we are: London

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

Users are displayed trending topics at the foot of the screen

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

Users are presented with a pop-up menu to carry out actions

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 clear and well laid out

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.

Users can easily view their tasks and navigate between lists

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?

Using commands can turn the single task input field into a powerful tool

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

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

After reading an interesting article on the BBC I started thinking about search and the existing styles and methods that we use to find information. I have had the luxury to spend some time playing with Google Goggles and I have to say I’m impressed.

The Google Goggles app allows users to take images of many items inlcuding popular landmarks and find search results based on the image

Google Goggles is an application available on Google’s Android operating system that allows users to search the internet based on input from their phones camera. If I take a photograph of a book,  a computer keyboard or even a bottle of Heinz ketchup it will return related search results and images. It’s ability to do this is quite astonishing (apart from of course every time I try to show off to my friends).


Could search methods such as this be a first glimpse of many new search methods of the future. Google certainly have a good pedigree in the field and I am looking towards them for any glimpse into future trends and innovations. Google stripped search down to it’s bare bones with their simple and clean text search. Will they now break down the barriers associated with this search style to create more innovative and natural search methods?  Methods they are currently quite successfully developing on Android such as searching by voice, searching by handwriting recognition and the Google Goggles searching by visual input certainly point towards this.

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

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.

The tabbed browsing interface allows users to open, close and switch between tabs

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.

The speed dial page allows quick access to favourite wesbites

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

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