Now, this is something we really welcome.
Regular viewers of my ramblings will know I love the Samsung Galaxy S3 (again) but also have a real soft spot for the HTC One X. It's a cracking handset. But you know when there's one thing that just lets the experience down for you?
Before I go any further.. personal opinions and all that! But, HTC has followed the Google manual and stripped away the softkeys to reflect the needs of Ice Cream Sandwich. Which means you get a home button, a back button and a multitasking button. There is no menu button.
Which sounds like a small thing, but is a real pain in proper day-to-day usage because lots of apps haven't been rewritten to take this into account. When using the One X, it was the one thing that drove me to distraction - I was permanently bringing up a multi tasking whilst screaming like a banshee "gimme my options back!! Argh"
Anyway, HTC's going to remap that button for all international users with a software update that echoes what we've already jealously watched being bestowed upon AT&T customers in the USA. And it's not just the One X flock - but all One series owners.. So the One V, the excellent One S, and so on.
We can't blame HTC for trying to move forward here and initially ditching the menu button, following Google's lead (although technically, Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to do away with all soft keys and replace them with on-screen versions). But others have not been so gracious with the likes of Samsung and Motorola following their own beliefs.
Anyway, at least one of the biggest annoyances to befall a fantastic device will soon be banished for now.
Via AnandTech
