Might an empty Vase be better than a full N96?
Published by Steve Litchfield at 11:39 GMT, February 19th 2008
Introducing the Vase and the idea that beginners would be served best by intelligent, self-revealing interfaces...
If
the Apple iPhone ushered in anything, it was the era of the user interface
- at least in the mobile world. Not that traditional S60 or UIQ or
Windows Mobile phones were THAT hard to use - but Apple's
built-from-the-ground-up interface was so jaw droppingly simple and
obvious. Now, arguably, part of the simplicity was also down to the
fact that the iPhone also couldn't do that much - but I contend that
the modern smartphone has to be able to fulfill a lot of separate
functions and, where you have functions, you'll need icons. The more a
smartphone does, the more icons and options you'll need, and so on.
As Apple are about to find out in the next year, I suspect - just look at the iPhone fans filling up homescreen after homescreen with shortcuts and web clips with the latest firmware...
All of which piqued my interest in a concept device called the Vase,
designed by students at the Royal College of Art for a 3-sponsored project. Rather than start
off with all its applications in your face from the start, it
presents its interface as an empty vessel (hence the name), into
which you start pouring the apps you want.
The first thing I do with any S60 smartphone, for example, is to hide
away the applications that Nokia quite likes but which I never need.
The Vase presents the opposite way of working.
For example, you'd turn it on and a welcome message would pop up,
"Sorry, I am empty", plus "To start filling, push the button on the side", as shown above. Then, presumably, half a dozen 'Would you like to' questions, e.g. 'Would you like
to add email now?' or 'Would you like to add a Calendar now?'. The
novice user would soon have a handful of basic apps shown and working
and at any point could tap on something like 'Add another function',
choosing from a list of possibles. At no point would they get
overwhelmed by stuff they didn't need yet.
This behaviour is kind of mirrored in games consoles like the
Nintendo Wii, which start you with very little on its opening menu
and then you gradually add channels at your own pace and in your own
time.
Of course, the Vase concept will annoy power users intensely, so
maybe there should be a single question right at the start of the
welcome wizard: (as Ewan puts it) "Are you Steve Litchfield?",
in which case all the apps and settings would appear without further
ado...
The Vase's (concept) creators also say, intriguingly, that the device
shouldn't need a manual, as users would learn how the interface and
apps worked as they went along, adding functionality when the felt
ready. I think this is a given, actually, for any modern or next-gen
phone. Who reads manuals? I know I haven't for any device for
years...
But an interface whose apparent complexity grows as you use
it is a great idea. Microsoft Office on the desktop had the idea
years ago of hiding rarely used menu functions from users - this was
much maligned but I rather liked the concept. With a little tweaking,
the idea would work well in mobile, with menu functions staying
visible once you'd used them, of course.
Comments welcome if you've got an opinion on the best way to handle
application overload....
Steve Litchfield, AllAboutSymbian, 19 Feb 2008
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Categories: Comment
Platforms: General
Feature Discussion
krisse
This is actually fairly close to what Nokia have done with their internet tablets.
Although they don't have the stark visual simplicity of the vase concept, they do have a similar functional simplicity. Instead of cramming the tablets with apps, they just put in bare bones stuff like a browser while letting users decide if they want particular advanced functions. This means that when you first use a tablet the menus are simple and easy to navigate, with no clutter or unwanted icons.
The tablets have very little by way of pre-installed software, no calendar or PIM stuff at all for example, which annoyed lots of power users just like Steve predicted.
BUT... it's incredibly easy to install your own on the tablets because they're free and they install at a single click. You just point the browser to the official apps site (maemo.org/downloads), find the app you want and click on the green arrow next to it. There's no payment because the apps are free, there's no need to choose a specific version, there are no codes to feed in, no registration processes to go through.
If I could suggest an analogy: current smartphones are like boxes of chocolates, but things like vase or the tablets are the equivalent of pick'n'mix (where you choose your own sweets individually).
Taomyn
Quote:
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but Apple's built-from-the-ground-up interface was so jaw droppingly simple and obvious
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yes and no.
we've known about touch interfaces for a long time before Apple came out with one that finally appears to work, hell we were shown the idea back in the 80s on Star Trek and probably before that.
Apple were just in there first when the technology was finally able to catch up.
Next thing you know, people will be praising the virtue of Apple's brilliant and innovative iTransporter system, forgetting yet again they, and many others as well, simply copy what people had thought of years earlier.
mattrad
I think it's a very interesting concept, and would appeal to users who want to have basic functionality from the outset. But there a couple of questions that the Vase does not address (this is not a criticism):
* How do you get users - who start off with basic functionality and add very little - interested in using their devices for more tasks? Perhaps on-device prompts are needed:
"You've received a photo (by email/MMS/whatever). Would you like to turn on photo albums?" Why I hadn't thought of that, yes I would...
* When the Vase is fuller, how do you manage complexity on a mobile device?
As Steve pointed out, endless icons for applications - whether nested within folders or not - is a recipe for getting lost and then confused with the device. Perhaps we need an intelligent mobile application launcher / search function such as Spotlight on the Mac or Google desktop search?
krisse
Quote:
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When the Vase is fuller, how do you manage complexity on a mobile device?
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I don't think there is an answer to this question. You can have lots of features or a very simple interface, but not both.
However, if you have added all the features yourself, I think you'd find a complex interface much less overwhelming because you know exactly what each icon does and why you installed it.
It's like the difference between finding something in your own home and finding it in someone else's.
shoobe01
The vase concept is cute, but I think it risks violating some out-of-box principles I have seen users desire. The understanding of technology being difficult means your typical consumer has accepted some learning time, but I think for mobiles the desire, if not expectation, is to get that down to minutes. I'd like the topline customization process to be something that can be done before you leave the store. Nice stores, that assist you in transferring the address book are on the right page, though that is about data only.
I've had the same difficulty when I used an N800 for a while. It was not really able to be used for quite some time. Slicking up the interface, and the install process, would help but the concept still worries me.
No, I am not sure what the solution is.
Sergey Zak
On the Vase concept -
1. Textual "Would you like..." questions from an empty screen (setup wizard) are not OK because: a) you will have to sit and read and comprehend; b) too many of them are sure to annoy any user. Setup Wizards are evil.
2. Much effective would be let users scroll thru all icons, try them, and at the first "Quit", "Close" or "Swtich to another app" operation ask the user YES or NO question - to check if that app should be placed in Vase.
The idea of "filling empty spaces", a-la "making your own phone" is very compelling to me...
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