UI Improvement Suggestions from a user interface designer!

The Home Screen:
This needs to be redone. I would much prefer to see a modular space like igoogle.com implementation. Each module is defined in usable areas and layout options can be selected for each applet. ie full module or collapsed
Maybe even a tab structure that can be filled with application shortcuts or mini versions of the apps.

Screen Off Feature:
There needs to be an easy way to turn the screen off and locking it but not turning off the device. I would follow the iPhone usability for this feature, where the power button turns the screen off and when you hold it down you turn the device off.

Finger Vs. Stylus:
The finger usability should not compromise the stylus input. This can be address by using input size comparison. If you are using the stylus the input size and pressure is concentrated in a smaller area and if you are using a finger the input are is much larger and should enable a response system for finger use. i.e. if you were to click on a button with a stylus it should respond normally and if you are using your finger it should maybe get magnified first or some kind of alert to tell the user that they are currently on a specific icon or interface. I’m going to use the iPhone again for example; their implementation of they touch keyboard does this excellently!

I dunno if theres any Maemo Developers here but I hope they are watching! And if you have any other ideas please post it here.

Begone Heathen,

Ui designers should stick to the iPhone/iPod touch!

Heh, just kidding. I guess there's at least us two here now, unlike the hoard of sysadmins

I've already posted my first impressions a month or so back, and I still feel the pain on the issues I presented (lack of good scroll, and not having a good way to zoom a local area of the interface in particular).

I think there are a lot of folks who want the home screen redesigned (including me), but I am not so on board with the device locking method. I like the two button approach that the device takes, since it is easy to remember and mirrors the unlock method (and doesn't happen by accident in one's pant's pocket). I do see a problem for some users with the buttons, since there seems to be some room for error on hitting the right sequence.

I would differ on the 'finger vs stylus' issue. In a device of this size, the finger needs to do the work. If there are niche apps that need stylus input, then that is fine, but for an internet tablet, there is nothing that should ever prevent finger usage scenario. My preferred solution is to use a magnifying glass approach to screen areas that have more than one input near the finger tap, using further user input for disambiguation. In essence, if the finger tap cannot be easily defined based on the controls near the finger input, then a magnified area of the screen at the finger touch should be presented to allow the user to define which control they were trying to use. Done in a fluid way, and with a general 'finger-up to activate controls' approach, this shouldn't slow down users where the disambiguation isn't needed, and help users where controls are crunched together.

This already exists, it's called soft power off mode. It was broken in a recent update and wont be fix until the (probably) the next, though.

Concrete suggestions should be raised in bugs.maemo.org, not here.

For example, my own thoughts on scrolling consistency are in bug #2564.

On my N810 sliding the lock switch immediately dims the screen and locks it, presumably doing the two-finger lock on an N800 is exactly the same.

Weird. Soft power-off still works for me with 50-2. This inconsistent bug situation is very mystifying! And frustrating. All I've seen so far are 2 random crashes... none of the things others are reporting.

How does one invoke this soft power off mode on the N800?

Briefly press the power button and release.

If I briefly press my power button, I get the Device mode menu which doesn't have anything in it that says "soft power off". If I press longer than briefly it shut the N800 completely off. Am I missing something here?

Ok, my mistake. I was thinking of offline mode, sorry.

Yes.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...3&postcount=20