we are: London

There are two camps out there at the moment:

• Apple are great, I want to lick everything they make
• Apple are controlling and evil

Me, well I am just undecided, but my Mac Air screen is pretty clean at the moment.

However it’s unimportant as to your views on Apple’s hardware, the fact is they have quietly created an economy that did not exist a couple of years ago. In short Apple have done for software what they did for music.

Multi-platform leader

Now the iPad has been launched, the true might of Apple’s power can be seen. In fact currently the most popular apps are the highest priced; not surprising given the early adopter market but impressive none the less.

Bring on the next generation Apple TV and your games, apps and contents will port directly to your plasma. Or even better, link up to your TV via your iPad, use your iPhone as a controller and you have a complete home entertainment kit.

Impressive? Nokia thinks so

Well that’s just my speculation, but based on the poor take up of their app store Ovi and the fact that Apple have taken a quantum leap over them as far as smart phones go, they should be.

A little fact for you is that in February this year iTunes accounted for 70% of worldwide online digital music sales. (Wikipedia), not bad for seven years work.

Apple took a tried and tested application distribution model from Japan’s DoCoMo, improved on it and have created another successful business whilst all around are struggling to make sense of the new world order.

The future has been written

So forget about the arguments for or against iPhones, Nokia’s, HTC’s and the rest, just think about new business models and one company’s ability to turn the mundane into the marvellous and unimaginable into reality.

So what next? Maybe they’ll skip set to boxes and move into TV’s or coffee machines or cars, I’d buy them.

How about putting Dyson and Apple together?

user interface Design, future, iphone, Nexus One, usability

iPhone 1, Nexus none

The overall product is thin and sleek.

After 2 months of serious use I have finally given up on the HTC Google partnership that promised so much, but delivered very little.

Compare and contrast

In summary the Nexus is unresponsive, has a pointless set of hardware keys and is far to hobbyist for a serious business user.

I have an original 1st gen iPhone which is far more pleasurable to use than the far more powerful than the Nexus.

For fist time smart phone users, you’ll love the Nexus as it is the first real challenger to the iPhone, but for iPhone users you’ll spend the days wondering why you felt the need for a techno sabbatical.

Hot or not

1.  Touch screen: iPhone perfect - Nexus sluggish
2. Camera: Nexus splendid - iPhone adequate
3. Apps: iPhone appy - Nexus garden shed developers
4. Browsing: Neck and neck on speed and use
5. Email: iPhone almost corporate - Nexus won’t do exchange calendars
6. Speaker phone: iPhone hands free - Nexus 2 cans and a piece of string sound quality
7. Buttons: iPhone one button one purpose - Nexus four always in the way
8. Interface flow: iPhone one way works for all apps - Nexus lucky dip as to how you get back to where you started
9. Multitasking: Nexus does - iPhone does not
10. In summary: iPhone is easily the best

Now I am a fairly business focused user, but I also understand what makes something great, and for the iPhone it’s the quality control that is in place to make sure all apps work like they should.

The quality of both the native interface of the Nexus and the apps that are around are so poorly controlled that you soon find yourself giving up on new ones as all they do is crash your phone or drain your battery.

This “open” standard that so many knocked Apple for controlling will be the single reason that the iPhone app store will make millionaires out of developers and leave the Nexus looking like a niche product for those who want to be different or like to build their own PCs rather than buying a Dell.

It’s not all bad

However, volume often leads to success and I am sure that the rapid spread of Google’s OS will see a more polished version of an iPhone clone coming soon. And I am also sure that the apps will start to get better and those quality developers will be the ones that become know above the rest of the hobby crew.

Mobile, interface design, user interface Google, iphone, Mobile, navigation, Nexus One, usability

Moving onto the Nexus One has given me much more of an opportunity to explore mobile websites. One site in particular caught my eye, the iPhone version of the Mashable site.

A simple and clear page allows users to access a list of articles

The goal

The site is very focused and this focus helps to create a usable and enjoyable experience for the user. Upon entering the site the the user is presented with a list of of Mashable articles. A user can scan these easily and select the article they want to read. Keeping the users process as simple as possible by focusing on the single task of reading articles provides a simple and usable site.

Users can easily share articles through social media links at the foot of every article

Share and spread the word

Users are also provided with the option to share an article at every stage. Right from the landing page a user can hit a tweet button to share the story via Twitter. At the foot of every article the user is provided with options to share via other sources such as Digg and Facebook. Allowing users to share posts easily not only keeps users happy but benefits Mashable by spreading the word.

Loading equals yawn…

Loading times are always a problem when we are out and about. Mashable limit the number of posts loaded onto the landing page at one time. This limits the amount of time the page takes for it’s initial load. The user can then choose to load more posts if they desire.

