Mobility blogger Russell Beattie often comes up with really insightful articles and this one is a must-read. Coming to the Nokia N95 8GB as someone who's technically literate but not a hardened S60 fanboy, he comes up with some very apposite and constructive criticisms of the modern S60 interface. Plenty there that I'm in total agreement with, too.
Read on in the full article.
I thought Russell is in the US. How on earth was he using HSDPA on the N95 8GB in the US? Well, I guess he might have been abroad; I sure hope it is not that even he does not know what he is writing about.. NO, that could not be - an internet tech journalist that has no clue.. 😉 😃
Otherwise, he does make SOME good points and SOME of which should be addressed in by the N-Series menu system apparently on the way.. Wonder if e.g. the E-series has a chance of an overhaul?
I disagree with him on one point more so than the others, the fact that S60 icons are in different locations in each S60 device is a good thing.
Why should something like the N95 have the same icon arrangement as something like an N81 or even E61i? Each product is meant for different things and with that in mind each menu should be made optimally to do those things as well as possible.
At the end of the day you can move the icons around to your liking.
I believe Russ was using a US N95, not a N95 8GB. The picture he used in the post is probably what caused all the confusion...
Is all this moaning about different ways to open an application really a big deal????? Seems to me to from the mountain and molehill neck of the woods!
N95 is meant to be a portable computer "its what computers have become" is the advertising slogan - how many different ways are their to open apps / files on a Windows PC????? About the same as on the N95 or any S60 device I think. Its all very, very customisable, much like a PC is.
Ideas like the Multimedia key are a necessary development evolution, as Nokia have to ensure that they differentiate their S60 phones from other companies S60 phones. instead of slating them, maybe contstructive criticism to feed back to Nokia, so they can improve what looks like the first iteration of an idea.
Sure, there are a lot of different ways to open an app, but you don't have to use them, I for example, dump all my favourite apps on the idle screen, assign the short cut keys, and then use the number key short cuts in the applications grid. Having the choice, I think is a great, great thing.
I also think that this view of thinking is quite valid for a large number of points in Russells article - N95 behaves to an extent, similar to a PC. People don't moan about that, they customise it to their preference.
So instead of moaning, customise to your own needs.
Should we not be thankful to have the choice ????????????
Definitely some great points in there. Interesting to note some of them are addressed in FP2.
Yes I think differentiation in each device is actually a good thing. The number of people who actually use multiple devices moreover most people customise to some degree (even if its just a new theme or moving icons around). I also like having folders (something Russ doesn't like). Just goes to prove different people want different things. This philosophy also extends to doing things multiple ways - its not necessarily a bad thing provided there is consistency and people can choose (the best example is settings - S60 is moving towards centralised settings, while maintaining a settings menu entry in each app). Multimedia menus may not be liked by traditional Nseries users, but I've seen how novice users use it in preference to the 'standard' way.
I personally think getting increased functionality and complexity into S60 without destroying simplicity is one of the big challenges. Its one facing all mobile platforms and I've yet to see a viable solution.
I don't agree with most of his points. Why does he hate folders? If I have 100 apps, I don't want them all showing up in the main menu! I want to put them in folders based on the type of apps and thus keep the menu more organized. I figure he has a hard time dealing with folders on PCs as well.
I also question his familiarity with Nokia phones in general. He says "Make the menu key a "home" key, and no more functionality tied to "long presses" and random hidden features like using the Power key to change your profile." Uhhh using the power key to change profiles has been standard on Nokia phones since forever. There's something called a user manual.
Finally, was he using the N95 8GB or the N95-3?
What's wrong with multiple ways to get to an app? You just choose the method that you prefer and stick to it. Duh.
I wouldn't agree with getting rid of folders and levels, it's down to the user to create their own personal organisation. Yes, it's up to the user, Symbian gives you the tools, use them. Duh.
I don't understand the problem.
Landscape mode works perfectly well for me.
