CNN launched their first branded iPhone app last night and by the looks of it, it could set a new standard for what people expect from a mixed-media news app. Apart from having all the things you’d expect from a news app from a major news outlet, it puts a large emphasis on being a channel for users to consume live, breaking news:
The newsreading and reporting functions look fine, but he app doesn’t really start to shine until it starts to stream: Video is available in both VOD and live flavors, the first of which is organized in a catalog, and the second of which jumps in and out of service at the whim of CNN. Here’s the theory: Users sit tight with their text content and old clips of Anderson Cooper interviewing panda cubs, or whatever he does, until NEWS BREAKS: Anderson has been mauled by mother panda. This is huge. You get a push notification that says, “Hey, CNN’s live right now,” which means that the station’s content is streamed over Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE. And, you watch.
I love the immediacy of it. Hopefully they’re good about letting you determine what kind of news you want to be alerted by (something NotifyNYC could learn a thing or two about). Also, if they can get the streaming right, this could really change things.
How great would that be for speeding Broncos, heroic plane landings, historical elections and sadly, expired kings of pop? I think back to my mother working at TIME Magazine when I was growing up and what “finding out about the news” meant then and then think about something like this (or what the MLB.tv iPhone app has done for sports fans) and I get that fuzzy feeling in my belly that comes from being alive at a time when so much is changing.
Testled looks to bring a new simplicity to online usability testing. The proposition and feature set are reminiscent of the refreshing take Survs brought to the tired world of online surveys.
As they work to get their product launched, they’re soliciting feedback from potential users with a quick survey. If this sounds like something you or your team may be interested in, go fill out the survey and get a chance to win a $300 Amazon Gift Certificate on October 16th.
Tap Tap Tap, the makers of the iPhone app Convert, have posted a time-lapse video that chronicles the evolution of their wildly innovative user interface. Check out their own post (with great reader comments) here.
The video serves as a great testament to the benefits of an iterative approach to UI development and how far you can get if you really keep pushing, and refining, a design. So often we’re pressed into timelines that make this kind of iteration feel impossible but the ultimate success of this particular interface should serve a prime example of how designers needs room (and time) to do great design.
Putting people first » Your next cell phone Crazy long list of interesting-sounding mobile articles from a recent Technology Review feature on the Future of Mobile. Fire up the Instapaper!
Things may be turning a corner economically, and I’m starting to see more people hiring as well as more people writing about hiring. I came across these three great pieces over the past few weeks that I wanted to share here as I’ve found they can be used as a great frame of reference when evaluating design candidates. Read together, the lists do a great job highlighting the importance of combining hard skills, soft skills and perspective if you want to be an effective designer in today’s world.
I’ve included summaries here but I highly recommend you check out each of the pieces to get all of the necessary context and color on each of the points.
Nine Essential Characteristics of Good UX Designers is aimed squarely at the field of User Experience Design so many of the characteristics are very much geared towards those that find themselves playing that particular role within the context of a larger team/process.
A Deep Understanding of Human Psychology & Research Methods
Competence in the Basics of Graphic Design
An Awareness of and Interest in Technology
Verbal & Visual Communication Skills
Moderate Familiarity with Business, Deep Familiarity with Your Business
The Ability to Quickly Learn a Subject Matter Area
Mediation, Facilitation, & Translation Skills
Creativity & Vision
Passion
The Top and Bottom highlights one of the most important qualities I look for in a designer – the ability to pivot between the high-level and the details. This post by Luke Wroblewski does a great job touching on why that’s so important.
an ability to understand and speak to the rationale behind a design (the big picture) and a focus on the nuances of the design (the details). A skilled designer adds value at both the top (the big picture) and the bottom (the details) of a design problem. When the top and bottom are thought through, the middle naturally works itself out.
Only focus on the bottom and you “can’t see the forest for the trees”. Only focus on the top and your “head’s in the sky”. Only focus on the middle and you don’t know what’s driving your design (the big picture) nor how to optimize it (the details).
Following closely after LarvaLab’s excellent Android homepage concept, teehan + lax bring us a new (long overdue) take on the iPhone home screen.
You can see from the screens it’s essentially just a scrollable list of applications and notifications. We envision it behaving in much the same way that the list view does in the Calendar application. By default it may track things like missed calls, unread emails and calendar events. But what if users could allow other apps to feed into this screen as well? If I’m a Facebook junkie I’d be able to tell the Facebook app to include certain feeds on my home screen. If I was a frequent traveler I may include the Tripit app to show me my upcoming trips. The options would only be limited by what apps you have installed.
I’m liking it though I might like the option to hide the anchored app bar at the bottom in this view. I also love how they’ve taken the time to explore how it would work as a platform for other (non-Apple) apps:
As well as how the preferences might work:
This seems like such low-hanging fruit for Apple. I’d like to think we could get something new from them soon but it stinks to me of a “feature” that they might tie to a new OS (or god forbid, phone) release.
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I maintain a more traditional blog, covering a wide range of topics over at www.alexrainert.com.
I'm a husband, new father & owner of a lovably neurotic vizsla. Obsessed with information, design, emerging tech, sports & food. Years ago I co-founded dodgeball.com and I'm currently head of product at foursquare.
