Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe • Hacker News Board

Re: Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

#41

Post by shmerl » Fri, Dec 20, 2013, 1:00 AM UTC

Pxtl wrote: post #31

contextual wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Jolla UI looks and behaves similar to the Blackberry 10 OS, which is a good thing, and an improvement on Android and iOS. I have a Blackberry Z30[1] and I don't think I could go back to the "old way" of using a smartphone. BB 10 feels like a true smartphone experience, as subjective as that is. [1] http://ca.blackberry.com/smartphones/blackberry-z30.html

Which means it could face the one of the same challenges as BB10 - these global gestures are very demo-unit-unfriendly. You go to a store and pick up a BB10 device and you're freaking lost with no visible buttons or UI to use. A non-discoverable interface on a device this late to the party is not going to be good for market-share.

It is pretty discoverable through a tutorial which is offered for all new users. If you skip it - things can be initially harder.

Re: Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

#42

Post by shmerl » Fri, Dec 20, 2013, 1:11 AM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #38

Pxtl wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which means it could face the one of the same challenges as BB10 - these global gestures are very demo-unit-unfriendly. You go to a store and pick up a BB10 device and you're freaking lost with no visible buttons or UI to use. A non-discoverable interface on a device this late to the party is not going to be good for market-share.

I remember that was my first experience with the Nokia N9 (spiritual and technical predecessor of the Jolla phone). At the store, I picked it up, turned it around a few times to confirm that there are indeed no buttons, then tried tapping the screen all over but it stubbornly displayed only a screensaver. Later someone told me that I was supposed to rapidly tap twice in one place (like a double-click on the mouse) to…

The point is, once you figure out what to do, you really appreciate the comfort of such interface.

Re: Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

#43

Post by Pxtl » Fri, Dec 20, 2013, 1:32 AM UTC

shmerl wrote: post #41

Pxtl wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which means it could face the one of the same challenges as BB10 - these global gestures are very demo-unit-unfriendly. You go to a store and pick up a BB10 device and you're freaking lost with no visible buttons or UI to use. A non-discoverable interface on a device this late to the party is not going to be good for market-share.

It is pretty discoverable through a tutorial which is offered for all new users. If you skip it - things can be initially harder.

I've checked out the two BB10 Blackberry devices at various cellphone kiosks - the first two times I got lost not knowing the gestures, the 3rd time I knew from reading online. After three kiosks, I still have never seen the tutorial. Obviously I would see it if I bought one, but first I need to decide to buy one.

That can't be good for BB.

Re: Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

#44

Post by shmerl » Fri, Dec 20, 2013, 2:10 AM UTC

Pxtl wrote: post #43

shmerl wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is pretty discoverable through a tutorial which is offered for all new users. If you skip it - things can be initially harder.

I've checked out the two BB10 Blackberry devices at various cellphone kiosks - the first two times I got lost not knowing the gestures, the 3rd time I knew from reading online. After three kiosks, I still have never seen the tutorial. Obviously I would see it if I bought one, but first I need to decide to buy one. That can't be good for BB.

I meant it's discoverable in Jolla. They offer a tutorial. There should be a way to view it again probably, in case you aren't using a completely new installation.

Re: Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

#45

Post by Pxtl » Fri, Dec 20, 2013, 2:28 AM UTC

shmerl wrote: post #44

Pxtl wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've checked out the two BB10 Blackberry devices at various cellphone kiosks - the first two times I got lost not knowing the gestures, the 3rd time I knew from reading online. After three kiosks, I still have never seen the tutorial. Obviously I would see it if I bought one, but first I need to decide to buy one. That can't be good for BB.

I meant it's discoverable in Jolla. They offer a tutorial. There should be a way to view it again probably, in case you aren't using a completely new installation.

BB10 has a similar tutorial. As I said, it's never turned on in store demo units.