These are great technological achievements and showcase some of the best gadgets we have to offer…

BUT… They don’t have buttons! The traditional click button is one of the most fundamental, subtle, interactive experiences. The feeling you get when you press a button and hear the ‘click’ that it makes is fantastic and feeling the different textures of buttons is such a tactile experience that connects you to your gadget. You know the feeling of buttons that are familiar and you almost form a bond through that familiarity.

So now the world is moving away from this tradtitional technology towards an ironically named ‘touch‘ interface when the experience is a much more visual one. The visual experience is an obvious experience and with a new technology that many people are jumping on the band-waggon with. Few companies have considered the impact of a button-less design, some are experimenting with Haptic feedback. A vibration is felt when a virtual button is pressed, giving the user a physical cue confirming that they have actually pressed the button (a common problem with touch screen interfaces).

Now don’t get me wrong, touch screen interfaces do provide a great deal in place of traditional button interfaces such as the ability to instantly change the look of a virtual button or change the language. The best of which is to have contextual buttons based on the current screen you are viewing.

There needs to be a middle ground though. Something a few companies are experimenting with. The first that springs to mind is the iPod, a touch sensitive surface for scrolling and volume control but also a click button interface for making selections. Perfect. A few more examples examples are the LG KF600 which has a small contextual menu at the bottom of the main screen but has traditional buttons once the phone slides open. A happy compromise I think. Another example is the Optimus Maximus keyboard that has the traditional button layout but each button is a small OLED display capable of changing depending on what is required. So depending on what application you are using, contextual buttons appear. The best of both worlds is doable.

Touch screen works, but should not be exclusive. Users have other senses that need to be stimulated to create a more complete experience. Touch is a very important way of connecting with objects and I believe it should be used in harmony with the visual connection for the user to be able to have the best experience possible.