[maemo-developers] Launch image to increase feeling of responsiveness (a la iPhone)

[From: Andrew Flegg]

Hi,

Reading the recently released iPhone SDK's Human Interface Guidelines
document[1], I came across an interesting idea: every application has
a launch image configured which is immediately displayed on launch to
improve the user experience.

The theory goes that because the user sees something which looks like
the shell of the application whilst it loads, they feel the
application is loading faster:

   "To enhance the user's experience at application launch, you
   should provide a launch image. A launch image looks very similar
   to the first window your application displays. iPhone OS displays
   this image instantly when the user taps your application icon on the
   Home screen. As soon as it's ready for use, your application
   displays its first screen, replacing the launch image."

I think this is a concept which would work well in Hildon: a PNG image
the size of an unmaximised window could be specified in the .desktop
file, on selection of an application the Task Navigator would load and
show that image immediately in a window titled the name of the
application, and the "<application> loading" infoprint would also be
shown. As soon as the app loads and opens its first window, the other
window is closed.

For example, a mockup showing a suggested launch image for the File
Manager can be seen at:

   http://www.bleb.org/software/maemo/file-manager-launch.png

As the Apple guidelines point out, the real window which is shown may
have localised labels etc., so there's no text shown. I've also greyed
out the button bar to show the user that it's inactive.

At the moment, starting apps like File Manager, Calculator, Connection
Manager etc. take on the order of 4-5 seconds, if the user was shown
something within 1 second, there are then two separate waits:

 1) 1s to display the launch image
 2) 3-4s for the real window to open and the app to become usable

Usability studies have shown that two short waits are preferable to
one long one, as long as there is a seeming progression from one state
to the other. That's why we've got the ".... launching" infoprints
already - but this simple idea might improve the feel of
responsiveness that bit more.

Thoughts welcome.

Cheers,

Andrew

[1] Linked from:

   http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/07/iphone-sdk-some-of-the-details-arent-great/

More directly, it's on page 94 at:

   http://www.docstoc.com/docs/418559/iPhones-Human-Interface-Guidelines

-- 
Andrew Flegg -- mailto:andrew at bleb.org  |  http://www.bleb.org/