The #DroidExperience: One Week In

Background

Being in college has any number of complications, one of those being the cost of virtually anything. In that respect, I've stuck with being on my family's cell phone plan, which was on a feature phone on U.S. Cellular. Almost two weeks ago I got notified we were switching networks to Verizon, and in the process getting smart phones. Hit on me at the moment of purchase, I didn't truly get a say in device, family already getting sold on the Droid Razr, one of the premier Android devices on that network. With that, I was forced into the Android ecosystem, and the mess that it is.

Experience

Getting the device almost a week and a half ago, the initial process of getting the phone setup was definitely different, the loading sequence featuring the ever present and overly tech looking DROID eyeball animation and a big plastered advertisement of its dual core power.

After you get past the initial branding, you get thrown into what you'd expect. Plug in your Google Account information, as well as plug in your social networks. Yes, it has social networking support - sort of. In what feels to be a Windows Phone want-to-be experience, Motorola includes a "Social Networking" application to be the center of your Facebook and Twitter worlds, as well as gadgets to let you quickly view what's happening on each network, plus another to post to the ones you want.

Please.

If you've used a Windows Phone, the experience is seemless. The networks feel like they're meant to be part of the phone, not some glued on accessory that someone thought would be a good idea. It just performs horribly on the Droid, scrolling jumps as things want to load, and how anyone could use it is beyond me. Maybe it works if you have a couple friends and follow a handful on Twitter?

So, squash that, and jump into the app experience. Run to Google Play, whose name seems like a sad excuse to avoid getting Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft mad, and get your Facebook and Twitter apps, both official, both actually quite well built. For that matter, you CAN actually find them in the store, something that far too common isn't possible on the Windows Phone.

Compared to the Windows Phone experience, Facebook pushes much more of the Timeline experience, the app appearing to show information much like you'd think of it on the website. Lacking Windows Phone's creative use of type, it does work as an app, but it doesn't have that futuristic, information driven feel that I've come to love.

Jump over to Twitter and I get reminded of what your regular Twitter experience is vs. that of Rowi on Windows Phone. Just to use the phrase, the UI is very information dense, crammed full of data in boxes with boxes of boxes next to boxes with icons and gloss and boxes. It works, something I never denied about iOS or Android, but it isn't really that interesting. Where the Android experience gains a point is that the apps simply feel snappier, both Facebook and Rowi seeming to have to load data every time they are opened, something that The Verge made note of in their review of the Lumia 900 and was roundly criticized of.

Apps

Where the platforms shows its dominance over Windows Phone would be in apps. Yes, there is the numbers game that Android has x-hundred thousand apps, but where this really matters is when it has those select apps that are truly worth while.

In my experience, my interest in apps is largely in social, something which sees more activity on both Android and iOS sadly. While Windows Phone has premium Facebook and Twitter support, what I can on Android is the benefit of more niche social networks, Instagram having an official app vs. only explorer on the Windows Phone, and then Path and Pair, both which don't exist on the Windows Phone platform. The problem here is that getting these niche apps depends upon breaking through the niche audience that the platform currently has, something I'm not sure Microsoft knows how to breach - other than paying developers to make apps.

Now, at the same time, the app experience can be plain worse. I have no clue how, but WeatherFlow, a beautiful app on Windows Phone, looks absolutely horrible on Android. The type they used is different, likely a platform issue, but placement on their widget is plain horrible, and it's oddly sized compared to anything else I have.

Also, don't kid yourself into thinking that Android or iOS escape the garbage pit of the app world. I've been plain disappointed in the apps available from Bloomberg, CNBC, most third party podcast players, not to mention that music players seem to universally suck on this platform.

Summary

Coming from the Windows Phone world, Android is a bit of an eye opening experience. While the platform lacks the solid look and feel, as well as social integration of Windows Phone, the platform benefits from having a rich app catalog, whatever you search for likely providing you an option in app form. At the same time, something about either the hardware or the software makes apps snappier, though that does not forgive how many times I've seen apps crash.

Like I tweeted...

