Handful of Nothing

I liked the screenshot with the home screen, but watching the video…

The impression I get is that besides being a brand new device it is slow as hell. At least if they are really running Windows of any sort they didn’t do only a shallow UI, and in the video you can see how far they went on replacing (possibility) the lame windows shell.

The main screen looks quite welldone, but when going into some other screens it looks like they also needed to rush. The pictures and video playback screen looks rather poorly designed. (also the photo zoom is the tip about slowness)

Anyways, it’s surprising to see in times of iPhone speed, a top company releasing a sluggish device. Product Owners seems simply not to learn, or they have this hardwares thrown down their throats. I think I will become a monk.

So Google, after all the speculation about the gPhone is going even higher: Android is out and it’s the Google mobile, open source, and free? version of Windows. To be more specific, Windows mobile.

I know this is a pretty simple conclusion, (actually a comparison) why Google, heading the OHA, is aiming in nicely providing a lot of people a open platform, stack, or whatever to everyone interested on creating devices. Nice nice nice move google and more, after buying Android, expectable.

To imagine that Google is actually going to make sure all device made by the involved companies can run it’s web services nicely (in or without a browser like the Gmaps on iPhone) gives you a hint of how geniuses this can turn out to be.

“With devices built on the Android Platform, users will be able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone’s homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.”

Being honest, if Google manages to pull this thing off as it is bragging the world it will, and also if it can convice the actual manufactures to keep it open this thing can be a major blast at least in the smartphone world (Maybe HTC is tired of giving MS money and motorola cannot sustain it’s montavista linux prices) and really put Symbian and WM to work. But, really how they are going to pull this out :

Android does not differentiate between the phone’s core applications and third-party applications.

It can be, maybe with this :

…a custom virtual machine that has been designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment.

I like it. To have another good competition against WM for me is enough reason, and I’m all in for big players in the mobile world.

The best thing is to see that EVERYONE is jumping on the mobile bandwagon. Nice opportunities ahead.

And to end the post …

Breaking down application boundaries
Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer could build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Please Google tell me how are you going to convince the manufactures and carriers (ok they are in the alliance) to allow developers (with certificate and signed code only?) to access people’s Agenda, Money (calling) and so on?

Ps: Oh yeah! I was almost forgetting this : Why do not take the Linux fragmentation from desktop to mobile also? =)

Well, the store is launched, I hope the windows dudes do some nice reviews about, because for me, not even look at it =)

I know there’s reasons for that (DRM is windows only) etc, but it made me fell like I was back in time. Specially speaking of a huge company.

I would really like to be able to buy Nokia music :/ but until the whole music industry (see that I’m not blaming the seller) realizes that DRM are dumb, We will need to face this DRM world, and mac users will be locked to itunes, while windows user still have more choices, but are locked to windows DRM devices.

Damn you DRM-enabled-music-industry-freaks.

Ha

I knew some of the complains I had were not “simple a bunch of users bothered” it was really a matter. Also the fact that return to music controls could be a drag also needed a shortcut.

Enters the ” Double click on home button ”

If you double click it it will take either to your favorites or to your music shortcuts. What if I’m listening to music and want to make a call? Still need to go the regular way.

Well, this just show how smart (not saying that the update via itunes is working nicely 100%) is the format of providing a solid simple device, and add features along, as you need to keep the users with you, even if your device is a old lady in feature wise matters.

I know the other manufactures had done this (SE with OTA firmware update, Nokia with the PC suite update) but the fact that they have hundreds of models would become impossible to do what apple is doing thus this will count as positive to the end users that don’t see the “whole” picture (and should not see, just look for a device that fits their needs).

This is were I get pissed: another issue that is going to be known as an Apple advantage, but is only possible because of the Iphone and Apple’s nature: a reduced line of products. Less hardware = less software = less problem = better solutions in the same time the others need to do the same for 100x more hardware versions.

After 30 something hours flying, arriving in the apartment in Oulu at 2am, lots of meetings and a fast flight to Helsinki I finally have a free slot of time with my mind working at least at 33% to post something. Unfortunately is going to be a barely usable post. Also I was able to dinner with my good fellows in Oulu, Tiago, Francisco, Claudio, Igor and Erika, Meagan and her Danish friend. Nice company for a fast one day and half visit.

