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A few weeks back, we shared a video by Swedish Design agency Ocean Observations which demonstrated a rather clever (but arguably useless) concept: Exposé for the iPhone homescreen.
We shared that video on a whim, and the resulting conversation and comments were outstanding. As a result, the same design firm has since churned out two more iPhone-related concept videos: Coverflow Multitasking, and Dashboard Widgets. Just like the last time, we’re left wondering: would you use these?
Coverflow Multitasking:
Multitasking on the iPhone; it’s unlikely to happen on the current hardware due to battery limitations, but that hasn’t stopped the users from clamoring on about it every chance they get. Ocean Observation’s solution is very webOS-meets-Coverflow. You swipe back and forth between apps to switch between them, and then “throw” them out of the line to close them. I’m not sure if they’re implying that this Coverflow drawer should be visible at all times on the homescreen, or if it’s a slideout drawer – but if it’s the latter, I think I’m in love. Sure, it’s a bit unoriginal when you’ve got webOS’ Cards system in mind, but what is Cards except for a fancy version of ALT-TAB?
Dashboard Widgets:
The newest video of the bunch, just released about an hour ago. It’s an almost direct rip of the Dashboard system in OS X, all the way down to the edit button used to bring in/dispose of widgets. The most original part of this video is the concept of a three-finger pinch gesture which, too my knowledge, hasn’t been used anywhere. Alas, I’d imagine it would cause system conflicts – once you introduce system-wide gestures, you have to deal with false positives firing off the dashboard when you’re just trying to zoom into a map.
Still, I’d welcome a constant widget layer with open arms, especially if big-boy multitasking never becomes a reality. Give widgets a limited API – just enough for pulling down certain data (weather, server status, stocks) from the web every 10-15 minutes, keeping track of lists, and other basic functionality that won’t destroy battery life, and you’ve just made a whole lot of people happy. Plus, you could easily sell single purpose widgets for 25 cents a pop.
Boring…….. I use these types of features all the time on my jailbroken phone.
really… what jailbreak apps let you do this…
They released an online demo of these features that you can try out at http://bit.ly/iphonedemo
backgrounder. and it does not really affect the battery.
I don’t know people always say “a jailbroken iPhone can do it already” – that’s not the point. I had a jailbroken iPhone long time ago, and I restored it and put it back as normal because it crashed constantly…
if I want to jailbreak a device I wouldn’t buy an apple device – the whole reason I use an apple device is so I don’t have to do any crazy “hacking” or modifications. I want something that just works – otherwise I would get a Nokia N97 or something and hack the hell out of it.
Got to love the hypercritical mentality these days. No matter what people share on the web there’s always one smug twat waiting in the wings to blurt out “Boring”.
@Anthony Hocken – The point is that TechCrunch should be covering functionality already available to jailbroken phones instead of cowtowing to Apple, douchebag. [See, I can be use bad words too.]
“[See, I can be use bad words too.]”
That was a stupid comment.
Yes, they would be very welcome. Might help the iphone catchup to other smart phones.
However, your average user probably doesnt give a stuff about them. People are still buying iphones despite the fact they’re pretty limited devices.
These two items are on the list at http://iphonessuck.com
It can be argued that the brilliance of the iphone is in it’s simplicity. What you call a “limitation”, a busy person might consider incredibly useful UI design. I owned a Pre, and even though the function did exist to run multiple apps at the same time, I can count on one hand the number of times I needed(or wanted) to. Other than listening to music while you surf the web on a mobile device, can you list 3 instances where I would need to focus on more than one App at a time? Instances who’s main benefit isn’t satisfied with Push, copy and paste?
On my WM powered Diamond i usually listen to music, while talking on various IM (fb, msn, irc ..), searching on the web for stuff i have been told on IM .. while sending a mail to AFK ppl .. Sometimes receive a call while doing all of that .. Sometimes even more …
Multitasking is as usefull on a Mobile as it is on my PC … I have been using a IPhone for a few weeks and i can honestly say that it was the feature i missed the most .. Despite that miss, IPhone’s UI is indeed pretty cool, really easy and intuitive .;
But i would never trade my Diamond for such a device :/ would better pray for a early release of the Palm Pre, here in France, as it mix up awesome UI, multitasking and physical keyboard, all of that very well .. But i guess it’s just a matter of taste..
skype
cell phone calls not interrupting iMapMyRun (GPS apps in general)
NPR radio app (while running) – calls interrupt every app
Meh, not really interested in this.
