I tried a Palm Pre the other day, and my opinion was mixed. The first problem was with Oxford Street rather than Palm or O2. I went in search of a store, and found one with displays which excitedly announced the new phone, but there were none in sight. I thought it a bit strange because there every other type of phone was evident, including a bank of iPhones. So I stood in a short queue, and when I got to the front was told they had one demo model charging out back, but the others had all been stolen the day before! So I walked another couple of minutes down the road to the next O2 shop.
What first struck me about the pre was how much the screen looks and feels like the image is on the surface. The screen is bright, and the black of the casing combined with its curve makes it feel like you are touching the image. I like that.
In general I found it to be responsive, and pleasant. There were some areas of the software which I found counter intuitive and annoying, for example when I was editing a calendar entry there was nothing to say done or cancel, and it took me a while to realise I should return to the home screen and swipe that screen out of the way. It was only when I relaunched the calendar that I could return to the month or week view.
I found this in a couple of apps, and though Palm might tout it as a feature (auto save and therefore no done or cancel button) I found it a bit offputting that you to have to return to the home and remove the view by swiping it away.
The other thing which I thought badly resolved is that when you are editing text it is difficult to place the cursor in the right place because your finger obscures the letters, and there is no pop up magnifier (as in iphone) or any other device to help find where you are.
I really like the small alerts which appear at the bottom of the screen. This is something which I'd like to see on the iphone: the ability to have discrete signals of other events without an alert box, and the ability to have a sense of upcoming data and incoming information on one screen when you switch it on.
I am not very concerned about running more apps at once, until there is a significant improvement in battery technology (like double the capacity), so for me this ability is not all that exciting on the pre.
The contact app, with synergy, the ability to gather all of your contacts profiles automatically is axciting, and i'm sure something which Google and Apple will seek to incorporate in their OS's.
Overall I thought the software was very good, but felt not completely coherent. If Palm had been earlier in the game this would have had far more impact, but there is a big phone market, and I'm sure they will iron out some of the less intuitive parts. Until there is a bigger take up I cannot see the gap closing between the 2-300 apps and the 85-90,000 on the app store for iPhone.
When it comes to keyboards I am on the side of the virtual. I find the keyboard on the iPhone pretty good for most things, though I look forward to the day when apple allows wireless keyboards to be tethered to it for serious typing. Tiny physical keyboards just don't do it for me, and I think the Pre keyboard is awful. I found it difficult to find letters, even more difficult to handle numbers - pretty bad on a phone - and the edges of the casing made using the keyboard quite uncomfortable.
Lastly I want to look at the case. The facia is fine, and the way the screen has been handled is very attractive, but the general experience of handling the Pre was disappointing. It is meant to be organic, and this should extend to all modes of handling, but once you open the keyboard you find sharp edges, and these are in places where your hand grips the phone making it quite unpleasant. Palm will need to do some work on the case for version 2 of the pre - which I hope is in the pipeline.
I bought a palm pilot back when they first came out, and used it and various other versions for years since. The iPhone blew Palms offerings away, and I am now a very happy iPhone user. Having said that I was very excited to see Palm coming back with a great niew OS and phone. With my brief experience of the Pre, I would say it is not there yet but has a very interesting product. The arena of mobile devices is now buzzing with touchscreen smartphones, and Palm had better get moving to stay in the fray.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sun rises for nothing
I heard this morning that before the end of the year the Sun will appear on the streets for free.
If this proves to be true it shows that in Murdoch's world some journalism is not undervalued by being given away. Or perhaps when he talked about how free news undervalues journalism he was (a) only referring to the Internet, where ad rates are not bringing the returns expected and (b) expecting the advertisers to be attracted to this tabloid's popularity as a good advertising platform.
(Of course he DID have a free paper until recently (thelondonpaper), but closed it... and the Evening Standard stepped into the breach and removed it's cover price... I guess this must affect how the Murdoch clan sees the newspaper landscape.)