(that’s it for the personal diary)

Casual, good reading for all your user interaction needs :

Useful multitouch products from Thomas, talks about multi touch is more than iPhone and Surfaces. I really believe in this, and the power this can have for example in little kid’s schools. Imagine the little guys playing around in huge multitouch tables that can not only recognize shapes, but give them physical properties and enable the kids to create “incredible” machine like toys with just their little fingers? I think “little big planet” is going to be my next inspiration =)

I already liked the way Google mail does that, than Asa Raskin (yes son of Jeff Raskin) wrote about it and you can read it all here with good example. I keep imagining how could I design this to be also quite easy to do on mobile devices (the very old trash bin concept?) and avoid modal warnings in the small screen.

And, while I think Sony Ericsson was the faster evolving ui, from scary to really nice, in the mobile world, these pictures (along with the others available) shows how much SE is creating a lot of different UI concepts in the same small box. Maybe this is just too much isn’t it? Maybe not… The final decision comes from the end users =)

In san francisco, Jan Chipchase from Nokia, is always a good fast reading. Now talking about Openness, but you can just click to see the Ny Times N95 Ad. Also, in the N95 field you can take a look at Stephan’s post with a Nokia Store ad “Can you phone do this?” predictable, but indeed it nailed the question. Speaking of ADs I really suggest you to look at this one:

This is pure Gondry love for the Razr2. I don’t think that phone deserved such AD =)
*Ha, I was not wrong about my feeling. this is from Gondry himself =) Nice. You can watch a interview about the ad here

Apart from that, Helsinki is now dressed on shades of green, yellow and red and I’m really sad I cannot go outside and take a lot of nice pictures from those incredible trees =). To make it up I can only admire the availability of a “pillow menu”

This is how the professionals do it : click to read Michael Mace’s post

” I don’t know who will win, but I’m pretty sure that the main losers will be all of the other device companies and mobile operators who happen to be hanging around on the hill.

My advice to them: Run.”

So, the hype actually made sense. Copying pogue : it has everything people are saying, but looking at Pogue’s video and reading his words the device is worth having for those that really enjoy a good experience with products.

Back to the main matter : the UI (this blog is more about this than anything else) is really incredible. after reading Pogues comments on the fact that you can easily use you thumb for one hand operations, that the scrolling is really effective and that the sensibility is great I really don’t have a doubt that even with all the problems will be a blast. Of course it will not ruin anybody, bring down any giant’s leadership on the market, but this will give Apple fuel. Fuel to run a second GP on making a even greater iphone in the second generation, and then evolving to a real more compeling device just like they did with the iPod.

So is history repeating itselft? Maybe. Has apple managed to create one of the most impressive user experiences ever? Yes. Not only the UI, but the fact that you don’t even need to go to the carrier’s store to activate the phone along with great convergence makes this little device a milestone.

The much nicer big keyboard. Unfortunately only on the browser :/

It does lack a lot of features, and is really really less feature powered then most phones out there (sorry but that’s true) but the care for the user experience is so much that makes this a small detail.

The question now must be on the other CEO’s mouth ? How to beat that? If there was an easy way every single manufacturer would be doing it. The point is : I really don’t think any big manufacturer needs to beat Apple. They need only to learn from them the respect to the user centered product design, more than the engineer’s centered product design. They need to think how to really please the user, and to really give value to things that they for sure believed was not that important. Icons, transitions, non-window based metaphor.

So, good luck for those who will buy one tomorrow, and I know that I will delight myself in a lot of reviews, videos, complains but also a lot of “omg this is incredible”s.

For us here in Brazil (and also other continents) even the iPod features a locked without activation, so even buying to bring one to Brazil is useless, at least for now, of course hackers will try to hack this device as fast as it hit’s the market. But until then no iphone for the rest of us.

If the iPhone really stands up to it’s challenge in the US (even with AT&T) there’s no doubt a lot of carriers around the world will fight to have it. Today I imagine that most of the carriers are felling mad about Apple’s requests about the iPhone, but if the thing really sells like it promises, Apple could even demand more freedom.

So, one carrier gave a manufacturer power to do a lot with the service. They came up for now only with visual voice mail (truly nice) and with home-itunes-based activation (incredible) but for sure they must have a lot of ideas, and with operator support + itunes based updates (easier than any other phone’s syn / update) they really have a long and not so tortuous road ahead on improving even more the device. A new era for mobile phone is arriving, and after setting a lot of critics agains the phone lack of features, I must recognized that they did a revolutionary product because of these things. They will make carriers kneel, they will force leaders to re-think they User centered design values, and they will force the WHOLE market to evolve.

