It’s the user experience  that really impress me with Saikat Biswas’ Holga D. First of all the ability to adapt it to left handed use, and back to right handed, is genious.

Secondly, the focusing. One or several people makes much more sense than a hard to guesstimate length in feet or meter when focusing.

If this camera ever sees the light of day it will do for cameras what the iPhone did to mobile phones – spark true innovation.

All images from Trädgårdsfredag by SVT.

Yes quite a few sites still do it. And yes it is an increasingly irrelevant point of reference. More and more people around the world move to broadband, even in parts of the world that have historically been lagging a bit in the ISP stakes.

Plus, how many people aged 25 or under do you know who have used a 56K modem (”Well son, it made a sound like “iiick-iii-ki-ick-iiikick” and it was rubbish but it was all we had in those days”)?

There has to be a better option to provide download time references.

The better option

Using a common broadband speed like 4 MB as a point of reference would make more sense. Or better still, using the site visitor’s own connectivity type or speed to display a relevant download time.

Then again, does it even matter if this information is displayed on the web page?

If we want a file we’ll download it. Our browser’s progress bar or download window will provide us with a proper estimate of how long it will take or how much data there is to pull through the pipe.

As we download more and more of our entertainment I would argue that the majority of people have a good idea of how long it would take to complete a download, regardless of size.

The best option IMHO would be to remove any download time or speed references from the web pages and let the browser do the work. Granted, as a site owner a little piece of control over the user experience (as in providing relevant information) would get lost that way. For the site visitor how ever it doesn’t matter who provides the info. As long as it is correct.

And between references to mostly outdated modes of connectivity and actual speeds, the latter always wins.

Adobe.com is one of many sites still referencing 56K modems.

Starting this week I am joining Huddle as User Experience Director. I’ll be based at the company’s San Francisco office and working with a very talented team including Martin Eriksson, Huddle’s VP of Product.

The reason I jumped at this opportunity, after considering simply continuing working as a freelancer, and also turning down offers from other companies, is that I believe in Huddle. I have used Huddle for projects for a long time, and several of my clients rely on it as their main collaboration space. I have seen it in action and I know what it can help companies and people accomplish.

Huddle is also one of the apps and services that make a Noded working lifestyle possible for knowledge workers everywhere. Now it’s my time to return that favor, and help Huddle do better.

My wonderful clients have all been very supportive of me joining Huddle, and I’ll be able to assist a few of them in the future too.

I’ll continue my involvement with CodeSlam, blogging, popping up at events, and generally being a nuisance. No change there, then.

Update: The word on Huddle’s blog

To get around this I decided to create a batch of cardboard iPads. I scanned my device, printed it out, and glued the sheet on card stock. This will allow each person in the test panel to have their own iPad, something real to hold, turn and relate to. That was step one.

As you see in the pics and the video at the bottom, the screens are blank. For the testing I’ll print out the different wireframes and attach them to the cardboard iPads with non-permanent mount spray (below). The testers can  scribble and draw on the wireframes. When they are done, we peel off the wireframe and replace it with the next version and talk about and write on that one.

When we’re done, the “screens” go on the wall for the evaluation session I’ll lead with the dev team. After that the screens go in to the test log book.

I also made a few “3D” versions of the mock iPad, mounting a printout on stiff foam core. It’s not quite the same thickness as the real iPad but close enough. The testers will use this as an aid in thinking about the overall environment they are in, and actions they perform (like taking the tablet out of their bag) before seeing the app or the site.

We’ll leave them laying around the test space, pick them up, hand them to someone else, plop ‘em on top of desk clutter, gather around one and so on to see how we relate to the device and to get a “physical” feel for it.

This part of the test is getting close to the world of hardware design, which is not my area of expertise. But as with all interaction work, I find results from on-screen UX testing for an unfamiliar device to usually be better when there is a tangible component involved. Plus it makes it playful and helps the testers give more honest and unedited feedback.

Here is the scan I used (pdf) to create the cardboard ‘pads, feel free to download it and give it a whirl. The image is a bit rough because I want people’s focus to be on what’s on the screen, and not the device itself. Good luck, let me know how things go.

It’s also quick, less than a second, and they don’t travel far but it is worth activating it a couple of times to catch the flow. Nice execution all around.

Here is a rough flow map for landscape orientation.

And below is one for portrait orientation. Note that in portrait orientation, the middle row actually enters from slightly below the horizontal mid point.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting about user testing on the iPad, and the low-tech tools I’ll use on an upcoming project.

So, why would I want to get work done on the iPad? Good question! I am working on a couple of sites and apps intended for tablets (initially the iPad) which means I need to evaluate the device and the apps that go on it from several different angles. I am also really picky about wanting everything I buy to be useful to me in every day (work)life. And there are quite a few benefits with an iPad over a regular laptop.

• It is a lighter piece of hardware to carry around.
• It’ll be fab to show drafts and sketches on in client meetings. The iPad can easily be passed around; attendees can swipe between screens etc.
• The fact that it switches on in half a second means I get things done quicker.
• It’s my spare tire. If my trusted MacBook Air crashes I have a capable back up.
• It’s new, shiny and fun. Never to be underestimated as a talking point/ice breaker!

