Re:Sailfish – a real alternative to iPhone and Android?
by mannkind on Monday December 03, 2012 @07:30PM
(#4868812)
Really? Is it really that different to double tap a hardware button than it is to tap one? You must feel the same way about single-vs-double clicking a mouse then, I suppose ... because it's the exact same thing.
Re:Sailfish – a real alternative to iPhone and Android?
by pkulak on Tuesday December 04, 2012 @02:18PM
(#4872717)
No, it's not the exact same thing. Single tapping a mouse is selection. There's no waiting for the second tap because an item can be "selected" for a fraction of a second before it's opened. A home button can't take you home for a fraction of a second before the multitasking bar opens, so every home press has to wait before it can know what you intend it to do.
And efficient multi-tasking _can_ be very nice. For example, Android has a dedicated app-switching button. One tap shows you a list of your last-used apps, about 5 visible without scrolling. It makes it insanely fast to swap between apps. On iOS you have to double tap a physical button. If not that, then you can tap it once and select your next app from the home screen. The problem now is that because that one button has been overloaded, it always has to wait and make sure there's no second tap coming before it can take you to the springboard. That small delay is pretty annoying once you get used to Android, which isn't limited to one button.