No trackball/pad = more fragmentation?

[cvam1985]

Was just thinking about this - do you think the lack of a ball/pad will further fragment Android?

There's already apps/games that require it. EVO users I reckon will be out of luck. What if a really awesome app arrives later that requires the ball?

 

[momoceio]

Well, obviously the iPhone has been successful without one so I don't see why the Evo can't as well. If an app is made that requires it...well that's just bad on the developers part.

 

[cvam1985]

Well, obviously the iPhone has been successful without one so I don't see why the Evo can't as well. If an app is made that requires it...well that's just bad on the developers part.

I semi-agree with that - devs should be aware that there's a no-ball phone out there. But remember, Android is different than iPhone - there's a slew of handsets for Android, but there's only one iPhone.

 

[reallynotnick]

I semi-agree with that - devs should be aware that there's a no-ball phone out there. But remember, Android is different than iPhone - there's a slew of handsets for Android, but there's only one iPhone.

Exactly that raise the question will a developer make a 'ball/tackpad' only app? I guess we can hope they would find creative ways around it even if it might be a better experience if one had the ball or trackpad.

 

[SprintFun]

I don't "get" the trackball. Happy the Evo doesn't have one...find it odd that apps would require you to have one.

 

[mi_canuck]

HTC camera uses trackball as shutter button (on Desire Sense ROM) great feature actually since you can feel it.... less fumbling for self portraits.... lack of a ball or pad on EVO is a mistake imo

 

[Lovingthesonic]

I will miss the track ball it is nice.

 

[So-Low Da Don]

Gonna be hard to play games like mystique or Asphalt

 

[secretmethod70]

I'm more concerned about no physical keyboard. It's going to make playing NES/SNES/GBA emulators very difficult, if not impossible. It's not going to stop me from getting the phone or anything, just an unfortunate thing that won't be nearly as enjoyable as it could be. I imagine the phone wouldn't be quite as awesome if they had to squeeze a physical keyboard in, so I'm willing to make the trade (despite being a fan of physical keyboards in general). I can always play emulators on my computer.

 

[mi_canuck]

what I find a shame, is that sure, the screen is larger, but the resolution is the same as the Nexus/Desire/Incredible... so basically, you don't really gain any true realestate... just larger pixels... some that have poorer vision might dig, but I'd rather it have the same pixel density as Nexus/Desire/Incredible... They should have made it a 1280x960 screen...

 

[lembowski]

Gonna be hard to play games like mystique or Asphalt

I'm more concerned about no physical keyboard. It's going to make playing NES/SNES/GBA emulators very difficult, if not impossible. It's not going to stop me from getting the phone or anything, just an unfortunate thing that won't be nearly as enjoyable as it could be. I imagine the phone wouldn't be quite as awesome if they had to squeeze a physical keyboard in, so I'm willing to make the trade (despite being a fan of physical keyboards in general). I can always play emulators on my computer.

But these are hardware differences, I feel for you but if you need a phone with a great keyboard and the ability to play awesome games this isn't the phone for you.

But as you said, there is always the computer to play emulators.......lord knows you'd hate to be in line at Walmart and not be able to play mario.

 

[SprintFun]

I don't mind having the same "pixels" on a bigger screen - its not like things are going to get pixelated or not be as sharp.

 

[dcdttu]

All I know is, those directional arrows on the keyboard they used to replace the trackball/pad looked incredibly ugly. Also, whatever aftermarket keyboard you like likely won't work on the Evo, as it won't have the buttons (which might be good thing, actually, cause you can get rid of the directional buttons!)

 

[reallynotnick]

I'm more concerned about no physical keyboard. It's going to make playing NES/SNES/GBA emulators very difficult, if not impossible. It's not going to stop me from getting the phone or anything, just an unfortunate thing that won't be nearly as enjoyable as it could be. I imagine the phone wouldn't be quite as awesome if they had to squeeze a physical keyboard in, so I'm willing to make the trade (despite being a fan of physical keyboards in general). I can always play emulators on my computer.

I just realized that you could plug the EVO into my TV and a USB game pad to play emulators, or even use the kickstand+gamepad. I know it's not the greatest but I like the idea of using it with my TV as I don't like dragging my laptop over there.

 

[dbpaddler]

the trackpad would make secondary navigation so much easier. Navigating within a text box. Moving among text with precision without having to zoom in and out like they do on most touchscreen phones. Having the 4-way cursor buttons on the moment is a godsend. I use the trackpad once in awhile when I'm typing in portrait mode, but it does gets used every now and then for basic scrolling.

