The early flood of iPad applications has been an interesting
experiment in seeing not only individuals take to the new form factor, but how
developers / content publishers intend to deliver applications, experiences,
and content optimize for this combination of form factor and interface
metaphor. Neither the slate nor the iPhone interface are new; the combination
in this size is, and the rapid realization when you start using it is that
unlike some other Apple efforts on the interface engineering side, something
about Apple’s own applications don’t feel quite right.
From touch and gestures to orientation and even rotation,
Apple has sacrificed the elegant simplicity of the single button mouse days for
flexibility. The result can be quite frustrating, and feels less like interaction and more like, well, experimentation, as more and
more of the interface becomes gestural, with you manipulating the device
itself vs. the interface on the screen as we’ve become accustomed to in our
interactions with computing devices to date.
Case in point – Apple’s Pages for iPad; in addition to the
frustration I encountered at discovering the compromises made, like the subset
of features vs. actual desktop pages application, the decision to only make the
top menu visible while in portrait mode, when the optimal orientation for
typing is landscape mode, seems like an odd choice of compromise. At first I
found it a novel approach – the interface gets out of my way while I’m typing.
But then when I actually began to use it as I typically use a word processing
application, I quickly realized that among the iPad’s many compromises is not
only that of established convention – it really is an adjustment to the way you
interact, since you’ll do things here you’d never do on the mobile devices that
previously shared this same interface – and the need to learn all new
behaviors. It’s more jarring than one realizes and begs the question of whether
to prioritize familiarity or form factor for certain applications.
Another example is the iPad vs. the iPhone for casual gaming. While I was incredibly excited to see games developed to take advantage of the larger form factor, I still enjoy playing Scrabble more on my iPhone
than I do on my iPad. The iPad seems to have the clear advantage – larger
screen, no need to zoom in and out of the board when playing. Yet I enjoy the
experience less. It could be that for a casual game of that nature, the form
factor quickly becomes and inconvenience, especially in certain environments –
like a crowded commuter train in the mornings.
The change in the experience of interactions with the iPad
means a whole new way of working, and it’s yet to be seen if people adapt to
the compromises iPad developers (and Apple itself) are making in order to
accommodate the form factor. One thing we can be assured of if that we’ll soon begin
to see that the applications that become truly successful on the iPad are the
ones people find both useful and usable.