Maybe someone might be into it enough to buy it.
Would use the first all the time, love it.
Desktop widgets are one of the best features of Android. iPhone could definitely use them.
It could use multitaking as well but I don’t like the coverflow concept.
I have both an iPhone and an Android G1. I think that the widgets on the Android get in my way. I am constantly having to go into the menu to access the apps. It adds too many touches to my flow.
On my Hero all my apps are one touch away from whatever widget I’m looking at, same as with the iPhone. Difference is that I don’t shut down what I’m doing to get to them.
keep widgets on front page. control app from widget or long press widget to open app. (pandora, calendar, weather, etc.)
swipe left or right for to access the apps you use most. Or hold down home key for last 6 apps you used.
pull down tray to read email or sms.
Not that difficult. You just need to think differently.
I’d only use this if it had good design. The mockups in the article look like they would be clunky and hard to use.
The lack of multi-tasking support is perhaps the iPhone’s biggest shortcoming right now. I personally think it would be OK to simply indicate on the icons themselves whether an app is running or not (e.g. using a glow effect or something akin to the way Mac OS does it in the Dock). However, coverflow works too. It’s very ‘Apple.’
The tricky part is how to access this coverflow tray of open apps. With a gesture? From a dedicated button? Does it always occupy part of the home screen?
As for the Dashboard widgets concept, I think it would be a silly thing to replicate the MacOS Dashboard on the iPhone. It’s arguably easier to access the calculator app than it would be to navigate over to the widget.
Having said that, it would be nice to see something more “Dashboardy” on the iPhone. Not widgets but something info-rich like a view of your day’s calendar, or simply something fun. The place that makes the most sense for this is to the left of the first home screen, where Apple put the global search.
+1
+1
WIdget bars on the “lock” screen, updated at regular intervals, would cover 90% of the need for widgets.
The rest? Well, there are apps for that…
Couldn’t agree more, Michael:
Widgets is just a distorted format of apps, no need for such added complexity, unless one could enrich the “lock” screen.
Mutlitasking is THE one that’s missing, and the proposed coverflow switch looks very usable, intuitive!
I would argue that iPhone’s biggest shortcoming is the lack of Flash support, rendering its webbrowser useless on many sites.
However, this cover flow system would be quite easy to implement, simply by adding it to the options of the ‘double click’ menu (just like you can now choose for it to go to the home page, iTunes etc, when you double click the button).
Agree multitasking is important but disagree about uselessness of widgets. If I could “pinch” and immediately use something like calculator or settings change without losing what I’m doing and without having to wait for the app to re-launch, I would be VERY happy!
Multitasking is pretty much available on jailbroken phones using Backgrounder (not perfect but much better than nothing). The entire coverflow browsing is nice, but again is kind of available using a task switcher that is tied to backgrounder or using CategoriesSB and their “Recent” feature.
The widgets are also available on the Intelliscreen app but only when the phone is locked. Realistically, I am not sure if they would be all that useful on the actual springboard since its purpose is really as an app launcher.
The concepts are much more visual, but not entirely missing from the iPhone if you are willing to jailbreak it (using blackra1n, it is a 30 second process that supports most iphones).
I don’t like the multitasking thing… it would be better to use it like its own Safari implementation when you switch between pages… I really don’t see WHY that is not included…Battery life? who cares.. if I drain it is my fault…
“Battery life? who cares.. if I drain it is my fault…”
Easy to say if you’re geeky and understand how these things work, but the average consumer does not and rather than make a device that has to be hacked just to work right (ahem, RIM), Apple has chosen to focus on balancing usability straight out of the box with a great customer experience. The number one complaint in the consumer electronics industry for any portable device is battery life.
Then put a friggin’ battery in the thing and forget about making each version thinner than the next. I’d gladly trade off a millimeter or two for a couple of extra hours of battery life.
