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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/12/2004 : 08:58:20

As early GPS units were being developed, the Garmin boss comes to work and announces a change... the buttons have to go on top. The staff argues that too much effort has been made to alter course and redesign, plus it would look bad and no one has ever put a screen on the bottom of a hand held device before.

He is unmoved, after discovering last night by fooling with the TV remote that a hand held device can better be securely held and operated by one hand if the buttons are on top.

Garmins decision to put the buttons on top... stupid or brilliant?

Your opinions please?

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224

N/E Texas and Great Lakes
Arlyn's Sailing Site

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 09:17:24

Never thought about it......iow it never occured to me that the logic is counter intuitive, or that it is especially stable, or unstable. Now I have to think about that the next time I use it.....it might even become a compulsive thought. Maybe it will replace the one where I ...no no, I can't talk about that.

Oscar

Lady Kay 250 WB #618
Sunrise on the Neuse River...

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 09:36:40

I haven't really noticed any great difference between having the buttons on the bottom (my calculator) and buttons on the top (GPS 45). Seems like I usually don't operate either one of those devices with one hand, and I usually am looking at the display while I'm using them.

In contrast, I operate the TV remote with one hand, and without looking at it. In that situation I think he's right, it's easier to operate the buttons on the top of the remote than the buttons lower down. Matches the position of the thumb..

I'm not sure if Garmins success in the market was really due to having the buttons on the top. My feeling is that it had more to do with a good price point and the general cleverness of their user interface (top or bottom).

Edited by - on

osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 09:44:50

Interesting, I went and looked at mine, and discovered that on the Garmin Legend, the buttons are ostly on the side, but on the upper part of the both sides of the unit. The screen is on the bottom. It seems to me that it is easy to use one-handed this way, and would be awkward if the button/screen locations were reversed. I'm thinking that it makes ergonomic sense to locate this way.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 10:24:40

My vote is brilliant.

I have a Garmin eTrex Mariner handheld, and I absolutely love the fact that I can operate it with one hand while manning the tiller with the other. Additionally, the placement of the buttons are such that I can easily use it with either hand.

Being mostly a daysailor, I don't use my GPS very often since I usually sail within 15 miles of my homeport and within site of navigational aids such as lighthouses, nuclear cooling towers, smokestacks,...etc. Of the times I've had to rely on my GPS, the weather and seastates were so horrid that visibility was to the end of the bow and the hatchboards were in and locked. In these situations, having the ability to operate the handheld GPS with one hand is a huge plus.

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Sunshine Daydream
1st Mate

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57 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 10:29:50

How many days till spring?

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Charlie Vick
Captain

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USA
423 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 13:17:12

I also have a Legend and have found it a breeze to work. With the more important buttons on the right side there has never been a problem working it while sailing, until that big gust comes up and I need to sheet out the main! Even though I sail on an inland lake as soon as I set sail the GPS goes on. Besides helping me with sail trim I have a digital record of the days sail, time, distance, average speed, max speed, plus a map to show you where you've been.
Its been one of the best investments I've made for sailing.

CVick
PanaceaII '81 C25 #2439 SRSK
Fort Smith, AR

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 01/12/2004 : 13:20:59

Arlyn,

One handed GPS operation is crucial, and not dropping the GPS is important, so buttons at the top is good. In my mind, a GPS is often usefull in situations (not just sailing) where it may not be convenient to spare both hands for pushing buttons. As Don Lucier pointed out, either hand operation is important to. I have an old Garmin, and I've been very pleased with it's reliability and user interface. The software menus weren't love at first sight, but after I'd read the manual and poked around for a while, it all made perfect sense.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">How many days till spring?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Low seventies and sunny here, trees are budding, navel oranges in the back yard are ripe, lawn could stand mowing. May try to get out on the water before sundown forces me to put on a jacket or even shoes.

-- Leon Sisson

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.