

IPad UI Roundup - fjabre
http://blog.cocoia.com/2010/ipad-ui-roundup/

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gr366
Nice to have a post that deals with the concrete details of what the iPad is
today, not what it may become. I agree that some of the UI elements look
shoehorned in from the iPhone interface, and running iPhone apps on the device
just wasn't going to have an elegant solution given the resolution-dependent
UIs.

But the revolutionary bit is the multitouch/lack of mouse pointer part. The
iPhone was a gentle introduction to this new paradigm. It'll be interesting to
watch how people catch on and how quickly other companies adopt it — not to
mention how Apple handles its patents around this stuff.

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joe_the_user
Is there a reason no one has called "Gorilla Arm" on the iPad?

I suppose it's mostly because it's UI which you aren't supposed to do any
sustained or difficult work with.

But it seems unlikely that even Joe-The-Non-Geek will be happy with something
they can barely use.

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ugh
Doesn’t that only apply to stuff you use standing up?

Is that a problem when using a touchscreen lying or sitting on a couch? Or
sitting in front of a table?

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joe_the_user
No,

It's worst standing but I believe a Gorilla arm "effect" results from any
devices which forces the user to do extended input without physical support
for his/her arms.

Just see how long you can sit at a chair with your hands in the standard
keyboarding position but without the keyboard.

The iPad looks just big enough that any serious input going to require
repeated arm-raising whereas the iphone/ipod-touch is small enough you can use
it with your hands always resting on a table.

~~~
ugh
Aren’t my arms supported when I’m lying on the couch or sitting on the table?
I would say they are.

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jsz0
The Omni Group announced they are working on Omni Graffle for the iPad. To me
this is a killer app. A great example of where a desktop application would
actually be _better_ on the iPad than the desktop.

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mortenjorck
If Omni can put it all into an easily-browsed "notebook" format, that might
just convince me to get an iPad.

This is the first idea that actually has me considering it.

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Raphael
Toolbars really ought to be on the bottom rather than the top, so that you
don't cover half the screen with your arm (although I suppose you could come
in from the top or the sides to avoid that). The left and right sides might
also work, but then you get into dominant hand territory, which Apple
consistently avoids for good reason.

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glhaynes
I could see feeling like they were "too close" if they were at the bottom. And
if you're always reaching over them you might feel worried that you might
accidentally hit them. (Just speculating without having used one.)

~~~
sans-serif
Seconded. I've used my laptop in cramped space before and found typing to be
almost impossible. Try it.

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mrshoe
_The new and simple method was to use automatic saving and persistent data –
but with iWork on the iPad as a serious content creation platform, this isn’t
an option anymore._

Why not? Can we not think outside the box even when we've _been_ outside the
box? Or am I missing something?

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padmanabhan01
Yeah.All it takes is a way to browse those docs from within iWork apps.

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Raphael

        Neat touch: the full-size keyboard of iPad has actual
        tactile ‘nubs’ on the F and J keys, like a real keyboard.
    

Are the nubs always there? Or do they pop out only when the keyboard interface
is shown?

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jws
I think the reviewer meant to say _pictures of actual tactile 'nubs'_. There
was a patent application for raise up tactile feedback devices, but I don't
think they are in the iPad.

