One Icon

[benjamintm]

One icon. That's all it takes.

The initial release of the iPhone had a symmetry to it. There were three rows of icons, four icons per row. This was followed by a blank row that added a sense of space to the design. And then there there was the Dock with it's four icons whose functions were elevated above the others. Looking at the iPhone was like looking at a piece of art.

Even when I installed third party apps with installer.app, I included SummerBoard so that symmetry could be maintained. After replacing YouTube (with Navizon) and Notes (with VNotes), I'd keep all the other third party apps in the below space, hidden below the dock, only to be seen when I went looking for them. When I looked at the Home Page, the 3x4 arrangement offered me a sense of uniformity, of comfort.

And then Apple released 1.1.1 and introduced the Wi-Fi Music Store. The icon, a purplish pink and white square that looked surprisingly like a power button, took away some of the iPhone's spaciousness. It filled a part of the emptiness between the Dock apps and the lesser ones. It took away the symmetry.

Even worse, it took it away in a place of honor. Whereas most people scan left to right (at least in western cultures) and could easily ignore an icon on the left, the WiFi Music Store stood to the right, drawing your eyes to it, forcing you to look at it by standing outside the symmetry, by standing to the right. It was the Rush Limbaugh of icons: loud and obnoxious and difficult to ignore.

But unlike Rush Limbaugh, I can't change the station and silence it. Apple has taken that away from me. SummerBoard, for now, is no longer useable on my updated phone. I can't regulate this pink power button that's actually a store to the hidden recesses of the below area. I can't keep my home page organize and comforting. I can't keep my symmetry.

Ben
http://www.samuraipanda.com

 

[tttexxan]

and this will soon change..A hack is always on the way

 

[mpuck972]

and this will soon change..A hack is always on the way

Then why does Apple play this game? They obviously don't have the end users in mind.

 

[Sobe]

It was the Rush Limbaugh of icons...(snip)

Ben
http://www.samuraipanda.com

You mean it pisses you off because it is right all the time?

 

[Daremo]

You mean it pisses you off because it is right all the time?

HAHAHA! Now THAT'S funny!

 

[benjamintm]

You mean it pisses you off because it is right all the time?

Touché

Ben

 

[Sobe]

Touché

Ben

It's just an icon...

Perhaps you have heard of the concept of symmetry in nature and how it is a proxy for genetic health?

Just look at things we consider beautiful, especially other people...generally they are the most symmetrical.

So just think of the Itunes icon as a little scar on the forehead of a beautiful young lady and it will all be put into perspective.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

What is it with this ridiculous notion that a single icon is ruining your "symmetrically perfect" phone?? God, get over it already. Most of you people would complain about a free lunch.

 

[Sobe]

What is it with this ridiculous notion that a single icon is ruining your "symmetrically perfect" phone?? God, get over it already. Most of you people would complain about a free lunch.

what kind of a lunch is it?

 

[benjamintm]

What is it with this ridiculous notion that a single icon is ruining your "symmetrically perfect" phone?? God, get over it already. Most of you people would complain about a free lunch.

Is the free lunch vegetarian? If not then I'd just have to complain.

And wow, I so should have put a at the end of my original post.

Although I do think the icon looks like a pink power button.

Ben

 

[JBaker122586]

But unlike a free lunch, there is such a thing as symmetry.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Is the free lunch vegetarian?

Actually its all you can eat buffalo wings.

I wasnt singling only you out with my comments. Its just that Ive seen multiple people more or less voicing the opinion that now that the last empty row will have that 1 icon it somehow is ruining their iPhone experience.

 

[beate]

I hate it so much that I'm not updating.
There...that'll show 'em!

OP was correct on everything (from my perspective).

 

[FreeState]

If you hate it so much just go back to 1.0.2 :

1. Put the iPhone into recovery mode.(this is done by holding down the power and home bottom until the yellow triangle appears in the screen)

2.Connect to iTunes, hold down the option key while selecting restore/update firmware selection box. Another selection box appears and you choose firmware 1.0.2

 

[benjamintm]

If you hate it so much just go back to 1.0.2

Hate is too strong of a word.

The new icon is distracting and bothersome, both in position and coloring. It's the only icon on a line by itself. It's located on the right, making it difficult to ignore. It's the only icon that uses the color purple. All this screams "PRESS ME!!!".

Aesthetically, it's a bad choice. Financially, making it the first button your eye is drawn to makes sense for Apple. Once the phone is sold, the only revenue they get it from their service contract agreement with AT&T. With the new Wi-Fi Music store, they now have another source of ongoing revenue.

But then again it could be that Apple put the icon there, with the arrow pointing down, to indicate that it's tied to the iPod icon right below it.

All I know is that it's distracting to me and I'm looking forward to SummerBoard working again (along with 5Dice).

Oh, and I tried going back, but iTunes gives me an error if I choose the 1.0.2 firmware and forces me to restore to 1.1.1. It's late, so I may be doing something wrong.

Ben
http://www.samuraipanda.com

 

[p0intblank]

I like one icon being on the right in the bottom row. It looks better that way. I'm a graphic design, so maybe that's why? I don't know...

 

[yayaba]

It does look weird, I agree.

 

[macduke]

Apple put the icon there to get attention. They want everyone to know that they can buy their songs right on their iPhone now. They used a standout color for that purpose...I mean...since when has iTunes used hot pink / violet??

After it gets the attention of the 1.5 some-odd million iPhone users, they will probably put out an update allowing you to hide it and make it available from the iPod screen.

If they don't do this, then I expect in another month when the October update comes out, after Leopard is released, they should have some more widgets to fill in the gaps. They seriously can't leave that empty gap there for long. I tend to believe this update was supposed to include a little more but did not because of the intense effort of their programmers to disable the iPhone unlocks.

That being said I don't really mind the icon that much visually, I'm an art major and we are always taught in class to shy away from centering our work. The problem that I do have with it is that I'm used to reaching up to tap the iPod button and not worrying about hitting any buttons above it and now I have been hitting the iTunes button quite a bit. Same with settings, although I've just been looking at those more because of the updates, but I still reach my finger up to tap it and end up hitting the iTunes button since I was "trained" to tap near the bottom since it didn't matter. Not really a big deal though either way, just putting in my two cents. I'm just super stoked the iPod / Safari crashing problem is fixed!!

 

[timmmmyboy]

After it gets the attention of the 1.5 some-odd million iPhone users, they will probably put out an update allowing you to hide it and make it available from the iPod screen.

I wouldn't count on that, at least until (if?) they start allowing the customizing of show/hide and placement of all icons. The Wifi store is a revenue generating device and they are not going to mess that up by allowing users to hide it completely unless they start opening the phone up quite a bit to let users rearrange, add, and remove icons (and even that seems like wishful thinking).