Friday, July 10, 2009
Interaction with Mobile Phones: Building On Android - Sony Ericsson's Rachael & HTC Hero
Both Sony Ericsson and HTC have built upon Google's Android build to create new "user experiences" for mobile phones. 
Sony Ericsson Rachael UI Video:
"Sony Ericsson "Rachael" Android XPERIA handset unveiled?"
(Paul Miller, engadget, 7/4/09)
Sony Ericsson's Android Rachael UI Makes Me Want to Ditch My iPhone
(Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo, 9/8/09)
"Make it Mine, Stay Close, Discover the Unexpected!" Personalization with HTC Hero Touch-enabled Smart Phone"
HTC recently launched the HTC Hero. I haven't had a chance to touch one, but it looks interesting enough to make a trip to my local mobile phone service provider and see how it works.
"HTC Hero launch event video featuring HTC Sense™ - an intuitive, seamless experience built upon three fundamental principles - make it mine, stay close, and discover the unexpected." -HTC
The two video clips below explain the rationale behind the HTC Hero and why the company thinks it is an important innovation:
PART I
PART II
A few quotes from the video:
"It begins with listening and observing people as they use their phone..."
"...there has been a fundamental shift in people's phone expectations..."
"People want to stay close with the important people in their lives, and have online information...Voice is key, but no longer enough...The SmartPhone is the New Phone, people no longer expect their Internet to be at their desks anymore. They expect it everywhere they are. The Internet is becoming the fundamental of the mobile phone. Access to web browsing, streaming media, and connected applications has taken off, and this is where Smartphone really excels. People really appreciate the experience..."
HERO UI Introduction:
Related:
HTC Debuts Hero, With Fresh Face for Android
(John Herman, Gizmodo, 6/24/09)
Google Android Info
"Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications that run on Android-powered devices."
Cross-posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
SNL's Multi-touch Parody of CNN's Interactive Touch Screen Magic Map Wall
Via Interactive Multimedia Technology
Most viewers familiar with CNN news know about the "Multi-Touch Collaboration Wall", or Magic Wall, used by John King. David Borhman, a CNN producer, was describes the purpose of the Magic Wall in a quote in a Washington Post article:
"It's a stupendous way to explain a lot of complicated data"..."Fundamentally, our job is to explain things to people, and we need it visually. This lets us do it naturally, without a keyboard or mouse getting in the way....Once you see it, you get it instantly."
This would be fun to play with- for just about everyone! If you don't have ready access to a "magic wall", take a look Fred Armisen's playfulness in a recent Saturday Night Live parody of the CNN Magic wall:
Video clip via Hulu
Partial Transcript:
"One thing we are going to look at is Pennsylvania..Have a very good look at Harrisburg.....Get in really close to this. Back a bit, back a little bit, excellent"
"Now the country can be moved up and down, like so....We can also shrink it and put it in your pocket if you need to."
"You can always change the colors. You got blue, blue again, a little bit of red...right over there, a little bit of blue of course, if you want to make something out of green, you got a little face there, some whiskers, we can ..... make a cat. Notice the triangle nose!"
"Let's look at Ohio. Lets look at the Cleveland area. Lets look really really close. Really close. Really really close, You can see the top of a warehouse. We're really going to want look at that. Very, very important, were going to want to look at that."
"You can take Oregon, lets move it out into the ocean. It will be completely surrounded by water. That's very, very dangerous."
"And here is New York.... New York was there in 2004, and you can shake it around like that.. (shakes New York)"
"Actually, what I'm doing is very important, and informational"
"OK, Fred, stop goofing around..."
Fred turns to the map, and with both hands, moves all of the states out of place.
Photo via engadget
"Check out Michigan... I can make it bounce!" (Drags down Michigan on the map, it bounces up and down once it reaches the bottom of the map.)
Rumor has it that Jeff Hans, of Perceptive Pixel, was responsible for the SNL version of the Magic Touch-Wall map.
