CES Honeycomb preview UI

[BergerFan]

if the ipad had widgets it would be killer.

but thats unlikely to happen.

Maybe I've been staring at iOS devices for way too long, but I just have no love for widgets.
I hated them on the desktop(Vista) and whenever I see them on an Android device, I think it just looks ugly.

 

[colmaclean]

I hated them on the desktop(Vista) and whenever I see them on an Android device, I think it just looks ugly.

Agreed. The standard (at least it's always the one I see) flip clock/weather widget is fugly.

 

[Piggie]

Maybe I've been staring at iOS devices for way too long, but I just have no love for widgets.
I hated them on the desktop(Vista) and whenever I see them on an Android device, I think it just looks ugly.

Do you think they should remove the ability to have widgets on the iMac with OSX ?

 

[mrboult]

i don't know how people are so excited over that video. Sure is looks pretty slick in parts, but until i see it running on a device in my hands I have no comment.

Some videos of the Galaxy Tab looked pretty sweet, but when i played with one in a shop I found it awful.

 

[513]

Want to see the tablet in action for 10 minutes ?

Here you are :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YiXlkiq8Y0

 

[gatearray]

I never mentioned the dock and bolded. But it does remind me how silly it looks that the dock holds a different number of apps than the grid of icons. 5 icons along the homescreen, 6 on the dock, 7 on the task switcher - DERP.

Sheesh. I resign, enjoy your Honeycomb or Cookie Crisp or whatever whimsically titled OS is released for Android in late 2011.

 

[firestarter]

Want to see the tablet in action for 10 minutes ?

Here you are :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YiXlkiq8Y0

Thanks.

Yes - it pretty much blows.

What is the point of all the widgets on a small portable device? The screen is much too small. The page he showed with 'here's some personal pictures' was pointless (who wants a screen with two tiny pictures on?).

No - the more I see it, the more I'm appreciating Apple's concentration on the functionality being in 'full screen' apps.

 

[Dr McKay]

Apple could at least give us widgets on the search screen and a new motivation system

What do you want? To be motivated to use it? A gentle whispering voice coming from your iPad in the night saying 'Use meeeeeee, I'll give you candy'

 

[petvas]

I just finished watching the YouTube video and I have to say that I am impressed. Google got many things right this time. The UI looks great, notifications are also nice and the whole system seems ver well thought. I still prefer my iPad because it offers a better platform to use, but I have to admit that Apple now has a serious competitor in the tablet market. I am sure that the iPad 2 will Be much Beter hardware wise and I expect iOS 5 to solve many of the issues we are currently having, like notifications, fast app switching (done in a better way) and maybe also improve the UI.

 

[MRU]

Honeycomb looks good, and competition is great for everyone.

I seriously have been unimpressed with Android so far, but this is the first time its made me think 'impressive'...

IOS 5 will need to up it's game if Apple want 2011 to go their way.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Agreed. The standard (at least it's always the one I see) flip clock/weather widget is fugly.

I believe that is HTC stuff. Not the standard andriod home screen.

 

[EssentialParado]

There's an inherent problem with "new" — it makes something exciting for a moment. Come back to this video in a month and I wonder if people will still be calling it awesome bread.

 

[Eso]

No - the more I see it, the more I'm appreciating Apple's concentration on the functionality being in 'full screen' apps.

The apps they demonstrated were all full screen.

 

[firestarter]

The apps they demonstrated were all full screen.

No, they demonstrated widgets and widget management too.

What I mean is that I appreciate iOS having just full screen apps. I think it adds a lot of unnecessary clutter to have apps with widgets too. What was the point of the browser bookmarks widget? Ugly and pointless. Same goes for the youtube videos widget - not very well designed at all.

Once you're inside a full screen app there won't be much to separate the platforms (since the app designer can use the screen identically on both platforms).

 

[513]

The page he showed with 'here's some personal pictures' was pointless (who wants a screen with two tiny pictures on?).

It's just widgets, if you don't like them, you just delete them.
And if you just want a list of icons, you can do it too.

With Android you have the choice to do whatever you want.

 

[firestarter]

It's just widgets, if you don't like them, you just delete them.
And if you just want a list of icons, you can do it too.

With Android you have the choice to do whatever you want.

Fair enough.

How about folders of icons? I didn't see anything like that.

 

[513]

What was the point of the browser bookmarks widget?

You really ask the point of it ?
It's simple, it takes just one click to open your favorite site.

With iOS you have to open Safari, click on bookmarks and then select your website.

It is pretty useful, maybe not for all the widgets, like the one for the books, but you manage the homescreen the way you want.

 

[513]

Fair enough.

How about folders of icons? I didn't see anything like that.

Folders exist on Android since the beginning. But it's pretty basic, not as polished as the iOS way.

But the are a lot of apps and widgets on the market to make it nicer.

ex: copy of iOS way : http://www.androidfreeware.net/download-simi-folder-widget.html

 

[aduteau]

You really ask the point of it ?
It's simple, it takes just one click to open your favorite site.

With iOS you have to open Safari, click on bookmarks and then select your website.

It is pretty useful, maybe not for all the widgets, like the one for the books, but you manage the homescreen the way you want.

doesnt iOS let you bookmark a website directly on the homepage with an icon ? And by taping that icon ... It opens up safary to the website you just bookmarked ?

 

[Eso]

What I mean is that I appreciate iOS having just full screen apps. I think it adds a lot of unnecessary clutter to have apps with widgets too. What was the point of the browser bookmarks widget? Ugly and pointless. Same goes for the youtube videos widget - not very well designed at all.

So your comment about "Yes - it pretty much blows" is just about the widgets? You don't have to put them on your home screen. I think the email and calander widgets looks very helpful. Instead of an icon with a number of unread messages, you can actually see your inbox. You don't have to launch the app to see if it's mail you want to read.

doesnt iOS let you bookmark a website directly on the homepage with an icon ? And by taping that icon ... It opens up safary to the website you just bookmarked ?

They are also arranged and look just like apps, which means there's no real differentiation or organization to them. Sure, you can put them on their own home screen or folder, which is OK. The widget organizes them much better and puts them in a a scrolling list like a classic bookmarks menu. Bottom line is that it's just a better implementation.

The point is, sure both are going to have mostly the same functionality, but Honeycomb just does it better on all accounts: task switching, home screen organization, notification, browsing, etc.