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Do you want to know which iPad to buy now it’s been released in the UK, or find out which apps really are worth buying?

Well we have the answers to your questions and hopefully more, so read on, review and comment if you want to know more / disagree / have more information for our readers.

Firstly to qualify this article as the REAL deal and not just some recycled jurno junk, I have been using a iPad (64Gb wifi) for the past month, in anger as both a businessman and home user / dad of a 2 year old child and husband to a media junkie wife. I also have both UK and US itunes accounts so can access all apps around the world.

Should I get one or wait for something else?

That’s a great questions, especially as Intel have just released news of their new Atom chip that will be super fast, up to 1.9ghz, and super lean, hone batteris lasting up to 10 days. But anyone who bought an iphone competitor in great anticipation should just get on and by the iPad, it’s the real deal, you’ll not be disappointed.

I’ll update the blog as I go, so all findings are in chronological order (did you need to know that?)

Wifi or 3G?

This one is easy, if you’re likely to use your iPad out of the home or office environment, which is most of you over 16, go for the 3G. It drives me mad trying to log onto these rubbish public wifi networks and at £5 an hour on some, a PAYG or cheap O2 iPad tariff will be much cheaper. You can also cut your normal SIM card down apparently so get a Tesco mobie PAYG and you’re in.

Will it replace my laptop?

Office apps ♥♥

If, like me you spend a lot of time reading and replying to emails, showing presentations, reviewing RFPs or proposals then it’s better than a laptop. But if you want to edit those documents, then forget it, the tools are just too simplistic to do anything useful.

Yep, it’s true even the wonderfully designed Apple Pages, Numbers and Keynote fail to really compare to much more than Google Docs (which does not work on the iPad yet).

Other contenders such Office HD, et al have even bigger problems, save your money for now, be content with reading documents and not editing them. It will all come soon and it will be the online apps that win out.

Cloud computing ♥♥♥♥

I have also come to realise how important cloud services are, the iPad and other ultra-portable devices will cement this as the future, my favourites are Huddle and Dropbox. Huddle has a great UI and is easy to find docs, view online renderings and generally do what you need to do, other than download and edit document; see above as to why this is not such an issue.

Creativity ♥♥

Again it seems that the promise of great creativity on the iPad has been jaded by the early, quickly designed apps that feel a bit rubbish, in fact less useful than the iPhone versions. There are a couple that people like me will use a lot, iMockups and Omnigraffle both hold a lot of promise for interactive designers and Adobe Ideas, whilst basic, is great for freehand sketches on the fly.

Video & music ♥♥♥♥♥

In a previous blog I describe how the iPad came into it’s own during a power cut in a hotel recently and it’s brilliant. Anyone who has watched TV on an iphone or ipod will know that if the content is good, you soon forget the screen size. Well the iPad has great sound, an amazing screen and iTunes integrated rocks as always. You can stream UK Freeview TV using TVcatchUp.com/iphone and whilst the video is not HD, it’s pretty good for a free services.

Otherwise Spotify and Pandora (US only through VPN) are both great additions to your iPhone music library, infact I have sort of given up downloading from iTunes.

Battery life ♥♥♥♥♥

Is it a goer? Oh yes, it’s got more staying power than a student rugby team at a free bar. I have had at least 10 hours of continuos video play back and stand  by last for weeks even with regular use. In fact i have stopped carrying a charger at all, even over weekends, and the added bonus is you can use any iPhone charger with it.

iBook vs eBooks ♥♥♥

The Amazon Kindle and iPad book reading argument has been raging for longer than the iPad has been around, and whilst Kindle sales could do with a bit of Apple magic, the Kindle is a muh better ebook, mainly due to it’s e-ink and matt screen. As a long time Kindle owner I am impressed by Apple’s integrated book store within the eBook app, but less impressed by the weight of the iPad whilst reading anywhere that you need to hold it, and by the glare on the beach or in the garden.

However, the killer appeal to many will be the fact that the iPad is a multifunctional device, so it’s unlikely that the majority of interested consumers would buy both, only early adopters like me would bother. So there is a good chance that the iPad will become the defacto device for the casual consumer, but the Kindle will remain the leader as far as serious readers, most of whom will be big spenders, are concerned.

As a foot note to the book piece, there is an Alice in Wonderland app that is beautiful, interactive and worth every penny, my daughter loves it and I can see it becoming the DVD of the new millenium.

Will it save news and magazine publishing? ♥♥♥♥♥

Only good journalism / content can truly do that but the apps I have seen go a long way. It seems the publishers are split into two camps, it’s a digital newspaper and looks like it or, it’s a new device with new ways of interacting let’s redesign it.

