A List Apart: Articles: Usability experts are from Mars, graphic designers are from Venus is an excellent read if, like me, you are often perplexed by the apparent contention between the no-frills “task-driven” usability approach to web design versus the “it has to look good to be credible” graphic design approach. Okay, I might not have summed up these two ends of the spectrum well, so go read the article. It’s a good read.

In my latest book and in various presentations and workshops I’ve given to operators, I’ve preached the importance of user experience within the mobile context. Invariably, this equates to usability in the functional sense of enabling the user to achieve what they want to do with a minimal amount of effort, which almost equates to key presses. Given the relatively poor capabilities of mobile interfaces compared with desktop interfaces, attention to the details of usability is even more important. In the first instance, it is remarkable how often the various participants in the mobile services industry overlook usability altogether. I still find it quite perplexing how Motorola handsets have managed to get away with such a poor UI experience for so long. Then again, they might be selling the business.

There is something quite challenging about using a mobile device with its limited screen space. Even the iPhone has its issues. Whilst travelling to Oslo recently, I wanted to save myself money by making sure that data roaming was switched off, but it wasn’t immediately obvious where to find this in the settings. I have argued before that making the home screen of the handset a search box is, in my view, the best possible user experience. The search engine would return results from the handset and offline, all in a real-time “Ajaxian” style. So, as I type “roaming” into the search box, I get help results popping up that point me to the “data roaming” setting on the handset. Clicking the link takes me straight there.

Apart from these quirks (and the virtual keyboard problems) - the iPhone possibly manages to resolve the usability-design contention on a mobile device. The UI offers both quick navigation around the device and through tasks flows whilst also managing making it a graphical joy to use - “gorgeous” to use Job’s favourite adjective for his own wares. I agree.

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