Palm WebOS - Usability that works
www.palm.com
Ok so the interwebs and dog are all talking about Palm's new Pre and WebOS. I'm a very long term Palm user (started with a Handspring Visor Deluxe - built like a brick and I swear they invented the word "ruggedised" to describe it) but living in the UK I have only recently had an opportunity to try out WebOS.
Which begs the question: with my Tester's hat on is it any good? Or to be more precise, is it intuitive and usable or just gimmicky? Well I went into an O2 store a couple of weekends back and I kid you not spent well over an hour playing with a display model of the Pre. Summary: it's bloomin' marvelous guvn'r!
First though a disclaimer: if you try WebOS on a Pre in the O2 stores make sure you turn off the WiFi connection - no wonder it seems so fast online ;)
Second an anti-disclaimer: swapping over to the 3G connection was like blazin lightning or something. This thing seriously moves. OK so I was in the centre of Bristol which has excellent mobile signal coverage, but honestly - playing YouTube videos in real-time over 3G was quite a novelty for me (coming from a Palm Centro with slow-as-a-tortoise GPRS only). I really didn't expect this and was very chuffed.
But back to the point of this post - WebOS itself and specifically usability.
The first thing that I observed was that loading, swapping between apps and closing them is 100% perfectly intuitive. Palm have hit the usability nail on the proverbial head here. To load an app: tap it (fair enough), to navigate apps you swipe left and right on a card display of previews (still good), and to close an app you flick it out of site upwards (so so good). It is clear that Palm really have thought about the simple act of opening and closing apps with a great deal of care and attention. And all this happens in real-time with instant feedback to the end user - another key point of usability.
This is also an absolute improvement over Apple's iPhone as well as here with WebOS we have solid, robust multitasking in action - and a way to view what apps are open (the side-by-side card previews) that also, as an aside, knocks Windows Mobile for six.
Ok what else? Well what about speed - swipe here, swipe there and it does and does again as you command. If it were a Cylon it really would yell "by your command" before and after every action as WebOS is incredibly responsive. As long as you keep the number of open apps to a reasonable level (and on the Pre "reasonable" turned out to be: YouTube running a video, 3 web pages, camera app, app store, preferences, the media browser and the media player - that's darn respectable if you ask me) then there should be no or minimal slowdown. This is another key point for usability: we humans hate to wait. Waiting makes our lives a chore. We want it now, thank you very much. And again, WebOS delivers on this front.
Feedback is one of those things you need in any device - pressing something, switching something else and turning yet another thing are all actions that are ingrained in modern technologically oriented humans. We need feedback. Well again WebOS delivers: drag your finger up from below the bottom of the screen in pretty much any app and your favourite apps are displayed in a wavy line across the screen. Drag left or right onto any of the displayed icons and lift finger: app loads. It takes a moment to actively realise that the feedback point is when one LIFTS one's finger from the device, but this works. Go into a store and try it out - it really does make sense.
Although not WebOS, a quick note about the slide-out keyboard. The kb is great, but the slide out mechanism could use a little work. It doesn't slide easily enough for my liking. Plus I found that I ended up spending most of that hour with it fully open... if only the kb was in a candybar form factor...
Well the above is but brief coverage of some of the usability highs for WebOS and the Pre based on my hour of fun in O2. I really can say Palm is back on top. I always loved PalmOS (even in the green screen days) as it just seemed to "get" me and the way I wanted to work. While WebOS is wholly different it is also wholly familiar and really makes sense. Given their recent downs and ups (to Foleo or not to Foleo...) Palm should be congratulated for producing an OS (and device) that really is the true successor to the venerable PalmOS.
So am I going to buy the Pre? Well ye...um... remember that candybar form factor I mentioned just now? Turns out that the Palm Pixi is on its way. So yes I will definitely absolutely be buying a WebOS device to replace my Centro, but whether it is the Pre or Pixi will have to wait and see. When the Pixi is in O2 in the UK I'll be the first in line to try it out next to the Pre (and would seriously consider going for the candybar even if it does have a slower CPU and no Wifi). More no doubt to come.
=C
PS: Every person during that hour who came into O2 spent easily twice the amount of time playing with the Pre and WebOS than they did with the iPhone. Interesting...