The winners so far in the new new media war are:

• AP News: mmm lovely UI and exciting ways to filter
• Thomson Reuters: A bit hectic but using the space and interaction nicely
• Zinio: Amazing renders of the actual magazines in an interactive format
• USA Today: Content is still as dull as ever but the cross over design between print and digital is lovely
• NPR: Looks great but a little less usable than the rest
• Marvel Comics: The best interaction of them all, it’s amazing, very lateral

And the losers are:

• Yahoo!: Indeed an exclamation mark is needed, it’s a bad 3D sitting room for a menu, very 80’s
• WSJ: Looks kinda 1930s, which is nice if that was the brief
• NYT: Again the retor squad have been out, nothing challenging just a bit dull and detached navigation
• BBC: Not what I was expecting at all to be honest, poorly designed and too many images
• Maxim: Whilst not on my usual reading list, the app is a terrible, ham fisted affair. Get Zinio and pay for the glossy electronic version of the print, it works, simple as that.

First impressions

It feels solid, the screen is beautiful, it’s a breeze to set up and the interaction is everything you expected. As always with Apple the bits you want to work do work, from effortless touch screen interaction to fast loading apps, beautiful email and calendars and web browsing.

In fact it’s so good I forgot about the lack of camera, USB ports, coffee machine bolt on, finger print readers, etc. When you use it you know every single part has been thought out and, unlike the all singing all flash playing future competitors, it does everything you need, just not everything you want, but it does it perfectly.

It’s far better than I could have hopped and it has been well received by everyone who uses it, in fact 100% of people who have used mine say they want to buy one now!

Mobile, apple, iPad, interface design, user interface future, innovation, iPad, Mobile, navigation, usability, user experience

I couldn’t resist downloading the official Twitter app for Android as soon as I heard it was available. As an avid tweeter I was excited to see what it was like.

The homescreen

When loading the app the user is taken to a homescreen where they can choose if they wish to read tweets, view their profile or view lists messages or replies. The layout is simple and easy to use with large target areas for fingers to press. The area at the foot of the screen is very interesting. This area is used to pop-up various trending topics allowing users to visit these searches directly from the homescreen.

Peoples tweets

While reading tweets the application keeps access to all functionality on one screen. The full tweet text is displayed with a small pop-up menu displayed at the touch of an icon. This allows users access to functions as such as retweeting, replies, favourites and sharing while not leaving the main screen, not dissimilar to the method applied by the latest Facebook design where the user has access to many functions from a single screen.

Your tweets

The “Create tweet” screen is clearly laid out and organised. The update and cancel buttons are placed above the keyboard, not hidden behind it as in so many Android apps. An iPhone style on/off slider is used to toggle the users location on or off, an interface element many people will be familiar with but may not be clear to all of Android’s user base. It is easy to add or upload photos and another function allows users to access their following list to add people as an @ reply into their tweet. This is a handy feature that turns your following list into a contacts list.

Tweetclusion

The official Twitter app is a welcome addition to my Nexus One. It has currently taken the title off Seesmic for my top tweeting tool. Its combination of neat features and smooth interface make it a good choice for anyone.

Mobile, information architecture, interface design, user interface Internet, Mobile, Nexus One, social networking

Working on projects with multiple deadlines, deliverables, meetings and workshops can always be an organisational challenge. Keeping a record of all the things you have to do, when they need to be done and how important they are can be a nightmare to keep on top of. To keep all my tasks under control I list out all my tasks. To keep all my deadlines, meetings and workshops in mind I enter them all into my calendar. I do however start to find myself with multiple lists on various pieces of paper and my calendar is not connected at all. If I leave my list in the office and go to work onsite I am left unorganised. This was of course until a colleague turned me on to a popular web application called Remember the Milk.

My problems answered

Remember the Milk is an online to do list application that lets me enter all my tasks, give them deadlines and days to be done/completed, organise them into priorities, keep several lists separating my work and private tasks and even more. It’s all kept online so is available from anywhere I have an internet connection. It even sync’s with a Remember the Milk application for my Android phone (iPhone version also available), and sends me daily reminders of my tasks due that day. It combines all the tasks both my calendar and paper lists achieve into one easily accessible place.

Remember the user?

So i like the concept and it solves a real world problem for me but what about the UI? I can remember the milk now but did they remember the user?

The interface is clean and simple with some nice touches. The right hand column floats to be always visible when users scroll down long lists. The tabbed layout allows for easy navigation between lists. The right hand column gives easy access to all the main task options allowing users to quickly edit due dates, estimated task time, notes and tags.

The key to the usability and experience of the application is the prominent task input field. This allows user not only just to add the name of a task but to use a series of commands to enter further details of the task in the single text box. Users can add due dates, priorities, tags, locations, repeat tasks and time estimates by adding commands such as hash symbols. This may involve a degree of learning but for an application that many users will use every day it turns a single text box into a extremely powerful piece of functionality.

