Android 2.2 vs iPhone

Since I dont know too much on the Android phone, I thought this would be a good opportunity to blog about some research I did in comparison to my iPhone. So, in this blog, I will give a brief overview on the Android phone, then I will look at the specs in comparison to the iPhone as well as look at some of the reviews. A short video can be found at the bottom of this blog for more information.

OVERVIEW:

Over the course of September to December of last year (2009), it seems that the adroid seemed to get a lot of interest. It seemed to pass BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm, but was yet to pass the iPhone. Below is a graph of people's interests in the Android phone and how it surely increased in percentage.





ComScore's numbers placed Android and iPhone nearly neck-and-neck: Seventeen percent of people surveyed by the company said they were headed to Android, while 20 percent were planning to make new iPhone purchases.

This statement was read in one of the articles I was looking at "The iPhone and Android-based phones right now are in contention for second place. Right now, the BlackBerry is sitting pretty at just over 40% of the market. The iPhone is at about 25% and Android-based phones account for 5.2%. If anyone should be worried by Android’s growth, it’s the Palm and Microsoft types. Both of those platforms are slipping pretty quickly, with Palm being the biggest loser." --> I think for the most part this is true, most people are looking at either a Blackberry, an iPhone 4 or an Android which is cheaper than both.

REVIEWS:

1. Android's applications are still less robust than Apple's but this is simply because they are new. They are currently working on improving their products.

2. Android also has google talk messenger which some people use whereas, the iPhone does not (maybe the new one does but not the 3G)

3. When it comes to media players, the iPhone is simply better than the android. This is because as mentioned previously Androids are still rough around the edges.

4. Android notifications are better than Apple's because with Apple, you can either view it now or lose it forever.

5. Flash is something that Androids support but iPhones dont. (not even the new one)

6. It is highly dependable on google accounts which isn't always great... especially when not everyone has a google account.

7. Androids do not support PDF documents, whereas iPhones do. (messages are all messed when viewed on an android)

8. Infinite scrolling bug on certain HTML emails still exists on the Android 2.2.

9. You can't take a screenshot on Android without a third-party application, rooted phone, or the SDK.

10. Most non-Google software tends to be very limited in functionality and visually unrefined.

There are many more reviews for this smartphone, you will find more information in the following video and references. I believe that there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the Android market. Now that it has increased interest... it will only go up from there. Google just needs to work on functionality and needs to visually refine itself.



References:

1. http://www.pcworld.com/article/185830/android_vs_iphone_lets_get_ready_to_rumble.html
2. http://ca.askmen.com/entertainment/guy_gear_100/114_tech-qa-android-vs-iphone.html
3. http://stevenf.com/wiki/android%20vs.%20iphone.html
4. http://www.thesearethedroids.com/2010/03/29/choosing-a-smartphone-part-3-android-vs-iphone/
5. http://lifehacker.com/5173441/android-versus-iphone-30-the-showdown
6. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/android-vs-iphone-which-handset-is-winning-the-hearts-and-minds-of-owners/8516

The iPhone 4G Craze!

As most of you all know, the iPhone 4G was released on July 23rd 2010. I was at the mall when this release was happening and saw the huge massive line ups at the Apple store and Rogers. All for what? This smartphone costs about $649 for a 16GB model and $749 for a 32GB model if you do not have a contract. Steve Jobb's mentions that this smartphone is the thinest smartphone on the planet with its stainless steal casing, all-glass front. Unlike my current iPhone, it also comes with volume control on the sides and the sim card is easily accessible now. These are just SOME of the features that were implemented, for a more thorough list of features, see my references. From what I hear, we are better off waiting until all of the glitches are sorted out before we run out and get one. This phone has recieved a lot of good and bad reviews. This blog will briefly describe each of these reviews. You will also see Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple introducing the new Iphone 4G.

First, lets look at some of the GOOD reviews:

1. Thinner and sleaker than the 3G models (Stainless steal casing)
2. New and improved "Retina display" (4 times the pixel density of a regular LCD)
3. Apple-designed A4 CPU, following along the lines of the processor powering the iPad. Jobs said the A4 processor improved power management, so the iPhone 4 will manage 40 percent more talk time on 3G networks (up to 7 hours), or up to 6 hours of 3G Web browsing or 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing.
4.The iPhone 4 will feature a 5 megapixel camera with a backside-illuminated sensor, which Jobs says increases the amount of light captured by the sensor, resulting in better photographs, particularly in low-light situations.
5. iBooks is now available for the iPhone
6. It uses iOS 4 - which will help to perform multitasking
7. Front-facing camera in the iPhone 4 exists for one and only one purpose: video calls. Jobs demonstrated what Apple is dubbing FaceTime video calling with the iPhone 4.

