UserExperience
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iOS 7 wins mobile OS user experience shootout
Pfeiffer Consulting recently put iOS 7 through its paces, comparing it to a number of other mobile OSes to gauge which OS has a step up on the competition when it comes to the user experience. The operating systems involved in the study included iOS 7, iOS 6, Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10. Now seeing as how there are innumerable versions of Android out there, the study focused on Samsung's implementation of Android since it's currently the most popular Android handset maker. The study focused on four variables: cognitive load, efficiency, customization and user experience friction. Each variable was afforded equal weight. Also note that the tests were measured from the viewpoint of an average, non-technical user. When the dust settled, iOS 7 reigned supreme with a 73.25 score followed closely by iOS 6 with a score of 70. Next came Android, Blackberry 10, with Windows Phone 8 pulling up the rear. The report reads in part: What separates the Android user experience from iOS 7 is not functionality, but feature-bloat and sloppy user interface design. In terms of user experience, less IS more. But there is another issue for Android, and that is market fragmentation: The loyalty of Apple's users is such that the company can be certain that millions of users will upgrade to a new release -- and Apple's marketing is working hard to increase the desire to do so. Android, by contrast is terrifyingly fragmented, with most users only upgrading when they change device. This is a problem that will be almost impossible to overcome -- and can only get worse over time. Overall, the entire study provides an interesting read and is worth checking out in its entirety. There is also an interesting discussion regarding the study's methodology over here.
The Engadget Interview: Lixin Cheng on ZTE's US future at CTIA 2013
Last week at CTIA, we sat down with Lixin Cheng -- CEO of ZTE USA -- for a candid discussion about the company's future in the US. The conversation started with ZTE's current portfolio in the US, which consists of 18 SKUs -- primarily inexpensive Android smartphones (most with LTE) for the prepaid market. Mr. Cheng mentioned that the company's doing quite well in the US thanks to an 85.7 percent year-to-year growth in market share. ZTE is now in third place among prepaid handset manufacturers with a market share of 17 percent. He explained that carriers are seeing revenue growth from prepaid services which now account for 22.5 to 29 percent of revenue. This puts the company in a strong position for the future, despite last year's investigation by Congress. So we asked Mr. Cheng if and when ZTE would bring flagship phones like the Grand S or Grand Memo to the US in partnership with the four major carriers. His reply: I have promised you at CES that we're going to bring the Grand S or Memo series into [the] US, and we are working on that, and I think that very soon we will announce some good news. That's good news indeed. Hit the break for more, including our video interview and full transcript.
webOS team becomes Gram, isn't heavy on mission statements
HP's webOS team has been keeping busy with its open source project, but it's time for a new challenge in the form of Gram: a fresh HP-funded offshoot focused on "software, user experience, the cloud, engineering, and partnering." We're not quite sure where that list could lead, but webOS, Enyo and cloud services are all expected to play a role in future endeavors. Judging from the fancy flyer after the break, a lot of energy is going into brand-building right now, along with a dose of secrecy, but hopefully some more concrete details will happen along soon.
Nokia axes Skype client on Lumia 610, claims user experience wasn't 'up to par'
It took nearly a full month, but Nokia has finally been convinced that Skype is indeed incompatible with low-memory Windows Phones. In reaching out to a spokesperson, the company confirmed to us that it has decided to yank the official client from the Marketplace on the Lumia 610. The device -- which utilizes a scant 256MB of RAM -- originally allowed the service to be downloaded despite Skype's claims that 512MB was the minimum amount of memory required for the app to function properly. The internet phone service, as it turns out, was correct: Nokia, stating that the user experience is "workable" but not "up to par with Nokia's and Skype's expectation," has pulled the plug on any future downloads. Users who managed to snag the app before it disappeared can still enjoy (or hate, depending on your experience) it on their Lumia 610, but until Skype is able to lower the memory restrictions, it looks like everyone else is out of luck. Head below for the full translated statement.
Switched On: Metro and the Mac
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. With the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, more consumers can more easily experience Metro, along with Metro-style apps. With this new approach, Microsoft is making the most radical shift in user interface it's ever attempted -- a change so drastic it will supplant the desktop as the default user experience.