Dude, it’s a 1219 mAh battery. For comparison, the new BlackBerry Bold 9700 has a 1500 mAh battery. Yes, it is a bigger battery, but the size:performance ratio differential is not big of a difference. People use their iPhones in ways that no other phones are being used, except for maybe the Pre, and it’s battery life is crap with a 1150 mAh battery.
Point being, the battery performance they could get out of a slightly larger battery to fit into your mm or two parameter would not increase noticeably.
So everyone must compromise to satisfy some mythical “average consumer”
It seems like the iPhone is”a device that has to be hacked just to work right”
Most of my clients add a mophie to get through the day, even without running jailbroken apps.
The multi-tasking feature is pretty cool, but the dashboard thing is completely useless. We don’t need a dashboard – the entire phone is basically full of dashboard apps…
I think the multitasking idea is very good. True multitasking with background processes isn’t a good idea because it can catch a user by sunrise. But simply having multiple “windows” open could work pretty well.
Very similar to what Palm does with cards on their WebOS platform.
Anyway, I like it.
I do true multitasking with background processes all the time on my phone and it has never caught me by “sunrise”. heee!
What is most needed in the iPhone is better notifications and sms popups, like in Palm’s webOS. Currently notifications and even interrupting phone calls completely ruin workflow on the iPhone. This would not be hard to implement, indeed jailbreak solutions have already touched on this weakpoint fairly well (BiteSMS and others).
I hope Apple is paying attention, Andoid is beginning to mature as a real contender in both software and hardware with the release of Droid and 2.0 software.
Yup, I would use both a lot. Good interface for both.
Very interesting implementation of features I’d like to have in my iPhone 3G soon.
Their uses are very well solved, without conflicts with other existing features, at least for what I remember right now.
Congratulations to the creators.
At the heart of every neighborhood in the United States lies a brilliant thought. http://bit.ly/3OS4zw
It’s funny how things changed.
For quite a lot of time the iPhone was superior to any other phone in terms of usability.
And now?
Against the Pre, the Hero, the Droid, the HD2 and Xperia 3 it looks SO outdated.
The same fucking screen with icons.
Its so 2007/2008. Boring.
I owned a Pre, and even looking ahead to what HTC have in the pipeline…. The iPhones simplicity IS what makes it THE phone to beat (still).
THe Droid looks nice, but still looks “messy”. And Its browser still gets its handed to it by Safari: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/28/motorola-droid-first-hands-on/ – video at the bottom.
“Once darling of the industry, climbs back from the edge of death to announce a ground breaking new phone running an amazing OS that multi-tasks, has a slide out keyboard, and is backed by a massive ad campaign specifically to challenge the iPhone” Dude, I’ve seen this movie already. And It sucked.
I want the opposite. I want my iPhone apps to be available as desktop widgets on my laptop.
This would be awesome for games, but I could see myself using it for other apps too. Especially if it was like VNC for my phone so that I could actually be running them on my phone. (awesome for SMS?)
Bah, Apple should just buy Palm and be done. All these widgets complicate things too much and although they look cool they are not KISS friendly. Too much thinking making the stuff redundant. The card metaphor from WebOS is really the best navigation system available.
coverflow application switcher: yes
widgets: no
I WOULD use the multitasker. And the general way the interface works is fine. Not clear why coverflow is a good idea, but whatever. I regularly want to switch between WebEx and the phone application (to mute/unmute). And music control during Navigation. Etc. The lack of multitasking is kind of annoying.
I don’t care much about the widgets. I suppose a home screen with some customizable stuff like reminders and upcoming calendar items might be nice, but I can just launch the calendar app to look at this stuff if I want. Like others have said, put some of this stuff in the screen saver and you’re 90% done.
I’d certainly use the widgets. Not sure about the multi-tasking bit though.
Just want to use my iPhone to get the info I want as quickly and easily as possible
http://www.freestuffgiveaway.co.uk
Well, we’ve already got Orbit and Backgrounder on Jailbroken iPhones…..
Next great idea please, new ones this time…
Widgets on a phone are mainly just annoying. They’re only marginally better on a computer.
Annoying? How are they annoying. I think you meant to type “awesome”.
