But I have to admit Motorola’s new E8 is pretty slick.
Using something they call ‘ModeShift’ the phone only presents the controls needed at the time the user needs them. So as you ’shift’ from phone to music player, the traditional keypad is replace with audio controls (similar logic applies to the other ‘modes’ as well).
There are no ‘actual’ buttons on the E8 – it’s like a touch screen in the sense that it uses haptic (touch) input, but from what I can tell, the keypad area can only display graphics associated with each ‘mode’.
One thing I really lovin’ about the keypad area are raised ‘virtual buttons’… If you’ve got the tunes running in your pocket, or are like me and appreciate being able to dial a number without looking at the phone, having those tactile ‘nubbins’ would be nice.
To be honest, I’m excited at the changes the iPhone seems to be pioneering in the mobile arena. Though many of the products coming out may not rival everything the iPhone does (or if they do, they don’t rival how elegantly Apple pulled it off), but they do seem to be adopting an Apple-esque mantra of ‘do a few things and do them well’…. And slick product design doesn’t hurt either!
If you’re really interested product details are available here:
ttp://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/product/details.jsp?globalObjectId=222
