Comments on: Exploring a Web Phone: Getting Physical http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/ -- aza | ɐzɐ -- Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:11:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Moody Loner http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3993 Moody Loner Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:41:28 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3993 For me personally, the "physical" design of the phone is far less important than the software running it - my ratio would be 70/30 in favour of the OS/apps over phone size, shape and weight any day(a la G1) I like where this is going though, and I am using the G1 at the moment and it is somewhat restricted by the design (poor battery life for example) but the main thing is that; and this goes for ALL phones which interact with the web; the size of the screen and the resolution needed for a readable webpage are never going to be compatible at the sizes they[screens] are at the minute. Even mobile specific sites are poorly formatted compared to pages that laptops and even netbooks (7"+) screens can display. Looking at the design presented, do the hard keys really need to be there? How about virtual OLED keys, they can change at will and provide more screen real estate that a hard set would take up. If, like UMAIR mentioned, you implement a plastic keyboard over the screen for tactility you would have the best of both options - why not have it flexible enough to be rolled under / over from the bottom of the screen (concealing the main part of the keyboard inside the back of the phone) to slide over the screen and back in again when the user doesn't require it. Sort of like the way a roller shutter works, except - this keeps the keyboard flat when not in use. If you look at the G1 keyboard for example, the actual height of the keys from the body is very slight - why couldn't this be implemented in a plastic overlay? You could also design the virtual icons to rotate when in landscape mode with no need to change the orientation of the keyboard. Just a thought... For me personally, the “physical” design of the phone is far less important than the software running it - my ratio would be 70/30 in favour of the OS/apps over phone size, shape and weight any day(a la G1)

I like where this is going though, and I am using the G1 at the moment and it is somewhat restricted by the design (poor battery life for example) but the main thing is that; and this goes for ALL phones which interact with the web; the size of the screen and the resolution needed for a readable webpage are never going to be compatible at the sizes they[screens] are at the minute. Even mobile specific sites are poorly formatted compared to pages that laptops and even netbooks (7″+) screens can display.

Looking at the design presented, do the hard keys really need to be there? How about virtual OLED keys, they can change at will and provide more screen real estate that a hard set would take up. If, like UMAIR mentioned, you implement a plastic keyboard over the screen for tactility you would have the best of both options - why not have it flexible enough to be rolled under / over from the bottom of the screen (concealing the main part of the keyboard inside the back of the phone) to slide over the screen and back in again when the user doesn’t require it. Sort of like the way a roller shutter works, except - this keeps the keyboard flat when not in use. If you look at the G1 keyboard for example, the actual height of the keys from the body is very slight - why couldn’t this be implemented in a plastic overlay? You could also design the virtual icons to rotate when in landscape mode with no need to change the orientation of the keyboard.

Just a thought…

]]> By: Philip Ganchev http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3955 Philip Ganchev Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:55:56 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3955 I have always found it so ridiculous how uncomfortable it is to hold a phone and punch the buttons with the thumb of the same hand. The grip is very loose and the curve of the thumb is very unnatural. So I thought a lot about how to make that more comfortable. One of my designs has the buttons above the screen rather than below. This is much easier to hold. The obvious objection is that you have to look lower than your hand. I don't find that a problem, so I think it warrants user testing. Another objection is that the palm partly obscures the screen. To avoid that, the phone could be slightly curved to put the screen out of the way. I have always found it so ridiculous how uncomfortable it is to hold a phone and punch the buttons with the thumb of the same hand. The grip is very loose and the curve of the thumb is very unnatural. So I thought a lot about how to make that more comfortable. One of my designs has the buttons above the screen rather than below. This is much easier to hold.

The obvious objection is that you have to look lower than your hand. I don’t find that a problem, so I think it warrants user testing. Another objection is that the palm partly obscures the screen. To avoid that, the phone could be slightly curved to put the screen out of the way.

