Touchscreens. Pockets. Keys. Big Fat Thumbs. These things haven’t managed to go together very well in the past … but have Apple managed to crack it with the iPhone?
The great thing about physical buttons is that they stay in the same place, and they have a “tactile landscape”. This means that if you are familiar with your phone, your hand can feel where the buttons are, and your motor memory can make using them feel “automatic”, a bit like riding a bike. The tactile landscape can help you do things while you are using your phone, like walking down a busy street and writing a text without bumping into anything. This makes your phone into a genuinely mobile device – something that you can use while moving, rather than just a portable device – something that you carry around but only use while stationary. [Ref]
This all seems fairly logical, right? So the question is, will the touchscreen on the Apple iPhone require too much visual attention? Will it be one of those devices you have to use while standing (or sitting) still?
Then comes the question of robustness. Apple tends to make devices that get scratched just by looking at them. I resent having to mollycoddle my ipod. I dread having to do the same with my phone. I don’t just want a phone that works with itunes and osx. I want a phone that’s compatible with my keys and my loose change.
But having said all this, when are they released in the UK? I badly want one!
Well, it’s a bit late now to write that post about Windows Mobile that I’ve been planning for ages! I was going to waffle on about how a multitude of small flaws and oversights added up to a product that was almost fantastic yet somehow just annoyed… Can Apple do better? Or, more likely, can Jobs just wave his hands and make us believe they have…
It won’t be UI issues that put me off the iPhone. Lack of 3G is a biggie but might get fixed in later release. The price point seems ambitious and I await to see Apple’s choice of network to partner with. The US lacks some of the flexible data plans that are starting to creep in over here which is a shame because a 3G iPhone with an unlimited data tariff would be a fairly magical thing.
I desperately miss the tactile feedback of a regular phone. While this is an amazing product, it requires complete visual attention. I was in the dentist office listening to music, and could not change or turn down the music without looking. Texting while driving or shopping? Nope. Not going to happen.
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