they can on the x.
 
I like the physical buttons because I don't accidentally press them. I hope they don't go bad quickly and if they do the phone will get replaced.
 
Two issues I see with the physical buttons..They only light up when you press them (in the dark) so its tough to get the first press right. They are also very recessed and it is difficult to press them during one hand operation (I can palm a basketball, so its not hand size)
 
honestly, i have no idea what you guys are talking about with the back button. but you have me freaked out. i went to the back button to check it out. it seems fine to me. but I'm watching.
 
After using it for a day and a half I haven't noticed much of a change in the back button, or any of the other buttons. Makes sense though, normal wear and tear. I upgrade once a year anyway so as long as a phone lasts that long I am okay with it haha
 
PurePursuit said:
Two issues I see with the physical buttons..They only light up when you press them (in the dark) so its tough to get the first press right. They are also very recessed and it is difficult to press them during one hand operation (I can palm a basketball, so its not hand size)
Click to expand...

How are yours recessed? Mine definitely stick out. Do you have a picture?

Mine is still crisp like the day I got them. I still like them over the touch buttons on the Inc.
 
They definitely do feel a little flimsy and seem out of place relative to the overall quality of the phone. I'm just hoping they've been thoroughly tested for durability and it's more of a perception problem than an actual issue.
 
Only thing I don't like about the physical buttons are the light timeout. GOes out too quick, and like was said, only comes on AFTER you hit them, so you end up guessing in the dark. Needs to be able to be adjusted.
 
Sorry, recessed is the wrong word. They BARELY stick out past the screen. They operate just fine though, and are not becoming loose and I don't see that happening soon.
 
The buttons might be my only gripe, they feel pretty flimsy compared to the rest of the phone. I too have large hands so I feel the buttons could be alot larger and feel alot more solid.
 
The buttons are taking me some time to get use to, but I actually prefer them over touch buttons. My only gripe is that I keep hitting menu instead of home. Why couldn't all Android phones use either home, menu, back, search or all use menu, home, back, search? I know they are different manufactures, but man it is hard to remember when you get use to one. Oh well!
 
They also require a fair amount of force to press compared to the touch screen. Ah compromise...
 
PurePursuit said:
Two issues I see with the physical buttons..They only light up when you press them (in the dark) so its tough to get the first press right. They are also very recessed and it is difficult to press them during one hand operation (I can palm a basketball, so its not hand size)
Click to expand...

edgeman4 said:
Only thing I don't like about the physical buttons are the light timeout. GOes out too quick, and like was said, only comes on AFTER you hit them, so you end up guessing in the dark. Needs to be able to be adjusted.
Click to expand...


Um, ok maybe I'm confused or my X is a freak. The lights on my 4 hard buttons are lit as soon as you turn the screen on and they time out after 30 seconds of inactivity. But if I touch anywhere on the screen or on one of the buttons they light for another 30 seconds. Is that not how everyone elses work?
 
I wish you had choice. I would prefer to have a back button on the screen or maybe just swipe to go back (on any screen).
 
krichek said:
Um, ok maybe I'm confused or my X is a freak. The lights on my 4 hard buttons are lit as soon as you turn the screen on and they time out after 30 seconds of inactivity. But if I touch anywhere on the screen or on one of the buttons they light for another 30 seconds. Is that not how everyone elses work?
Click to expand...

Sorry you are correct, touching the screen does turn the buttons on, I did not realize that. However if the phone goes into idle mode, the home screen can be used to turn it on (in addition to the power button), which I was using but having a hard time to find when the phone is in idle mode. I'll just stick to using the power button, and that should solve the problem.
 
I noticed they felt a little loose, and it seems as though the menu/home buttons are more loose than the back/search buttons. I think I use the menu/home more often, but maybe it has nothing to do with how I've used the phone.

I have no doubt the buttons will not fall out, but it's annoying and as everyone's mentioned, it gives an otherwise nice phone a cheap feel. I also get that the camera button has a half depressed state, but so do DSLR shutter buttons, without feeling cheap.

I bought a silicone case from VZ which covers the buttons and I plan on using double sided tape to keep the cover in place. Although this keeps me from noticing the cheap feel as much (and blocking the back light which annoys me) I will probably mention something to VZ. Some of you say it's not a problem, I'm wondering if the issue effects different phones varying amounts.
 
PurePursuit said:
Sorry, recessed is the wrong word. They BARELY stick out past the screen. They operate just fine though, and are not becoming loose and I don't see that happening soon.
Click to expand...

Well I am on my 4th X.... This one has the same issue the buttons barely come out of the frame of the phone. And they have a lot less snappier feel to them. I dunno what to do 3 DX aren't looking very good at motorola's QC.
 
I'll be on my 3rd tomorrow, same problem as you. I started with the stuck on moto symbol but 2 replacements so far have had bad lower front buttons. Hopefully, 3rd time is the charm.
 
my buttons aren't wobbly or feel overly loose in the slightest bit. they also aren't hard to press. my phone also has higher than average stock quadrant scores.. the more threads i see like this, the more i love my luck with getting one of the good batched phones.
 
I set up a shortcut to my launcher on the notification bar using Bar Control, and I'm also running AltTabApps from the notification bar (which allows me to switch to other running tasks). This helps to minimize (but not eliminate) usage of the Home and Back buttons to some extent. I still have to use the back button quite a bit from within apps, though.

~
 
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