Apple’s iLife software suite that came free with every new Mac has always been used as a Unique Selling Point of a Mac. Two of the iLife have since made the jump to iOS, namely iMovie (on the iPad and iPhone) and GarageBand (on the iPad), albeit not for free. The question is when would they port iPhoto ‘11. I always found the native iOS Photos app to be lacking in features. In all fairness it was conceived more as a photo browser, though, but some editing capabilities would be welcome.

A Gizmodo blogger decided to try the next best thing, which was to run iPhoto ‘11 on the iPad via remote desktop software. The result showed that the user interface design of the Mac app is definitely iPad ready. This tells us two things, the first of which is that Apple clearly has transmedia user interface design nailed. Transmedia user interface design is the creation of UI designs across different types of screens (i.e. desktops, smartphones, tablets, etc.). The second thing it tells us is that the speculated merging of Operating Systems into unified OSes that work across devices might be closer than we think.

The latest Mac OS X has already paved the way by incorporating iOS functionality and user interface design elements. One of these is the new Full-Screen Apps view that iPhoto has implemented. When viewing iPhoto in full-screen mode on the iPad through the remote desktop one can be fooled into thinking it is an actual iPad app. From the icons to the layout everything about the user interface design is already optimized for iOS touch operation. This is surely not happenstance. Considering that the ‘Mac’ has been dropped in OS X these new full screen apps could just be the fist port of call to a unified OS and user interface design.

The Windows 7 phone and the iPhone are natural and fierce competitors in the technology market. Preference for either is usually tied to whether or not you are an avid PC user or a staunchly loyal Apple supporter, as it is with laptop and desktop computers.  Still, not all customers feel particularly attached to a brand and instead purchase products based on their compatibility as a user with the product’s features. One of the main reasons people use smartphones is because of their apps.  Mobile apps now rule the smartphone empire and if you are looking into purchasing either an iPhone or a Windows 7 phone but don’t know which to choose, then a good place to start is by comparing their app capabilities.

Both the iPhone and the Windows 7 phone offer users a variety of apps to choose from. Both have a consolidated place for users to find apps: the iPhone “App Store” and the Windows 7 “Marketplace”.  Users are able to purchase apps from these stores, both through their smartphone or computer.  So what is the main difference between the two?  The number of apps available and the user interface display.  Apple offers users a much more vast selection of apps in their store.  Additionally, the iPhone offers user the ability to use and manage their apps from both their phone and their computer—currently, Windows 7 apps are only available to users through the phone’s user interface.  Thus, the iPhone is better organized and more diverse.  However, this does not mean that the Windows 7 phone will not one day reach or surpass the iPhone in terms of app numbers and interfacing options.  The Windows 7 phone is much newer than the iPhone and this leaves it more room to grow and evolve.  So choosing between the two requires you to put your faith in the Windows 7 phone’s evolution or putting stock in the iPhone’s proven reputation. Or you can simply succumb to the epic Apple-Microsoft battle and pick a side.

Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s re-boot of its Hotmail service, Google has tweaked and added features to its Gmail service and its widely familiar UI design. One of the features that I really liked was the ’sweep’ inbox management system which, considering that 90% of all webmail traffic is spam is a welcome addition. And it’s not just spam but all the social networks’ notifications, newsletters etc. and other websites that we sign up to sending us all manners of notifications that we may not want to unsubscribe from but are not that important. These last type of mails are known as “bologna” or “bacn”. Somewhere in all this are actual important emails from friends, family and work that are actually what e-mail was precisely designed for. Gmail now has a new feature entitled Priority Inbox to combat this type of email overload.

I found the Priority Inbox to score high in usability as it was very simple and straightforward to set up and use. Nestled at the top right of the interface design right next to the settings it is easy to find and always at the tip of your finger when you need it. Activating it offers users the chance to watch a short video describing the new service, should they wish to see it. An overlay appears that already sees Gmail suggest what are important and not important mails. Users can confirm this or change the suggestions. Important emails are unmistakable due to having a yellow mark along with the subject of the email. Priority emails naturally appear above the general inbox and have a corresponding folder. This feature is sure to make an already popular online software application much more manageable

Remember the end of the 90s? Microsoft was the all-conquering yet stuttering goliath. Apple was constantly in its shadow despite Microsoft borrowing a lot from Apple’s user interface designs. Fast-forward to more than a decade later it is Apple that has become the goliath and Microsoft living in its shadow (perhaps not in the software field, but certainly in the hardware section). This is none more so striking than in the mobile devices space. Microsoft’s tablets never took off despite Bill Gate’s proclamations and Windows Mobile’s smartphone market share shrunk to a dismal 5% well behind Symbian, BlackBerry, Android and, of course, the iPhone. And Vista, well let’s just not go there!

Windows Phone 7 sees the Redmond incumbent attempt to try to wrest more control of the highly prized smartphone market. The user interface design is refreshingly original. While a lot of the interface designs of other smartphone OSs seem to be playing the ‘me-too’ with Apple’s iOS in essence replicating its UI design. Windows Phone 7’s interface design features the ‘Tiles’ and ‘hubs’ system. Tiles and hubs link to a group of applications. The people hub for example integrates and reconciles your phone’s contacts together with those on Facebook, Gmail etc. It even suggests contact matches and acts as a log for calls, text messages, emails and status updates all within one hub of the interface design.

