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Archive for category iPhone

Observing, Recording, and Sharing Usability Studies on Mobile Apps

Feb 16

Posted by Todd in HCI, iPhone, Software, User Interface | Comments off

When doing usability studies on websites or Windows or OSX applications, it’s easy to see what’s going on on-screen since you can just split the video signal to a display in another room and into some recording equipment. However, when doing usability studies on mobile apps, it can even be hard for the moderator to see what’s going on, since mobile device screens are relatively small and participants have a propensity to move them around as they perform their tasks.

For our latest mobile app project, I decided to get creative about how we record and allow remote observers for our sessions. We don’t have a big hardware or software budget for usability equipment, plus, I’m thrifty. icon smile Observing, Recording, and Sharing Usability Studies on Mobile Apps

I put together a pretty reasonable workflow that worked really well this past week.
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Set Lark on Sleep! Day 31

Jul 17

Posted by Todd in iPhone, Sleep, Software | 1 Comment

So, it’s been a little longer than I had thought, but here’s the completion of my review of the Lark. In short, I think it’s a great alarm clock, but I’m not so sure about it’s ability to help improve your sleep.

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Mea Culpa: CDMA iPhone

Jun 11

Posted by Todd in iPhone | Comments off

BTW, just a follow up on my previous prediction from last fall that Apple would not release a CDMA iPhone. I was totally wrong. Money talks.

Lark Up! – Day 1

Jun 11

Posted by Todd in iPhone, Sleep, Software | 1 Comment

What Is It?

Lark is a sleep monitor / alarm clock device hardware device and iPhone app combination. The hardware is a small bluetooth pod that you wear on a wristband while you sleep and a combination phone dock / Lark pod charging station. They also include a dock which holds your iPhone and has charging ports for both the the Lark and a USB port.  While there is only an iPhone app at the moment, the USB port could be used to charge any smart phone.

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Google / iPhone / MS Exchange syncing

Jun 29

Posted by Todd in iPhone | Comments off

I was very excited that iOS 4 would include support for multiple exchange accounts. Previously, I had my phone syncing with google mobile sync as an exchange service and my work exchange account synced as an imap service. This allowed me to sync email, calendar, and contacts from google and email from work. However, when someone invited me to a meeting at work, I could not open the invite b/c of the limitations of the iPhone’s mail app when hooked into an imap account. Read the rest of this entry »

Cheap iPad stand

May 5

Posted by Todd in Ergonomics, iPhone | Comments off

I think this would work as a cheap iPad stand: wire plate / book holder for less than $10. Using this w/ a bluetooth keyboard would make it a lot more ergonomic, as then the iPad could be raised to a more appropriate height use as a monitor. It should make using it for longer periods of time less stressful.

41v0g14uOAL. SL500 AA300 150x150 Cheap iPad stand

Why Apple Will Not Release a CDMA iPhone in the US

Apr 29

Posted by Todd in iPhone | 1 Comment

  1. Verizon was offered the iPhone first and turned it down.
  2. Verizon historically exerts more control over their handsets than Apple would be comfortable with.
  3. The Verizon DROID ad campaign has been totally anti-iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »

Android vs iPhone: it’s all about the user experience

Apr 25

Posted by Todd in Android, iPhone | Comments off

I had tried out the G1 at T-Mobile stores, but really wasn’t impressed. It has a lot of similar features as the iPhone, but it was a lot less polished and not quite as logically lain out.

Android hardware has gotten a lot better since then. The OS has improved quite a bit as well. A friend of mine has a DROID that was just updated to Android 2.1 and I notice that a lot of the list scrolling (such as in the app management screen) and the zooming in and out in the maps app is definitely not as smooth as the iPhone. The whole Android experience is more complex. It feels more like Linux, which I suppose is not surprising. Prior to buying my iPhone 3GS, I spent a lot of time at the Apple store and at the T-Mobile store trying out both phones.

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Anecdote About the Pre

Apr 15

Posted by Todd in iPhone, Palm | Comments off

Here’s an anecdote about the Pre. Last night I was at a networking event and we had to send an email out to the attendees with an update to the directions prior to the meeting. My colleague has a Pre. I was trying to send out an email using the registration site we use and couldn’t edit the rich text form with Mobile Safari. So I asked my colleague if I could try on his Pre. And it worked, but only because the site changed the text field to plain text. He said that was the first time that he could do something on the Pre that couldn’t be done on an iPhone and that usually it was the converse.

So, I’m happy I didn’t get a Pre.

I wonder who will end up buying Palm. Cisco, HTC, Nokia? I’m not sure why any of them would want it. And neither is this guy.

Verizon’s Understanding of Android Multitasking

Apr 14

Posted by Todd in Android, iPhone | Comments off

Since the announcement of iPhone OS 4.0, I’ve been reading up in more detail about multitasking on the various mobile platforms. John Gruber posted an elegant explanation about how the iPhone’s new multitasking feature will be very similar to Android’s existing one. Read the rest of this entry »