Relocate the virtual menu buttons?

[phreelance]

I currently own a 2 year old Samsung Galaxy Tab running Gingerbread. This device has 4 hardware buttons positioned outside of the screen, placed at the bottom of the device. They are centered, which makes it easy for the right hand (typically my right thumb) to access the buttons.

Recently I've been toying with the idea of buying a 10" tablet, or even upgrading this 7" tablet to something newer. However, all of the new devices have done away with the hardware buttons, and have instead, gone with the virtual menu button arrangement, placed withIN the screen, placed at the bottom left corner of the screen.

I've played with several of these Honeycomb/ICS/JB devices, and I've yet to find any way to reposition the virtual buttons. Why are they always at the far left bottom corner? Were the Android developers all left handers? It is most awkward to be using the left hand to navigate.

Surely there is some hidden way to relocate the virtual menu buttons from the left side of the screen to the right.

Surely... Right?

How?

And if not, why not?

 

[chanchan05]

You can't because its coded at the firmware level. Meaning you have to edit the Android ROM itself to change it. This was done so that on tablets, there is only one bar. Basically its two bars at the botoom side by side. The right side contains the notifications, and the left side the controls.

Also I don't know what you say about lefties. I'm predominantly right handed and the controls are fine for me at the left side. It would be more awkward if they are in the middle, considering that Android tablet OS is predominantly designed for landscape use. Only the Nexus 7 sits outside this design trend.

 

[phreelance]

...there is only one bar. Basically its two bars at the bottom side by side. The right side contains the notifications, and the left side the controls.

So why not flip the status/notifications section to the left side and place the virtual buttons on the right side?

Are the Android developers so mentally challenged that they couldn't have figured out how to move that which is on the left side to the right, and that which is on the right to the left? IOW, flip the position of the notification area with the virtual buttons. This surely could be done by a junior Android programmer in less than an hour's worth of time during the Android OS development, and still maintained one bar!

 

[chanchan05]

Honestly, I really don't see the reason to flip. You may be mad and all, but despite being right handed I prefer the controls to be on the left. That way my right hand can do what it is doing, like writing with a stylus or turning pages, while the left hand has the controls.

Despite the controls being more comfortable for YOU on the right, it may be that for the majority the controls being on the left is either comfortable, or it just isn't worth the complaint.

EDIT: I would rather refrain from saying something about editing an OS is "easy". If it was easy that means you could do it yourself. Thereby the question "why don't you do it yourself if it was easy" begs to be answered.

Also note that I am answering this to the best of my knowledge, as I have yet to see a ROM for an Android tablet that actually edited the position of the keys.

 

[chanchan05]

Oh, but if you really have to be obsessive-compulsive about something as small as the position of the controls, the Nexus 7 tablet has the controls at the center.

Which leads me to believe that the controls being on the left is a Honeycomb feature, which manufacturers like Samsung and Sony opted to retain on their interfaces.