I do agree about the music player buttons in the double slider though, I rarely use them.
ElectricTool
I don't agree with most of his points. Why does he hate folders? If I have 100 apps, I don't want them all showing up in the main menu! I want to put them in folders based on the type of apps and thus keep the menu more organized. I figure he has a hard time dealing with folders on PCs as well.
I agree. He says he had the N95 in his pocket for a couple of days. This gives him a complete insight into what he admits is a very complex device and the right to shoot his mouth off.
I had the feeling that he was on the cusp of saying that Nokia should reduce the number of features on the N95, in order to make it simple to operate, like an Iphone.
Cobblers!
s.
Rafe,
can you elaborate on which of his points are addressed in the FP2? Thanks in advance!
just to add my two cents on comments above and Russell Post...
* Having choice and a customisable mobile is great but it should not come at the expense of usability...When you have to click 5 times to start a text message and you need a search bar to launch any application then you might have a problem with your phone... Sure having tons of application kind of complicates the task, but I think there are ways around it...I don't agree with Russel that there should be only two ways and nokia should get rid of folders, but for sure there must be at least one way that my girlfriend can understand 😉
Comparing the phone with a computer, Microsoft found out that users didn't use all the features in its applications. They redesigned the toolbars though but they didn't get rid of the menus;...
* Application settings... the thing that irritates me is that this mobile phone and it's feature should be treated like any other consumer device... therefore there should be a clear on/off button for phone, wifi, bluetooth, gps and everything that switches on and off.. The only thing I don't want a switch is the backlight...
The phone and bluetooth are kind of ok. Wifi is ok now that there is some integration with the "desktop", but the icon is hidden very very well in the menu... Regarding GPS, you don't know when it's on/off and how you can switch it on/off... it's just a mistery unless you read the manual.. Nokia please, clear switch, clear settings and better integration with the active desktop for all of this feature...
* The multimedia menu is sort of ok and could be the only way for my girlfriend to access application. But it's slow, it opens when I put the device in landscape mode when I don't want, so I hate it and slighly agree with Russel.
* hidden menus launched by "long presses"... I agree unfortunately. The phone should come in "simple mode" and if there is a poweruser out there, I'm sure it will be able to switch the "poweruser profile" (with different hidden menus that open up if you press the button for 1 or 2 or 3 seconds 😉
Note to Nokia: if you ship a device like the n81 that says on the box it has a naviwheel... please leave the feature on by default, I'm sure most people get it!
Hey all, thanks for your thoughts, here's some responses:
Woops, I messed up and used the wrong image - I wasn't using an N95 8GB, but just an American version. I fixed that now.
I am not, and never have been, an "internet tech journalist".
Just FYI... I've been using S60 phones since the 7650, owned more than half dozen of the devices, and actually worked for the original designer of the GUI and had conversations about it many times with him, so I'd say my overall opinions are legitimate, regardless of how many days I may have had this particular device.
You can't sacrifice usability for customizability. MINOR differences might be acceptable in an e61 vs. an N series phone, but completely messing with the icons and names on every phone? That doesn't inspire much consumer confidence or encourage the idea of S60 as a standard GUI. Users think spatially... if you move icons, you've *broken* the interface.
Someone with 100 apps is an edge case. In other words. you're one in multiple millions of users. Power users are a small subset and should not be the focus of a consumer electronics device.
FP2 corrects some settings stuff? Cool... I can't wait to see it.
There was some insinuation that I'm an Apple/iPhone fan boy. That's far from the case. That doesn't mean I can't recognize nice parts of that device which should be duplicated. My 5 year old can use every function of the iPhone without effort, most adults can barely get S60 phones to make phone calls.
The multimedia menu is nice actually, especially for new users. The folder/icons is fine too... but having so many options is a bad thing. It's confusing to new users, confusing to users who are upgrading, and makes documenting/using the device all that more complex.
Hope that helps clarify my post.
