Ergonomics - Controls above the display...

I've heard two things from two different groups for the last few years:

1) Ergonomics people claim that on all of our little mobile devices - cell phones, iPods, all those critters - the buttons should be above the screen rather than below. The thumb is in a more natural position this way (it's true, try it!), and the screen actually isn't blocked in the way you think it might be.

2) Industrial designers insist that the controls have to be below the screens rather than above, or it just won't look good.

Of course, industrial designers are often willing to make exceptions when Bang & Olufsen does it. Score one for usability! [via Gizmodo]

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