I am sure I’ll change my mind about a few things as time passes. Still, there’s nothing like that first impression and I hope my initial thoughts will be useful to you as a new or soon-to-be iPad owner.

First, a short note on an apparent UI flaw.

I suspected based on Apple’s preview photos that the widely spaced app icons – 4 per row in portrait orientation – would bug me. And they do. It looks odd, like there’s something missing.

Flipping the device over in landscape keeps the spacing, but shows 5 apps per row. The iPad does this by moving the left most icon up to the row above, making it the right most icon. To me this is a negative, and not very Apple.

If the 4-to-5 apps wasn’t peculiar enough, the dock can hold 6 apps regardless of orientation.

Oh well. This is certainly not a huge issue but it is annoying and it is very unlike Apple.

The web

Safari on the iPad is quick. With a reasonably fast connection there is no lag (like on the iPhone). Credit to the processor.

Being able to pinch a tall web page, and move it within the browser to get a quick overview, is a bit of a gem and already feels perfectly natural.

Here’s a clip of it.

Mail

The Mail app works more or less as it does on the iPhone. In other words it is good enough. One iPad specific addition; there is a stylish but not very useful visual stacking of emails that are about to be filed or deleted.

I also accessed my Gmail account via Safari. Gmail’s iPad specific UI feels very nice and intuitive, and above all quick. I have a feeling those who have the option will go with Gmail and leave Mail behind.

Sound

A note on the hardware. The iPad’s tiny speakers are surprisingly capable, delivering nice, clear and rich sound. No need for extra speakers (or headphones) when demoing something to clients.

Keyboard

The on-screen keyboard is easier to type on than I had expected, it is quick and responsive. I tapped out most of this post on it. The keyboard clicks are loud and sharp, good for those who like that type of feedback but I turned it off.

Writing

Much of my workday is spent writing. On the laptop I switch between Writeroom and Pages, with a bit of work done in Google Docs.

I don’t know if an iPad version of the former is on its way, but Pages (an additional $10) does what I need it to do, with a few surprises thrown in. My favorite is the instant auto save. I tried to get it to fail by typing a letter and then almost simultaneously hitting the home button to close the app. No dice, Pages had managed to save it.

Apparently a few people had issues with the formatting disappearing on imported Word docs. I didn’t experience that, but then again I rarely receive or create docs with advanced formatting.

Adding graphics to a doc takes just a few taps. The dotted layout guides are very nicely designed with fading end bits, and make it easy to position images with great precision.

Sharing/sending files

One trulyhorrible thing is “File Sharing”. Using iTunes to move docs between the laptop and the iPad takes 11 clicks and is far from intuitive (here’s how it works). Decidedly un-Apple in its sheer wonkiness. iWork.com is an option, but to be honest I’d rather just email the docs to myself. Quicker and easier.

Twitter

I am fan of the desktop version of Tweetdeck, but can’t stand it on the iPhone. I find it slow loading and cumbersome. The iPad version is a wee bit quicker, but still slow and there is no way to clear columns of viewed tweets. I’ll stick with the iPhone version of Birdfeed on the iPad for now.

Things I can’t do

Off all the things I do during a regular workweek there are only two areas (that I can think of right now) where I would need to switch from the iPad to my laptop: wireframing and Photoshop work. Those will have to wait until I’m back on the MacBook Air (and plugged in to my external screen).

Apart from that, I think the iPad can handle it all. Give it a week and I might feel differently, but for now I’m very happy with how this shiny tablet works for me.

With Telia i dina händer (”Telia in your hands”) Telia uses a live video feed of a whiteboard to answer customer questions. The campaign reminded me of a post I wrote in October, about extending the UPS whiteboard concept to the real world.

“What if UPS extended the core element of the whiteboard campaign [...] to the way the company interacted with their customers?”

I like it that Telia has taken the concept in that general direction. Instead of just using it in commercials, like UPS does, they use it to do something useful that requires relatively minimal resources, is quick and helps build the Telia brand (it is very addictive to watch).

The quick, simple and immediate should never be under estimated when it comes to comms. Well done Tribal DDB and Telia.

Unfortunately the hands were resting when I grabbed this, but you get the general idea.

Leon’s image mosaic is made up of the things that, as the name suggests, inspire him. The idea has taken off somewhat, and I got thinking about who and what inspires me. I don’t want to sound too corny, but what inspires us as individuals is what fuels everything we do. So, while I had breakfast this morning I pulled together my own “inspiration portfolio”.

All of this makes the app much easier and natural to use. And it easily meets Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines for the iPad (UX Magazine posted an overview earlier today). Especially these two bits:

The best iPad applications give people innovative ways to interact with content while they perform a clearly defined, finite task.

Whenever possible, add a realistic, physical dimension to your application. The more true to life your application looks and behaves, the easier it is for people to understand how it works and the more they enjoy using it.

At the moment the main interaction flow is top right to lower left for right-handed users (see below). The termination point varies (there are three options), making the swipe action either fairly convex, almost straight or completely straight and diagonal. This makes perfect sense in relation to the way the information elements will be displayed in the app, and the way one will want to interact with them in order to improve them (i.e. performing the “clearly defined, finite task”).

The work continues.