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Each week [COLOR=#0aa7d6][I]Ross Rubin[/I][/COLOR] contributes [COLOR=#0aa7d6][I]Switched On[/I][/COLOR], a column about consumer technology.
What happens when the efficient menu-driven user experience of the BlackBerry meets the discoverable new user experience of finger-driven touch? The answer for the BlackBerry Storm has been that the BlackBerry experience wins, and who loses depends on what you were expecting from RIM's first departure from a physical keyboard. While adorned with a few on-screen buttons and simple gesture support, the Storm is much less of an iPhone-like experience than, say, the T-Mobile G1.
The Storm's main advantage over other BlackBerry devices is that it has a larger screen, not necessarily one that is controlled by touch. However, to accommodate the removal of its trademark keyboard, RIM has taken touch-screens into a literal new dimension by requiring users to depress the screen to activate a button on the screen, which lowers and springs back like a giant keyboard key.
The screen's ability to respond to presses as a physical button (like the trackpad in Apple's new MacBooks), helps provide a more natural feel to typing on the Storm; the feedback is certainly more satisfying than the solely visual feedback that the iPhone gives. Just because it feels good, though, doesn't mean you should do it.Continue reading [I]Switched On: Writers on the Storm[/I]
Filed under: Cellphones
Switched On: Writers on the Storm originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Storm's main advantage over other BlackBerry devices is that it has a larger screen, not necessarily one that is controlled by touch. However, to accommodate the removal of its trademark keyboard, RIM has taken touch-screens into a literal new dimension by requiring users to depress the screen to activate a button on the screen, which lowers and springs back like a giant keyboard key.
The screen's ability to respond to presses as a physical button (like the trackpad in Apple's new MacBooks), helps provide a more natural feel to typing on the Storm; the feedback is certainly more satisfying than the solely visual feedback that the iPhone gives. Just because it feels good, though, doesn't mean you should do it.Continue reading [I]Switched On: Writers on the Storm[/I]
Filed under: Cellphones
Switched On: Writers on the Storm originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments[IMG]http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/ATPSo0D5qGJ2YdgL4CkhEiQSKRI/i[/IMG]
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