Category — Graphic User Interface

What impact does the smartphone market have on the tech industry?

This current fiscal year has been a great one for Apple as they, for the first time, surpassed long-time frenemy Microsoft to become the second largest US company by market capitalization after Exxon Mobil. This achievement would not have been possible with a product that did not exist just over three years ago. That product, in case you were wondering, is none other than the iPhone which now accounts for 40% of Apple’s revenue. Smartphones, this goes without saying, are the hottest game in tech town! And everyone seems to want a piece of this ever-growing pie if HP’s purchase of Palm is anything to go by.

How are the two biggest players in the smartphone market seeking hegemony?

The iPhone’s biggest challenger comes in the shape of Google via their Android OS which can be found on a number of smartphones made by manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, Samsung, and more. The Android OS, with its royalty-free license, manages to compete with a hardware item like the iPhone by going the route of Windows in the 80s of targeting volume to create a ubiquitous platform that will in turn attract developers to create apps that add to the OS’ functionality. Although the iPhone is a hardware item the real attraction is the exclusive, beloved OS. This is evident in the fact that, so far at least, the iPhone is the leading smartphone OS in terms of market share despite Android boasting phones with better hardware specs such as the HTC Desire. Both Apple and Google have announced future iterations of their respective smartphone OSes, namely iPhone OS 4 and Android 2.2. According to tech blogger John Gruber “Apple and Google are jostling to shift the comparison between the two platforms to their very different strengths. Apple’s strengths: user experience, design, consistency. Google’s strengths: the cloud, variety, permissiveness”. And just to be clear, design here also refers to interface design, of course.

More of Google’s many announcements at the recently concluded Google I/O 2010 developers conference are a number of new features to its Google Chrome internet browser. Apart from improved speed and now being available for both the Mac and Linux platforms the web browser now features the Chrome Web Store. The store is an open marketplace for web apps that makes it easier for both users to discover web apps suiting their needs and for developers to reach a large audience.

How do interface design changes improve usability through efficient access?

Installing web apps will create shortcuts to said apps on the tab bar making them more quickly accessible through Chrome’s interface design with just one mouse click, thereby improving usability and user experience. Furthermore, installed web apps built on HTML5 can access services that regular web pages can not such as Geolocation APIs, file drag-and-drop and App Cache (this  can allow apps to tap unlimited local storage for offline access for example). Although using web technologies, with App Cache web apps would be able to run like native apps as all their resources could be stored locally. An example of this would be a video game that wouldn’t require a server connection in order to run.

Lack of User Interface Design Standards

The iPad also has no user interface design standards. The device was unleashed on the market with developers not having any sort of advanced access to the device to test out their upcoming apps. As a results apps are inconsistent in terms of interface design and many users were unsure what exactly to click (since “anything you can show or touch can be a UI”) or what options they have. Once they have figured out how an app works there is very little chance of transferring these skills from one app to the next. An example of this is the act of touching a picture in different apps which could cause any of the following to happen: enlarging the picture, nothing happens, hyperlinking to another page, flipping the image to reveal more pictures, and popping up a set of navigation choices.

Similarly, to continue reading once you hit the bottom of the screen could be done with any of three different gestures: scrolling down, swiping left or swiping up. Many apps also lack a back button leaving many users unable to retrace their steps. Some publication apps, although beautiful and mimicking the print medium, would not offer enough interactivity with their headlines not being clickable. Other apps required the learning of complex multi-touch gestures that were not transferable to other apps. The “fat finger” problem lead to many users touching something they didn’t intend.

User Interface Design Guidelines may Help Developers

As a summary the report states “iPad apps are inconsistent and have low feature discoverability, with frequent user errors due to accidental gestures. An overly strong print metaphor and weird interaction styles cause further usability problems”.  According to Nielsen all these shortcomings are to do with the interface design of the apps and not necessarily the device itself. Perhaps Apple should have released an app to teach developers usability and interface design guidelines for the iPad!

In this blog post I shall look at Usability guru Jakob Nielsen’s early findings in his iPad usability test. The original report is 93 pages long but I shall try and summarize.

The iPad runs the same OS as the iPhone leading Nielsen to remark, “From an interaction design perspective, an iPad user interface shouldn’t be a scaled-up iPhone UI”.  This is mainly due to the iPad’s larger screen real estate. Although regular websites “work reasonably well” on the iPad, whereas previous iPhone usability studies showed that iPhone users preferred to use dedicated apps rather than browsing with Safari, the iPad has read-tap asymmetry where text big enough to read is too small to touch making large touch zones highly recommended. The tab bar at the bottom of the screen is said to work worse on the iPad than the iPhone due to the screen size. Users on the smaller phone can notice the tab bar even when focusing on the middle of the screen. On the iPad users tend to become oblivious of the tab bar.

