iPod & iPhone: Design For Mobile
Today we took delivery of our shiny new iPod touch. This has been our first chance to see the touch interface and the iPhone/iPod touch form-factor first hand; and we’re all really impressed. Apple have done a superior job on the physical device and the interface.
The iPod, iTunes and productivity tools are all really lovely, but we are obviously most interested in the the Safari browser and the web experience on the iPod touch. Safari on the iPod is very neat and tidy - Apple have done a great job stripping the interface back to the essentials, and presenting the essentials in a very elegant way. Typing, opening multiple pages, searching, bookmarks - all work so well that within 5 minutes of opening the box it felt like we had been using the device for weeks.
So, what do we think smaller screens, like the iPod Touch/iPhone mean for web developers and those commissioning work for the web? Here are a few thoughts:
- The size of the iPod Touch/iPhone is probably going to be the prototype form-factor for mobile devices for a long time to come (2-3 years). iPod Touch is light enough and and small enough to fit in your pocket with practically all the device’s surface given over to the screen. In short; this is as big as you’d want a mobile device to get - unless you want an ultramobile PC (and nobody really seems to).
- The experience of surfing the web on the iPod Touch/iPhone is the closest thing you’ll find to a large-screen (e.g. desktop) experience but because of the screen size and the need to zoom, scroll, drag, pinch your way around the page the best websites to use are those who have put a lot of thought into information architecture and priorisation of functionality. Basically, if you want to fulfull your users goals through excellent functionality quickly and simply the way you interact with iPod/iPhone and mobile devices should be taken into consideration.
- When a website is built properly the difference between website, web application and software just disappears when you are not sitting at a desk. Users will quickly come to expect the same clean and quick functionality from websites as they do from excellent, functional software. What does this mean? Websites need to offer quick, intuitive navigation and great information architecture. Interfaces need to be tactile and cut straight to the most important features and functionality. It’s not about the size of the screen, it’s about getting your website to fit seamlessly into the users experience of his/her mobile device.
We could go on and on. It’s a very impressive device and one which is bound to change the web industry and all other mobile devices. Come and talk to us if you’d like help getting your brand, campaign or web project ready for mobile.