Now, lets look at some of the BAD reviews:

1. There are some wifi issues (as you will see in the demonstration)
2. Some antenna issues
3. variable call quality and lacks some basic features found in many cell phones, including stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. Integrated memory is stingy for an iPod, and you have to sync the iPhone to manage music content.
4. Even though it is thinner, it is actually heavier!
5. Smaller screen size
6. Expensive! (BlackBerrys and Androids are cheaper)
7. Does not handle flash graphics yet
8.

Here are the iPhone4 Specifications:

Size and weight

Height:
4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width:
2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth:
0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight:
4.8 ounces (137 grams)

Cellular and wireless

* UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
* GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology

Location

* Assisted GPS
* Digital compass
* Wi-Fi
* Cellular

Power and battery

* Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
* Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
*

Talk time:
Up to 7 hours on 3G
Up to 14 hours on 2G

* Standby time: Up to 300 hours
*

Internet use:
Up to 6 hours on 3G
Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi


* Video playback: Up to 10 hours
* Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

Mac system requirements

* Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
* Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
* iTunes 9.2 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
* iTunes Store account
* Internet access

Windows system requirements

* PC with USB 2.0 port
* Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
* iTunes 9.2 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
* iTunes Store account
* Internet access

Environmental requirements

* Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F
(0° to 35° C)
* Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F
(-20° to 45° C)
* Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
* Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Capacity

* 16GB or 32GB flash drive

Color

* White or black

Display

* Retina display
* 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
* 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
* 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
* Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
* Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Audio playback

* Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
* Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
* User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and video

* Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
* Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)

Languages

* Language support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Catalan, and Vietnamese
* Keyboard support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France), French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Traditional Chinese (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), Simplified Chinese (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese (Romaji), Japanese (Kana), Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Estonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Latvian, Flemish, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Catalan, and Vietnamese
* Dictionary support (enables predictive text and autocorrect) for English (U.S.), English (UK), French, German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese (Romaji), Japanese (Kana), Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Flemish, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malaysian, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Catalan, and Vietnamese

Camera, photos, and video

* Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
* 5-megapixel still camera
* VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second with the front camera
* Tap to focus video or still images
* LED flash
* Photo and video geotagging

External buttons and controls

* Sleep/wake
* Ring/silent
* Volume up/down
* Home

Sensors

* Three-axis gyro
* Accelerometer
* Proximity sensor
* Ambient light sensor

Connectors and input/output

* 30-pin dock connector
* 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
* Built-in speaker
* Microphone
* Micro-SIM card tray

Headphones

* Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
* Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
* Impedance: 32 ohms

In the box

* iPhone 4
* Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
* Dock Connector to USB Cable
* USB Power Adapter
* Documentation

Now regardless of the above reviews, I think I would still like to upgrade my iPhone 3G to 4G in the long run. I have experienced very minimal problems with it, even in the event that I drop it on the floor. Just like other variations of technology there are bound to be kinks and glitches, but they are always constantly improving. I love my iPhone and I am excited too see what Apple has in store for us in the future.



References:

1. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-iphone-4/
2. Youtube.com
3. http://www.zdnet.com/reviews/product/smartphones/apple-iphone-4gb-at-t/32180293
4. http://www.techdigest.tv/2010/04/iphone_4g_revea.html
5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7800676/10-reasons-not-to-buy-Apples-new-iPhone-4G.html
6. http://ezinearticles.com/?Apple-iPhone-4G-Review---Is-it-Worth-the-Purchase?&id=4514880
7. http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-news/iphone-4-launch-in-canada-faq-what-everybody-should-know/
8. http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/iphone-news/breaking-rogers-announces-iphone-4g-with-lifetime-contracts/

A BOLD Experience

Early last month (July), we were given a big project to work on for my usability class. We were to learn how to use a BlackBerry if we weren't familiar with it already, we were to gather both qualitative and quantative data from University students who own a BlackBerry to get a feel for how they use it in their everyday lives. This was an interesting project, especially for me who is an avid IPhone user. I was given the edge over the other students because I already experience with a type of smartphone and I adapt to new technology fairly quickly. At first, I was NOT open to using anything other than my IPhone but I kept an open mind. For example, when setting up my new BlackBerry Bold, I felt that the setup wizard was an ok but somewhat confusing source for help. I had the option of uploading my sim card contacts to the Bold but the wording made it seem like it would erase my contacts from my sim card once it was stored on phone. This made me a little hesitant as I did not want to lose 80 contacts. If I was NOT familiar with smart phones I think that this help would have been deemed useless. I experienced various emotional states when using my BlackBerry Bold. For example:

I experienced love and addiction when:

