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5 Mobile UX Design Bites

1. Design within the interaction paradigm provided by the platform or device itself. Deviations can be costly for development and create room for user confusion.
2. Make things easier for users by keeping most important options easily accessible and the focus on the highest priority elements.
3. Deliver simpler and more effective experiences. Being in a resource constrained environment, more complexity can mean, more difficulty for the user.
4. Provide immediate feedback. It is a necessity on touch devices. Most users who are used to an iPhone will not choose to switch to an Android phone simply due to the latency in scrolling.
5. Keep in mind that mobile devices are more than a piece of technology. They are enablers with a high emotion factor.

By Gülay Birand
Published: May 8, 2010
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T-Mobile Voice Plus Beta

It’s so rare that I get to publicly talk about what I’m working on at T-Mo as it’s usually Dark, so this is a real treat. One of the projects I’ve been working on for the past 5 months is finally out on a very hush, hush beta. It’s for G-1 users only but if you do try it out successfully. Let me know what you think!

http://www.tmonews.com/2010/03/t-mobile-rolls-out-voice-plus-beta-for-g1-users/

By Gülay Birand
Published: March 13, 2010
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Steps for getting rid of Evil Comcast for good

Possibly one of the best things we did when we moved to our new condo, is to ditch our cable and internet company, Comcast.

Over the years, we’ve received sub-par service both in programming and internet connection. When we found out that our building would be getting a new, local ISP with speeds of 30MB minimum (Cascadelink rocks!), we knew this was our way out. The decision was also part of our plan to ditch our television *gasp*.

Initially, we hadn’t thought of going TVless, but once we spent a few days trying to figure out what the best placement would be for a TV in our new cable-forced layout and how much it would cost to make it happen, we decided it just wasn’t going to be worth the time, effort and funds. We figured, with two laptops, two iPhones and a Mini, we have enough glowing rectangles in the house to watch our favorite shows and movies on.

Take a look at the following to see if you’re ready to get rid of your cable company:

1. You have a violent reaction to insipid commercials that show up every 15 minutes.
2. You don’t mind watching your show a day or so later.
3. You have a subscription to Netflix and/or Hulu.
4. You have an iTunes account.
5. You weren’t hyperventilating when I talked about getting rid of cable.
6. You like to optimize your time.
7. You deal well with change.
8. You have an alternate, high-speed internet provider in your area.

If you said “YES” to most of these, you’re a good candidate.

Here are the steps for getting rid of cable:

1. Get a Mac mini (as your media center), time capsule (router and backups) and nice large Mac screen if you don’t have them already. You can also connect your existing TV screen to the Mac mini if you prefer.
2. Arrange for your new ISP to start service ASAP and switch over to it.
3. Get subscriptions for Netflix and Hulu if you don’t already have them and setup an iTunes account.
4. Make sure the above setup is working for you.
5. Now make that call you’ve been dying to make to Comcast. So long, bad service.
6. Enjoy your freedom to watch whatever, whenever, wherever.

We now only watch shows and movies we care about and cut out the unnecessary programming in between. Having the media library in one central location allows us to be able to watch movies tucked away in bed or while cooking in the kitchen.

I’m now waiting for Netflix to come out with their iPhone app. Hurry up guys!

By Gülay Birand
Published: February 27, 2010
5 Comments

Wearable computing and the Hug Shirt

Our cellphones, earphones, bluetooth headsets, iPods and many other gadgets are perpetual extensions of ourselves. The amount of anxiety involved in being away from one’s phone is described a intense (I’ve experienced this and I can attest to it.) In fact, according to most studies we would much rather lose our wallets, than lose our phones. So, I find clothing designed with technology built in, a natural part of the evolution.

This company is working on some really interesting projects one of which is the “Hug Shirt.” According to the site, “The Hug Shirt is a shirt that makes people send hugs over distance! Embedded in the shirt there are sensors that feel the strength of the touch, the skin warmth and the heartbeat rate of the sender and actuators that recreate the sensation of touch, warmth and emotion of the hug to the shirt of the distant loved one.” We are so focused delivering visual and auditory experiences, that I feel sometimes we limit ourselves.

http://www.cutecircuit.com/products/thehugshirt/

By Gülay Birand
Published: October 24, 2009
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The experience of ordering an iPhone 3GS

In an effort to avoid the ridiculously long lines at the Apple store, I did everything right. I ordered my iPhone 3GS online, as an upgrade and I picked the right features. 16GBs of white sleekness. What I did wrong was to order from the AT&T site instead of the online Apple store. The user experience on each site is worlds apart. Following the interaction on the AT&T site, I felt helpless, anxious, in the dark and out of control of my order destiny. After a few calls to AT&T to find out the status of my order, I realized this was not the experience I desired so I placed an email request to cancel my order (let’s see if it happens) and ordered the 3GS off of the Apple site.