I don't "get" the trackball. Happy the Evo doesn't have one...find it odd that apps would require you to have one.

 

[cabbie]

I don't think its a big deal. Devs know about this. For SNESoid, if you have a trackball you can use it. If you don't you use another means.

 

[polkadots]

HTC camera uses trackball as shutter button (on Desire Sense ROM) great feature actually since you can feel it.... less fumbling for self portraits.... lack of a ball or pad on EVO is a mistake imo

I would agree. Even if they use a 'touch ball' that's more of a button, like the Incredible.

One of my biggest annoyances is when a company, be it HTC or Apple, comes along with a top-of-the-line flagship device - yet they leave out a basic feature.

For Apple it was MMS, multi-tasking, etc...so the error in this case is less egregious, but still an annoyance. IMHO, obviously.

 

[LatinP]

If you look at the history of trackball enabled phones the number one piece that usually breaks or stops working first is the trackball. It can get clogged with dirt from rolling, it can jam, or the piece underneath that senses you moving the ball can stop working. I for one would have preferred a pad but hey lots of phones can do without it completely and still thrive so I for one won't miss it at all.

One of the reasons I got the Moment over the Hero was that it had no trackball in my opinion it makes the phone ugly and looks very 1990s. Same reasons stated above are why the pc mouse no longer comes with a "trackball" mouse and have now switched to laser pointed.

 

[Tommydaniel]

the differences in hardware aren't what people are talking about when they are referring to the fragementation of Android. They are talking about all the different phones that are running 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 and no end in site. They are referring to the NEW phones coming out still running 1.5 instead of the updated software.

 

[dbpaddler]

so I guess you've missed the transition away from the trackball and on to the optical trackpad ala Moment and Blackberry? Hence the "pad" part of title. Probably safe to say the Hero should be the last phone produced with a trackball. Should probably gear it more towards the trackpad or even a d-pad especially if some phones are coming with cursor pads on their keyboard be it distinct buttons or an actual d-pad.

If you look at the history of trackball enabled phones the number one piece that usually breaks or stops working first is the trackball. It can get clogged with dirt from rolling, it can jam, or the piece underneath that senses you moving the ball can stop working. I for one would have preferred a pad but hey lots of phones can do without it completely and still thrive so I for one won't miss it at all.

One of the reasons I got the Moment over the Hero was that it had no trackball in my opinion it makes the phone ugly and looks very 1990s. Same reasons stated above are why the pc mouse no longer comes with a "trackball" mouse and have now switched to laser pointed.

 

[LatinP]

so I guess you've missed the transition away from the trackball and on to the optical trackpad ala Moment and Blackberry? Hence the "pad" part of title. Probably safe to say the Hero should be the last phone produced with a trackball. Should probably gear it more towards the trackpad or even a d-pad especially if some phones are coming with cursor pads on their keyboard be it distinct buttons or an actual d-pad.

How could I miss it? I'm a currently Samsung Moment user and even mention it in my post. = )

 

[dbpaddler]

Looks like I missed that Don't mind me. The paradox of bright sun and 50 degree weather has me buggy.

 

[senormatt]

I just realized that you could plug the EVO into my TV and a USB game pad to play emulators, or even use the kickstand+gamepad. I know it's not the greatest but I like the idea of using it with my TV as I don't like dragging my laptop over there.

That would be awesome - imagine if Nintendo had a Wii app or something where you could play certain games that require the standard remote.

Also I'd prefer to have a trackpad vs. not having one. It's a big screen and it'd be nice to scroll through emails, news and web pages easier.

 

[LatinP]

As a software programmer although I don't work with phone software or anything related to it I highly doubt you can just plug in a USB game pad or joystick and just use it. You see even the most compatible "plug and play" devices are all controlled via drivers. Now drivers are sometimes flashed on chips inside the device itself automatically installing the first time you use the device and sometimes it comes with a CD for you to install on your PC.

Here is the problem, your not going to find a Microsoft (just an example) or any other general make joystick and simply plug it into AndroidOS and expect it to work. Now that being said there is a possibility that specific game pads maybe made for Android or specifically HTC Evo devices, I believe one was made for the Droid but my point is just because a device has a usb port doesn't mean it's ready to hook up with any gadget and without drivers devices cannot work. Just wanted to point this out.

 

[twospirits]

Only recently have I used the trackball on the Sprint Hero when editing text, but I am sure with the big screen the EVO has I might not have to do any typing errors. But only time will tell if I am right.

Ts