Comments on: OK, I’m full. Now what? Here’s a suggestion…

By: J-dogg in T-Town

J-dogg in T-Town — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:43:56 +0000

I agree with a folder option at least let the high end users have them and leave it optional to use them or not then the people who love their easy to use iphone can still flick there way through 9 pages of apps and high end users can add folders and sub folders till their hearts content, its a win win!

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:14:44 +0000

Ok my bad. I have to say that after using an iPhone for 12 months and then using my N73 again, the s60 interface does feel a little draconian. Fortunately this problem will never cause me any issues on my iPhone.

By: Matt Radford

Matt Radford — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:09:33 +0000

@Carl

Doesn’t work like that on mine. It just acts as a single page left or right, no matter which button you aim for.

By: Steve Litchfield

Steve Litchfield — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:02:30 +0000

No, on my device, tapping those dots just acts as a single left or right swipe….. Anyone else able to chip in here?

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:09:15 +0000

Not sure if you realise, but you can tap the small dots between launch bar and icons to go to a specific page of the home screen.

By: marcol

marcol — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:48:30 +0000

I’ve had my iPhone for over six months, it’s my only handheld device and I use five pages of apps. Those five pages have 19 spare slots (so in fact I could get it down to four pages if I chose). I’ve no desire for folders and remember with antipathy the time I spent in S60 looking in folders trying to remember where stuff was. The good thing about Apple’s system is that you frequently flick by app icons and even if you don’t use an app often its icon and position seem to sink in. I never forget where apps are on the iPhone, which is a blessed relief after the E61. If Apple added folders I certainly wouldn’t use them.

By: ares

ares — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:35:30 +0000

I use a combination of categories and quickgold. I created categories for games, tools, fun and multimedia. Besides that I have 4 homescreens. I don’t if apple should introduce folders, but quickgold is a must…I love it. Btw, google app interface is very similar but less powerfull

By: Al Briggs

Al Briggs — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:37:42 +0000

I think that folders are not needed – this is trying to turn the iPhone / iPod Touch into something it is not. If you want folders get a higher powered device or stick with a S60!

I think the UI is fantastically simple and I hope that Apple never compromise on that.

By: Matt Radford

Matt Radford — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:39:15 +0000

@cordsweat You're right - folders are good for organisation, but they're not necessarily good for finding things. This is especially true when folders are nested, layers deep, and it’s painfully evident when you first turn on a S60 device. Have a read of Rui Carmo's post here: http://the.taoofmac.com/space/blog/2007/07/21/1312. Specifically point one, where he outlines the complexity of the S60 user interface. I think folders break the iPhone’s UI paradigm and introduce a logical inconsistency. The iPhone does a very good job of keeping a simple, flat user interface. Have you read this article on the BBC today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7833944.stm)? Here’s the headline: “The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry”. People find them too difficult already, and I think the frustration is compounded by the small screen size. If it’s fiddly and difficult, people won’t bother. This isn’t a S60/iPhone fanboi flame war - we genuinely need to find a way of introducing better organisation into mobile devices, while retaining a simple user interface. This is going to be increasingly important as we store more and more stuff on our mobiles. Finally, here’s another article on moving beyond files and folders: http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000271.php. I don’t agree with the suggested solutions, but the author outlines the difficulties in the file/folder metaphor very well.

By: cordsweat

cordsweat — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:05:57 +0000

@Matt Radford.

Let’s not make Apple iPhone lovers even stupider by not allowing them to have folders. You said it is simple to not have folders. I ask you, how? Folders are for organization. If you have a particular game, you can put it under the “games folder” and then alphabetize it or sort the games by “accelerometer games” or into, let’s say, a folder called “puzzles”.

Folders can only add to ease of use. Even if folders existed, it doesn’t mean that the users have to use them. Any phone can benefit from folders as organization, just like computers.