Re:A New Concept for Usable Touch Interaction in Cars
by causality0 on Thursday August 13, 2020 @12:55PM
(#24145455)
I just let out a wistful sigh at the thought of a smartphone with a big juicy d-pad below the screen. Imagine being able to scroll without your finger on the screen. I think we hit peak usability with the TH-55's rear-mounted scroll wheel and it's been downhill from there.
The industry could sell another trillion mobile phones, and it still wouldn't change reality: (a) it's uncomfortable to hold your hand hovering in midair for more than a few minutes (b) fingers are opaque and block screen real estate (c) to use a finger with precision requires tactile feedback (edges, textures, nubs) (d) a hand can't comfortably and quickly manipulate a screen larger than about 10 inches.
I look forward to the day when I can use a touch UI able to feel and sound like buttons, keys, sliders, etc. Until then, I will favor devices that don't use it.