Apple & Android Websites Not Mobile Optimized
This is just plain old weird.
Apple.com via a mobile browser:
Seriously? Apple.com isn’t mobile optimized? The “design meets technology to form magical blah blah blah, and birthed the mobile web into existence,” company never bothered to optimize their own website?
Note to Apple fanboys & girls: That “apps downloaded” ticker doesn’t count as mobile optimized. It’s lazy, and ironically self-celebratory.
Android.com via a mobile browser:
And Google isn’t off the hook on this either. “Mobile first,” Google never bothered to create a mobile-friendly version of their mobile operating system’s website? This is pathetic.
Us.Blackberry.com via a mobile browser:
You already know where this is going…
I can’t even get annoyed by this because I would have been honestly surprised if RIM got something right in 2012.
Windows Phone 7′s website via a mobile browser:
Surprise! It is mobile optimized…
… But only if you’re viewing the website in landscape. Switch to portrait and it’s improperly formatted.
This is so very Microsoft.
Wrap-up
It shouldn’t be too much to ask the companies leading the mobile revolution to properly optimize their websites’ for mobile. It’s not like they have a lack of capable design or development talent.
The Rules of Mobile App Design (Presentation Slides)
Last week I had the honor of presenting to the NJ Mobile Meetup group. NJ Mobile is a collection of about 300 mobile technology enthusiasts that I co-organize. While I’ve been one of the groups organizers for quite some time, this was the first time that I actually spoke at an event. Much to my delight the presentation, which was partially based on my blog post The Rules of Mobile App Design, was very well-received.
My goal was to record the presentation and slides and post a video, but I’ve been experiences some technical difficulties of the crashing variety whenever I try to record my screen and voice at the same time. So here are the slides, and I hope to add the full video presentation soon:
Rules_of_Mobile_App_Design (PDF)
BlackBerry Deserves Compensation for its Failure
RIM, the makes of BlackBerry are quickly approaching a financial free-fall.
They have been unable to adapt their products to properly compete with the Android and iPhone. Even the US Government is starting to adopt the iPhone (and the US Government is insanely slow to change).
As a result, BlackBerry is fast approaching the point of no return, if they haven’t already reached it. They are screwed.
Their business model was disrupted by two companies who previously represented no threat. They are losing money, and will continue to lose more in the future. As a consequence Apple and Google should be forced to pay RIM enough money annually to keep the company financially solvent.
If the news, record, movie and print industries are entitled to compensation for dying business models, RIM should be too.
Five Guys Android App Review
I loves me some Five Guys burgers.
Over the last few years my dislike of fast food grown exponentially. When Five Guys opened in my neighborhood I completely swore-off all the rest. Now on to their Android application.
What’s it Do?
Five Guys may serve food that is typically found at fast food joints, however their food is anything but fast. A visit there takes about 30 minutes from order to departure if you sit down and eat. This is largely because it takes some time for them to cook your food.
The app lets you simply place your order, tell them what time you want to eat, and pay for your food.
I lost track of time this evening doing research on LED lighting for a new project I’m working on. When I finally realized I hadn’t had anything to eat in hours I didn’t want to cook or clean, so I tried out the new app. I figured I could get dinner and a blog post out of it.
The Good
It works as advertised. You can quickly place an order, and completely customize your burger with any topping. The app is intuitive, and easy to follow.
I went out of my way to try to break it, adding and removing items to see if it would cause a glitch in the system. It never stumbled.
When I showed up to get my food they were just finishing it up.
The Not-So-Good
After I ordered my cheeseburger & fries it pushed me to a payment screen before I could order a drink. I had to go out of my way to add the drink to the order.
It wasn’t a big deal, but I’m always surprised when a website or application makes me go out of my way to give more money.
The Ugly
The smart bastards at Five Guys figured out how to make it easier and faster to acquire their food. That means that I need to increase my willpower to avoid their damn store.
All jokes aside, there’s nothing major wrong with this app.
The Bottom-line
If you like Five Guys, but don’t always have the time to wait in-store, this app is a great way to speed up the process.
Practice safe eating! Remember to exercise regularly, and enjoy Five Guys in moderation.
Five Guys on the Android App Store
Images from the Android App Store
App tested on a first generation Droid.
Must Use App: Dropbox
Dropbox is a file sharing application that works on Mac, PC, iPhone & Android. It allows you to store files locally on your computer, while simultaneously backing it up to a cloud server and sharing the files between all of your other devices.
If you use more than one computer like me, this is a must use application. If you have more than one computer, all of the files in your Dropbox are easily accessible on all of your computers.
It’s also great because you can access those files by signing into the Dropbox website, so you can access your files from someone else’s machine.
It’s also an easy method for swapping large files with friends, family, coworkers, and clients.
Give it a try, and please use my link. If you sign up via my link, I will receive an extra 250mb of free storage (I don’t place adds, and I don’t ask for much, so please forgive me being a bit of a whore in this instance).
Sign up for Dropbox
State of the Tablet Market (March 2011)
iPad
Steve Jobs took center stage at the Apple iPad Event and presented the iPad 2 to the world.
Specs
The iPad 2 is evolution, not a revolution like it’s predecessor, but it’s clearly the 800 lbs gorilla of the tablet market.
They gave the iPad a specs boost to rival the top tablets being released by Motorola, HP & RIM. They also kept the price low and beat the competition; which is unusual for Apple.
Cover (not a case)
One of the new features that Apple revealed was a nifty magnetic cover that unlocks the device when you open it. The cover also allegedly cleans the screen.
The cover is cool, but at $40 for a plastic cover, and $70 for a leather cover, the prices are fairly insane. The profit margins on those covers must be outrageous.
iMovie & GarageBand Apps
The standout of today’s press event were the iMovie & GarageBand apps. They look gorgeous and functional.
My biggest complaint about the iPad and tablets in general is that they are terrible for content creation. If you want to code or write, the damn things are basically useless. However if you play to the hardware’s strengths and turn it into a movie and music creation platform, you might be able to make some really cool things with them.
I had an iPad from work, and it didn’t do much for me. For the first time I’m thinking about buying a tablet of my own specifically because of these two apps.
Android
I really like Android phones, but looking at the current and upcoming batches of Android tablets nothing is really blowing me away.
The Motorola Xoom is competitive with the iPad on specs, and Android Honeycomb is nice, but the app market isn’t there for Android tablets, and the Xoom is way too expensive when compared with the refined experience that Apple is offering.
Motorola seems like it is trying to make the Xoom a premium product, but I think it’s generally unwise to attempt to out-premium Apple. It’s a losing battle.
Everything Else
The HP Touchpad and Blackberry Playbook have some cool features, but they are too late to the market. They may rival their competitors with a few features, but I doubt they will introduce anything so magical as to even dent Apple’s tablet dominance.
Bottom-line
If you really want a tablet now (or in the next six months), the iPad 2 is the way to go.
If you’re willing to wait a while, I bet there will be some sick Android tablets available around Christmas.
If you wait a year (maybe less?), the iPad 3 is already rumored as a full revolution of the tablet market.
I’ve Been Androidified
"Hello, I'm Android Dave"
I made this nifty little android version of myself using Google’s new Android App, Androidify. It’s basically an Android version of Nintendo’s Mii characters on the Wii.
The app is cute and fun, nothing difficult or crazy about it. My girlfriend and I few good laughs making ridiculous versions of ourselves.
Enjoy.