The Music and video hub has all the content in one place meaning users do not have to switch from one app to another. The same goes with the Office hub and documents or the Games hub. This makes for a slick navigation experience unlike any other. Users also have the option to add individual apps as tiles on the phone’s user interface design. But this then means that you have to scroll down for longer. The tiles themselves are used by first-party apps to display information. For example, an app for an alarm clock will display when the alarm is supposed to go off etc. It will be interesting to see how developers combine this functionality with their apps to the phone’s interface design.

Interfaces designs are sweet, but those uncluttered

Are sweeter:  which is a reason why users stay on

When a website is clear it becomes more endear’d

Leading to increased visits and subjective satisfaction

Being used with great ease and not wanting to leave

Accomplishing tasks with minimum error scares

Knowing I can recover if something goes amiss

Though winning near the goal – yet, I do not grieve
For using this graphical user interface design is bliss
With a high level of memorability, this interface design is a breath of fresh air!

Based on “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats

The idea behind this series of blog posts is to look at famous poems and use them to shed light on issues that affect usability, wireframes, wireframing tools and user interface design. If you have some suggestions of poems that you would like for us to interpolate, please feel free to do so by leaving a comment with your request in it.

Ode to the Usability of Interface Designs

Though still unfinished pride of expertness

Thou wireframe of an interface design

A rapid paper prototype used to express

Ideas of layouts and navigation that lurk in the mind

What icons and buttons envelope thy shape

Of links and portals that strive with growth

through the fiber optic cables of an ISP

Streaming gigabytes of info with ease for you and me both

What mad pursuit ever since the struggles of Netscape

When the ripe World Wide Web became destiny

There is some debate as to whether the newest generation of iPod improvements makes them perform better or just adds some cosmetic flair and enough changes to reinvigorate the product for the public.  The truth is that the new iPods are probably a little of both: flashy and functional.  However, that seems to be Apple’s doctrine, marketing gadgets that are flashy enough to top the trends but easy and practical enough to use to sustain their popularity over a long period of time.  The fact that Apple gadgets interface easily with each other, as demonstrated by the iPod Touch Skype feature, also contributes to its secure technological reign over a court of very loyal subjects. It seems as though the new generation of iPods fits Apple’s credo like a glove and the popularity of the iPod in all its forms shows no sign of decline among consumers.

A while ago, the iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Nano user interface designs were all subjected to a variety of tweaks by Apple, although the iPod Classic model was left as is.  The changes are meant to boost usability, intrigue new and old customers, and make the new generation of iPods more accesible than ever. Some of the new developments for each product include:

•    iPod Nano: Smaller size, added touch screen capability, lost camera.

•    iPod Shuffle: VoiceOver capacity in 25 different languages in addition to a larger size and smaller price; at $49 it is the cheapest iPod to date.

•   iPod Touch: Improved screen and battery life and a front-facing camera that allows users to make calls via Skype to iPhone 4 and other iPod Touch users.

Several weeks ago Netflix, an American a company that offers online streaming and online flat rate DVD and Blu-ray Disc rental-by-mail, released its new iPhone app that is designed to allow subscribed users to stream TV episodes and movies directly to their iPhone or iPod Touch at no additional cost.  The announcement of the new Netflix app spiked the organization’s shares by 2% and Google searches were trending towards “Netflix Android” with many Droid users wondering when Netflix would release an app for their phones.  Netflix releasing an app only for iPhone can be seen as a good marketing strategy as it makes the services that much more enticing to non-Apple users.  If and when Netflix decides to expand their application to Droids and other smartphones, users will no doubt be chomping at the bit to download it.  Another bonus is that since Netflix is a subscription based service, people may be more willing to sign-up purely to use the services on their smartphones despite the fact that the user interface design might be a challenge for older users in comparison to the larger home PC screens.

The Netflix app user interface will allow members to organize their materials by personal preferences, genres, new arrivals and individual instant queues.  Members will also be able to access their Netflix content from both 3G and Wi-Fi networks, though Wi-Fi will provide faster and more reliable streaming and downloads. So after you have finished downloading music, checking email, and Facebook stalking, you can always watch a movie on your iPhone—if you even have the time left.

With high speed internet and 3G connections, we have become so accustomed to the swift access of information that anything less than instantaneous is too slow. Perhaps nothing signifies our need for the rapid dissemination of information on the web better than Google’s new Instant Search.  As soon as users begin typing text into the Google search engine, live results will be displayed in real time.  Google claims this will save users at least 2 or 3 seconds per search because results will be provided before the inquiry is complete and users will not even have to hit the search button.

This new method of searching for information is predictive in nature which is on some level indicative of a loss of user control; results based on prediction put the power of selection into the hands of the user interface provider and not the user. The fact that Google selects search results before you have even finished typing (not to mention eliminates the finality of pushing the search button yourself) blurs the boundaries between user and interface in terms of who is in command. For a search engine this is harmless but as our insatiable need for speed and real-time activity barrels forward into the future, the concept of prediction will play a larger and larger role if interface designs continue to trend towards prophetic real-time features. How will this affect user attitudes and trends?  Will users give up autonomy in favor of speed?  Only time can answer these queries, but a good prediction is that whatever the future holds for real-time web capacities, Google will likely be on the cutting edge.