Analysis determines why Angry Birds is so popular
Here, finally, must certainly be the last word on Angry Birds. Certified Human Factors Engineering Professional Charles L. Mauro has done an exhaustive report called "A Cognitive Teardown of Angry Birds," in which he breaks down, piece by ever-lovin' piece, the throw-birds-at-pigs game and just what it does to users and their experiences. The whole thing is quite interesting if you're into user experience design, but the gist is that Angry Birds fits extremely well within our brains' "mental model" of what the game should be. Not only is that bird-tossing physics engine easily calculated into our cranium, but the game's bite-sized levels (which you can scroll across to re-check at any time) also play into our short-term memory programming as well. And finally, Angry Birds nails down the visual experience by being both simple enough for almost anyone to understand, but just complicated enough to remember in an iconic way (so much so that the characters in the game have been turned into cakes, costumes, and even, um, bras. What Angry Birds did is no secret (and lots of other games have aped its look and aesthetics since -- that "star rating on tons of levels" feature is now an iOS staple), but Mauro has done an excellent job really breaking down point by point why this game is so astoundingly successful on a cognitive level. [via Slashdot]
The Engadget Interview: Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design (video)
Peter Skillman knows a thing or two about making beautiful devices. He's Palm's former VP of design, and he's the man behind Nokia's glorious N9 -- its look, feel and user experience. We bumped into him at Nokia World here today and asked him what went into the N9's -- and by association the Lumia 800's -- design. He shared quite a few interesting details with us, including tidbits about the "curvature continuous form" of MeeGo's icons, Nokia's Pure font and the nuances of the N9's sinuous taper. We even discussed the Play 360 Bluetooth / NFC speaker, which follows the same aesthetic principles. Take a look at our exclusive video interview after the break.
TAT-astic native PlayBook development discussed and demoed on video
Yesterday at BlackBerry World 2011 we were fortunate to sit down and chat with Chris Smith, Senior Director of the BlackBerry Developer Platform, along with Rasmus and Karl from The Astonishing Tribe. One of RIM's recent acquisitions, TAT is known for some rather, well... astonishing user interface designs, and for infusing a bit of magic into some of the PlayBook's apps, such as the bundled picture viewer and calculator. We were shown a number of demos, including the downloadable Scrapbook app, a rather nifty contact list, and a location-aware news reader. Over the years, TAT has built an engine and framework that make it easy for developers to create powerful and attractive UIs, and some of this will be making its way into the PlayBook's native software development kit sometime this summer. Along with support for Open GL ES 2.0, SQLite, cURL, and POSIX (amongst others), this NDK will provide API's to control the audio system, the cameras, and the sensors -- possibly even code to enable stereoscopic 3D output over HDMI, as demonstrated before. We know that's a lot of exciting stuff to sink your teeth into, so be sure to get a taste of it by watching our video.
Symbian UI overhaul scheduled for the fall?
While Symbian might be good as dead to most Engadget readers, Nokia must continue supporting the millions of S^ wearing faithful until it can fully transition to a Windows Phone smartphone shop in 2012. So we were interested to hear Marc Driessen, Nokia Benelux product manager, spill some details about a few previously unannounced Symbian updates for 2011. As you'll recall, S^4 as a product had been canned months ago, but the scheduled UI updates were still part of the Symbian roadmap. According to Driessen, Nokia is targeting a major UI overhaul in the fall, an update rumored to include a dedicated pull-down status bar up top; new iconography; new flexible widgets; a simplified navigation bar below; and better menus throughout that don't require a scuba suit to navigate. While Nokia HQ won't confirm the dates or details to us (we asked), the fall timeline does match with what we've heard elsewhere. Dutch site All About Phones is also reporting that a smaller update for N8 and E7 users might come as early as this summer. Of course, those owners are still waiting for the first real S^3 update that was promised for early 2011, so hopefully Nokia can squeeze in the split screen text input, portrait QWERTY, and improved browser before March is done.
Fujitsu's 10-inch Stylistic Q550 tablet to sport Oak Trail, Windows 7
We knew good and well that Fujitsu's Stylistic Q550 was en route, but now we're learning a few more dirty details as its official launch day draws ever nearer. Reportedly, the business-oriented slate will be fully revealed at CeBIT next month, with Fujitsu being one of the only outfits out there eager and willing to take a chance on both Oak Trail and Windows 7 Professional. Our experiences with existing Win7 tablets haven't been stellar, but it's possible that the added power in Oak Trail will cut down on the lag and make things a bit smoother to operate. We're told to expect a 10-inch LED touchscreen, smartcard slot, fingerprint reader, trusted-platform module (TPM), front and rear cameras, a 32GB / 64GB solid state drive, USB socket and an optional 3G module. Most impressive, however, is the claimed eight hours of battery life, which we'll quite honestly have to see to believe. If all goes well, it'll start shipping this April to European nations, but there's no word yet on how badly it'll hurt your wallet (or when it'll grab a passport and head to other continents). As you'd expect, we'll be live from Germany digging for more just as soon as the show floor opens. A brief introductory vid is just past the break.