Ok so the interwebs and dog are all talking about Palm's new Pre and WebOS. I'm a very long term Palm user (started with a Handspring Visor Deluxe - built like a brick and I swear they invented the word "ruggedised" to describe it) but living in the UK I have only recently had an opportunity to try out WebOS.
Which begs the question: with my Tester's hat on is it any good? Or to be more precise, is it intuitive and usable or just gimmicky? Well I went into an O2 store a couple of weekends back and I kid you not spent well over an hour playing with a display model of the Pre. Summary: it's bloomin' marvelous guvn'r!
First though a disclaimer: if you try WebOS on a Pre in the O2 stores make sure you turn off the WiFi connection - no wonder it seems so fast online ;)
Second an anti-disclaimer: swapping over to the 3G connection was like blazin lightning or something. This thing seriously moves. OK so I was in the centre of Bristol which has excellent mobile signal coverage, but honestly - playing YouTube videos in real-time over 3G was quite a novelty for me (coming from a Palm Centro with slow-as-a-tortoise GPRS only). I really didn't expect this and was very chuffed.
But back to the point of this post - WebOS itself and specifically usability.
The first thing that I observed was that loading, swapping between apps and closing them is 100% perfectly intuitive. Palm have hit the usability nail on the proverbial head here. To load an app: tap it (fair enough), to navigate apps you swipe left and right on a card display of previews (still good), and to close an app you flick it out of site upwards (so so good). It is clear that Palm really have thought about the simple act of opening and closing apps with a great deal of care and attention. And all this happens in real-time with instant feedback to the end user - another key point of usability.
This is also an absolute improvement over Apple's iPhone as well as here with WebOS we have solid, robust multitasking in action - and a way to view what apps are open (the side-by-side card previews) that also, as an aside, knocks Windows Mobile for six.
Ok what else? Well what about speed - swipe here, swipe there and it does and does again as you command. If it were a Cylon it really would yell "by your command" before and after every action as WebOS is incredibly responsive. As long as you keep the number of open apps to a reasonable level (and on the Pre "reasonable" turned out to be: YouTube running a video, 3 web pages, camera app, app store, preferences, the media browser and the media player - that's darn respectable if you ask me) then there should be no or minimal slowdown. This is another key point for usability: we humans hate to wait. Waiting makes our lives a chore. We want it now, thank you very much. And again, WebOS delivers on this front.
Feedback is one of those things you need in any device - pressing something, switching something else and turning yet another thing are all actions that are ingrained in modern technologically oriented humans. We need feedback. Well again WebOS delivers: drag your finger up from below the bottom of the screen in pretty much any app and your favourite apps are displayed in a wavy line across the screen. Drag left or right onto any of the displayed icons and lift finger: app loads. It takes a moment to actively realise that the feedback point is when one LIFTS one's finger from the device, but this works. Go into a store and try it out - it really does make sense.
Although not WebOS, a quick note about the slide-out keyboard. The kb is great, but the slide out mechanism could use a little work. It doesn't slide easily enough for my liking. Plus I found that I ended up spending most of that hour with it fully open... if only the kb was in a candybar form factor...
Well the above is but brief coverage of some of the usability highs for WebOS and the Pre based on my hour of fun in O2. I really can say Palm is back on top. I always loved PalmOS (even in the green screen days) as it just seemed to "get" me and the way I wanted to work. While WebOS is wholly different it is also wholly familiar and really makes sense. Given their recent downs and ups (to Foleo or not to Foleo...) Palm should be congratulated for producing an OS (and device) that really is the true successor to the venerable PalmOS.
So am I going to buy the Pre? Well ye...um... remember that candybar form factor I mentioned just now? Turns out that the Palm Pixi is on its way. So yes I will definitely absolutely be buying a WebOS device to replace my Centro, but whether it is the Pre or Pixi will have to wait and see. When the Pixi is in O2 in the UK I'll be the first in line to try it out next to the Pre (and would seriously consider going for the candybar even if it does have a slower CPU and no Wifi). More no doubt to come.
=C
PS: Every person during that hour who came into O2 spent easily twice the amount of time playing with the Pre and WebOS than they did with the iPhone. Interesting...
