Tag: interface

I want iOS to be modernized a bit more

The lack of gesture support on the iPod touch and iPhone makes for an awkward moment when you’re far more used to using the iPad which has a greater range of gesture recognition.

Not being able to do things like switching between apps simply by swiping from the side edges of the screen as opposed to a four finger swipe on the iPad or closing the app by pushing up from the bottom of the screen makes these tall screen devices feel rather quaint and underdeveloped.

I realize that Apple can be both revolutionary and conservative with regards to introducing interface features but after more than five and a half years of iOS, it needs a little more of the modern abilities not just to compete with offerings from other platform providers but also as a milestone in its own software development roadmap.

As it stands, the iPhone remains a safe bet for consumers who don’t want to have to learn too many new things as its comes with arguably the easiest and simplest mobile OS to learn and use.

I’ve got high hopes for Jony Ive to reboot iOS. – Read on Path.

If Twitter is the backchannel of life, Path is the backchannel of Twitter

I’ve been so hooked on Path, it has managed to replace Twitter as my go to app every morning.

I love the private sharing feature it imposes on its members and I have no qualms rejecting sharing requests from people I know simply to limit my spread of updates. It’s not like I’ve left Twitter. My primary presence is still on Twitter but for a lot of personal updates, Path really is the place. Twitter is the public plaza where you seek out general news and other info.

Google+ would have been it though if the mobile app wasn’t so shit in the first place. Despite the focus on design Google has taken in recent months, its mobile app developers haven’t seem to be able to grasp how important a well-designed interface is when it comes to applications. The team has some serious issues to address.

Perhaps I’m part of an elite snob whose view on mobile apps have been so skewed by Apple’s near-meticulous designs, that I place a stronger emphasis on interface design in delivering functions, although Apple’s own apps are beginning to look ridiculous themselves lately.

Honestly there’s little to differentiate between Path and Facebook on mobile but Path isn’t full of people whose updates I don’t give a shit about. I mean yeah, I added those people on Facebook because I used to know them or I just met them but the kinds of things they share on Facebook are either duplicates of what they said on Twitter or that I’m so far removed from them these days that whatever they posted just fails to catch my interest anymore.

I set up this blog for Jakarta’s early Twitter adopters and as it turns out, Path is taking over the role what Twitter used to be back in the days of 2007-2008. 

Twitter is now like the mall and Path is that street corner cafe where you and your closest friends hang out. This is a funny analogy because back in 2008, Facebook was the mall and Twitter was the corner cafe. So what is Facebook now? I have no idea, I couldn’t care less and I only use it for messaging.

The other day I said that if Twitter is the backchannel of life, Path is the backchannel of Twitter.

Google Currents adds to interface inconsistencies across Google’s mobile apps

Lo Min Ming, former UX designer intern at Google:

The reason why there are such differences in these Google apps is that the designers in each of these teams know that Android design is ugly. They all want to change the standard popup design. They want to change the icons. They want to tweak the style. Both the Currents and Google+ team clearly wanted a more flat look compared to the more 3D look of other apps.

I used to rant a lot about Google web services – Search vs Maps vs Gmail vs News, etc. But with the recent efforts to unify the look of these web services to use design language of Google+, they now look much better. More importantly, these web services have a more consistent feel to it.

Let’s hope that they do something across all their Android apps too.

Google Currents adds to interface inconsistencies across Google’s mobile apps

Gmail over the last couple of years

It’s time for the baked-in Android UI to die

This is why I’m not too fond of customized Android interface. Many phone manufacturers insist on having their own “optimized” interfaces according to their perceived need of their intended customers. This whole forcing people to use their custom interface meme flies in the face of the whole idea of openness that Google claims to champion. Or perhaps it’s open but from the vendor’s perspective, not the user’s.

It’s time for the baked-in Android UI to die

Firefox (still) needs braces.

Also, the ugliest tabs on top implementation I’ve ever seen, thankfully it’s optional but it still needs braces.

Flickr redesigned its photo page

Noticed it the other day while checking out photos of the Tokyo launch of iPhone 4. Larger images, much improved navigational tools, a black display option for individual photos. Good change. Still in beta so you need to opt in.

Flickr redesigned its photo page

8 Subtle Changes You May (Or May Not) Notice in iOS 4

Apple doesn’t stand still. When it sees room for improvements, it will make it so, check out some of these changes in iOS 4. These make the interface more efficient, cleaner, and more well thought out, which end up raising the user experience level up a notch. It’s not just about having features, it’s also about presenting them.

8 Subtle Changes You May (Or May Not) Notice in iOS 4