Motorola updates Motoblur and Media Link client for Macs and PCs
A couple of changes for Motorola this morning. First up is a new version of Moto's Media Link iTunes sync software. Media Link version 1.5 is available now for Mac users or March for the beige box bunch. More importantly, perhaps, is a new version of Motoblur with enhanced location, messaging, music, and gallery features. The new Connected Music service features streaming lyrics and a social aspect that lets you follow the tracks your friends are listening to. Connected Gallery unites your photos and videos with your friends' online albums from sites like Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and Picasa. Aloga, meanwhile, is a Motoblur-integrated location-triggered push platform that provides third-party publishers with information about your location, identity, and social relationships. The idea is to offer users non-intrusive information about places, events, or bargains for the "channels" they select. Look for the new Motoblur to arrive on "recently announced devices" like the Cliq 2 and Atrix 4G. Full detail in the press release after the break.
Fujitsu's tablet is easy like a hammer, cozy as a scarf, and never scratchy like Windows 7 (video)
There's no denying that Meinolf Althaus brings some personality to an otherwise stoic slate. Good thing too, because the idea of Fujitsu and Microsoft spawning a stylus-driven tablet from a session of ugly-bumping doesn't elicit much excitement in the burgeoning tablet space. Enter Mr. Althaus who begins his lesson with an explanation that software user elements must be based on recognition and not on something that's remembered. You know, like a hammer (or Fujitsu's new slate) which is obvious in its usability and function. He then likens the current crop of consumer-based tablets to chocolate bars: they're great for consumption but do little to help with content creation unlike Fujitsu's Windows-based slate that's optimized for corporations -- spreadsheets naturally, not music or illustrations. The highlight, however, has to be the point in the video where he equates the Windows 7 user experience to a "scratchy" kitchen sponge that's useful for utilitarian tasks like cleaning the dishes. Fujitsu's tablet, he contends, is "cozy" like a silk scarf thanks to a custom-built layer that sits on top of the standard Win7 desktop. Brilliant. We'll take two... Meinolfs that is. You will too after watching the video embedded after the break. [Thanks, Hanson]
Emblaze First Else UX engineer embraced by HP / Palm, magic ensues
Remember that day when Emblaze wowed the world with its First Else "death of main menu" smartphone? What a shame, eh? While it's unlikely that said Linux handset will ever be resurrected, there's a small chance that bits of its legacy will be passed onto other products. For instance, a recent LinkedIn newsletter led us to Itai Vonshak, who was one of the main engineers behind the architecture that powered the First Else's brilliant, mesmerizing UI. Now, according to his profile, our man has recently moved into HP / Palm's comfy little house to do UX strategy. Whether this means webOS will get a slice of that Minority Report action, we don't know; but it'll be interesting to see what Vonshak will surprise us with at the HP / Palm event next month. For now, there's a hands-on video of the First Else after the break for old time's sake.
Exclusive interview: Google's Matias Duarte talks Honeycomb, tablets, and the future of Android
We're not going to lie -- we're pretty excited to bring this to you guys. Here at CES 2011 we had a chance to sit down with Matias Duarte, the man behind webOS (as well as the Sidekick and Helio UIs), who's now heading up Google's user experience for Android. Matias is currently driving the interface and design for Android 3.0 (AKA Honeycomb), and it's clear that he's bringing his big, bold ideas to the Android platform. This is the first video interview Matias has done since leaving Palm, and we pressed the man on his involvement in Gingerbread and Honeycomb, what had to be torn down in Android, how desktop OSs can inform mobile devices, and much, much more. Don't just take our word for it -- follow along after the break and watch the full interview!
RIM buys TAT, BlackBerry UI in danger of becoming awesome
This is not a joke, in fact it's quite official. Research In Motion has just confirmed the acquisition of Swedish UI design company TAT, which will soon be "bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphone platforms." You'll be familiar with TAT as the team that helped polish the original Android interface on the T-Mobile G1 as well as from more recent UI design projects -- the important thing is that these guys have shown they know what they're doing. We have to admit, pairing the rock solid foundation of the QNX-built PlayBook OS with some top-level spit-shine from a company specializing in exactly that has us legitimately excited. Who knows, maybe we'll even see a BlackBerry with a user interface that someone other than a BBMer could love. [Thanks, Rasmus]
Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design priorities, gives us hope for a sunny MeeGo future
A day before jetting off to London to commence his role as MeeGo's head of User Experience and Services, Peter Skillman was kind enough to sit down with the design junkies at ZURB and dish out his thoughts on what makes for good mobile design and where it is that most companies trip up. Lest you forget, this is the dude that was in charge of putting the Palm Pre together, so he's not exactly without credence in these circles. Which is a good thing, because he doesn't bother with pulling any punches. Peter namedrops Motorola's Motoblur as an unnecessary layer on top of Android, criticizes the failure of different groups within companies to communicate effectively, and finishes off his treatise with a list of priorities for successful design: consistency, emotional content, and a paranoid fear of mediocrity. Inspiring stuff, we're sure you'll agree. Other tidbits of import include the fact that Pete had to withstand nine days of interviews before getting the Nokia job, and also this memorable quote on the topic of smartphones: "if you're not succeeding at the high end, then you're absolutely doomed to failure." We've been saying the same thing for ages and it's encouraging to know that Nokia now has an exec with his finger on the market's pulse. Now let's see him deliver on those words. You'll find the full interview at the source link below.