It's like a Windows 9x machine. You do too much at once, random things start failing. 

It's absolutely maddening that if I want to change an icon on the dock-like bottom bar on my Droid RAZR the phone literally freezes, FREEZES, for two seconds before providing a list of what I can put in place. This isn't even account for the random freezes changing icons on different screens, or moving icons, or moving widgets, or just doing things that simply shouldn't freeze a dual core phone.

It is a Windows 9x machine! Seriously!

Does it work? Absolutely. Does it beat Windows Phone? In some ways yes, in many others no. The question I have to ask is if the upcoming ICS upgrade will improve it, or of this phone is destined to be an imperfect mess for the next two years I have stuck with it.

For more, feel free to check the #droidexperience hashtag on Twitter, or check back for what will likely be a continuing series of frustration and love.

Making a better InstaCam

One of my favorite apps on my Windows Phone at the moment would have to be InstaCam. (view in online marketplace)

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making-a-better-instacam-wibqGysyaDhtoGvstubr.zip (459 KB)

Now, the weakness of this application, if nothing else, is loose design.

Primary UI

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making-a-better-instacam-HyrjbAsauhutfgDucxwv.zip (1.99 MB)

In terms of the look and feel, I've gone through above and experimented with what some minor tweaks, as well as one major one, could do to the experience visually. Changes include:

• Removing the background with the user's color scheme
• Changing font used for app title, as well as making use of accent color
• Adjusting the spacing for each element within a "feed" image
• Adding an action list with the primary app functions
• Removing search from the panorama

In terms of justifying these ideas, the removal of the background, plus use of the accent, would assist in making the app feel more like the user's own chosen experience phone-wide.  Adjusting the spacing assists in adhering to the phone's default grid, making the app appear of higher quality as well as display content better. The action list seems a key feature, the idea of a user being able to slide left to easily get to option a nice advantage over an app bar in an already quite consumed screen, as well as removal of search stems from how, in part, apps aren't recommended to put too much content on a panorama control.

Photo UI

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making-a-better-instacam-bueavcqvkcCgaizGwcbs.zip (872 KB)

The next major UI present in this app is the Photo view, seen when you select any picture from any section of the application.

Presently three different pages, this part of the apps design is likely the most troublesome and in need of some assistance.  As it stands currently, the app displays a fair amount of content, but does it sloppily, not adhering to the grid, as well as not adhering to the user's color choices or overall color scheme.  Additionally, the user has to dive onto another page to view comments or likes, something which could be viewed more easily in a different way.

In going a different direction, what would be interesting to see here would be the use of a Pivot control, allowing a user to slide left and right between the view of the image with description, the people who have liked it, and the comments.  What this would assist in is allowing the user to view the comments in a meaningful way, vs. in an overly cramp, hard to read form.  The issue present with this concept, I'll admit, is that the way to favorite or comment would not be easily visible, only being viewable by clicking the button to expand the menu.  This would be remedied by either keeping the app bar present and tightening the spacing slightly, or simply accepting that the user will need to scroll some to view content.

Profiles

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making-a-better-instacam-jwGtbHpDssqcDIGokBye.zip (1.1 MB)

Presently a mixture of pages and a Panorama, the issues here stem in alignment, as well as improper use of the Panorama control.  The Panorama control should only be used once in an app, and that use should be out front, as the front page.  When a situation calls for multiple pages of information, the best control that could likely be used would be a pivot.  This situation would be a prime candidate for that, which I present in my concept.

Transforming the Profile view itself, as well as the photos of the user, the Pivot would also include the currently disconnected pages of followers and following.  Taking a bit of liberal inspiration from Rowi, the profile page would be reordered to focus on the name of the person, as well as their bio, before diving into their follower / following / photos stats.  Jumping to the Photos panel, the only real changes here to speak of would be the spacing corrections, otherwise the page workable.

Other Issues

In the latest updates we've seen a fair improvement for the actual gallery of effects, as well as the upload page, but there are a few issues here that need to be addressed.

