Adaptive User Interfaces

The use of Mobile phones has grown exponentially. Gartner Inc predicts that mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide by 2013. Smartphones have seen an even greater growth over the last few years, in the UK alone, more than half of adults possess one and growth is only set […]

Responsive web design

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I’ve been doing quite a lot of research lately on responsive web design. This fancy name was given to a combination of techniques, such as media queries, fluid proportion-based grids and flexible images which adapt a website’s layout to the viewing environment (phone, tablet, desktop etc). Long story short, it is an alternative to the […]

Google Chrome for iOS: A week after…

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I downloaded Google Chrome for iOS on the day of its release. It must have been almost a week now. My motivation for doing that lies in the fact that I already use it in my laptop. Therefore, I had high expectations from Google in the direction of my account integration in multiple devices. To […]

Nielsen and the Problem With Thinking About the Present.

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Nielsen recently released guidelines about mobile websites, triggering an outburst of the UX community causing him to explain himself. Unfortunately, Nielsen is thinking about the “now”. How we are going to satisfy the user now, what will work given the technologies that are in our disposal now. This could have been a great post for everyone to read and a […]

Siri. Why the Sound When In Mute?

So, there you are, having switched your iPhone to mute, when you want to trigger Siri. The familiar “ti din” sound is heard. But why? My phone is on silent mode. Is this an omission? Nope. I want to share some quick thoughts.

 

1. The way Siri is triggered, is by pressing the home button for a second. The sound signifier meaning “I am ready for your command” is preventing accidental presses and all kinds of weird stuff Siri might hear that you are unaware of! 

 

2. The phone assumes that since you are in a position to dictate something to Siri using your voice, then, perhaps, you are indeed able to talk in this environment even if your phone is shushed. The only issue arises when you accidentally press and hold the button in a very quiet environment, say the library. Then you will notice glances and heads turned your way. But, the sound is not *that* loud and and it’s duration is no more than half a second.

 

Trade offs, trade offs..