

IPad ergonomics: "he looks uncomfortable" - jbellis
http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/201002/ipad_ergonomics.html

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metatronscube
I think a lot of the awkwardness in the presentation and the other videos was
partly due to the fact that there were cameras watching and it was a
demonstration so they had to make the movements very obvious. This would
perhaps have made the motions more exaggerated and unnatural looking. Think of
that feeling you get when someone is watching you at the keyboard type or
doing something that you would not normally think too hard about. The moment
you start thinking about it is when you mess up.

I for one think that the interface looks very intuitive and quite easy to get
to grips with. I think it should be more comfortable since you don't need to
learn how to interact with the device. Holding and interacting with it should
become quite a natural thing.

~~~
liquidben
Your comment speaks about awkwardness derived from the difficulties of giving
a presentation. The article speaks about awkwardness derived from potential
ergonomic issues.

You've made some good points, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

This article raises points that I've been wondering about myself. The thinner
cross-section and lack of non-interactive space in front represent a
significant potential gripping issue, at least for those with larger hands or
arthritis. These aren't present in iPhone shapes since you can alternatively
grip it with your hand wrapped from the left to right. Anecdotally speaking,
when playing my Nintendo DS Lite for longer periods, my hands cramp up from
clutching the thinner form factor. This makes me wonder how I would be holding
an iPad comfortably.

How would you expect to hold yours?

~~~
stcredzero
For serious input, I'd have it lying flat or slightly inclined. For meetings,
I'd have it on a stand on the tabletop. For Augmented Reality, I'd be holding
it out in front of me, possibly with both hands.

This post was made with a Windows tablet, BTW, as have all my posts for a
week. My tc1100 works best lying flat for serious input. I suspect that will
also be true for a non-stylus interface.

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lutorm
The bad ergonomics was my initial thought, too.

A laptop is bad enough in that the keyboard and the screen is too close
together, forcing you to either tilt your neck forward or fold your elbows to
get your hands high enough, but at least you can angle the screen and keyboard
independently. To be able to type comfortably, the surface more or less needs
to be aligned with your forearm, but on the Ipad, that will put the screen at
a 45-degree angle from your eyes.

That's _in addition_ to the difficulty of touch-typing on a multitouch
surface. I used to have a Fingerworks Touchstream (the _original_ multitouch
controller), and it was very difficult to type on without moving your hands
slightly and ending up on different keys. (And it even had a row of dots to
give you a tactile sensation of where home row was.) If you were in an even
slightly unstable situation -- forget it; totally unusable on a train or bus.

I can see how it could be useful for watching videos or passive browsing, but
not for any amount of extended typing.

~~~
mechanical_fish
_not for any amount of extended typing_

Agreed, but there's an ace in the hole: It apparently supports Bluetooth
keyboards out of the box.

I have literally been waiting for this for fifteen years: A portable machine
that (a) lets me carry a little portable keyboard that can be separated from
the display, and (b) doesn't also make me carry around a useless extra
keyboard that is _attached_ to the display. (I don't like laptop keyboards.
They are almost as un-ergonomic as the iPad's virtual keyboard is likely to
be.)

Now if only we can get the thing to run emacs...

~~~
stcredzero
_A portable machine that (a) lets me carry a little portable keyboard that can
be separated from the display, and (b) doesn't also make me carry around a
useless extra keyboard that is attached to the display._

HP's tc1100 already does this, and it's 5 years old.

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Spikefu
One of the most interesting things for me was Steve Jobs' facial expressions
as he was sitting on the chair demonstrating the iPad.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eVCFXxgn2M&feature=chann...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eVCFXxgn2M&feature=channel)

After practically every phrase, he tightly closes his mouth. It made it seem,
to me at least, that he really didn't believe what he was saying. No doubt
having an audience of millions contributed to him wanting to carefully control
anything that comes out of his mouth, but it was hard for me not to get that
impression.

~~~
pohl
Interesting hypothesis, Dr. Lightman, but doesn't the principle of parsimony
makes your eyes wander towards a more basic explanation like health?

~~~
Spikefu
Yes, I did consider that his health might also be an explanation. Probably
should have mentioned that. Regardless, the impression I get from watching the
demo is still the same.

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kjf
Pointless article. Why can't people just wait until the device is released and
hold one in their hands before trying to judge how comfortable this thing is.

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tezza
This is not possible with the device as it stands BUT:

A possible solution is to extend the multitouch area around the sides and
back(to sense the grip) and cancel out any grip finger movements.

So floating pointing finger still is sensed but slight movements in gripping
hand should not wreck things.

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pohl
_And when he has to touch with both hands, they keep crossing over each other
like some kind of crazy-advanced piano sonata._

The author has never had piano lessons, I see. I remember hand crossing being
taught in John Thompson's first grade book. (I verified this before posting.)

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mhb
Maybe a case with a loop on the back would help for the one-handed
manipulations.

~~~
msluyter
That wss my thought exactly. Of course, that would be very un-Apple like, but
perhaps 3rd parties will release various ergonomic enhancements such as this.

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ERGOLAB
There is a core principle in human factors and ergonomics - the hand is a
lousy holding device. Too many small muscle groups - fatigue easily. More
prone to injury. Maintaining neutral postures in wrist a real challenge -
static wrist flexion &/or wrist extension causes pain, discomfort, then
injury. iPad is a Musculoskeletal Disorder waiting to happen. Check out our
blog post on this issue - <http://bit.ly/ERGOLABiPAD>

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jbellis
The part about 20s in where he demonstrates dragging multiple slides looks
excruciating. This is "we barely got something to work so we could check it
off," not "elegant."

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ZachPruckowski
It took me a while to get used to using my iPod Touch when I first got one
(since upgraded to iPhone 3GS). While it's certainly possible there will be
ergonomic issues with the iPad, I wouldn't worry about it until we see those
sorts of reports from people who have used the device for days instead of for
10-15 minute demos.

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tritowntim
Won't you be sitting down at a table most of the time, as if you were writing?
Or sitting with the iPad in your lap, like you would a book?

