Posted on 2009-09-02 15:32 UTC by Marat Fayzullin. Status: Under consideration, Categories: Devices.
Four large, comfortable directional buttons can be added to the back of the device, at the end opposite to the camera. These buttons can be used for the following purposes:
1. Easy directional navigation when holding device in landscape mode with one hand.
2. Camera Zoom, Exposure, and Mode controls, also for shutter.
3. Game controls (thus partially enabling Maemo as a gaming platform).
Posted on 2009-09-28 11:00 UTC by Marat Fayzullin.
The device back currently contains two items:
1. The camera
2. The battery cover
A user gripping the device will normally hold it in his right hand with fingers tapping the battery cover. Notice that this grip is going to be typical for both general device use and the camera use.
By placing directional pad to where user's fingers are, we achieve the missing dpad functionality (for gaming and navigation). We can also assign the dpad buttons camera control functions (i.e. zoom and exposure control) and music playback control functions (i.e. volume and prev/next).
The exact shape of the dpad is up to the designer, although I would look at existing gamepads and handheld consoles for examples. I expect it to be a tradeoff between style and utility.
Note that the action button(s) (aka OK or FIRE) can go either to the front or the back of the device, but they should be located close to the left edge.
One problem here is the presence of the battery cover. It may become necessary to either make holes in this cover for the dpad, or redesign it so that the battery is inserted from the side.