Put this in the crazy rumour file... but it doesn't seem impossible. There are various business models emerging for newspapers - depending on the platform, content and likely circulation.
(u) I hear from somewhere else that this is likely to happen but on a limited, exploratory basis....
If this proves to be true it shows that in Murdoch's world some journalism is not undervalued by being given away. Or perhaps when he talked about how free news undervalues journalism he was (a) only referring to the Internet, where ad rates are not bringing the returns expected and (b) expecting the advertisers to be attracted to this tabloid's popularity as a good advertising platform.
(Of course he DID have a free paper until recently (thelondonpaper), but closed it... and the Evening Standard stepped into the breach and removed it's cover price... I guess this must affect how the Murdoch clan sees the newspaper landscape.)
Put this in the crazy rumour file... but it doesn't seem impossible. There are various business models emerging for newspapers - depending on the platform, content and likely circulation.
(u) I hear from somewhere else that this is likely to happen but on a limited, exploratory basis....
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
inside apple
All was full speed ahead inside the Apple studios when I went to visit on 12 June. Their top designers took the time to meet with me, and for every minute I was there it was clear that all parts of the machine were geared up to the launch of the iPhone3G, Mobile me and the iPhone application store.
Hiroki took me briskly around the graphics studio - graphic design for web, retail and packaging, and also producers, motion graphics and the print center. Every part of the white walled building was accessed with swipe cards, and only to those who needed access to those rooms.The design studio was a quiet buzz of activity. I knew there was no point in trying to see exactly what people were working on, but there was a lot of work going on, people looking at pages, proofs, screens etc . . and lots of iPhone images.
Earlier in the day I had met with Jony Ive. The moment he sat down he had told me that we had 15 minutes before he had to meet his boss (Steve Jobs). Still he found the time to calmly explain some of the design decisions - that the bevel on the metal fascia was not so much a design decision for aesthetic reasons but resulted from the engineering - that is how the machine does it's work. He also noticed that my iPhone had a protective film on it."you don't need that" he said, "the glass really is scratch proof, unless you use a diamond on it". He also showed me his white iPhone 3G, which looks remarkably thinner than the 2G one. The curved back feels a little more comfortable in the palm.
Later in the day, when I'd finished my arranged meetings, I saw Jony again - he stepped into the lobby to welcome 2 more visitors into the building. It looks like his days are fast and furious! I had just come from the floor above his studio, where things appeared to be less hectic.
In contrast to the Graphic studio the User interface design studio was quiet and empty. But the silence also told a story of activity elsewhere. The WWDC, bringing together Apple developers from around the world was playing a very live role in products this year, with the iPhone application store opening very soon. All of the UI people were there, at WWDC, helping developers get the most out of Apple's Software Developer kit for the iphone and for OSX.
Back at Apple the one person remaining behind - who kindly gave me an hour of his time - was the Director of UI. He enthused about the virtual details, like the unlock button which elegantly bounces back every time you release it, with subtle lighting which highlight the words "slide to unlock" in the direction you need to move the button. It only unlocks the phone once you drag the button all the way to the end, making it almost impossible to unlock the phone in ones pocket.
I had a quick visit to Harriet, who was in a darkened suite of rooms in another building - filming the iPhone guided tour in a number of different languages. it sounded like a very demanding process - doing the same thing time and again, with people on hand to ensure every word was said and said correctly. Behind the scenes there was a classic engineering-black-box, which turns the iPhone 90 degrees to show how apps rotate to horizontal.
I went to WWDC on the following day. The place was a total hands on working conference, with accents and languages to be heard from around the world. There were sessions on subjects which seemed to make sense, but when I sat in to listen, the words lost all meaning. The labs were quietly buzzing. I bet there are many apps to come which were being honed, tested or born at that conference. I saw Scott Forstall giving out advice and darting form one person to the next.
My involvement started with a man in an orange teeshirt saying to me that I would have to start at a level I'd not understand. He then sat me at an imac with instructions to read 4 documents about Objective C and the iPhone SDK. I learned a bit, but realised I wasn't there long enough to get too much out of it.