Good for us consumers. Lot’s of incredible products to come in a near future.

UPDATE: 2 last things :
Link to pogue’s answers to iPhone FAQ.
And the important to notice from the UI point of view is the fact that it can take up to 6 touches to start dialing someone. This is somehow disappointing, maybe holding the home button on the home could activate the dialpad. : p

This kind of thing happens with big companies. While the past post said something about not being enthusiastic about touch screen, Nokia’s VP of Technology said the opposite.

That’s quite good news to hear. But I want to put my word here also (not that I’m worth to speak after Nokia’s VP but…)

Touch screens are nice. Very nice indeed. But remember this : People are lazy. Sorry if sounds too strong or even if it hits you in the head, but people are lazy. Looking at the nice videos from previous post you’re going to realize something when touch screens goes into big screens : It’s just too much physical effort to use it. And while immersion has already some work on tactile feedback is going to take a little bit longer to see physical keyboard disappearing. They are just too convenient, and give you a very nice cost x benefit.

So I believe a lot in touchscreen, specially when materials that do not get dirt appears, and when tactile feedback reaches the fiction standards. But for now, it can be nice to have it but it will not kill the old and god fellows keyboard and mouse in the big devices.

Come one.. you can do widgets. that’s all a developer needs. That’s all we need to call it a Smartphone. It runs the web 2.0 fool =) *sarcasm

Well, Qualcomm seems to like to sue people about patents. They are doing that against of course giants like Nokia, but now that tide have turned : Broadcom has sued qualcoom and there’s already a oficial decision that can take millions of Qualcomm phones from the market. Now they say that they are going to appeal to the White house, and that licensing was so expensive that undermined it’s business model.

Again : Patents are becoming a problem, but its nice to see companies that like to sue others being sued like this. And in a Huge and painful way.

Click to read the rest at nytimes :

“The U.S. International Trade Commission ordered a ban on Thursday of some imported cellphones with Qualcomm chips that infringe on a Broadcom patent.”

The BenQ mobile division, has declared bankruptcy. 3.000 jobs may be lost.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,440049,00.html

The only new thing I have to say about zune is:

Why Creative is not sueing MS for it’s UI on zune now?

Zune ui follows the same concept everysingle music player uses nowdays : creates a browsing structure based on it’s tags ( genre / artist / album / ) and that’s exactly what creative claims in it’s patent. So, please Creative why don’t you make another truck of money sueing the giant? I will tell you why using a small hipotetic dialog between the 2 companies:

Creative: “Hi there M$! Nice player you have announced, but unfortunately it uses some ideas on it’s UI that belong to us… so how about you not selling those zune babies and paying some money for the damage to my IP?”

Microsoft “Hi guys, unm… it’s true.. we are using this but hey! do you know about all the windows products that you guys sell? and all those drivers that comes with Windows ? Well I think that we will not be able to cooperate with creative any more… so sorry. Do you really want to sue us about that UI?”

Creative “What UI?”

Ok, everyone knew that Vivo was going GSM, but here you can see the news about ericsson being the infrascructure provider for that bold move. http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=6592

This is so nice. I really want to see how much Qualcomm will loose in this movement. Vivo has around 25 million customers in it’s cdma network, and to see them smoothly turning to gsm will for sure have some impact on Cdma phones sales in Brazil.

Sweet.

Yeah, They can celebrate. With a small push from Brazil’s biggest TV channel ( Rede Globo ) the Brazilian Gov has chosen the Japanese Digital TV standart. I know that I’m suspicious to talk against the Japanese standard for digital TV, but it was so clear that Lula (Brazil’s president) fears so much the “Rede Globo”. Face the rage of such a big communications corporation in a election years for sure wasn’t a good idea for someone that has a lot to hide. Fact: nothing can convince a more technology aware person that the japanese was a good choice.

Now let’s wait for those lies to become truth:
“We won’t need to pay royalties to the japanese ”
“The solution will be cheaper, and we will bring the poor people to that technology”
“We included a lot of Brazilian inovations” - Please, can someone tell what innovation? Mpeg4? That crappy java middleware? What else?
“The japanese will bring a semi conductos plant to Brazil” - ok! let’s wait to see that =)

It’s a shame. I really don’t know what to do with my vote.

If you are a portuguese reader, please visit Bernardo’s post about it and the incredible map of Digital TV adoption