Interfaces of the present

Since the Washington Post made an iPad app too, I think it’s both the time to elaborate on interfaces and the time to admit, that the change is surely coming. The dying press industry can actually revive with this new medium, which is good because we need well written content. There’s nothing wrong with amateur bloggers, but the most valuable content is and will always be made by professional writers and journalists. So now we have the chance to try those out because the new york times, washington post and newsweek all made really nice applications that bring the press to the new medium. And of course they will also be available on other tablets when they finally come out. And that leads to a conclusion that there’s another change in interfaces coming.

Apparently a click to view interface doesn’t really work with press on a tablet. No, every one of the magazines has swiping motion to change pages / browse through articles. People don’t like to point and click, they like to browse. And what’s more natural than a swiping motion? Right!

And since the tablets are slowly taking over, we might want to consider websites that are also navigated that way (or can be navigated with both regular and modern touch controls). That might lead to a regression of thought, because we’re actually coming back to the system that was dominant before the PC revolution. And this system is already catching on. So it might either be a case of nostalgia, or simply a way to do it right. And if it’s the latter we should consider that with all of our feature layouts.

Below you can see the AD for washington post, pretty funny, especially the last sentence ;)

Exciting changes ahead for the web and publishing alike

tabletready

Say what?

Palm had just been bought by HP. What does that mean? Actually a lot. Right now we have to major players in the tablet area – apple and google with their android based tablets. Palm has experience with mobile devices and a great mobile OS – HP has money and marketing. This means that the era of the tablet has officially started. And this will be the next step in computing, web and print.

Changes coming

That basically means that in the precise moment of market saturation with these devices there will be a point in which some publication will receive more “hits” through slate devices than through normal print. Then we will know it has started. And if it starts it will also change the web into a more “handy” interface with bigger elements and touch / swipe enabled controls.

So maybe it’s time to get ahead of the curve and try to create new experiences that are “tablet-ready”? You think it’ll be a marker like “HD ready” was some years back?

The end of paper?

Ok, so the iPad is here. It might not be the most amazing tablet device feature wise, but it will clear the path for both itself and other companies. Just like people buying ipod clones, and iPhone wannabes with better cameras and usb slots ;) The point is we’re seeing a media revolution starting right now. And the behemoths of press are of course jumping right in.

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