I saw reports that reporters were at some points escorted to the toilets. With so much about to emerge from Apple and developers whose applications will be sold through the Application store, I'm not surprised there was some degree of caginess. The whole conference was covered by a non disclosure agreement, otherwise how could developers get anything done?
Looking back it is striking how every part of the Apple machine is working together, from conference down to individual meetings. The iPhone is manufactured, Ive can sit and enthuse on details with one he pulls from his pocket, but at that moment the industriousness around the iPhone continues in many ways. And who knows what else is in preparation at the same time. I heard there were some more presentations to Steve the following week . . what could those be?.
I was swept up in the sense of rush, and this was reflected in busy schedule they took me through. 2 weeks after my visit, free of jet lag and instead locked back into my work production routine, I am reminded of the extremely busy place that I visited.
Keep up the great work apple,
Hiroki took me briskly around the graphics studio - graphic design for web, retail and packaging, and also producers, motion graphics and the print center. Every part of the white walled building was accessed with swipe cards, and only to those who needed access to those rooms.The design studio was a quiet buzz of activity. I knew there was no point in trying to see exactly what people were working on, but there was a lot of work going on, people looking at pages, proofs, screens etc . . and lots of iPhone images.
Earlier in the day I had met with Jony Ive. The moment he sat down he had told me that we had 15 minutes before he had to meet his boss (Steve Jobs). Still he found the time to calmly explain some of the design decisions - that the bevel on the metal fascia was not so much a design decision for aesthetic reasons but resulted from the engineering - that is how the machine does it's work. He also noticed that my iPhone had a protective film on it."you don't need that" he said, "the glass really is scratch proof, unless you use a diamond on it". He also showed me his white iPhone 3G, which looks remarkably thinner than the 2G one. The curved back feels a little more comfortable in the palm.
Later in the day, when I'd finished my arranged meetings, I saw Jony again - he stepped into the lobby to welcome 2 more visitors into the building. It looks like his days are fast and furious! I had just come from the floor above his studio, where things appeared to be less hectic.
In contrast to the Graphic studio the User interface design studio was quiet and empty. But the silence also told a story of activity elsewhere. The WWDC, bringing together Apple developers from around the world was playing a very live role in products this year, with the iPhone application store opening very soon. All of the UI people were there, at WWDC, helping developers get the most out of Apple's Software Developer kit for the iphone and for OSX.
Back at Apple the one person remaining behind - who kindly gave me an hour of his time - was the Director of UI. He enthused about the virtual details, like the unlock button which elegantly bounces back every time you release it, with subtle lighting which highlight the words "slide to unlock" in the direction you need to move the button. It only unlocks the phone once you drag the button all the way to the end, making it almost impossible to unlock the phone in ones pocket.
I had a quick visit to Harriet, who was in a darkened suite of rooms in another building - filming the iPhone guided tour in a number of different languages. it sounded like a very demanding process - doing the same thing time and again, with people on hand to ensure every word was said and said correctly. Behind the scenes there was a classic engineering-black-box, which turns the iPhone 90 degrees to show how apps rotate to horizontal.
I went to WWDC on the following day. The place was a total hands on working conference, with accents and languages to be heard from around the world. There were sessions on subjects which seemed to make sense, but when I sat in to listen, the words lost all meaning. The labs were quietly buzzing. I bet there are many apps to come which were being honed, tested or born at that conference. I saw Scott Forstall giving out advice and darting form one person to the next.
My involvement started with a man in an orange teeshirt saying to me that I would have to start at a level I'd not understand. He then sat me at an imac with instructions to read 4 documents about Objective C and the iPhone SDK. I learned a bit, but realised I wasn't there long enough to get too much out of it.
I saw reports that reporters were at some points escorted to the toilets. With so much about to emerge from Apple and developers whose applications will be sold through the Application store, I'm not surprised there was some degree of caginess. The whole conference was covered by a non disclosure agreement, otherwise how could developers get anything done?