Google launched a new security feature last week — users now have the ability to search the web securely using the encrypted web search option.  This feature utilizes the same Secure Socket Layer connection (SSL) as the Gmail and Google Docs applications.  Google’s new security feature is timely given the recent unsafe interface design pandemonium exploding at Facebook; web surfers could use an internet safety confidence booster.

How does the new feature work?

From a usability perspective, Google’s new encrypted web search option couldn’t be simpler.  If Google users want to search the web safely and privately, they need only type https://www.google.com into their browser.  This will then encrypt the connection, protecting the words, phrases, and results they search on from interception. The interface design is practically the same as the one that users are already familiar with from using the normal Google search. Some minor differences are due to the fact that only Google web search is currently provided with SSL, so the other menu options do not appear in the interface design of Google’s SSL option.

As Google describes on their official blog, the interface design of the search engine results has undergone a “spring metamorphosis”.   Google has updated its visual look in addition to providing users with new search tools to enrich the user’s ability to find exactly what he is looking for on the web in the most expedient fashion.

New and improved interface design

The main change to Google’s search result interface design is the introduction of the contextually relevant, left hand navigation feature.  It appears as a side panel on the interface and underscores the important search tools and refinements necessary to best assist you with your inquiry.

There are three extant Google technologies integrated into the new left hand panel of the interface design that can assist you with your search: Universal Search, Search Options Panel, and Google Squared. The Universal Search helps you to find the most relevant search results.  The top section of the new search panel uses Universal Search to suggest the most relevant categories for your inquiry, allowing you to effortlessly switch results.  The Search Options Panel lets you change the view of your results, enriching your perspective.  Google Squared helps you find and compare elements related to your original inquiry.

Google’s new search result interface design relays its desire to continue to make their program the premier search engine on the web, allowing users an easy and simultaneously detailed and dynamic inquiry experience.

In this three part Usability Spotlight I shall look at Google Wave from a usability and interface design perspective. Here’s part one.

Why was Google Wave created?

Email, as we know it, is technology that is essentially old (in technological terms).  Emails sent in the 70s and 80s are very similar to their modern counterparts and were created at a time when the computing power used to send men to the moon was less than that of a modern scientific calculator! The development of the Internet has brought us many more web technologies such as instant messaging, blogs, wikis, forums and social networking. With these technologies in mind some developers at Google begged the question: what would email look like if it were invented today?  Their answer is a new Internet communications platform: Wave! Personally I find the use of the word wave to be similar in concept to string theory whereas string theory looks at matter not as a singular object but like a string constantly oscillating through different dimensions taking on the guise of different musical notes. A wave too, though singular takes on many shapes and forms.

What is Google Wave?

Google Wave can be described as a hybrid version of all the aforementioned web technologies, combining them into a single web-based service, communications protocol and computing platform offering great potential for real-time communication and collaborative teamwork. Wave allows you to create… wait for it… waves, which Google refers to as “equal parts conversation and document”. You can then invite others to join a particular wave, or not. But then that’d be like playing chess by yourself, I suppose, though I must say that I have a personal wave with just me in it that I have used in a note-taking capacity. What you and your co-conspirators type in the wave appears instantly as you type them for all who are using Wave at that instant to see.  Those not online are notified of edits (in the form of a threaded conversation) when they next log in.

When to use Google Wave?

Wave has many benefits that are best exemplified by the following scenario: say you are a developer working on the interface design of a software application. You would like to brainstorm some ideas and you write an email to a fellow worker with your ideas. You then go back and forth and as your ideas gather steam you decide to forward the mail to the rest of the team who then all start chipping in their 2 cents. Soon your inbox is full of a number of emails that have to be expertly deconstructed. Furthermore, you also just had a great brainstorming session on Skype but only with one or 2 other people and not the whole team. Do you then copy and paste that conversation into the latest mail and click on “reply to all…” again? And what about when want to do a quick poll over an idea?

More to come in part 2 of this blog post.

Google Docs is currently one of the most popular online office suites, and from a usability standpoint, it is easy to see why.  The application with its intuitive interface design, which is familiar to many from the Google search engine or the Google Mail email service, allows users to create spreadsheets, documents, presentations, and forms online free of charge.  Google Docs also gives users the opportunity to collaborate with each other on various projects in real-time. Google Docs users are able to simultaneously access and edit documents and even have the ability to communicate instantaneously with each other using the chat feature. Google Docs is designed to optimize usability, but like most web-based applications, it falls short of perfect.  Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the Google Docs interface design from a usability perspective.

