[maemo-developers] UI concerns --- was [maemo-developers] Qt + KDE port

[From: Pixelnate]

On Jul 5, 2005, at 1:38 PM, Kalle Vahlman wrote:

> On 7/5/05, Timo Steuerwald <timo.steuerwald at gmx.de> wrote:
>

> I'd rather say they are comfortably big targets to poke at, but I
> guess that's more a question of preference than a hard number...

On the PalmOS the targets are much smaller and there are few complaints 
about the interface elements being too small. In fact many people 
bought the Sony devices simply because the high resolution of the 
screen reduced the apparent size of the interface elements, ie. fonts, 
buttons, etc.

> Hope you have a steady hand too.

I guess if palsy patients are included in the target demographic...

>> Furthermore I don't know if it is userfriendly to browse a
>> website in full screen mode and then for navigating switch to common
>> screen mode and after this back to full screen mode and the again to
>> common screen mode...
>
> Mostly one can "navigate" with links on the web site (on good sites at
> least :), but since the fullscreen can be toggled with one click of
> the fullscreen key, I wouldn't see it as a major issue (when compared
> to the additional screen estate you get).

But what happens when a user wants to go enter a new URL? Do they have 
to turn on Normal View mode to enter their address with the included 
keyboard or HWR? It can be a major issue. I don't mean to step on toes 
here, but the fewer clicks, taps, etc. the better.

>> - Because internet sites are optimated on desktop
>> resolutions, the difference between these two modes can be still big 
>> in
>> this area. In some cases between "website useable" and "website 
>> unusable".
>
> Websites are unusable for far more annoying reasons than simple
> resolution optimation. Incompetent web designers are hardly something
> that can be considered when designing an UI. If a website is broken in
> 720 pixels, it will be that in 760 or 780 pixels too.

But many web designers have standardized on screen sizes of 800x600 
which leaves about 750-770px of usable space. When the Nokia 770 
displays a webpage at 692px wide, you must still scroll horizontally to 
see all the content on a page. Vertical scrolling is perfectly 
acceptable, horizontal scrolling is not. Since the 770 has the ability 
to display all 750-770px of the window, and you must hit a button to go 
to full screen, you ask the user to do more work that might otherwise 
be avoided.

Has anyone ever had to hit the "full screen" button on their desktop 
monitors to properly view a webpage? I realize that there are certain 
limitations in surfing the web on other handhelds, but none have 
included screens of this size. I just feel that the screen can be 
better used in a slightly different configuration than what has been 
shown so far.


n+

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