Thread: Glad there is no universal portrait support
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TrackSol is offline TrackSol
2009-09-28 , 05:34
Posts: 4 | Thanked: 3 times | Joined on Sep 2009
#64
Originally Posted by ogahyellow View Post
Creating the dashboard and widgets with both landscape and portrait mode support seems like a real pain. The widgets are not grid aligned like on many competitors, so rotating could cause some confusing moments.
I agree. Regardless of the method used to rotate the screen (automatic or user directed), how will the items on the desktop rearrange themselves? IMHO this will make the UI look ugly and inconsitant.

Originally Posted by ogahyellow View Post
The big thing to me is that there are only 4 use cases that are personally relevant for portrait mode.
  1. Phone
  2. Calculator
  3. Note tablet w/ stylus
  4. Music player
I can imagine visually pleasing and effective landscape layouts for all of these.

One thing to consider is when using the device, how often will the user be required to switch between landscape and portrait because this will make the user fumble with the device quite a lot. For example, currently the phone application is fixed to portrait. Contacts is in landscape. So every time you place a call you're switching from landscape to portrait and back. If you're in an application and a call comes in, again, same thing. IMHO this is very inconvenient.

I do see the one handed convenience of potrait mode however there doesn't seem to be a good solution accepted by all. Each suggested implementation creates its own set of problems. Thus I believe a single layout throughout the UI is ideal as it results in the least amount of difficulties and problems.

Originally Posted by christexaport View Post
ogahyellow, assuming those are the only relevant portrait mode use cases totally ignores one of the greatest devices of the decade, the N95, which ushered in the totally portrait mobile computing we see today. You can do ANYthing in portrait with relative ease and convenience, as the N95 showed.
I don't have any experience with the N95, however it seems like there is no other option than to use that device in portrait mode. If you don't have to switch layouts then you will learn to be efficient with the device by force and not by choice. I'm not saying that potrait doesn't have it's uses. I'm only saying that having a device that can support both creates a headache for programmers and an inconvenience for users (no matter how cool it looks the first few times you auto rotate).

Originally Posted by christexaport View Post
You might need to research the N95 and N97's rabid user base and find out exactly what can be done in one hand in portrait nowadays.
The N97's home screen's widgets are laid out in a grid pattern that is fixed in either layout. Additionaly, the UI in symbian isn't as flexible as Maemo5. This is the distinct and important difference since in Fremantle you can move any object on the homescreen around.

If developers want to make their application in a specific layout to maximize the application's effectiveness, that is their right. I however do not belive automatic rotation should be implemented at the dashboard/desktop/UI level.
Last edited by TrackSol; 2009-09-28 at 05:36.