]]> By: Tobias http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3942 Tobias Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:48:50 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3942 I dont want the phone to 'be' the web. I want it to be integrated into my own processes and flexible to adapt to them. Therefore I want it to be extandable on hardware and software side. For excample: It it has a camera, I want to use it to take pictures to store on the phone. But also to be able to allow the flickr webpage to use the camera. Or to connect the phone with my computer to use the phones cam as a webcam. Or the other way around if i have a better camera, nearby, tell the phone to use this one instead for the pictures... The same excample can be told with recording audio or playing audio... So what we need is massiv standarisation so that a all the device-creator can build uppon this standard... ps: sorry for the bad english :) I dont want the phone to ‘be’ the web. I want it to be integrated into my own processes and flexible to adapt to them. Therefore I want it to be extandable on hardware and software side. For excample: It it has a camera, I want to use it to take pictures to store on the phone. But also to be able to allow the flickr webpage to use the camera. Or to connect the phone with my computer to use the phones cam as a webcam. Or the other way around if i have a better camera, nearby, tell the phone to use this one instead for the pictures…
The same excample can be told with recording audio or playing audio…

So what we need is massiv standarisation so that a all the device-creator can build uppon this standard…

ps: sorry for the bad english :)

]]> By: umair http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3941 umair Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:50:15 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3941 balancing a full touchscreen with a physical qwerty keyboard is simple: a plastic cover that snaps onto the screen. you press the plastic button which in turn presses the screen. no electronics in the plastic keypad which allows it to be extremely thin. however, it still provides the tactile feedback that the touchscreens forego. in the case of this change-on-the-fly prototype, the plastic buttons could be clear, so you could see through them to the screen. balancing a full touchscreen with a physical qwerty keyboard is simple: a plastic cover that snaps onto the screen. you press the plastic button which in turn presses the screen. no electronics in the plastic keypad which allows it to be extremely thin. however, it still provides the tactile feedback that the touchscreens forego.

in the case of this change-on-the-fly prototype, the plastic buttons could be clear, so you could see through them to the screen.

]]> By: skrat http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3933 skrat Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:03:39 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3933 this is silly, what are physical buttons with icons for? we have touchscreen for icons, the only case where physical buttons are usable is QWERTY keyboard, for input. keys with OLED display are cool, yeah, they are so cool. but not usable. tactile feedback is nice, but not in this form/context. this is fugly this is silly, what are physical buttons with icons for? we have touchscreen for icons, the only case where physical buttons are usable is QWERTY keyboard, for input.

keys with OLED display are cool, yeah, they are so cool. but not usable.

tactile feedback is nice, but not in this form/context. this is fugly

]]> By: Sam Hasler http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3931 Sam Hasler Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:15:03 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3931 A touch screen that looks flat but feels bumpy so you can tell where your fingers are on it without looking. A touch screen that looks flat but feels bumpy so you can tell where your fingers are on it without looking.

]]> By: Dan Cardin http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3928 Dan Cardin Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:10:36 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3928 I am actually quite liking the look of that phone :P. The interface is as simple as you want it. when browing the internet, or something similar you could use bookmarks, history, tabs, most used sites, etc all with only the buttons. It would have to be a customizeable type phone, which being called the moz phone automatically will make it so. I am actually quite liking the look of that phone :P. The interface is as simple as you want it. when browing the internet, or something similar you could use bookmarks, history, tabs, most used sites, etc all with only the buttons.
It would have to be a customizeable type phone, which being called the moz phone automatically will make it so.

]]> By: tylerstyle http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3927 tylerstyle Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:34:26 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3927 No keys (only tiny power button on top), only screen, black back, almost no edges on front, fennec with gestures, running on android. Thats how! Ahhhh, dreams... No keys (only tiny power button on top), only screen, black back, almost no edges on front, fennec with gestures, running on android. Thats how!

Ahhhh, dreams…

]]> By: sep332 http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/exploring-a-web-phone-getting-physical/#comment-3926 sep332 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:10:18 +0000 http://www.azarask.in/blog/?p=359#comment-3926 How about a small, thin, flexible computer encased in a sturdy plastic cover with the words "Don't Panic" inscribed on it in large, friendly letters? http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/gallery/images/1024/babel3.html How about a small, thin, flexible computer encased in a sturdy plastic cover with the words “Don’t Panic” inscribed on it in large, friendly letters?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/gallery/images/1024/babel3.html

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