Bullets vs Checkmarks On the uploads page, alignment once again matters (stick to left preferably) but the other situation here would be the use of bullets vs. checkmarks.  In terms of general practice, it's best to use bullets when you are only able to select one option, but checkmarks when you are able to make multiple ones.  Additionally, it would look close to the Metro style to remove the social networking icons.

Settings Across the App As it stands, the only way to access the social networking settings is after you've got to the upload page. It would be helpful of this was accessible app-wide by either the actions list I suggested earlier, or through something in the app bar on the main panorama.

About/News/? Pivots I'm a little confused on this part. How many Pivot controls do you presently have in this app? I think the number is two, but I'm not quite sure.  Discovering these when needed works, but it's a little confusing why multiple ones exist, and why they need to exist.

Alignment There are more pages mentioned then I've gotten to, but a universal issue across the app where you haven't touched it would continue to be alignment. Check out Bil Simser's post about your app to get a more detailed account of what improvements could be done there.

In all, the finishing touches are what truly matter in making an app look amazing on Windows Phone.  With some revisions, maybe a bit of exploration as well, InstaCam can become as good experience wise as it is functionally.

Information Density and Windows Phone

In terms of criticism of the Windows Phone, one of the more obscure, though aggravating, of the platform come from this idea of "information density."

Information density of an interface examines the compactness of an interface in terms of the amount of information. The information density metric is calculated as the quantity of visible node instances containing information divided by the screen space area of the whole interface in pixels. (source)

In terms of how this appears to be interpreted in mobile is the concept of placing as much information as possible on the screen at any time. On the iPhone, an example of this would be the border to border endless wave of photos in their photo app, or the use of the homescreen with rounded icons from border to border.

Translate this over to the Windows Phone platform and people's criticisms can be rounded up to how the Metro Design Language doesn't make use of every inch of the screen for content. Is that true? Yes, and no.

Lock Screen

Starting from the top, one of the key differences with the platform is the design of the lock screen.

Based with an image of the user's choosing, the phone always displays the time, date, as well as a calendar item when applicable. Below that would be indications of your latest e-mails, instant messages, as well as missed phone calls.

At the top we also make use of the space for anything being played in the background, as well as your phone indicators at top.

When compared with the iPhone, current or previous generations, the UI takes more of the "computer administrative debris" away with the presence of no true controls while leaving relevant content, actually enhancing the information density on the lock screen with at least three status indicators and three pieces of information.

Start/Home Screen

Move into your homescreen, and you see one of the examples of where "information density" falls.

The phone presents the user only eight tiles, vs. the twenty icons present on an iPhone, as well as only presenting the clock at the top during regular operation, vs. the always present status bar with multiple icons on the iPhone.

In terms of the iconography though, Windows Phone takes its lack of dense buttons and replaces it with live tiles, a metaphor which presents the user with relevant information that's available at a glance, enhacing one form of information density, though not that defined.  In terms of usage, the experience can be considered enhanced of the iPhone in that a user doesn't require diving into the application to know an initial layer of information.  Examples of the live tile functionality would include the number of new items in your me tile from Twitter and Facebook, the number of messages and emails you have, the weather forecast, or even your friends popping in and out of the People tile.

While the phone sacrifices a form of information density, it gains it back in presenting the user with more information per tile than an iPhone would present, or even an Android device.

Me Tile

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information-density-windowsphone-ECdclpuCvfguJsGmoica.zip (13.81 MB)

Continuing the push about information density, the way in which the phone utilizes space can be considered liberal, again pushing the density present down.  The issue with purely going off of "density" is not taking into consideration how the use of design here makes sense for the user experience.

In terms of the three sections of this 'app' experience, the Profile consists of one piece of information, matched with three different user linked options.  Pan over to the notifications section and the user faces, on average, seven different clickable links, presenting more information than the profile, though not as dense as present on other platforms.  Jump to What's New, which displays your own status and wall posts, and you can average two to five depending on the length of your messages and what content is present.

