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,

Living with a video nano

When video first made an appearance on the ipod I could see how some might want to watch videos on them, but not me.
So when Steve jobs launched the video nano a few weeks ago, saying "It's amazing, we have packed in as many pixels as on a larger ipod, but into a smaller screen". I thought: So what, It's is still a small screen. I'm sure many people will love it, but still mainly for listening to music. And this was pretty much the attitude I had when I opened the box on my black, 8GB iPod nano.

It is very small, and feels like a skimming stone. It has enough weight to not feel like a toy, and to remind you of the solid materials it is made from. It exhudes quality. There is something very satisfying about the meeting of two very different materials where the glass and aluminium run flush to each other. Jonathan Ive and his team have once again made a device which feels right and natural, as if it has arrived at that shape effortlessly.

Turning it on
Turning it on you get a hint of how great the screen is. Everything has a sharpness and smoothness which is difficult to describe (but more of that later). I am not wholly converted to the new interface. Text is sharp and clear, and in the familiar iPod style of sliding menus. The screen is vertically split in two, which gives the sense of a desktop with a floating window. However I have never been a great fan of images slowly floating by - and that is what you see next to the menu window: a random image from your music, videos or podcasts.

The interface works well, though I have not had a chance to use coverflow (where you scroll through your album covers to make your selection). When I've tried it in the Apple store it has seemed a little sluggish, but here has just been an update posted for the ipod nano, so I am sure that will iron it out.

Now showing on the little screen
I was dying to try some video so I bought an episode of Lost and a couple of tv shows for my 3 year old, Luca. The iTunes store does not sell full lenth features for the UK yet, but I'm sure there will be changes and more TV content available before Christmas.

The first video I watched turned out to be a pop video by one of my favourite artists Kanye West. I was amazed! Steves comments about the amount of pixels was dead right - there is so much detail packed into that small space that it is a pleasure to watch. Milions of people happily watch fairly low resolution video on YouTube every day, because it is the content they are interested in and that is compensation enough. With this ipod the small size, great content and great resolution combine so you can watch video on a small screen without sacrifice. In fact colleagues and friends I have shown it too have been so impressed (and most of these are technology skeptics) that they asked the price and stared mulling over a pre-christmas purchase right away!

This little 2.5 inch screen is full of subtlety, minute detail, and the delivery of motion is smooth and has no blurring. It is great for animation, as well as for live action. It turns out the epidsode of Lost I bought was a pivotal episode which i missed when it was on Channel 4, where two characters discover a video tape which shows them that they are in a old psychological experiment - so I watched it with a critical eye and genuine viewer interest.

And there is one more thing... I am writing this review in Northern Ireland where we are visiting family. We flew, and have done a fair bit of driving since getting here. Luca has sat in his child seat in the back totally absorbed in watching Dora the Explorer or American Dragon - occasionally calling me to help get the earbuds (not really made for little ears) back in. The size and weight and limited controls are perfect for him, he can see it clearly and loves it. it's more convenient than a back seat DVD which are farly commonly seen now, and the battery life is excellent, so it can be used in various ways for days without a charge being required.

A few weeks before the new nano hit the market, there were photos leaked on the web - and screams of pain from some about the proportions, how it was badly designed etc. There is an old saying: seeing is believing, and I think that from every detail of materials, design decisions about space shape and size, and finally the screen and software this device proves that truism.

Steve Jobs and the London iPhone party

The iPhone was finally released into the wilds of London today. I went into the Regent Street store with Bobbie (also from the Guardian) to listen to Steve Jobs speak to a fairly small audience. His media handlers seemed a little tense, but to be fair, there was quite a crush of journalists wanting access to Steve. He was very relaxed, and unfazed by the various curveball questions about other European launches for the iPhone, and the revenue division between O2 and Apple "We're not going to discuss that today, but good question".

After Steve had announced price and talked a little about the iPhone, he handed over to the CEO of O2, Matthew Key (far left in the photo), who gave his own - Apple polished - keynote segment. That was unusual, most guests on Steves stage just talk. The coverage for EDGE at launch, at 30% of the UK, isn't great, but he also announced free access to 7500 hotspots, which helps the wireless coverage at least.

I hope and believe that the big change which iPhone will bring is to help grow the public, free wireless network, thus creating a new universe of web based mobile applications.
Steve Jobs mentioned that Apple.com will have a page showcasing the best web applications for the iphone, and apparently that will be on the site soon.

After the presentation we all got a chance to play with the phones. I love it. If anything, you can find your way into the apps so easily that the learning curve is about finding your way back out!
One small thing I noticed, and took the opportunity to suggest as a change (to Steve) is that currently there is a useful ".com" button on the keyboard for Safari. Why not have a drop-down menu on the key which offers others (eg .co.uk, .fr, .es etc) - perhaps localised for the most used in that market - with .com as the default. He thought about it a moment, then told me it was an interesting idea and he'd think about it. Thanks, maybe we'll see that as a wee update sometime. . .

Now on to work on some apps for the thing . . turning (news)paper based navigation aids into clickable buttons.

What a pleasant morning it has been, though I'd have preferred to have walked away with a phone in my hand!