- I learned how to use my BBM feature
- It was always with me (in my purse or in my hand)
- I realized it was similar to my IPhone

I experienced frustration when:

- My trackball decided to stop working because it got a little dirt in it
- The side button kept asking me to "say a command" randomly in my purse
- When my BlackBerry was turned off, it would automatically turn on in my purse for whatever reason
- Setting up applicatons takes longer than on an Iphone
- The BlackBerry battery doesn't last as long as my Iphone

I experienced brilliance when :

- I Ignored the help and set up everything myself with trial and error
- I figured out how to use the majority of features in just once weekend
- I adapted to typing on the BlackBerry fairly quickly

After we had figured out how to use our BlackBerrys, it was time for us to go out and collect information from users who have been using it longer than us. We did a couple of paper iterations, than moved our survey to surveymonkey where we got about 29 people who responded (mainly because of time and the fact that we did this over the long weekend). The responses we got were very interesting. Most people said the same things as me, some people wanted better cameras (mainly girls), some people are more likely to recommmend the BlackBerry to colleagues than friends, some people are all about BBMing etc. To see some of the questions we asked, feel free to visit our survey on surveymonkey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3X79FC6">

The Iphone has various features that I like and do not like. For example:

I like:

- The variety applications
- ITunes
- User Friendliness
- The Ipod feature
- The threaded messaging
- The touch screen
- The Safari browser (and how you can open up more than one window)
- I can stream my favourite radio station from it and do my banking on it
- Facebook has a better application on the Iphone

I do not like:

- How it freezes sometimes and needs to be restarted
- It is very senstive if it is not locked (it will call random people)
- My 3G version does not have the BBM feature
- Should have a keypad in case people like to use both

Overall, I feel that I would not switch over to the BlackBerry side in the long run. I am more likely going to stick with my Iphone and perhaps upgrade to the Iphone4 which was just released.

X-box live a reputation system?

I think the question is more like... Is the X-box live system a GOOD reputation? Well according to most forums read over the internet, it seems a lot of people think that Microsoft put very little effort into making this system a good reputation system. Reputation rating is voted on by other players who decide to either prefer or avoid another player. The reputation defaults to 100% (Five stars) over time after one player has preferred a user. (Wikipedia) Below is what I got from people who actually play X-box live and understand how the the system really works:

- A player can build a reputation by advancing through levels and obtaining specific points for kills (head shots, number of kills etc.)
- Every time you advance through a level you accumulate points which classifies you as a type of user (prestige etc.)
- You can view other users you are about to play against. It reveals how many kills they have, what percentage of accuracy they have, how many levels they have unlocked and what they are classified as.
- Every game is different (shootings, sports etc).
- Some people talk about the star and feedback system. 5 stars means you have a high reputation… you only have less than 5 if you haven’t played enough games or are new to x-box. Some say this system is flawed (mentioned in a lot of forums).

Below are some of the forums I read when researching:

1)http://digiex.net/gaming-section/console-gaming/767-xbox-live-rep-player-feedback-joke.html

2)http://www.highimpacthalo.org/forum/showthread.php?t=53989

3)http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080603132840AAnUvmA

4)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Live

5)http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/trueskill/

6)http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MXJ5iB7BS_0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=xbox+live+%2B+reputation+system&ots=i5mvl21C1K&sig=btf20UaiAB1URxbuZk6rBgbhKDs#v=onepage&q=xbox%20live%20%2B%20reputation%20system&f=false

--------------------------------------------------------
From all the forums I have read, it seems that most people are quite annoyed with the way this system works. If people have issues with players that are good, they can easily give them negative feedback which in turn gives them a hit on their reputation. Microsoft has the right to ban people after they have made several offenses (rude and vulgar talking etc). Positive feedback is rare... but does enhance your reputation. So all in all, it seems the system is flawed and could use some improvements to effectively and accurately build player's reputations.

Cool brainstorming and organization of ideas!

Last week, I researched the KJ method and the Card sorting technique. Below is my research on these topics.

-KJ-Method is fundamentally similar to the Snowball Technique

Snowball Technique:

Involves concentrating groups of ideas pertaining to the same problem and assigning them a theme, i.e.

One slip of paper (or ‘post-its’) is used per idea generated or possible solution offered

A meeting is set up of up to 5 people. The slips of paper are viewed and then grouped ‘like with like’.

