On Design: Don’t iPhone and drive
In December I was in a car with a CEO of a successful Canadian technology business and I was a little nervous. The reason was because the CEO was driving at full speed while simultaneously checking his Blackberry for new emails. Some people would be quite freaked out by this, but I was quite calm, because I knew he was a good driver and that thanks to the usability of the Blackberry, checking email did not actually take much of his attention.
I don’t have a Blackberry, but I know that they have a great wheel on the side that makes them incredibly easy and powerful to use. You can scroll through emails and read them with one hand no problem.
Enter iPhone:
I don’t have an iPhone yet, and likely won’t get one when they are available, but I can see just from the reviews and the pictures that everything is dependant on the touch screens. There are no mechanical buttons or wheels. Unless you are one of those people with unbelievable dexterity that can flip a coin through your fingers with one hand, I really doubt you will be able to check your email on the iPhone with one hand. Strictly because of this, I don’t see too many CEO’s (or millions of other busy business people) using the iPhone on a regular basis.
Jason Fried also thinks the iPhone’s lack of touchy feelyness and the fact that you are forced to look at it could be a concern.
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3:46 pm
Funny to see this posting this morning.
I sideswiped a goat this morning while on my way to work because I was checking email on my blackberry. The goat is fine…but I accidentally deleted the email I was reading as I reacted to the incident and jerked my hand.
True story. Blackberry’s and driving do not mix…I don’t care how good a driver someone thinks they are.
3:53 pm
jonathan, man o’ man, I really do hope you and the goat are okay. I 100% agree, blackberrying and driving do not mix…but let’s face fact, there are many people out there who do it, as well as blackberry and walk, blackberry and watch movies, blackberry and sit in meetings. It is rampant.
However, I should be clear, I definitely don’t condone it.
8:57 am
I agree man, in fact I just wrote an article titled “10 reasons why they iPhone might flop”, you can check it out here:
http://innovationzen.com/blog/2007/01/18/10-reasons-why-the-iphone-might-flop/
10:42 am
First off, driving and anything else don’t mix, whether it be Blackberry, iPhone. I try to limit my cell use while driving, but must admit my guilt!
The keyboard argument against any touch-screen device is becoming increasingly weak. First off, your finger motion is the same, whether it be on a scroll wheel or flat screen.
More importantly, these devices are not being designed first and foremost for people behind the wheel. It’s clear that these are being designed for people who want to take advantage of the visual capabilities of these things (eg. video, email).
Bottom line: keyboards take up space, and are not nearly as intuitive as onscreen interfaces.
5:21 pm
Hey Levi,
You wrote: “Unless you are one of those people with unbelievable dexterity that can flip a coin through your fingers with one hand, I really doubt you will be able to check your email on the iPhone with one hand.”
Sorry man, but I think you’re way off the mark here. People have used their iPods with one hand since the beginning — I don’t think this is any different, except that the interactive area is bigger than before. If you haven’t watched Steve’s keynote when he uses the slick finger scrolling, check it out. There’s no reason you couldn’t just do that with your thumb.
Cheers,
Rafael
P.S. Thanks for your help on the phone the other day — I was able to figure out the issue on my own, with your advice.