Dave Conger

tritan

Darius Wey

Here's an example:

Note the i-mate K-JAM which includes hardware soft key support (highlighted red) for use with the on-screen soft keys (highlighted green).



Next, note the Dell Axim X51v which fails to include hardware soft key support (highlighted red) for use with the on-screen soft keys (highlighted green).



You can actually use the Buttons settings in Windows Mobile 5.0 to assign the left and right soft key functions to existing hardware buttons, but then you lose the potential function of those two buttons (usually for launching the Calendar, Contacts, Messaging, etc.).

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gregmills

Darius Wey

I think it's a good enough term to differentiate between the soft keys on the screen and the soft keys as an actual button. Just calling it soft keys can go two ways.

There's a different feel to it. Tapping the screen with your thumb has zero tactile feedback - quite unlike the case if you had dedicated buttons for the soft keys. Some people prefer that feedback, and I'm one of them (for various reasons). The other reason is that these buttons tend to be placed closer to the D-pad than the screen is. If you constantly use the D-pad and soft keys to navigate your way through Windows Mobile 5.0, it's much easier reaching for the buttons when placed closer to the D-pad than having to go that little bit further to touch the screen. Again, you might ask, what's an extra centimetre going to do? As you use it, you'll know there's a difference, no matter how small it may seem.

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