Duplicates can be created if the idea/solution is relevant to more than one group

Patterns and relationships in the groups are observed

-Falls under the Affinity Diagram which is one of the Seven Management and Planning tools. The seven tools include:

1.Affinity Diagram (KJ Method)
2.Interrelationship Diagraph (ID)
3.Tree Diagram
4.Prioritization Matrix
5.Matrix Diagram
6.Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)
7.Activity Network Diagram

Devised by Jiro Kawakita in the 1960’s

-The KJ method can be used to :

-Analyse findings from field studies

-Identify and group user functions as part of design

-Analyse findings from a usability evaluation

Building an affinity diagram is a way to interpret customer data and:

-Show the range of a problem

-Uncover similarity among problems from multiple customers

-Give boundaries to a problem

-Identify areas for future study

Advantages of using the KJ method include:

• Involves the entire test team so they can "own" the data
• Builds teamwork because you are working in groups
• consolidates lots of customer data into meaningful design criteria
• Identifies customer work practices

Disadvantages of using the KJ method include:

• Can be time consuming
• Can be exhausting
• Is difficult to take large amounts of data and compress it into small "units of information"

CARD SORTING


-Is a variation of the KJ method.

-The card sorting method is used to generate information about the associations and grouping of specific data items. Participants in a card sort are asked to organize individual, unsorted items into groups and may, depending on the technique, also provide labels for these groups. In a user-centered design process, it is commonly used when developing a site architecture but has also been applied to developing workflows, menus, toolbars, and other elements of system design.

Card sorting is used to:

• Identify themes or patterns from qualitative data
• Develop the information and navigational architecture for a Web site or application
• Design or redesign a site or application
• Organize icons, images, menu items, and other objects into related groups
• Determine how a specific individual classifies items from a particular domain
• Examine how different groups (users versus developers, for example) view the same subject matter
• Rank or rate items on specific dimensions.

Advantages:

• Card sorts
• Typically the cost is a stack of index cards, sticky notes, a pen or printing labels, and some time. are easy for the organizer and the participants. it is possible to perform several sorts in a short period of time, which provides significant amount of data.
• The technique has been used for over 10 years, by many designers.
• Because the information structure suggested by a card sort is based on real user input

Disadvantages:

• Card sorting is an inherently content-centric technique. If used without considering users’ tasks, it may lead to an information structure that is not usable when users are attempting real tasks.
• The card sort may provide fairly consistent results between participants, or may vary widely.
• The sorting is quick, but the analysis of the data can be difficult and time consuming, particularly if there is little consistency between participants.
• Participants may not consider what the content is about or how they would use it to complete a task and may just sort it by surface characteristics

Now even though the video shows that card sorting should be done in groups, I feel that it should be done individually. This is to avoid any biased opinions and people who talk too much. If there are people who voice their opinions, they tend to take over the dicussion and persuade people to change their minds about various issues. It is advantageous to the developers to perform a card sort (whether it is open or closed) with a user who is not easily influenced by his/her surroundings.

Can we perform a Heuristic Evaluation on the Zipcar website?

The answer is.......kinda......Two weeks ago, we were asked to perform a Heuristic Evaluation of the Zipcar website using Jakob Neilson's Heuristics. This is what I ended up with:


1. Visibility of System Status
-This is accomplished by mouse hovering (when you hover over a link, it provides what the link is about and the titles are visible so the user knows that section they are in)

2. Match between system and the real world
- There is no “System-oriented terms”, there are just terms that the user should be familiar with.

3. User control and freedom
- When the user a clicks on links that open a new window, there are no visible “x’s” to close the window, however by clicking on other tabs, it brings you back to the previous screen that was being viewed.

4. Consistency and standards
-EVP is the only inconsistent convention being used. Not everyone knows what it means or stands for.
-There is no “Home” button, you must click on the picture on top in order to get to get to the main page.

5. Error prevention
-This site does handle error prevention however, it is not very descriptive. For example: I tried to join and did not enter in an account. It presented me with a message saying "Enter Account information"



6. Recognition rather than recall
-This site does this quite well. They use pictures to describe the steps of renting a car. Everything is short and sweet.



7. Flexibility and efficiency of user
- If you are already a user, the site is faster and easier to use because all your information is saved. Tabs make it easier to get to other pages.

8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
-All information is relevant to the website.

9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
- (see error prevention)

10. Help and documentation
-The FAQ section is where the user can find answers they are looking for.

Even though Neilsen's Heuristics are what we should consider when creating or designing a website, it is good to extend these evaluations to benefit and improve user friendliness. Keeping the user in mind is definitely a must when it comes website designing. Jonathan Beer (a colleague of mine) provided some interesting URL's that may be helpful when performing heuristic evulations on websites and web applications:

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/01/21/usability-heuristics-for-web-developent-teams/

http://www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/articles/he-checklist.html

http://louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000290.html
http://louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000286.html

In my opinion, these websites are definitely worth looking into. It helps us to see the BIG picture and is very insightful.