In Praise of Google Docs: Great user interface design makes for superior usability

Usability consists of several factors: Ease of learning, efficiency of use, memorability, error frequency, and subjective satisfaction. Google Docs’ in my opinion ranks well on several of these. Google Docs is both easy to learn for a new user and efficient in use. One might also say, Google Docs is accessible, not only because it is internet-based, but because it is accessible within the paradigm of human diversity.  Google Docs is literally for everyone!  It has a clear interface design which pronounces only the important features, so many people can easily use it for various purposes. You can be a large corporation interested in file sharing and real-time employee collaboration and use Google Docs.  You can use Google Docs for your personal files, and you can use Google Docs to create birthday party invitations (yes, google docs has a drawing application!).  The Google Docs interface design is accessible to those with a wide-range of needs from all walks of life and this is one of the main reasons why it is so popular.

Further features of Google Docs increase the efficiency of use and improve the subjective satisfaction of users. Here are a few other features that vamp up Google docs’ usability:

•    Shared Folders:  Google Docs users can create folders and share groups of documents with friends, family, or coworkers very easily.

•    Translation: Google Docs can detect and translate languages in spreadsheets and documents into over 40 languages.

•    Form Summaries:  Google Docs provides users with summaries of feedback from collaborators who view their various forms.

These are just several of the many features provided by the Google Docs application that enhance usability or user experience. Google Docs is free, dynamic, and easy to use—what more could you possibly want?

Microsoft is making it clear that it believes software application integration will define the interface design of the mobile phones of the future.  Microsoft intends to make Zune the operating system of their new Windows Mobile 7 phone series music and media features.  Windows 7 phone users will now be able to access FM and HD radio and purchase music using the Zune application that is integrated into their mobile phone.  The interface design of the Windows 7 phone has also been designed to mirror the Zune HD experience.  The Windows mobile 7 interface design is practical and aesthetically pleasing: there are large, iconic text menus and the screen transitions dimensionally slide the user into and out of different views.  In addition to Zune integration, Windows Mobile 7 users are also fully integrated with Xbox and can access LIVE games, avatars, and profiles right from the screen of their cell phone.

In addition to combining with entertainment software applications, Microsoft is maintaining its sense of practicality by integrating its interface design with Office 2010.  Users can access their email through Outlook and are also able to view and edit Word and PowerPoint documents right from the screen of their mobile phone.  Take a look for yourself:

Emails, Events, and Schedules Link:

Office Hub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBMBQNOHzGc

Now it is even easier for users to create, add data, and annotate documents, opening the door for more efficient real-time collaboration among Office users. It remains to be seen how efficient working on the screen of the phone will be.

The new Windows Mobile 7 Phone series has taken interface design to a new level by integrating so thoroughly with popular, extant software applications.  The phone is scheduled to be released sometime during the 2010 holiday season.

With the unveiling of the Windows 7 phone series in February 2010, Microsoft promises to provide a new mobile software interface with an easy and integrated user interface design. The goal is to create a phone that optimizes usability by allowing users to seamlessly connect to their needs and the people in their lives with the use of a simple and dynamic technology.
The Windows 7 phone series introduces an integrated design system with a visually stimulating interface design and quick, constantly updating hardware and software functionalities.  The introduction of the Windows Phone hubs feature combines content from the internet, applications, and services and brings them into a single view, thus simplifying user tasks.  Hubs are divided into six categories based on people’s interests:

1.    People: Provides relevant social content for the user from sources like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

2.    Pictures: A one step photo sharing tool that allows users to post pictures and videos to various social networking sites.

3.    Games: Provides the first and only Xbox application on a phone: Xbox live games, Spotlight feed, avatars, and gamers results and profiles.

4.    Music and Video: Combines online music and video sources, music from the user’s PC, Zune, and even an FM radio in one central and user friendly location – all in one seamless user interface design scheme.

5.    Marketplace: Allows users to centralize their certified game and application downloads.

6.    Office: Allows users to access the Microsoft Office suite and create, edit, and share documents in real-time.

In addition to hubs, the actual phone screen provides continuously updated “live tiles” that show users real-time content as it unfolds in the present.  This feature underscores Microsoft’s concern with speedy accessibility and usability, as it is in contrast to the typical static icons found on phone screens that serve only as an intermediate step to the use of an application.  For example, a user can create a tile of a news website and then obtain a readable and up to date view of the sites latest updates just by glancing at Start.

The new Windows 7 phone epitomizes the concept of dynamic user interface design and provides features and applications that have never before been available to mobile phone users in this way.  If the Windows 7 Phone lives up to its expectations, it will certainly be a savvy investment for mobile phone users and could absolutely give the iPhone a run for its money.