What the Metro design language here pushes is only the latest information, as well as what holds relevance at the moment you open your phone to the app.  While other platforms may push the amount of information up, the question becomes whether that's easily visible in the hand, as well as whether it actually serves a purpose for the device's user.

Apps

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information-density-windowsphone-yIxEpqgkzEFseikuqugc.zip (18.89 MB)

Where Windows Phone succeeds, and fails, in terms of information density is apps.

Created by third parties, as well as some by Microsoft themselves, the apps are quite open to follow the general look and feel of the Windows Phone experience as they see fit, something many take full advantage of.

Weather Live

A personal favorite, WeatherLive, matches the styling of Windows Phone in many ways with the use of flat color weather iconography and a reasonable background and pivot UI, but deviates in reducing the size of the navigational elements to make space for more information, thus increasing the information density of each different panel of the app.

Facebook

The Facebook app is another app which follows, to an extent, the Windows Phone motif, but deviates with the top portion of the screen used for their notification and messages, not the phone status icons, as well as an always present large symbol of the social network.  Additionally, the amount of space used between the logo/icons, plus the panorama titles, actually pulls a lot of screen space away from what could be more area for content, decreasing the information density.  The worst example, which even annoys my design eye, would have to be the view of the news feed.

Presented using the traditional form of Windows Phone hierarchy with font sizes, the issue becomes that you can typically only view one, yes one, piece of news at a time.  When compared to the integrated experience, or those on other platforms, this is extremely low.  While other apps and experiences in the phone push glance and go, the Facebook app is actually an example where you are going to be scrolling to find what you need, vs. the possibility of seeing what you need placed above the fold.

Fox News

The last app I'm including in this roundup is Fox News.

Built with a panorama, a new app design style created for Windows Phone, the UI makes a liberal use of space while, once again, reducing information density.  What this does is allow for editorial choices to be made which stories are at top and which are below, as well as providing a variety of ways to present different sections of information.

For the user, what this represents is more of a focus by the news organization of what's presented, and what simply matters.  The latest item includes a large headline image, larger headline text, and a fair description to follow.  Those following can actually amount to four to a screen view, improving the density while giving the concept of that information being less important, but still relevant to the user.  As you continue to progress down, information is once again enhanced as the amount of elements on screen is reduced.

While the platform does have a lower information density than that of iOS or Android, what you gain is a much more visually interesting experience, driven by the use of type, not by the use of distracting user interfaces and, in the words used in the video, 'computer administrative debris'

With flat color icons, limited color use, and a solid grid, the Windows Phone presents what you need up front, with beautiful hierarchy, but with less density than you'll find on other platforms.  Whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing, is personal choice.  For the casual user, less at once may be a good thing, for the power, that may be aggravating.

In the end, to each their own platform, for their own needs, and let's leave it at that.

Windows Phone: Think Different™

In truth, Think Different summarizes Windows Phone in a nutshell.

Ubiquitous Social

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windows-phone-think-differenttm-zqotwfouAunDxHCGGHhE.zip (23.62 MB)

There really is something cool when you can get Facebook in a people-centric form, sans the updates of pages you've liked, plus your Twitter stream. Converge that all into a hub and you really do get a good scope of your social media friends, from top to bottom.

Open up your own tile, or a friends, and you get instant access to their current status, all their contact information, their feed of status updates from Facebook, Twitter, and if you have it set up Linked In, as well as their pictures and history of text messages and emails with them.

In terms of messaging, this is, this is the untold story of the device. If your friend is available on Facebook, you can chat with them there. Messenger? Yup. Text Messaging? Absolutely.

With that said, the future here is interesting to say the least. With the concept of reducing steps and making things simplier, it would be interesting to see FourSquare integration here, or even the location service of Facebook to the extent of showing a friend's location, not just being able to sign in to a location. Also, since Microsoft did purchase Skype, it would be interesting to see them integrate that into the OS, something said to be coming, but not seen yet.

Gaming

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windows-phone-think-differenttm-hEHxgbJCEekwdlsotatb.zip (9.55 MB)

Achievements, need I say more?

