I have a list here of chips that I need to get off my shoulder… and into some dill pickle dip. I love all types of design, I obsess over some mediums more than others that’s for sure, but lately I find I always have one eye turned to the mobile space. I’m intrigued by the speed that the industry is changing, and how a few companies only recently managed to drastically change the landscape of an industry. With everything moving so quickly a lot of platforms focused on how to compete with Apple and the growing market by adding new features and neglected to build a solid foundation from which to grow.
That includes Apple.
I have created a list of things that have been bothering me for a quite while. A list of deficiencies in design that can be found in many and in some cases, all smart phones. So here we go, you ready? I asked if you were ready, you didn’t respond? Hello? What’s going on here? I can’t keep talking to myself!
People Have fat fingers, even very skinny people. There’s nothing more annoying then having to angle your finger a certain way to complete an action.
Lefties are people too! There should be a phone to accommodate the south paw the same as us regular people as if we are actually equals. Hard to put into practice, but is it impossible to sell a version of a phone that caters specifically to left handed people, where volume, and one/off switches are reversed? There must be a phone that sells enough where this type of variation would actually increase profits.
Icons are relics of a time we should all forget. Maybe this sounds too flowery the way I wrote it but you get what I’m saying right? Maybe I should just say that “typical icons suck”.. This isn’t a desktop, and it isn’t 1999. This is about our life on the go, quick access to information, and icons have no place here. Windows Phone 7 is on the right track. Live tiles in the Metro UI are a step in the right direction towards a richer user experience. Nothing can simply be a link, everything has to give or respond with some sort of information.
You shouldn’t have wake up your phone to see if something’s happened. Notification lights not only save power and time but they make us feel like we have our own personal R2D2. Which to me is important, but I’d rather have an Ewok nine times out of ten.
A bad viewing angle or Good viewing angle? I don’t know about you but I feel like my phone is personal, and everyone sitting behind me in a streetcar or airplane shouldn’t be able to easily read my texts. Samsung Super AMOLED screens have made it near impossible for us to keep our phones to ourselves. Why does there need to be a wide viewing angle if this particular tech is meant for one user at a time. I can’t imagine huddling around another person’s phone to watch a movie, sounds super gr.9 to me. Give us some personal space please.
Playful is good. Transitions between applications both onboard and third party should animate in unique ways. Phones are far different from your desktop. They will never be as powerful, but should be more social and rewarding.
We don’t need multitasking, it’s a 4″ screen. Multitasking on a phone is almost as redundant as Lou Diamond Phillips. Why does he have three names? There is no Lou Phillips already out there, relax with the names guy. Why do I need two applications open at once, when only one can occupy a screen? Hopefully the master of redundancy, C. Thomas Howell can provide an answer.
A good operating system doesn’t need “Apps”. Why are we paying for their oversight? Things like flashlight apps, photo editors, GPS software, note takers etc. Should all be built in to the phone from the get-go. Unless the third party apps look like this: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Nalden-App/1319117 . Then we’re cool.
Make each phone a unique organic entity. My iPhone shouldn’t be the same as Erica from California who likes desperate housewives and guys with tattoos. Make me a soul mate who evolves as I do.If I favour weather information more than any other content, my phone should be cognoscente of that, and feed me that information with more importance. Android seems to be the leader in personalization at the moment, maybe Nokia’s Meego will challenge it for that title.
ANY and ALL features must have an off switch. There’s an extensive list of things I wish I could turn off or change about every phone I’ve ever used and found that I can’t, unless I root / jailbreak it. I won’t get into specifics but suffice to say that every company is obviously guilty of this. This point may be unrealistic, but this is my dream and I’m having fun.
I’m curious, how would you rank current mobile OS’s in terms of overall performance, and design? For me right now it looks like:
- Windows Phone 7
- HP’s WebOS
- Apple’s IOS
- Google Android
- Blackberry
I’m currently a proud Motorola Atrix owner (android). My baby is good to me. But if any of the operating systems I’ve ranked above Android came out with some killer hardware, I’d have to break up with her.
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