What a world of difference! First, ordering the phone was as easy as 123. Just a few clearly marked, full proof steps and I was on my way. Immediately following my order, I found myself on a page with details pertaining to my order such as when I could expect shipment and when I could expect to receive my phone. Having some inkling of what to expect following my purchase, I felt much more at ease.

In contrast, the confirmation I received from AT&T was problematic. I received one email containing an order number and a link to check status. When I followed the link and plugged in the order number I got a page that indicated: “We have received your order request, and we expect to begin processing it shortly.” This message is far too ambiguous to be helpful to anyone – hence my anxiety. Maybe I’m being nitpicky but even the smallest details matter. It would have been a nice touch to have the order # be a part of the link they gave me so that I didn’t have to copy/paste the link into the order search page.

All I have to say is: AT&T, please, you are selling an Apple product so don’t make the user think.

By Gülay Birand
Published: June 19, 2009
2 Comments

It’s fun to be an insider

There is so much speculation out there on the next IT phone:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/hold-the-phone-t-mobile-g1-v2-to-really-be-the-samsung-bigfoot/

By Gülay Birand
Published: May 11, 2009
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Skype, iSkoot, Truphone and VOIP

There are a limited number of technologies that have made a fundamentally positive impact in my life and Skype is certainly one of the chosen few.

In the past, phoning my family in Turkey from the US was an expensive ordeal. The options were limited and expensive:

Dialing direct

Positives:

• Good sound quality and limited numbers to dial

Negatives:

• Very expensive with connection fees (unless you have a monthly international calling plan) and exorbitant per minute rates.
• From a mobile phone it’s so expensive I shouldn’t even mention this as an “option,” but here goes (these rates my have changed since I wrote the initial post a while back): 2.29/minute to landline 2.38/minute to cellular and as a bonus the cell phone receiving the call get’s charged double for some unfathomable reason.
• I should also mention that in the early days, you had to ACTIVATE your phone to dial international numbers. So, in an emergency for instance, reassuring loved ones that you’re OK was a romantic notion at best.
• If you signed up for the “save-you-a-bundle-not” monthly plan at 3.99/month, your rates would be .36/minute for landline and .45/minute for mobile

Calling Cards

Positives:

• Lower rates than dialing direct

Negatives:

• The numerous numbers dialed seem to take as long as the calls
• Terrible sound quality with unpleasant echoing and other noise as well as frequently dropped calls
• Calling card companies seem to be like last seasons shoes, you use them, get used to them and when you want another pair they’re no longer available. They seem to go out of business like there’s no tomorrow. So, in the long term you can’t expect to stick with one company and it’s lengthy access code you painstakingly memorized.

As I grappled with these non-options in the early 2000’s, the clouds broke and we were all introduced to the wonderful world of Skype. All in all, it’s not a surprise that this model worked, Skype’s success is based on the fact that it’s founders could easily answer these three fundamental questions with a resounding “YES,” in it’s early days:

1. Is my product something that will satisfy a need for a large enough user base (or target market)?
2. Are these users meeting these needs in any other way right now?
3. Will my product provide better and more immediate relief to their need/s than what they are currently using?

Their call options were introduced in this order:

• Computer to Computer
• Computer to Phone (and vice versa)
• Mobile Skype to Computer
• Mobile Skype to Landline or Mobile

When Skype was first made available the only option was the first one I mentioned, Computer to Computer. We may not think twice about it today but it certainly took us a while to wrap our minds around the concept. We all kept thinking there was a catch and that it was too good to be true and that surely, we would be charged insane sums through our ISPs. None of this turned out to be true, this WAS the real deal.

After the first option was adopted, slowly the second option was introduced. Purchasing SkypeOut minutes allowed users to call landlines from their Computers. This was the moment I had been waiting for, I heartily kissed my international phone plan goodbye and sent it packing forever. In fact, today, I do not have a land line any longer. For local calls, I use my mobile for international calls, I use Skype. Our total telecommunications bills have been more than halved.

