Nexus One and Touchscreen Accuracy

Today Engadget posted an article that claims many Nexus One customers complain about touchscreen calibration, which is an important element  of the graphic user interface (GUI) as well as the user experience in general. As well, labs.moto.com published an interesting report last week comparing the accuracy of touchscreen of various mobile devices. It would seem that Nexus One has issues.

Touchscreen Accuracy Report - Labs.Moto.com

One of the important things is that Nexus shows much better accuracy with medium amount of pressure compared to light pressure. So, if you are a happy owner of a Google phone don’t hesitate to firmly press the screen. Nexus also excels in near the screen edge performance, which might be important when using the features of the free apps that take the entire real estate of the screen.

Here is a video of the test and the full report can be found here

DIY Touchscreen Analysis from MOTO Development Group on Vimeo.

Car Dashboard UI Layout Gets Updated

The new Ford Sync App Ecosystem is a promising move toward the long-awaited upgrade of cars’ user interface.  While driving conditions have changed dramatically during in the last 50 years, the dashboard UI has not. Our driving habits and laws have changed but we are still presented with the same basic set and layout of a dashboard. Surely, critical information can be presented in a much more efficient way, utilize modern technology and be way more user-centered. Ford and Mercedes-Benz initiatives indicate that the automobile industry is trying to close the gap.

Ford Sync App Ecosystem and Dashboard

“Microsoft has No Taste”

The following interview summarizes fairly well why MS products are so hard to use and why Microsoft hasn’t been able to “get it right” for the last 15 years. I’ve never thought of MS as a design or innovation company. For me, it has always been a tandem of engineers and businessmen serving a certain (very successful) business model.

LG Turns to Android UI

LG has announced it will  run Android in more than half of its smartphones in 2010. It is a significant change from the company’s current strategy. In 2009, only one LG smartphone ran Android and the rest were running Windows Mobile. It is a big hit for Microsoft as other companies such as Motorola, Samsung and HTC move away from Windows Mobile as well.

About a year ago Balmer dismissed Google as a player on the mobile market. And in 2007 he dismissed iPhone as a threat to Windows Mobile. Now MS obviously is losing its once-dominating market position and doing it very quickly. Both iPhone and Android will likely dominate mobile markets for the next decade.

Besides the Google business model, which is definitely more appealing to the mobile service providers than Microsoft’s, user satisfaction is another very important factor. Both iPhone and Android have very well designed, user-centered  user interfaces.

GUI for Easy Web Video application

Contracted by TopNet Solutions, Inc., Rossul Design will be designing GUI for a new version of their Easy Web Video application.

Apple’s Tablet Confirmed.

Stéphane Richard, Orange’s CEO-To-Be, confirms the arrival of Apple’s Tablet with a web cam and live video streaming via 3G.

Jean-Pierre Elkabbach (the interviewer) : According to Le Point (a french magazine), your partner Apple will be launching a tablet
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: … equipped with a webcam.
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: Will Orange customers also be able to enjoy it?
Stéphane Richard: Of course!, they will actually particularly enjoy it because the webcam will allow live video streaming. It’s a new take on mobile video-conferencing.

Graphic User Interface (GUI) for Toronto Rehab

Rossul Design has been contracted to create an intranet Graphic User Interface (GUI) for Toronto Rehab (more…)

Apple’s Rumoured Tablet to Have 3D Interface?

Apple has filed a patent that describes an interface for manipulating “three-dimensional virtual objects” on a touch screen. The technology  may be used in future releases of iPhone or in the rumoured Apple tablet (iSlate?).

I doubt that simply porting existed OS to a 10” touch screen may take “you-know-who’s considerable undivided attention”. Having an entire event dedicated to the mobile market Apple will most probably try to set a new standard. 3D User Interface may become just the thing to mark a new step in evolution of UX.  Apple has been working on various 3D systems for quite some time now: 3D Projection System, 3D Desktop, 3D Displays, etc.

Apple to Buy Mobile Advertising Company

Apple is about to announce the acquisition of Quattro Wireless for $275 million. Apple tried to bid on AdMob acquired by Google not so long ago. With Google’s Nexus launch tomorrow both companies become direct competitors in the smartphone market. From a UI prospective, it is interesting to see how Apple’s User Experience dedication and strict App Store approval rules will stand against Google’s users-know-better-what-they-need approach.