I was reading on Techcrunch a rumor about the new UI design for Windows Mobile 6.5. See the article, Rumor: Windows Mobile 6.5 screenshot shenanigans.
I quickly followed up with a blog post on my personal blog, Windows Mobile 6.5 and Zumobi, but while that writing that quick post made me think about the new UIs and trends in mobile devices.
This new UI from Microsoft seems to borrow a lot from some old concepts by Zumobi and in fact this summer they had announced a partnership, see the press release. You might also want to see a review by gizmodo of the Zumobi browser, Lightning Review: Zumobi Mobile Browser. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft has picked up only some ideas for the main menu or (hopefully) also brought some innovation in other parts of the OS.
The screenshots also show what I believe is the idle screen and that reminded me immediately of the widgetized idle screen that Samsung presented back in February at the GSM World Congress. See for example this F480 review and then later in other devices such as the PIXON M8800.
It is clear then, that user interfaces of mobile devices are changing and evolving. Yes, each brand, over the years, has chosen what it thought was a good interface, but all these smartphones with a lot of applications and new input methods such as full keyboards and touch screens have shown the need for new interfaces. Samsung seems to be experimenting quite a bit and I’m very excited about this, because I never really felt comfortable with the old user interface (that they still use for low-end devices).
HTC is now working on two major platforms, Windows (and then will most likely get this new UI) and Android. Motorola is also most likely to get an Android device soon (search on internet for rumors, there are PLENTY).
Now, what is the biggest player in mobile doing? I think I was not the only one surprised when the 5800 XpressMusic (a.k.a. Tube) was officially announced and made available. Yes, the device has a touch screen, but really the interface is exactly a Series60 interface. In a second thought, after the initial disappointment, I have to say that we should not be so surprised that Nokia has not changed the user interface. Nokia built their entire brand and a lot of their success on the solidity of the devices and their UI, of course. If you look at Nokia devices 10 years ago, the menus and icons are the same as today, just with a bit of redesign and color. A lot of Nokia customers today have been Nokia customers for years, when you buy a new device you always know exactly how it works and where everything will be. If you have used a Nokia device in the past, you can pick up any new device and you’ll feel at home in a few seconds. Changing the user interface radically is a huge step, yes you might conquer some new customers that are not fans of the current UI, you might capture some iPhone-wanna-be, but you might also disappoint all your existing users. Nokia is the market leader, if a new interface disappoints their users, it means making more tha 40% of the mobile user uncomfortable. Would you really want to do that? Would you risk it? It is a risk worth a bit of thinking!
One last question, what would it take to Nokia to create a device “out of the box” with a completely different interface? Would it be such a risk? If it fails, you just don’t go that way anymore, if it’s a success, you follow with other models.
If you haven’t read one, there is a good review on All About Symbian.
Another UI that I look forward to see is the one on the Storm, there are some reviews and videos around, but this is the type of UI you want to touch with your fingers.
It looks like a very exciting future for mobile users.
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