Linked by David Adams on Tue 5th Aug 2008 21:28 UTC
On August 1 2007, I published an article called "My Month with the iPhone" wherein I examined the iPhone's now well-known advantages and deficiencies and speculated extensively on where Apple was likely to take the phone, development-wise. Now that the new iPhone and the iPhone 2.0 software have been out for a few weeks, and there's been a whole new storm of praise and gripes raging, I thought it would be illuminating for me to re-visit my prognostications and take my lumps.
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RE: touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda
by Morgan on Wed 6th Aug 2008 02:32
in reply to "touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda"
Member since:2005-06-29
How much is it just a new cool looking toy to those who tend to get excited by fashionable new tech in general? Or are touchscreens really better in their usability than good keyboards and buttons?
It's mostly the "wow" factor I think, though the multitouch -- especially in some games on the iPhone -- is really intuitive. For example, there's a free Mahjongg game that uses nearly every multitouch gesture to control the game board, which makes it much easier to zoom in and focus on a particular part of the board.
That said, I really miss my Treo's hardware keyboard at times; I'm still not as fast on the iPhone even though it has adequate word correction. Also, I'm a touch typist and I type all day at work, so I'm used to using both hands and getting peaks of 90 WPM. with the Treo I could use both thumbs and got about 25-30 WPM on a good day. On the iPhone it's one finger only unless I'm in Safari and landscape mode and even then I only get about 10-12 WPM. The lack of tactile feedback is also a major issue; I find myself constantly looking back and forth from the keyboard to the input area so I can watch where I put my fingers. With the Treo I got good at sliding my thumbs across the keys without even looking, subconsciously counting the dimples just as I do the frets and strings when I play guitar.
Yes, it's a cool toy, and I've just about come to the conclusion that it will never be more than a toy to me. It's just not enough phone for my needs, and while I enjoy the ability to watch video and listen to music wherever I go, there are more durable and less frustrating phones out there that do so with less restrictions on file format to boot. I think I'll end up with a Nokia N-Series phone in the near future, and this bad boy will go on the auction block.
RE: touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda
by renox on Wed 6th Aug 2008 07:27
in reply to "touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda"
Member since:2005-07-06
touchscreen aren't new, but the interesting point of the iPhone is that you're expected to use it with your finger instead of a stupid pointer.
So of course, it feels much more natural.
That said, I doubt that the iPhone is better for writing SMS or email that phones which have a keyboard.
RE: touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda
by dagw on Wed 6th Aug 2008 21:59
in reply to "touchscreens? RE: Comment by Thom_Holwerda"
Member since:2005-07-06
I've had hard time understanding why so many people seem to get excited by touchscreen technology in general nowadays?
Well I was kind of skeptical as well until I got a chance to play with an iPod touch for 45 minutes. While I'm in no way ready to declare the death of hardware buttons, it really needs to be said that Apple's particular touch screen solution really does work. They really did nail it. Especially for browsing the web it worked far better than I expected.
That being said my dream iPhone would still have some sort of sliding out hardware qwerty keyboard, but I in no way consider it a necessity.
Member since:
2005-07-08
I don't have sweaty hands, but I've had hard time understanding why so many people seem to get excited by touchscreen technology in general nowadays? How much is it just a new cool looking toy to those who tend to get excited by fashionable new tech in general? Or are touchscreens really better in their usability than good keyboards and buttons?
You know, there might have been and may still be quite good usability reasons why in many (most?) cases people have preferred to use clear buttons and keyboards instead of (unclear?) touchscreens when controlling machines and technology.