Agree with some of the posts here:
The apps I use that resolve 99% of the shortcomings of my expectations of the iPhone are:
Orbit – Expose for iPhone
BiteSMS – QuickReply for SMS.. doesnt interrupt my ‘workflow’
Backgrounder + Kirikae – Taskmanager for backgrounded apps.
SBSettings – Quick access to toggles rather than digging through the settings app
WeatherIcon – So i dont actually have to open the weather app
Just for fun: Winterboard
And quite honestly, I havent suffered from any battery shortcomings versus using a non-jailbroken phone. Hopefully Apple will stop making excuses one day.
No hope for Iphone
Apple make iPhones immune for jailbreaking
http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/10/14/latest-iphone-3gs-shipped-by-apple-seem-to-be-immune-to-jailbreaking/
“…you could easily sell single purpose widgets for 25 cents a pop.” — If you want to pay more for fee processing than the amount you charge.
Although their seems to be an App for almost everything, I would use both and I think the widgets feature may become more valuable over time because of the ability to receive periodic updates like flight delays, weather, stocks, scores, traffic, etc. Just make sure the updating was kept to minimum intervals for power conservation.
I guess if I were Apple I would closely monitor how the Droid (and other phones) integrate widgets into their platforms and also what the carriers might bring to the table.
For example, Verizon just released a widget on their FiOS platform that allows people in New York City to monitor live traffic feeds and video on their television for travel planning. I’m wondering if it may be possible to get updates (maybe just a snapshot) from the same feed(s) to a mobile widget on the Droid.
Widgets may be useful to meet the movement towards localized, updated content and also come in handy for new types of mobile networking/social games like FourSquare, etc.
I LOVE the second one, the dashboard and widgets one. I WOULD totally use this. That’s awesome!
Are you listening Apple? We want these!
Who and why cares about Iphone ?
Get the future right now with Android smartphone. Much better and much cheaper
WM 6.5 already got widgets, and had multitasking since WinCE 1.0.
Multitasking is useful, mainly to use IM and feed apps. AFAIK, the problems with having multi-tasking on the iPhone are:
1. The need to press a potentially small and unsexy “X” button, since the Home button explicitly closes the program.
2. The lack of background execution model for applications. The existing apps work from start to finish assuming they have the screen to themselves. They don’t know when they are in the background, so they scale back and don’t drain the battery.
Apple will no-doubt bring functions such as multi-tasking into the OS when it feels a) the hardware will support a decent user experience b) users will not be confused by the functionality and c) developers lives will not be made more difficult.
One App I am involved in for an enterprise customer is not supported on jailbroken iPhones – why? Because its nigh on impossible as a developer to know if a crash or logic bug is caused by your code or some background process written by another developer.
I would love to have these features on my iPhone. And I am sure Apple has both of these features in the pipeline.
Pressing that Home button again and again for switching between Apps is really dumb. Apple should come up with a touch based gesture for switching between Apps. That should solve 50% of the multitasking issues because the core iPhone apps like Phone, SMS, Notes, Contacts etc. already offer some form of multitasking. But coverflow for app switching will be awesome!
I will use it. look very very cool!!!
Wasif wrote:
“I am sure Apple has both of these features in the pipeline”
Then you have to wait for a long time…
There will NOT bee a new iPhone in 2010 and there vill NOT bee a flash opgrade in 2010.
As Apple like to say:
“Working as intended, now go away and give us your money.”
That was not interesting just a little add-on to an already existing interface.
I think its very interesting
Its not a little add-on the Iphone need.
Its only a a new OS that will doo what you ask for.
Look around and se what happens on the Android smartphones market.
The brandnew Iphone 3Gs is absolute tecnical outdatede in a few month, and basic androids smartphone is allreday near to do the same but with much more features
That is the cheap phones, but then take a look at the new High End Android smartphones phones. There is everything that you can dream about and the future Android phones in 2010 will bee so explosive.
Apple will stille have the old boring iPhone to sell
The coverflow task switcher looks like a nice concept, although I don’t like how it’s stuck on at the bottom of the screen. Maybe they could just have open applications glowing, then have the coverflow appear if you turn iPhone on its side whilst on the home screen.
The widgets look pointless – not sure what you can get out of these that you can’t get just as quickly by opening an app.