Posts in the ‘mobile UX’ Category
If you are going to the trouble of designing mobile sites for different devices and screen sizes, then you should be taking into account that many smartphones have the abilitiy to change orientation from portrait to landscape, giving a much wider screen width.
You can use Javascript to register the change in orientation, but how can you deliver a different user experience when the user flips the phone?
With bemokoLive, it’s very easy to use the context rules to change the behaviour of your site when the user flips the device.
Context rules allow you to change the behaviour of the bemoko rendering engine with parameters on the URL. In this case we can use some javascript to note the change in orientation and call a URL with the relevant parameters set. The javascript looks like this:
<script type="text/javascript">
var landscape = isLandscape();
function updateOrientation(){
var landscapeToUpdate = isLandscape();
[#--
Only redirect if landscape flag has changed
--]
if (landscape != landscapeToUpdate) {
landscape = landscapeToUpdate;
if (landscape) {
window.location = "${intent.serverRelativeSiteEndPoint}/landscape/${intent.name}"
} else {
window.location = "${intent.serverRelativeSiteEndPoint}/${intent.name}"
}
}
}
function isLandscape() {
switch(window.orientation) {
case -90:
case 90:
return true;
break;
default:
return false;
}
}
</script>
The important piece in this script are the lines where the window.location is changed. Note the addition of the landscape parameter. As this parameter is before the intent in the URL it acts as a context rule.
To get bemokoLive to recognise the context rule, it has to be registered in the site-config.xml
<context> <rules> <rule name="landscape"> <param action="add" name="type">l</param> </rule> </rules> </context>
This makes bemoko add a parameter called “type” to the context if the landscape context rule is present. We can use this parameter to change the device category recognition for the device, again in the site-config.xml
<uigroup>
<ui name="landscape" expr="intent.get('type') == 'l'" fallback="ajax" />
</uigroup>
This change has the effect of overidding the standard device identification, adding the landscape category into the fallback chain. This means that any files or fragments in the landscape category will be delivered to the device, allowing you do do anything from simply delivering wider images to changing the whole look and feel of the page.
You can find more on context rules at http://bemoko.com/wiki/Context_Rules
For a live demo showing one use of context rules, take a look at http://bemoko.com/addons/imagetranscoder/test/i – the alternative rendering links at the bottom of the page use context rules to change the way the device is recognised.
- More than 80% of surveyed UK web users do not trust emails and web sites that do not effectively represent familiar brands
London, 20 April 2009: Mobile internet software specialist, bemoko Ltd today announces a co-operation agreement with Monotype Imaging Inc., a leading global provider of text imaging solutions, to provide expertise to Monotype Imaging customers by introducing them to bemoko’s range of mobile marketing tools, which are designed to deliver improved mobile web presence and represent brands more effectively across fixed and mobile connected devices.
Recent research conducted by Opinion Matters and commissioned by Monotype Imaging revealed that the vast majority (86%) of approximately 2,000 survey respondents in the UK would not trust a communication from a source they often use, such as a bank, if the details were sent in an unfamiliar font. Millions of people are now receiving email messages and surfing the web on mobile devices. However, the sheer number of mobile platforms available (considering the many different operating systems, screen resolutions and other variables) means that brands struggle to ensure their identity is represented effectively. bemoko is working with Monotype Imaging to provide expertise for brands looking to exploit the mobile opportunity with consistency of experience across different mobile devices.
bemokoLive™ has been specially developed to support the rapid creation of mobile web sites that can deliver relevant and brand recognisable content to mobile devices, regardless of screen size, operating system or other characteristics.
Julie Strawson, Director of Marketing, Europe, Monotype Imaging Ltd, said; “Even with most advanced screen technology, poorly designed and delivered text raises suspicions amongst users that legitimate communications are spam or phishing scams. Our goal is to educate customers, and, through the process of introducing bemoko to our customers, raise awareness of the opportunities for delivering online branded experience to the desktop and also across mobile phones.”
The co-operation agreement between bemoko and Monotype Imaging will allow creatives building multi channel sites with bemokoLive™ to be able to engage more easily with both companies to help ensure that a new site can go live fast, and have the confidence that logos and font types will be rendered correctly onto target mobile devices.
Mat Diss, Founder, bemoko said: “For branding on the mobile web to be effective it is essential that people believe that a communication is genuine – if they do not the effect will be to destroy brand trust not to build it. Working with Monotype Imaging will help us to facilitate logos, font types and content displaying effectively on a mobile device, enabling organisations to represent their brand more effectively in the mobile space.”
-Ends-
About bemoko:
bemoko (www.bemoko.com) is the leading innovator in flexible mobile web solutions providing a comprehensive platform for delivering compelling mobile web sites. It provides a multi-device, multi-channel delivery platform for mobile content, designed with flexibility and speed of deployment in mind. For more information: www.bemoko.com
Monotype is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
For further information please contact:
bemoko
Chris Bignell, XL Communications Ltd
+44 (0)7834 020460
The Blackberry is a popular device, no question. It’s got a decent sized screen, good keyboard and it’s easy to access the internet on it. So why is the browser deliberately throttled to give the poorest user experience possible on most websites?
