[General Topics] quicksite:
So far, I am underwhelmed by capacitive screen on Hero

I'm not used to it yet, but I've only been using my Hero for about a week... Right now it's stock from HTC, not rooted, so I have not even consulted the Hero thread here yet to see what tricks and rigs they've got going.

While I will agree it is smoother to touch and glide/slide your finger across screen to scroll or flip to next page, truthfully, even on my T-Mobile Wing, old tech but made golden by the ROM chefs and app developers, I have had no problem for years flipping up down in iContact contact list, and more recently on Nitrogen song lists, or through a long file directory via Total Commander. In fact, I have, so far, felt that on the resistive screen, a flick up or down can be done with different force or speed, and results in different speed of scrolling through the list and where the screen lands at stop... whereas on my capcitive screen Hero, when I am flicking up down a long list of Gmails, I seem to only get one speed, and it's very incremental, I can't flick it to get down to the bottom of the list as I have been able to do on my little old T-Mobile QVGA Wing.

Same with browsing a webpage, especially a long article, and wanting to flick to the bottom... Can't do it (yet, again, not sure what the rooted Heroes with XDA ROMS do there) on my capacitive Hero.

Likewise, take the newest UI app made for WM (resistive) devices: Androkkid from Simo -- It has a UI like the Hero/Android, and it is so easy to swipe the screen left to right to flick to next and previous pages. It glides, no resistance... on the resistive screen !

Now THAT move on the Hero's capacitive screen is for sure much smoother and requires the lightest of touches. So, win 1 for capacitive.

And with s2v (slide to view) and various photo apps including rescoe viewer, a quick rotational arc gesture of my finger on the screen flipped a photo from landscape to portrait -- not simply for viewing (which accelerometers arguably do simpler, but I have not found it the case yet; there's lag time) -- but also for cropping and editing a picture.

One of the big arguments FOR capacitive screens is multi-touch and the squeezing and pinching to control zoom levels. That myth got shattered with browsers like Opera mini 4.2 and skyfire, and Netfront and Iris, etc. Tap-tap to zoom is SO much easier, and less RSI (repetitive stress) on finger muscles just to perform these multiple pinch and squeeze actions. I have seen ZERO value so far in this supposed selling point of capacitive screens. And, conversely, the resistive screens handle zooms and size changes fairly effortlessly, and very intuitively. So, to me, that's a win for resistive.

I don't get it (yet)... I have found no gestures on the Hero, like swiping right to left to go BACK on a website, or in any app. As much as I absolutely love this new Hero, I didn't want this to be the case, but the ergonomics of holding the device, hitting the hardkey back button (which requires a serious push, not a soft touch), as well as having to push a manual key for MENU options? All really taxing on one's hands and finger muscles even after a short while like 15 minutes straight.

Please someone tell me that XDA has given the Hero, and its capcitive screen all sorts of really simple and smooth to touch gestures that I can program to replace any hardkey function, especially: Back key, Menu key, and even volume controls.... All much easier to control on the resistive screen. Slider control actions like a touchscreen volume control left to right? As many have said, the target area for the finger to hit the control is very unforgiving... I've had to try again several times in a row... vs on resistive screen, such controls are so easy to control , whether with my full finger tip, or with a fingernail, and the precise control of stopping and sliding is more precise on resistive, in my view. Again, win for resistive.

Are you paying attention? :) I can't quite say I am disapponted with the hero, because it is a stunning phone, with a great UI, and beautiful screen, and yes, shiny and elegant, with a great build quality. But if I can't discover gestures or ways to use touchscreen controls to bypass these hard-buttons, i can for sure say, no, it will grow tiring, I hate to say. Though again, i do not know what the new firmware will do, both Android's 2.1 and HTC's sense upgrade. (I know this has nothing to do with cap vs res screen, but I am really surprised by how stiff the hard buttons are on the hero. They feel like first generation calculators, vs the light touch keyboards from apple, for example.

Resistive wins HUGE here. I almost never used the hard keyboard on my wing. I have always preferred an on screen keyboard, for rapid entry, and composing longer messages. And the app I used this past year on my Wing is Finger Keyboard -- oh my god it is so more advanced than even the HTC soft keyboard on the Hero that is the makeover for the default android soft keyboard. From the UI and color differentiation of FingerKeyboard, to its multi-functions and programmable shortcut phrases, to the real petal to the metal consideration of my fingers hitting all the right keys -- FAR greater accuracy on the resistive keyboard with my finger, and, like you i do like using a stylus for tapping out longer messages, or for entering long passwords that are combos of numbers and letters, cap and lower case. The rapid tap sequencing on that resistive screen using a stylus to accomplish that is easily 3 times faster to enter a complex username and password for sites that require it. A big win for resistive. Not even close.

But I will quibble: I don't think the decision tree of how to design the iphone began with -- oh, looks like we're going to need big icons because we're using capacitive screens. I think more likely it was Jobs swooningly saying "how do we fundamentally change the user experience of using a touch screen phone... And I'll bet that whole pinch zoom thing was more of the driver of "we MUST have multi-touch; therefore capacitive"... and the bigger icons were absolutely a usability design issue that solved for rapid selection of a large variety of items, even if the phone is mounted in your car near the steering wheel. I have to say, that was breakthrough thinking on their part, and the icon size issue should not be minimized as a "must make do with" reaction to the target accuracy of capacitive screens.

But yeah, I am with the original poster. But since I am new to capacitive all together, I am guessing there has been thread after thread of this same discussion 200 times over since the first iphone came out, and people were comparing it to WM devices.

So I hope someone can nevertheless explain to me: WHAT is the alleged advantage of capacitive other than pinch-zoom? I don;t get it at all.