In truth, gaming on the phone is as much fun as one would expect, all of your games easily available under the Games hub on the phone. Split between games and XBOX Live Games, the qualities can vary, but it's very much what you'll find on other platforms.

In terms of the big names, such as Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies, Fruit Ninja, and others, they fall under the umbrella of XBOX Live, supporting the option of trials, as well as achievements when you purchase the games. I can't really speak to how much time I've lost enjoying Plants vs Zombies, or Angry Birds.

Again, with that said, some of the games have the feeling that they need to be updated to support the multi-tasking ability of Mango, Angry Birds starting from the boot screen every time, and Plants vs Zombies being a touch slow to load on my Samsung Focus.

Apps

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windows-phone-think-differenttm-dDBqJgHudJojfAvrrEew.zip (19.05 MB)

First of all, let's recap the Metro Design Language and underline what this means in apps. In short, you're talking about making actions quicker to achieve, as well as reducing UI to the essential base of what's needed. Now, how many apps achieve this is extremely erratic.

Included above are some of my favorites I use on a near daily basis, including 4th & Mayor, a FourSquare client, Rowi, a Twitter client, MetroTube, a YouTube client, and WeatherLive, a weather client.

In terms of look and feel, each are quite fair to the language, respecting the light/dark and color choice of the user, WeatherLive adding a background image from Bing as well.

Now, in terms of actual simplicity and steps, that's a mix. 4th and Mayor probably tops the list due to the option of a "Check In Now" tile which actually makes checking in an almost automatic activity, followed by Rowi and MetroTube, both which make browsing their respective mediums easy. WeatherLive is a big of a mess, the app going through a UI change in the latest version to be more understandable, but still a touch too much information for a pivot UI.

Which brings up the issue with Metro, at least how people make use of it. The weakness of the language is in how people use layout styles, as well as forgetting the concept of "reducing steps". Panoramas, Pivots, and the other styles each serve a select purpose, and some apps don't understand this, such as my local news channel's King 5 app.

(download)

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windows-phone-think-differenttm-jlqHcDfiBkvqgrBAHFnn.zip (14.34 MB)

Built from an apparent template. the app includes pivots throughout to the amount of over 80. 80! This isn't to mention the point that as a template there's pieces that are broken, presenting just a simple block with a paper icon indicating something I'm not quite sure of. Add to that the point that it features ads and it's just a deal breaker.

(download)

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windows-phone-think-differenttm-jsktpDbEwnczeEhrqJzF.zip (14.34 MB)

On the other end of the scale, you have a third party app like BBC News Mobile which really present's a news organization in a great way. Starting out a user in a panorama with the latest stories listed right in front, a user can also view tiles with imagery of the story, or even dive into the feeds they choose. Once you jump in, you get a long feed of stories, and diving into any one of them presents the story, as well as imagery when possible. Elegant.

Aggravating? You bet. Deal breaker. Nah, you just avoid the bad ones.

Part 2 To Come...

Windows Phone: Initial Thoughts

So, I finally have one of these things, and what can I say? I'm in love.

From the start screen alone, it's fascinating to actually see a Windows Phone with your own content, your own customizations, and make the little chimes and vibrations as messages come in.

The other piece, what's in the picture above, are Groups. Built out of your People hub, each of these serve a purpose for me, keeping track of what's happening with family, classmates, news, Microsoft, as well as a group of Twitter folk I enjoy.  On occasion, it's actually fun to see how the profile pictures cycle through and create ... interesting people, like the hybrid bunny and boy on the bottom left there.

(download)

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windows-phone-initial-thoughts-JvcvdhfEskpEcqdhjidF.zip (763 KB)

Overall, it's something to have one of these to call your own, pictures of friends flipping about in Group tiles, or going through your People and Pictures hubs noticing pictures you've never seen before. Oh, and Zune, Zune exploration is great on this larger screen, though the odd tidbits that are missing are, well, signs of how foreign Zune is at Microsoft I suppose.

Still, a few days in and I'm in love. There are quirks, minor issues here and there, but I'm amazed. With any luck, I should have a review-type post up here soon.