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Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

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31–40 of 93 posts

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#31
With regard to tactile feedback, I think it's rather a learned experience. People who have never used phone-sized physical keyboards (like myself) won't care much about "losing" that experience.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#32
post #26
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did say "2007" in the title...

I added it after his complaint.

Funny it ended up with the same title I gave it the first time I typed it. I like thinking of articles like this as a failed present that never happened, because I find that to be a deeper way of considering wrong predictions. That's the reason for the title as I wrote it, but straightforward works too. ;)

I do give the guy credit for making a call though, just not sure I'd buy his book.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#34
post #2

> The designers and technophiles who encouraged development of the iPhone have fallen into the trap of all overreaching hardware and software designers; thinking that their users are like themselves. Actually, I think both the worst and the best designers think their users are like them. It's just that the best ones are right.

The best designers have an accurate mental model of their users. In their mind, they can put their product in the hand of the 30 year old floor manager at the Borders at the mall and predict what will happen with shocking accuracy.

They can predict it because they've watched the floor manager interact with past products in the usability lab dozens of times.

And because they have watched that person dozens of times, they know that even thought they can predict extremely well how that person will react, they know they have to run tests anyway, because the best designers know how often they've been surprised in the past.

The best designers have a great mental model of their users, and know when to use it.

The worst designers just use themselves as a model of their users, and their designs are accordingly screwy.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#35
post #13

This guy made a guess and also picked a title likely to engender some debate or get page views. Good for him I guess as he took a stand. Unfortunately, he was totally off the mark. All this proves is the best strategies and ideas are usually written after the fact. Once something works, it gets celebrated, becomes a best practice, becomes a subject of books, and companies with no interest in creativity assume they ca…

You've got to admit that Apple has an uncanny ability to find such things though. It's no random event.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#36
"The user has to interrupt her blissful reverie, open her eyes, come back visually to the yucky airplane that the beautiful music from the iPhone has been helping her escape. She then has to pick the phone up in one hand, lift it up to where she can see it, use her other hand to press the forward button, and put the phone back down. Instead of a one-hand, no eye operation, it's a two-hand, two-eye operation."

Or you can just double-click the button on the earbuds. One-hand, no eye operation.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#38

"... users will detest the touch screen interface due to its lack of tactile feedback ..." is like saying "... people watching moving picture films will reject the experience due to its lack of olfactory feedback ..." Still waiting on that smell-o-vision...

tactile was certainly a poor choice of words- but nobody can deny there is room for improvement. i still can't type without looking.

Re: Why the iPhone will fail (2007)

#39

"... users will detest the touch screen interface due to its lack of tactile feedback ..." is like saying "... people watching moving picture films will reject the experience due to its lack of olfactory feedback ..." Still waiting on that smell-o-vision...

tactile was certainly a poor choice of words- but nobody can deny there is room for improvement. i still can't type without looking.

it's really not that hard. the buttons are always in the same place

i can type with like 70% accuracy without looking on the iphone, with 1 hand

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