While smartphones today look pretty much the same, Android’s inception had a much wider variety of external components. It had more buttons, They offered one with a magnifying glass dedicated to searching, physical keyboards weren’t weird, and there was one element that was as practical as it was versatile: the trackball. I even miss it sometimes.

The little ball at the bottom of the front of my first Android device provided a lot of gaming possibilities at the time. Emulating BlackBerry phones like the legendary Bold, my HTC Magic allowed control of the phone with the trackball, which I could accept options by pressing, which I loved. the ball lit up with colors with notifications. A program that disappeared from Android forever.

Physical keyboard, lots of buttons… and trackball

HTC Dream

The history of Android, starting from the idea of ​​​​creating an operating system for digital cameras, Alternative to BlackBerry on smartphones: Andy Rubin and his team wanted to build on the Linux Kernel to achieve an open system designed to improve use as a smartphone. They weren’t initially considering adding a touch screen. However, this idea was disrupted with the launch of the iPhone in 2007.

When the first Android was released with the hardware device HTC Deam/G1, a year after the launch of the iPhone, the phone was in the same situation. In between BlackBerry and iPhone. Although the touch screen is a full keyboard, it is below the panel; lots of physical control buttons and trackballs. I liked the trackball on BlackBerrys, so I like it on Android too.

HTC dominated the early years of Android. My HTC Magic has been added to the HTC Dream/G1, which is a slightly more powerful evolution; This was later followed by the HTC Hero, which was also in the spirit of the BlackBerry, but with more control over the touchscreen. And the pinnacle of tracked Android, the Google Nexus One, was also produced by HTC but distributed by Google.

The central control trackball made it possible to scroll across the operating system, which I recall was quite useful; Although touching the screen directly is often faster (I should note that in this case the touches are not as sensitive and reliable). This relic of the early days served as a perfect extension of use. browse web pages, via Twitter timeline, and to see notifications muted. I’m sure there is no better notification LED than this.

And the touch screen won the war

Google Nexus One

Gradually, and as Android spread to more manufacturers (especially with the trend-setting first Samsung Galaxy), traces of BlackBerry disappeared until mobile phones stopped focusing on the iPhone aesthetic. The HTC Desire is another good example of touchscreen winning the war, as is the Motorola Milestone/Droid. It’s both from 2010 and without a trackball (though Moto kept the physical keyboard and cursors, HTC the optical trackpad).

The physical keyboard may return from time to time; even some super-rugged Androids have physical navigation buttons – but The trackball is an element that disappears, never to return.. And it wouldn’t be bad even if it was just for notifications: it was one of the best aspects of my beloved HTC Magic.

Cover image | Susana Font

Xataka on Android | Android 15: news, release date, compatible phones and everything we know so far