Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Will anyone appreciate the key layout on the new Siemens SX-1?
There's a reason that this...
became this:
so what do you make of this?
(click images to see full size versions)
The keypad layout on the Nokia 3650 was truly awful - yes, it was a stylistic, retro design statement, but it was terrible to use. This isn't just an opinion from afar - I used one and struggled. Nokia saw the error of their ways and updated the design to feature a more traditional layout.
Now Siemens have released a new phone, pitched squarely at the business market, that would appear to suffer from exactly the same mistakes...
Yes, it looks nice and neat and tidy, but I'm sure any basic usability study would show that this phone is harder to use than one with a traditional keypad, and it's not just about having to learn a new layout: the keys are spaced further apart, which means more finger movement is required to type, and it looks like you're going to obscure the screen most of the time when reaching for the keys on the left (or the right, if you're doing it left-handed).
Maybe this phone will sell enough on looks alone to keep Siemens happy, but I doubt it.
There's a reason that this...
became this:
so what do you make of this?
(click images to see full size versions)
The keypad layout on the Nokia 3650 was truly awful - yes, it was a stylistic, retro design statement, but it was terrible to use. This isn't just an opinion from afar - I used one and struggled. Nokia saw the error of their ways and updated the design to feature a more traditional layout.
Now Siemens have released a new phone, pitched squarely at the business market, that would appear to suffer from exactly the same mistakes...
Yes, it looks nice and neat and tidy, but I'm sure any basic usability study would show that this phone is harder to use than one with a traditional keypad, and it's not just about having to learn a new layout: the keys are spaced further apart, which means more finger movement is required to type, and it looks like you're going to obscure the screen most of the time when reaching for the keys on the left (or the right, if you're doing it left-handed).
Maybe this phone will sell enough on looks alone to keep Siemens happy, but I doubt it.
(c) 2003-2005 Russell Beale
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