😊
-Russ
Russ, thanks for responding, and apologies for trying to categorize you in the lowliest of the low categories of all human beings (i.e. journalists)! 😉
I for one found the iPhone a little confusing too in some aspects (albeit I only played with one for 10 minutes), e.g. difficulties going back a step rather than always going through the home screen (may be I missed something.. gasp... perhaps its not as intuitive after all in all cases). Others have also complained about all setting being in one place.. I would tend to agree that I'd rather tweak an app in the app rather than in some central settings location. Finally, iPhone is also simple because its so damned limited.. 😊 It's a smart dumb phone, rather than a smart phone.
I don't get this usability sacrifice thing at all. What's unusable about it? What's confusing about it? Some people should hire a monkey to operate their phones for them. Maybe they need illuminated arrows in the floors of their houses to find their bathrooms. Maybe they have left and right printed on their socks.
Sure the S60 interface can get better, but hopefully improvements don't mean dumbing it down to cater for the mentally lazy.
Five clicks to start a text message? What phone it that? Mine is a max of three, I can customise it to two.
It seems that the fuss about icons being in different places on different phones is a little ott.
IMO, it is a problem only for people who change their phones a lot, which would include people who review phones a lot, support people [1], people who borrow other people's phones and developers (I'm one of the latter, and it *is* annoying).
Regular users (ie the vast majority) have a single phone for about a couple of years and learning where new icons are is a minor hassle that doesn't take long at all (a week, tops); and, of course, they can always change the icon placement to the same as their previous phone (if it was also S60) and then it's no problem.
I think the point about them being positioned based on the target audience of the phone is quite valid.
Perhaps Nokia should come up with a tool to export your icons positions, so that you can import it into another phone.
Max.
[1] The answer to 'how do I do this?' depends on the actual model of phone - if they (Nokia) didn't move them, they (support bod) could answer the question right away.
I think it�s a question of the perceived users of the phone. Usability is not a problem in S60 and other high-end devices for the power users who frequent AAS, who will quickly learn the quirks of whichever new device they use. But I think it is a problem as Nokia et al increasingly push high-end devices to non-power users, and as those features trickle down to lower-end devices. Apps changing name and position, myriad different ways of navigating menus etc. only lead to confusion for many users.
Bypassing the wife and going straight for the Mum test � my Mum has a hell of a time figuring out how to do things on her SE phone, which has so much capability that she cannot get her head around because most of it is squirreled away in sub-menus. I really think UI designers need to simplify their mobile interfaces, or at least ship the phones with a default simple mode (like the Simple Finder in OS X) that stays largely consistent across multiple devices.
Cheers
Matt
PS I�ve been reading Russ� blog (on and off) for almost as long as he�s been posting it (also on and off) and he generally has pretty good insight � see his post on Leopard�s WTF Stack implementation for example.
> Apps changing name and position, myriad different ways of navigating menus etc. only lead to confusion for many users.
I agree with your other points, but changing icon positions is only an issue for those who change phones frequently or use lots of different phones (eg developers and reviewers).
Most people buy one phone and keep it for a long time; they expect to have to learn something new. To expect menus and names to be the same after a couple of years is ridiculous.
The other points about making it simpler and easier to access the advanced features I can only agree with, but change is constant and to be expected - it's also a bit of a red herring. They should concentrate on simplicity and other changes that will make a difference to the average user.
Max.
Hi all,
As some have already pointed out that is just how Nokia make them but the whole point is once you have installed your favorite apps and set up things the way you like you can continue to customise your device to appear and show the apps and shortcuts you want the possibilities and variations are if not infinite many. Whilst many might make little or no changes others can achieve what they want easily and even make tier device unique to them. On my last N95 i used the Multimedia carousel shortcuts mainly and set up everything i wanted in this one convenient place which while it suited my needs may not be right for anyone else. I know i would rather have the option to do this than just change a few on screen apps and shortcuts. But is suppose we all all different and need and want different things but IMO having the choice has to be a good thing.
Marc