Any half decent web designer wouldn’t think of creating a website without using CSS so consequently all but the very worst sites rely on stylesheets to work.
Given this, why is the CSS support for the Blackberry browser turned off? It’s not as if the browser can’t support CSS, it can, but you have to trawl through the menus to find the option to enable it. Most user’s aren’t going to do this, so we have to deisgn Blackberry sites to the lowest common denominator.
This means a very Web 1.0 feel for sites viewed on the Blackberry which doesn’t exactly encourage the use of the mobile internet for one of the devices most suited to it.
Many mobile sites we see either don’t recognise the Blackberry or don’t care as they still try to load a stylesheet and rely on it for the look of the page. This gives a poor user experience.
We normally tweak our sites for the non-CSS Blackberry so that they at least get a decent look and feel. Fortunately the platform we use to deliver mobile sites, bemokoLive , will recognise if the Blackberry has CSS enabled and deliver the best looking version of the site to those users lucky enough to have found the option. Those who haven’t found the option will, at least, get a site that has been designed with no stylesheets and so will hopefully come back for more.
Let’s start with the depression and then I’ll lift you. There are a lot of big name device manufactures that are really struggling at creating that goal of usable mobile internet devices. So apple have paved the way and although they weren’t at the MWC this year – the iPhone they released over a year a go would still have been the cream of today. So what is the competition missing? LG, Samsung and Toshiba are all creating smartphones that miss on so many fronts – clumsy UI, unresponsive touchscreens and slow interactions. Docomo show some promise of innovation with the push into projector phones and I’ll keep an cautious eye on Huawei now that they’re press released their Android strategy and put a shiny phone in a glass box.
The Nokia N97 is making small step forwards, but it doesn’t feel a leap from the excellent N82. I like the home page widgets and the personalisation that comes from this, but the UI is a little tired and was slightly unresponsive. Not a bad phone, but didn’t impressed me like I wanted to be impressed.
When we finally tracked down the HTC Magic we got a glimmer of hope. The device was responsive and showed promise, but it still was lacking that end-to-end-I-want-one feeling. The UI is slightly cluttered and, although it looks more robust than the G1, it still needs someone to take Android and create a polished experience (a goal I don’t think is far off and I strongly believe will happen). A disappointment I’d had on previous windows mobile device was reaffirmed at HTC where I could try the HTC Magic (Android) against the HTC Diamond (Windows Mobile). The HTC Diamond felt it was stuck in the wrong gear. Other people have commented on a similar windows experience – Gizmodo, Edible Apple, PPCKitchen. Is it the hardware / touch screen or is there something inherently up with Windows mobile usability?
I was pleasantly surprised to see Garmin asus make a worthy contender with the G60. Garmin have Android rumours all over them – something that the Garmin representative did nothing to hide – but for the time being the G60 is linux based. Garmin I know well from the satnav section of my Halfords store and Asus I know well from defining and conquering the low priced, well built small laptop market. What a great combination of two trusted brands. People are already budgeting for Garmin satnav devices so the cross over into a tight mobile internet phone seems perfect. The G60 UI is clean simple fast and does the job. It doesn’t show off and isn’t trying to be an all functional smartphone, but it has it’s worthy place and things can only look up for Garmin as they take this strategy forward. Lot’s of choices for them on the direction – not least their distribution channels and how they engage with the operators.
So … leaving the best for last. We were blown away by the Palm Pre – something that Tim has already blogged about. So now wanting to repeat his message, I’ll quickly summarise my thoughts. It’s such a rounded device – both physically (like a polished pebble) and user experience wise. For me user experience is everything – if something annoys or bugs me in a device then it can ruin the whole experience, but here is a device that I couldn’t fault. Albeit, through the rose tinted glasses of desire, I did try to find faults – but they were difficult to find. A few days in my pocket may unearth some. The battery life might be an issue as could the price tag – rumoured at ~$500 (keeping it firmly in the high price end of the market). Those aside – we’ve got a very user-centric device here. Palm have thought about the user and what they want and that includes multi-tasking/multi-cards, clever gestured, subtle on screen feedbacks (where your finger has been), consolidated search interface. The synergy concept to aggregate contacts and calendars from multiple source is great from a consumer view, pulling together social contacts, but also from an enterprise side where it could be pulling in contact from your CRM. This device really is true cross over between consumer and enterprise, seemingly without compromise to either (we’re all people aren’t we so it should be possible). I can see people who like the iPhone and people who like the Blackberry take more than a double look at this Palm pre device and consider that it’s time for a change.
… and did I say the Palm Pre packaging is neat. All recyclable, no bits of plastic and unnecessary plastic bags, whether they did this for marketing or altruistic reasons – it doesn’t matter. It shows they care.
Take care – and here’s to an exciting future for the (mobile) internet.