With the third and fourth options Skype presented, my life changed. I no longer ended up tethered to my home timing the appropriate 10 hour difference in order to phone my parents in Turkey. I could be having brunch on a Sunday at Le Pichet in downtown Seattle and still call my parents via iSkoot (an intermediary application that connects my mobile device with SKype) or Truphone (via my iPhone where a wifi connection is available) on their home phone. I can do this with a peace of mind, that I will not receive an insanely high phone bill from my cellular carrier.

iSkoot usese air minutes (but still ONLY air minutes not 2.29/minute) to connect me with Skype and considering the alternative, I can live with that. Truphone is very similar to iSkoot however, a separate Truphone credit must be purchased to make calls. The rates are negligible. Calling landlines in Turkey is $.075 and mobile phones is $.352. Of course Truphone to Truphone is free. This may not seem like a terribly useful application to some but if you are sitting in a cafe, anywhere in the world and you have access to wifi, it becomes much easier to make that phone call to loved ones. I used Truphone a bunch of times while in South Africa this past December, updating everyone of our whereabouts. The whole time roaming was turned off on iPhone but wifi was on for any free connections where I could make a call.

For true VOIP, those of us who own a PocketPC or Mobile PC, using Skype via your data line is a possibility. Drum roll- you can use your mobile to speak with others and only be charged the monthly fee for your data package. I’ve noticed in message board and blog posts there are those already out there looking for carriers that offer ONLY data packages.

Of course, it is imperceptible that carriers would willingly want to embrace such a technology that would take billions of dollars out of their pockets but it is conceivable that in the future with blanket wi-fi in major cities, phones like the NetGear Skype WiFi phone will be adopted more widely.

By Gülay Birand
Published: February 20, 2009
2 Comments

Welcome, Kindle 2

Amazon released it’s much slimmer and sleeker looking Kindle 2 for pre-ordering. I always thought the hardware packaging needed a “cool” factor and it finally got some. In addition, it looks like the angled chiclet keys are replaced by round keys placed on a straight grid which fit much better with established keypad patterns and the edges of the device now have more room to hold the Kindle easily without inadvertently turning pages. These two issues were pet peeves of mine and I’m glad to see improvements were made.

I’m however, still waiting for the day when it becomes feasible to make Kindle wireless, world-wide. I could be vacationing in Bodrum, Turkey and order books and newspapers from a sailboat out in the middle of the Agean. My dream project for Kindle, if this ever happens, “One Kindle Per Child” might just become reality. The possibilities become endless.

Here are the specs for the new Kindle:

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

By Gülay Birand
Published: February 11, 2009
2 Comments

Facebook is my new inbox

I’m finding more and more that I no longer use my Yahoo account to communicate and stay in touch with friends. There’s something about having my entire address book in one place. Each with their active profiles and ever changing profile photos. There is a quality of Facebook which makes it feel more alive and responsive than my silent and for whatever reason distant feeling Yahoo inbox. It just seems so far away and isolated from everyone and everything. It’s as if there is proximity to other people on Facebook that just cannot be achieved elsewhere.

I’m also finding that people tend to reply much quicker to my messages on Facebook than they do via email. I do think it is the proximity factor in Facebook that sets the appropriate response time. Via email responding within a few days may be acceptable however via Facebook it’s a bit more frowned upon. After all, there is so much visibility. Presumably, if one has time to update their status, surely they can respond to a message they received. Also, there is the ease with which one can send and respond to messages. I never have to think of what my friend’s email addresses are or which one I need to send it to. It’s simply a name I need to remember and Facebook takes care of the rest.

I am also fascinated by how people censor their content on Facebook more and more as their friend circle grows. With time, work colleagues, every day friends, close friends and acquaintances all join this circle and blur the lines. But that’s for another post…

By Gülay Birand
Published: February 8, 2009
2 Comments

Piglet Wireframe

I’ve started to watercolor again in my free time which is immensely enjoyable to me. I get to have a creative outlet from the rigid and structured confines of my day to day work. I have the freedom to do whatever it is I want to do with an art project and it is liberating.

I’ve always had an affection for piglets so I decided to finally sketch one. Layering on to it with watercolor to bring it to life will be the best part. All the right kinds of pastel, peachy pinks are in order for this little guy. Oink oink!

By Gülay Birand
Published: February 4, 2009
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