100 years of slate-itude
The silhouette of mobile devices has firmly homogenised around the anonymous rectangle. Our fond memories of clamshells, spring-loaded sliders and rotary lipstick mobiles are starting to fade. Will there ever be a time when we can get excited mobile form factors again? Or is it better that we’ve focused attention on a single form for [...]
Sensor overload
I’ve just been speaking to the guys at InvenSense about some of the sensors that they’re working on. This prototype watch makes Nike’s fuelband look like a bangle. It monitors a finer level of motion and orientation along with ambient conditions like light and humidity. This means that devices can make better guesses about context [...]
Pinch: a lovely little multi-device interaction
Sony’s MWC booth features a number of prize winners from their recent multi screen competition. One of my favourites was a simple gestural method of connecting multiple screens called Pinch. You just pinch the screens together, which draws a straight line between them both. This allows content to flow between screens as if they are [...]
Material changes
Golla is one of numerous third party case manufacturers plying its wares at Mobile World Congress. Quite apart from being a level above most others in product quality, it is also a source of insight into the trends in materials and colours which might influence mobile device hardware. Accessory manufacturer are inherently more flexible in [...]
Notes from Mobile World Congress 2012
Measures of technical prowess dominated Mobile World Congress. The event’s vocabulary was characterised by quad core 1.5 Ghz processors, 41 megapixel cameras, 720p displays and LTE network speeds, all resulting from intense competitive pressure at the high end of the device market. Users, however, will struggle to see the difference. My lasting impression of several [...]
When industry is swayed by established behaviours
In the 1890s, the majority of consumers in the Far East purchased their oil in blue tins supplied by Standard Oil, the dominant American company which had grown rapidly through its extensive control of production and distribution. However, when a competing organisation led by the Samuel Brothers was able to slash the price of oil [...]
Preview of MEX, 30th Nov – 1st Dec, London
> The 10th international MEX opens in 2 weeks. Join, learn, create. 30th November & 1st December | London MEX defines the cutting edge of mobile user experience through curated Pathways, expert speakers and facilitated workshops. Participation represents an investment in expanding your knowledge and your network: Create new ideas with the brighest minds in [...]
Meet the speakers: Franco Papeschi
After introducing new thinking as a speaker and Pathway #7 leader at the last MEX, Franco returns to lead the work on Pathway #13. In this role he facilitates a team using quiet design principles to reduce the visual noise of mobile interface design. His previous work on Pathway #7 set a standard for how [...]
MEX Notes: Microsoft makes every surface a touch screen
Source article: Microsoft makes every surface a touch screen MEX note: Hrvoje Benko and Scott Saponas at Microsoft Research have created a prototype display which uses a pico projector and motion sensing technology to project a touch screen onto almost any surface. MEX alumni will recall the December 2010 session from Greg Taylor of TigerSpike, [...]
MEX Notes: Gestures appropriate to context
Source article: Gestures appropriate to context MEX note: This article from Engadget has a very interesting video at the bottom of the page. Take a look at the touch gestures the demonstrator is using to control the navigation application on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Now have a think about how easy it is to [...]
