By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Akvod on 03 December 2013
Edit Thread
Pemalite said:
Akvod said:

 

Secondly: the most used functions should be always accessible, period. When a user picks up a phone with a specific task in mind, his path to complete that task should be as optimized as possible.


You pin what you use most often to the start screen.
You can also customise the tiles size and colour.
You can even apply a picture across all your tiles.
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/tiler/a28a37f8-48a5-429c-b8e7-fd04e1ccf5da

If you have tons of apps, just flick the screen to the left, click a letter and find what you want.
It's easy and accessible.
My grandmother finds it easier to use than iOS and Android, Personally I am probably classed as a "Power user" and have no drama's.

 

But the point of the docks with iOS and Android is that they stay with you no matter how much you scroll horizontally (or vertically in WP's case).

Another gripe I have is that whereas with the iOS you swipe through fixed pages of apps, you progressively scroll seamlessly through WP. Now, seamless sounds like a really nice word, but it sucks because it makes it hard to orient yourself and everything is always in a different position. 

It's also just not the tile size and color. It's the fucking little things like how close everything is, the flat design that makes it hard to instantly distinguish one app from another (and ew, that fucking photo background thing).

 

The thing about UI's is that it shouldn't be about how much of a "Power" user you are. UI's are supposed to be as unconscious as possible. They're not supposed to fucking be at the forefront of your attention (now that I think about it, that might be one of the fundamental reason why iOS is so bad. It was created and designed to BE at the center of attention. To be eye catching.) UI's are supposed to naturally guide a person and assist them do what they want. A UI's a fucking failure if your grandma can't use it. If a cat can use your iOS, it's a success.

The search thing is fucking stupid. The 80/20 rule. 80% of things you do are done with 20% of things. That's why you have top menus with the most used functions. That's why the Start Menu had your most used apps instantly there in a small isolated group, rather than in a sea of similar looking icons.

I guess my biggest fucking gripe with flat design is that a big part of design is creating visual HIERARCHY. Again, back to the 80/20 rule. SOME THINGS ARE IMPORTANT, OTHER THINGS AREN'T. How the fuck are you supposed to do that by making everything look the same?!?!?!

It's just really frusturating with both WP and iOS when it seems like the people who designed them put no fucking care in usability, and selfishely chose style.

Pemalite said:

 

Akvod said:

 

Fourthly: no folders. Only an alphabetical app list. For example, if you need to access multiple apps you often use together quickly, you can't have them sitting next to each other on a folder. You're forced to scroll up and down the list every time. Instead of having connected apps next to each other, you're forced to make the connections in your head, which is cumbersome and needlessly taxing, once again all because of consistency.


Well. You have "App folders" - Pin that to your start screen and throw all your most used apps into it. 
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/app-folder/1a248adb-1429-45ea-a507-f3d5f4cad58c


I love the UI, it works fantastic on a phone. I'm not a fan of it however on Desktops and Laptops and it's "alright" on a tablet.
The OS isn't going to be for everyone though, the more hard core enthusiasts should stick to Android.

Is that by Microsoft? It looks like it's from Samsung. And why isn't it pre-installed? To me, 3'rd party apps are no excuse for having a bad UI.