Paul Golding writes that the idea of the mobile ‘browser’ is an oxymoron. I agree wholeheartedly; the strong activity / goal orientation of mobile devices keeps bringing me back to the idea of the networked micro-application, something that lives in the cloud but is delivered through a UI that is entirely appropriate to its function and context of use.
“We insist on thinking in terms of ‘browsing,’ but is there such a thing in the mobile context? I don’t think so. A basic observation of the vast number of eye-scanning, skim-reading, link-hovering, link-clicking, page-jumping, coffee-sipping, chair-reclining, mouse-shuffling, Google-jumping activities that go on in an average desktop ‘web browsing’ session would demonstrate how nearly all of these activities are insufferably difficult on a mobile device in a mobile context – e.g. standing in the suffocatingly hot linkway between two carriages on the train leaving Paddington station…There are plenty of clever UI possibilities to achieve ‘flow’ and ‘point the way,’ should we decide that this is what the mobile is all about. The point is to forget browsing (aka ‘desktop web browsing’) and think of something else.”
Link: Mobile browsing is not the same as browsing on the mobile… (wirelesswanders.com)
Comments 2
Absolutely, mobile software user interfaces leave a lot to be desired because either the phone controls simply suck, or that the software do not take advantage of the additional controls (e.g. thumbwheel , multitouch screens) of the device.
Considering the variety of platforms and devices out there, one cannot blame the software developers if their goal is to support the widest lowest common denominators of phones. That trend will probably continue due to competition and market forces. It remains to be seen how an innovative solution may change the scene.
Posted 14 Jul 2008 at 8:03 am ¶I could not agree more! Searching and finding, and logical conclusions about what users might want to know, incorporating phone book & gps capabilities, along with links to applicable content provides not only a richer experience, but is more realistic to the tiny confines of a phone screen and methods of interacting with it. Thanks for the link to this article.
Posted 21 Jul 2008 at 10:41 am ¶Post a Comment