August 22

Development for Mobile Devices Part Deux

by Michael Shpigel

IDC has reported that it believes 1.3 billion (that’s about 1/5 of the world’s population) will be connected to the internet via mobile phone by the end of this year. With that much thin-client capability and connectivity, it’s hard to ignore the mobile browser as a very viable means of putting mobile applications in the hands of the consumer.

Developing for mobile browser however is a tricky business since the choice of browsers running on mobile devices is much greater than in the desktop world. The good news is that thin client development allows many organizations to reuse most, if not all, of the backend of their applications. Getting the apps to the device is also a lot easier. It’s the user interface portion of the application that needs to be addressed to support the mobile browser thin client.

Most of the mobile devices come with the built in browser however more and more devices allow you to download third party browser.

Here is the list of built-in default browsers:

Read the rest of this entry »

posted to: Mobile, Technology | 3 Comments »

August 22

Sweating the Small Stuff

by Mark Badger

“The details are not the details. They make the design.”
- Charles Eames

There was something about the tail light of the Mini Cooper S in front of me that caught my eye. It took a moment, but as soon as the driver tapped the brakes again I saw it: the illuminated brake light did not fit inside its housing. I thought: that must be intentional. There is no obvious reason why the ring of of the light could not be made smaller or of a different shape, so why design the rear light in this way? I glanced around the rest of the car looking for clues (while paying close attention to the road, um, for the most part).

Courtesy of Motor Trends

As I’d suspected, the evidence was there. Scanning the exterior details, particularly the curves of the side panels and the subtle tuck of various seams, it all made sense. The entire skin of the Mini appeared ready to burst from within, as if the envelope of the car were being distorted by the power of the machine underneath. That impression was being reinforced by the design gesture of the tail light: the housing appears to be too small to enclose the lamp.

None of these interpretations is true: the housing could be designed to contain the brake light easily and the panels are shaped on the assembly line, not by some barely contained force of the underlying machine. These construction details are designed to create the illusion that the Mini is brawnier than its size would imply. Whether the performance of the car lives up to the aesthetic is not relevant, I’ve already made this association. Read the rest of this entry »

posted to: Creative, Experience Design | No Comments »

August 22

Yahoo TV Widgets, An Important Convergence Milestone?

by Chet Geschickter

An interesting announcement hit the press yesterday.  Yahoo and Intel are partnering to combine web offers with broadcast TV content.  Here’s the story, straight from the horse’s mouth: Intel to build Yahoo widgets into new TV chips. The delivery vehicle is widgets built on top of the Yahoo Widget Engine, and the enabling hardware is the Intel CE3100 chip.  So this further elevates the importance of widgets as a vehicle for disseminating content and functionality across the Internet.  A number of important players, like Twitter, are lining up to deliver their services and information through this technology.  Here are some questions Does anyone else see this as an important milestone in convergence?  Will it breath new life into broadcast TV advertising?  There are 1.3 billion households with TV.  The number that receive the chip will determine adoption.  What are some ways that Intel can drive adoption?  Business models?  Incentives?  What do people think?

posted to: Molecular News | No Comments »

August 21

Improving the Experience of Getting From Point A to Point B

by Debbie Goldstein

Being a frequent patron of San Francisco’s MUNI system, I depend on system updates and maps to help me estimate my commute time. At each of the underground stations there is a flat panel display depicting a real-time image of the trains and their paths.

Current Muni Display

Current Muni Display

I’ve thought about ways to improve the design and created the following (click on the thumbnail for the full image):

The design not only indicates the sequence of trains, but also indicates the time it will take for trains to arrive (MUNI currently displays arrival times for individual trains at nextmuni.com). As a seasoned rider, I care more about the time it takes for my train to arrive than I do about the sequence of the trains. Since what is displayed is the section of the trains’ shared paths downtown, I would also be interested in seeing the estimated time it would take to get to stops past downtown, especially if I am a tourist (see note #5).

My recommendations as called out in the design are to:

1) Indicate the station both by adding a title and by highlighting the station within the train path

2) Display the station full name for people not familiar with the abbreviations

3) Indicate the directions of the train (inbound and outbound) through labels and arrows. In addition, only show trains about to arrive at that station. Passengers aren’t interested in seeing trains getting to stations that are past their station. Increase contrast by muting the actual path background and highlighting train shapes with color.

4) Make it easy for people to discern trains by increasing font size as well as adding shapes and color.

5) How many times have I been approached by an out-of-towner wondering if the N-Judah train will go to Ocean Beach and how long will it take? I have sometimes wondered the same question myself. What would be a great nice-to-have (even if it could not be real-time) would be a scrolling display that indicated how long it would take to get from the current station to other outbound (and inbound) stops.

6) Of course, place a legend that indicates symbols and colors in a prominent place so that passengers can interpret the design.

Now if only I can figure out a way to make my commute shorter….

posted to: Experience Design | 2 Comments »

August 21

No Substitute for Authenticity

by Ernie Chan

I enjoy a glass of wine. Or two. Sometimes three. And as a beginning oenophile, I’ve been using the interweb quite often to expand my universe of wine knowledge. This includes reading tasting notes, looking up new wines to try, buying suggestions, and which local restaurants have great wine lists.

not me

"Ernie, if you continue to read about booze on the internet, you and your liver are gonna wind up like this guy!"

Which brings me to the dustup over Wine Spectator’s recent award to an imaginary restaurant. Apparently, someone invested a fake restaurant in Italy, built a fake website, constructed a fake wine list that included very low-scoring wines, and entered it into the famed magazine’s award submission. Presto! They won an “Award of Excellence.”

Apparently, as part of their “research,” committee folks read some (fake) reviews on Chowhound and also successfully Googled the restaurant’s name in order to verify its legitimacy.

What a great illustration of how social media and the easiness + ubiquitous nature of search can make us all so lazy. And not just drunk-lazy.

How does this apply to us and our clients? For starters, I think the term “authenticity” takes on a deeper meaning. While secondary (market) research has its place, there’s still no substitute for good ol’ fashioned primary research. If anything, it underscores the importance of user/stakeholder interviews, surveys, in-person (and hallway) conversations when it comes to any project or endeavor.

Secondly, companies need to be even MORE diligent in their online and offline activities to effectively convey and support any brand authenticity to their current and potential customers.

Any slight whiff of inauthenticity, exacerbated by the locust-like nature of online social media, can do some serious damage to a brand.

posted to: Digital Strategy, Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »

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