Looking back it is striking how every part of the Apple machine is working together, from conference down to individual meetings. The iPhone is manufactured, Ive can sit and enthuse on details with one he pulls from his pocket, but at that moment the industriousness around the iPhone continues in many ways. And who knows what else is in preparation at the same time. I heard there were some more presentations to Steve the following week . . what could those be?.
I was swept up in the sense of rush, and this was reflected in busy schedule they took me through. 2 weeks after my visit, free of jet lag and instead locked back into my work production routine, I am reminded of the extremely busy place that I visited.
Keep up the great work apple,
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Looks like the Boris party was crayzee!
The new mayor of London. Boris johnson, decided as his first act to ban alcohol consumption on public transport . . not that there was a huge problem with it, but it is definitely an easy propaganda win for him. Anyway, some people called for a party on the Circle line, which runs around central London. They publicised it on Facebook and as reported on BBC, thetube party looks like it was a crazy fun night for those involved. I'm sure it poissed off rail staff, but in this time of little protest it is good to see people expressing a bit of petulance in hte face of a tory toff taking the helm in London.
(I will try embedding this video later . .right now I have things to do!)
(I will try embedding this video later . .right now I have things to do!)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I think it's worth posting some ongoing musings on the web app design process as compared to the print design process.
Designing for the web has quite a different set of requirements. I like that you have to constantly think about the structure - where the user goes, how they get there, what they find when they are there and how they get back.
i think that the style and presentation are an additional layer on that, but decisions made about styling can have a direct impact on the method of interaction . . .
There seem to be 4 main part of the process
• aim and concept
• structure (which will modifiy aim)
• styling (which must understand the limitations of the structure)
• construction (coding - html, css, javascript)
the most logical place for overall direction of the design process would seem to lie at the structure/architecture level - because the site would need to retain it's structural integrity.
All the other areas require leads who are experts, and can respond to the requirements of the other parts of the process.
It's interesting that it is a somewhat more concrete process (than print). It is possible to build a working dummy more easily, because the medium you work in is the medium it is likely to be delivered on - and you can emulate the interactions quite easily (even if you can't code them - - - Keynote is working out well for me!) and see the holes, hone the process.
I must hone these thoughts at some point, but for now - post and be damned!
Designing for the web has quite a different set of requirements. I like that you have to constantly think about the structure - where the user goes, how they get there, what they find when they are there and how they get back.
i think that the style and presentation are an additional layer on that, but decisions made about styling can have a direct impact on the method of interaction . . .
There seem to be 4 main part of the process
• aim and concept
• structure (which will modifiy aim)
• styling (which must understand the limitations of the structure)
• construction (coding - html, css, javascript)
the most logical place for overall direction of the design process would seem to lie at the structure/architecture level - because the site would need to retain it's structural integrity.
All the other areas require leads who are experts, and can respond to the requirements of the other parts of the process.
It's interesting that it is a somewhat more concrete process (than print). It is possible to build a working dummy more easily, because the medium you work in is the medium it is likely to be delivered on - and you can emulate the interactions quite easily (even if you can't code them - - - Keynote is working out well for me!) and see the holes, hone the process.
I must hone these thoughts at some point, but for now - post and be damned!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Great quote, about ideas and their execution
Be An Executioner
It's so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas. (People who want me to sign an nda to tell me the simplest idea.)
To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.
Explanation:
Awful idea = -1
Weak idea = 1
So-so idea = 5
Good idea = 10
Great idea = 15
Brilliant idea = 20
No execution = $1
Weak execution = $1000
So-so execution = $10,000
Good execution = $100,000
Great execution = $1,000,000
Brilliant execution = $10,000,000
To make a business, you need to multiply the two.
The most brilliant idea, with no execution, is worth $20. The most brilliant idea takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000.
That's why I don't want to hear people's ideas. I'm not interested until I see their execution.
Derek Sivers, president and programmer, CD Baby and HostBab
Quoted from Getting Real by 37 Signals
Friday, May 16, 2008
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