To sum up

Mashable have kept their eyes on the goal and created a simple site with a single focus. This in turn gives the user an enjoyable and intuitive experience.

interface design, usability design, user interface Internet, iphone, Mobile, Twitter, usability

Nexusness

“Wake up, time to die.”

Bladerunner is possibly one of the best films ever made and all of the companies whose neon signs float in the sky during the film have gone bust, or be taken over. Not a good omen for a phone named after one of the main characters.

Is it any good?

And what’s it really like to use one in anger every day? Well I’ve handed over my iPhone to the wife after loving the Apple for 3 years. For the record I usually struggle to keep a phone for more than 6 months.

And the answer is yes, it’s good, in fact it’s really very good.

I had high hopes for other HTC phones and desperately wanted the Palm thingy to be good, but they were all pants compared to the Apple.

What’s hot!

The screen is sharp and clear and the phone is easy to navigate. Setting up email is easy, the app store is much better than I expected; forget Unix geek, think Apple chic.

Email works offline for reading and deleting, unlike the iPhone. Email, address book and social media stuff rocks. I love the widgets for news, twitter and facebook that live on the home screen.

The voice dial and dictate email is not bad either, a long way to go but it’s tempting to start everything by speaking and not navigating.

Oh and it lets you play Spotify in the background which is now the only source of music I have .

What’s not!

The only real hardware bug is the use of the back, menu, home and search  buttons printed on the bottom of the screen. Why bother? you click them by mistake and it’s a real pain.

Software bugs are wider, but with time they will get sorted and remember that Apple have had 3 years to sort out the iPhone.

1. Why does the calendar not sync with MS Exchange when mail and contacts do?

2. The screen redraw speed is slow compared to Apple, but not bad.

3. Cut & paste is not anywhere near as neat or intuitive.

Should I buy one?

Yes - not sure why but yes get one.

Time will tell.

Now that I have committed to use it for work and home life I have no choice but to get on with it, warts and all, and I guess learn to fix the issues and watch as new software updates bring all of my life, blogs, tweets, photos, music, friends, work and life together.

Or I might buy the Apple tablet, nick my iPhone back and delete this post.

UPDATE: Nexus has gone iPhone is back, read more here

http://www.weare-london.com/blog/google-nexus-one-the-real-review/

Mobile, interface design, user interface Design, future, iphone, Mobile, usability

It may seem a little late in the month to be making predictions, but cautious times call for cautious thinking.

This should be pretty simple as nothing here is new, just either ready to get traction or being pushed by the right people:

1. Video on Demand finally gets in to peoples homes for real
2. Video on Demand gets a new name
3. Interactive TV advertising
4. BT Vision moves from Microsoft to open platforms
5. DRM free VOD
6. Mobile web (too obvious? Read more below)
7. Nokia Tube turns out not to be an iPhone beater
8. iPhone Nano (I’d buy one, wouldn’t you?)
9. Mac tablet (big iPhone)
10. No one buys Twitter

Mostly web and mobile, but hey that’s what’s selling now, what customers and businesses want and what I like.

2009 will see a lot of e-commerce sites close, merge and hopefully improve.

The mobile web will really take off, in fact I have a feeling mobile specialists will see a huge rise in work. Mostly due to the fact that for the first time developing for mobile is cheaper than developing for PCs. Those not launching commercial propositions will certainly be launching trials.

Other than that, I am certain Apple’s place as the best technology company will begin to shake, through rushed products, lower perceived value for money (no VGA adapter with yet another laptop plug format) and a cut in customer services.

Uncategorized e-commerce, Interactive TV, Internet, iphone, Mobile, usability

Am I becoming obsessed the iPhone? Well its just got worse, you can get a 7 day tv guide which not only allows you to search but also set your Sky+ box to record remotely.
I’ve set my box to record every episode of Top Gear ever broadcast, from the comfort of my hotel room in Abu Dhabi.
It’s got a great UI and it’s been designed to be 100% functional, so a bit dull but hey, who’s going to be showing their mates down the pub how their new iPhone app works???????

Uncategorized Interactive TV, iphone, usability

In the pub, Shailen mentions a great book called The Perfect Pitch; and having just spent an hour in a 30c room at one of the the UK’s top companies, quite frankly getting a grilling, I thought I had to have it.

So, out comes the iPhone 3G, battery still alive, and I search Google for the book. Top of the search is Amazon and I bought it within three clicks through their iPhone friendly pages.

The point of this seemingly obvious chat is that companies like Amazon are out there pushing real services, through new channels without having huge launch campaigns, keeping happy customers, happy.

The route to success it seems is trialling services quickly, with real users, without shouting about it, until it’s working.

How good is your Customer Experience Strategy?

Uncategorized e-commerce, iphone, Mobile, usability