Success Breeds Complexity
Posted in Latest, News, Thoughts - January 19, 2010 - tim
I’m usually not one for predictions, but I’m going to go out on a limb here regarding Apple’s much fretted over announcement next week and make a bet.
Gartner says that downloads (not sales) of iPhone apps topped 3 billion recently. I’d like to know the distribution curve of active apps per phone (net of apps tried and then deleted) because if others out there are like me the original methods for managing apps have not kept up with the complexity of now having dozens of current apps.
The last major iPhone OS upgrade brought us the ability to search and shuffle apps around screens via the iTunes interface, but both seem like a patch and far short of Apple’s usual attention to detail. Given that new rumors have significant upgrades to iLife as well as a potential OS 4 for the phone, my bet is (I hope) that they have put some serious effort against application management both on the phone and via iTunes.
I don’t have a jailbroken phone, but there are a number of third party hacks which play with concepts of folders and other forms of familiar organization. The phone obviously has a file system hierarchy (it is OS X at heart) but it is not exposed. Just as OS X finder windows have four modes for viewing the file system (icons – basically the iPhone interface – list, columns and coverflow) then it seems like Apple could devise selectable alternate views of the file system and allow users to organize not only their application content but even their data content a little more flexibly. If the default view remained as it is now, and the ability to switch to more flexible modes was subtle, then I don’t think this would freak out those who don’t want complexity surfaced too much.
Apple has obviously noticed this issue, and they certainly don’t want to be the bottleneck in their own app sales / distribution ecosystem, so I’m betting we see changes here, and I hope they’re fairly dramatic, but with a simple opt-in for those with dozens – or soon hundreds – of apps.
As a last minute speculation – one day before “the announcement” – I would assume that the tablet could and should also function as a second monitor for a primary laptop. Assuming that many (most?) folks will buy a tablet to supplement their use of a less portable version of their stuff (laptop or desktop) then you have two computing devices that you will not likely be using at the same time. Further assuming that the tablet will come with an elegant stand / charger that will probably support it at a viewing angle, shouldn’t there be a way to extend your laptop or desktop screen across to it also (in addition to synching files between the two)?
My MacBook Pro (which is my primary device these days) when on my desk is connected to a 30″ Cinema Screen as well as a third screen (via a USB hack). It’s really (really) very convenient to have your artboard (in whatever app) monopolize one screen while tools, palettes, other (monitoring) apps (like Mail, Skype, etc.) are relegated to secondary screens. Once you’ve set this up it is very hard to go back. With a tablet that could extend the screen similarly you basically have the components of a really nice portable two-screen studio setup. Very nice for working onsite at a client’s office.
Comment by Tim — January 26, 2010 @ 3:17 pm
[...] in January I predicted that the upcoming Apple announcement then would include a method for managing [...]
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