Mobile, information architecture, interface design, usability design, user interface innovation, Internet, Mobile, Nexus One, usability, user experience

I’ve had my iPad for a week and I love it. Even with just a few apps it rocks at everything. It’s replaced our laptop at home, I use it out and about for emails, presentations and reading magazines which it excels at.

So all of this sounds great and it is, except that the launch in the UK is delayed for a month, so no iPads or apps for 6 more weeks.

The good news is that you’ll be able to buy the 3G version, which, if like me you plan to use your iPad on the go, will be something that you can’t live without. After all how prolific and affordable are public wifi zones?

And in return we’ll see our mobile phone companies offering new individual tariff bundles to add mobile, home broadband, mobile PCs and a range of tethering charges.

Opening up this new market sector will drive a price war, similar to the one Tesco has just started with their new iPhone tariffs, which is good news for consumers and for the companies making and selling ultra portal PCs.

So don’t complain that you can’t use one tariff to do everything right now, because I am certain that you will be able to soon. Once Google have launched their gPad and the rest of those that I’ve seen but can’t remember the the rush will start.

The only question is will the gpad and other clones hit the spot and be as good as the iPad?

Mobile apple, iPad, Mobile

After hearing that Opera Mini 5 has been released on Android I jumped at the chance to try out a new browser on the Nexus One. I had heard good things about Opera Mini so how does it shape up?

First impressions

My initial first impressions were good. The interface looks slick and the browsing experience seems fast. Menus and features are intuitive and easy to navigate. A notable point is the use of an on-screen menu, giving it an iPhone feel rather than utilising the menu soft-key at the foot of the Nexus screen to bring up a hidden menu.

Tabbed browsing

The feature that really stands out for me in this browser is the tabbed browsing. By selecting an option from the on-screen menu a user can bring up a small panel allowing them to both easily open a new tab and to smoothly switch between tabs already open. The interaction and design of this feature is a massive plus. It translates the desktop browser ability into a usable mobile feature.

Speed dial

Another useful feature of the desktop browser translated across to mobile is speed dial. A feature useful for quick access to your commonly visited websites. This screen loads when you first start up the browser allowing you to navigate to your favourite site at the poke of a finger.

To draw my conclusions

The browsing experience is quick and feels smooth. Features such as speed dial, Opera link that allows syncing of bookmarks and speed dial between phone and computer, and especially tabbed browsing stand out and offer a great reason to switch to Opera. However it is misssing an important interaction that is offered by the default Andriod browser, pinch to zoom. The double tap utilized by Opera feels slightly awkward and saw me accidentally click buttons and links on more than one occasion. Overall I will still give it a thumbs up and it is great to see viable browser alternatives cropping up on Android.

interface design, user interface Google, Internet, Mobile, Nexus One, usability

iPhone 1, Nexus none

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

I have been living with the Nexus One for about a week now after my jump from my poor old dumbphone. So what’s it like? How has a smartphone changed my life?

Techno geek

I may have only just jumped into the world of smartphones but when it comes to technology I’m a bit of geek. I love it and look for any opportunity to embrace it. The Nexus One has made some significant changes to my life over the past week. Firstly I never get lost. A quick search for a bar or restaurant and a quick check of Google maps always sets me on the right path when meeting friends. It has also helped me to embrace the use of social media far more than before. Being able to keep in touch with friends, share interesting usablity articles on twitter and also find alsorts of useful information while on the go mean the social connections become far more integrated within my life. The last big point is learning through experience and exposure. I believe the more interfaces and the more websites I experience and use the more I develop as an information architect. The Nexus one has not only exposed me to countless apps and mobile sites it also gives me the chance to explore interfaces even when I am out and about.

Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

The leap from dumbphone to the mighty Nexus definetely gets the thumbs up from me.

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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.

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.

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

Having just been presented with a brand spanking new Google Nexus One I am beginning a series of blogs about all things Nexus One and Andriod.

Unboxing

As a great lover of Apple products I believe the experience starts with the packaging. So what was it like with the Nexus? The whole thing felt very Apple. A clean white box with just a hint of the Google brand colours. The packing felt like it belonged with a high end product and that is exactly what it contained. The only draw back of shipping a phone across for the US is the need to buy an extra charger for the UK sockets.

The device

The Nexus One is a sexy piece of kit. The phone feels solid and screams quality. I was impressed at how thin and streamlined the phone looked. The touchscreen is crisp, sharp and responsive. The interface runs smooth and fast. This is a definite iPhone rival.

The set-up

Setting up the device was painless. As you would expect it is integrates well with your google accounts and I had my email, twitter, facebook and various other accounts running in no time. Some nice interface touches such as the “See password” function (makes passwords visible not disguised) definetely help when setting up accounts on a touchscreen.

Watch this space

So keep your eyes on this space for more Nexusness and Andriod mania.

Mobile Design, Google, Mobile

“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