Feature Request 1:
Normally on my phone I use Navigator in portrait mode. For the simple fact that I have much more pixels in the vertical axis, meaning in my driving direction.
The current layout for Portrait mode is very nice (from my point of view)
Portrait:
However, the human view is more a landscape like "wide screen" view, instead of portrait view. And so is the view through the windscreen of your car. A lot of users use the phone (or tablet) therefore in landscape mode, which feels slightly more natural. Lots of builtin systems in cars are always in landscape mode, and so are the new Android multi-function radio/cd/mp3/gps/navigation units now available which allow you to install any navigation software. (I hope to get this one first week of January)
The landscape mode has a lot of "unused" space left and right, and it "misses" pixels in the vertical axis. This get even worse in Navigator due to the info panels as the bottom.
Original landscape design:
This bottom row of info panels, as useful as they are, take 10% ! of your vertical pixels away.
To me the UI design would improve a lot if these (useful) info panels would move to the side in landscape mode.
New landscape "design", no overlays:
And of course when you get the overlays for the "motorway signs" and the "lane assistant", you do overlay them. It is only for a short period so you can easily miss the info of the panels for a few seconds.
New landscape "design", with overlays
I think this would greatly enhance the "visibility" of your route in portrait mode as it gives you 10% more vertical pixels. Also because the "directions ->distance to next turn" button in the bottom left and the map mode button on the bottom right would also move 10% in downward direction.
(note: As mentioned in other topics: I drive a lot of rental cars and a lot of those cars have those builtin landscape navigation units having this "on the side" button/panel design.)
Feature request 1a:
As you can see I put the buttons on the left side of the landscape screen. This is done on purpose as I drive a car with the steering wheel on the left side. This means that I want the info as close to me as possible for better and safer immediate view.
However, if I would live in a country where they drive on the "wrong" side of the road having the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car :), I can imagine I would want to have the buttons on the right side of the screen.
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