Rumor: More Phones from HTC, Samsung, and LG Going Buttonless?

When we first saw the Nokia Sea Ray, we were totally stoked. Then we saw this mysterious photo of the Sea Ray using virtual buttons on the display and we were...confused. But now we're starting to hear from the venerable Eldar Murtazin that the upcoming wave of Mango phones won't be out of style next to Nokia's new digs. According to a recent tweet of his, the design guideline for manufacturers to follow while creating Mango-flavored handsets does not require hardware buttons. So therefore he assumes that other manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and LG may be joining Nokia in their boycott of buttons with at least a few phones when Mango releases this Fall.

While they may sound great on paper, we do fall in the same line of thought as others who think that buttons are there for a reason. They obviously work, they don't require you to look at your screen 100% of the time, and you control something digital through a tangible interface. Plus don't even get us started about what will happen to software if buttons are ditched for good. So far only the Nokia N9 and the Palm/HP WebOS devices have been able to woo us away from these cynical presumptions, but just because they could do it doesn't mean other manufacturers should follow their lead before actually thinking out the software. How would you feel about a buttonless Windows Phone?

Via: WMPoweruser
Source: Twitter (@eldarmurtazin)