Nokia's VP of Design has a plan to crack the US market with MeeGo, and we're all accomplices
One look at the N8 and E7 should be enough to convince the casual observer that Nokia is serious about design. The man behind Nokia's hardware and software design for the last year is Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President of Design and former CEO and co-founder of Dopplr. We asked Marco what it would take to be successful in the US market. His response, while not direct, was still illuminating and gives us implicit insight into how MeeGo, not Symbian, might be Nokia's near-term play to conquer the American smartphone market. While gesturing to the N8, Marko had this to say: "In the US I think it will require a somewhat more consequent approach in the high end. No matter how smooth and fast we make this, and we improve the camera -- this is the best camera right -- it still won't cut though enough until we do an operating system level innovation. It will do extremely well in the market but it's not a breakthrough device." Marko later added this clarification: "In order to cut through in the media environment, I think you need to do operating system level innovation. The products will be cut-through successes in the market, in people's hands, in share of palms and share of thumbs it will be successful. But in order for it to cut through and people to say, whoa, why didn't somebody else think about that and that's kind of what Nokia should do, it will be easier to cut through, from the media point of view, with MeeGo." In other words, it's the media (read: us), in Marko's opinion, that will affect consumer opinion by influencing enthusiasts (read: you) who will in turn evangelize Nokia's products throughout the US. MeeGo, not Symbian, is the product that will generate that degree of buzz and excitement. Marko finished by adding, "My goal is that very soon it will be cool to upgrade to the Nokia." So, what will Nokia's high-end MeeGo devices look like? Click through to find out.
Nokia hires Peter Skillman, former Palm Design VP, as MeeGo user experience chief (update: confirmed)
Now this, this is what we call exciting. Nokia has managed to scoop up Peter Skillman from the wreckage of the HP/Palm merger. One of the many senior VPs to leave Palm upon its assimilation into the HP empire, Peter spent 11 years with his previous employer and was in charge of the design team that produced the deliciously curvaceous Palm Pre. Now at Nokia, he'll be heading up the user experience and services division for MeeGo, which means that if you weren't excited for the platform already, you've now got a very good reason to be. Update: We met with Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President of Design at Nokia, to get comment on this story. His response? "Right, I just hired him." So why not announce it, we asked, this is pretty big news? According to Marko, "We have products today, products are more interesting. Peter is looking after the user experience design of MeeGo and services and is a great new addition to the team." Marko's team, to be specific. To us this seems like another component that could help Nokia break into the US market with MeeGo. [Thanks, Dave]
Palm loses webOS notifications architect to Apple
Rich Dellinger might not be a name you instantly recognize, but he is the dude credited with bringing about the unintrusive banner notification system that forms part of webOS' widespread appeal. And, as of today, he's also in the employ of one Steve Jobs. The new Senior UI Designer at Apple, Inc looks to have made his way through Palm's exit doors in the immediate aftermath of the HP takeover announcement, and joins Matias Duarte on the list of significant talent departures from the webOS design team. We expect Rich will be getting his teeth stuck into the iPhone's admittedly tired and obtrusive notifications, and hopefully sprinkling some of that webOS fairy dust into the next iteration of Apple's iOS. Let's be honest, who here hasn't dreamt of an iPre? [Thanks, Tal]
Confirmed: Palm's Matias Duarte joins Google as User Experience Director for Android
We'd heard rumors this morning that webOS design guru Matias Duarte had left Palm for Google, but now we've got it straight from Mountain View: Mr. Duarte is the new User Experience Director for Android. If you'll remember, Matias previously worked on Sidekick with Android head Andy Rubin, so it's a reunion of sorts for these two -- we're pretty excited to see where they take Android in the future. As for Palm, well, we're sure HP has plenty of talented designers waiting to lead webOS into the wild world of tablets, netbooks and, uh, printers, so we'll see what happens there -- things could get crazy on both sides of this transition.
