The iPhone Effect
Yes, I’m an owner of a new iPhone. Fanboy issues aside, this single device, and the campaign behind its launch, has again opened my eyes to what can be accomplished with great user interface design, and great marketing.
Here’s the back-story. I’ll admit that I’m a gadget addict. My wife will attest to the same thing. Normally when I purchase a device of this caliber (meaning number of features), I tinker and toy with it for a few days, just learning the ins and outs of how to use everything. It’s a process, and honestly, I’ve always found it very fun. Then comes the iPhone.
After my hellish activation story (I’d rather not talk about it right now), I was finally able to sync and start using my iPhone. I immediately opened the iPod part, and toyed with the cover-flow, the playlists, etc. All my music was there, and accounted for.
Then I went straight to email. My accounts were already in place and working properly, including all IMAP folders, SMTP settings, and more. Awesome.
Then, to Safari. Browsing was a breeze, brought up this site (looks fine, though I didn’t look everywhere), and a few others. Full featured, and very simple.
Then to my contacts list in the phone. They’re all there. I flip up and down through them to watch the elastic scroll do it’s thing a few times.
Then into my Photos. Albums are all there, my photo library optimized, and there for me to browse. I flip through my recent vacation photos to get an idea of the responsiveness of the back and forth flip motion. Just as I would expect.
Then to one of my favorite spots: settings. Normally you can browse around in there for hours, I know I did on my Motorola Q. Flipped through the list, noticed what could be changed, and agreed with every setting in there. Easy enough.
Another minute or so was spent on the other widgets, apps, SMS, and anything else I hadn’t looked at yet. All ridiculously straight-forward and simple.
So about five minutes after I took it off the dock for the first time, I put the iPhone in my pocket, and went about my business. About twenty minutes after that, I had this kind of empty feeling. Not quite buyers remorse or anything, but still, my initial reaction was that it FELT like the iPhone didn’t do as much as I thought. It was a moment of near disappointment.
And then it hit me. I just already knew how to use it! I went from newbie to power-user in 5 minutes.
After that sunk in, I was truly astounded. Yes, Apple did what I believe was the perfect campaign for such a device with those thirty-second demo commercials on television. Those, joined by the fantastic tutorial videos on their website taught me a lot of what I needed to know about how to use the iPhone. Their marketing and preparedness helped prepare me to use the phone.
But no video online can truly prepare you to physically interact with something. Which is why this next part is so important. Interacting with the device, in nearly every nook and cranny of the software, is perfectly natural. I have never used a touch-screen device before, and I didn’t have to learn. I don’t need to think about how to use it, I just do. Apple spent countless hours, months, who knows, maybe even years, perfecting their user interface, and it shows.
It’s not that I couldn’t end up figuring things out my Q. In fact, except for the music part, it did most of what the iPhone does. But in this case, the user experience wins out. And the thing is, it seems that if I didn’t already think so much about UI, I probably wouldn’t even notice.
So it proves to me, again, that user interface really does make a difference. Software designed for the user, not the developer or the company is best. Simplicity beats out features. I’m not going to say “less is more”, because I don’t believe the iPhone IS less. It’s more, simplified.
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Published July 02, 2007 by:
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So far there are 42 comments.
I know the feeling you have and was expecting the same thing. With me it never happened.
I watched the videos, read everything I could and was still impressed. Sure there are things that now bother me. How about one unified mailbox? I don’t want to check 3 places for three different accounts. But other than that and about a dozen little nitpicky things I wouldn’t trade my iPhone for any phone on the planet.
How long was the line? I was in California and we tried about 3 different Cingular stores near our hotel with no luck. We then decided to try an Apple store. End of the line to out the door in 45 minutes and the atmosphere was much better than the Cingular stores.
July 3rd, 2007
And… if you connect it to a Windows Media Center PC XP, it will notice the iPhone, mount the iPhone and ask if you want to import the photos! I just plugged it in to keep it charged and found this out ( it has iTunes, but an older version – I use the iPhone from my Macbook. )
Nice, very nice review by-the-way. And the call quality of the iPhone? Best I’ve ever had. The on-device voice mail… Priceless ( until now, for five years, Cingular never could get my voice mail working – _ always answered every call_ ;) )
P.S. – Nice comment preview.
July 3rd, 2007
I think you are right. I have yet to touch an iPhone, but I still have that feeling that it might not offer me as much as I’d like it to. And maybe it doesn’t for all I know. But then again, maybe it is just that everything is so simple. Is this the right way to go for a wide audience? No doubt. Me? I personally enjoy taking my time and getting to know a new gadget, just like you said. It’s still an awesome phone though, no doubt!
July 3rd, 2007
This is the hardest aspect that we, user-focused designers, have to deal with every day: ‘I don’t believe the iPhone IS less. It’s more, simplified.’
I can’t imagine the countless hours and tough design decisions the Apple team had to take before reaching the final design.
July 3rd, 2007
Thanks for your thoughts on the iPhone Steve; I found them more optimistic reading than the purely descriptive reviews to date giving blow-by-blow details of specs and features (or the lack thereof). Your post usefully encapsulates the overall user experience: it just works. I’ve been looking at Mac-friendly iPhone alternatives and at this time the iPhone is missing some basic PDA functionality that I couldn’t sacrifice (namely task lists; note synching; and an in-phone password manager with sync). But these are possible add-ons in due course and, if Apple does implement them, we can be confident they will be done well. Apple products should work well together, but as things stand the iPhone is the least Mac-compatible device on my comparison chart. If Apple can change this (as I hope they will) then I will be able to make an overdue leap from Palm, which suffers from both neglect and the inconsistencies of multi-party solutions (Apple, Mark/Space, Palm).
July 3rd, 2007
Great read, but I’m afraid that any success the iPhone has may incorrectly be perceived as another feature-win. How do we make sure people understand why the iPhone succeeds.
I work as an interaction designer in Stockholm. User interfaces matter to me. I want them to matter to everyone.
July 4th, 2007
Congrats my friend. I can’t get enough of mine either. I’ve become a huge fan of Google Maps with the iPhone. For the past 3 days, I’ve found myself kinda of neglecting my Macbook Pro and doing most of my surfing via iPhone.
July 5th, 2007
I went to Apple, walked straight up to the counter, and they asked “how many?” Never did I wait…. it was quite a difference experience than everyone elses that I’ve been hearing.
July 5th, 2007
I’ve found it to be very straightforward as well. It’s been a great tool and a cool toy so far.
July 5th, 2007
I’ve seen the web surfing on this, and I’m very impressed. I never thought surfing on such a small device would be very painless. My only question is regarding the most basic function of this… making a phone call. I’ve heard it is a good 4-5 “clicks” to make a call.
July 7th, 2007
I’d really like to play with the iPhone. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t plan to introduce it here in India any time soon.
July 9th, 2007
We want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones, we want iPhones… (here in Switzerland)
July 25th, 2007
@NetHawk I dont want iPhone i have old 3310 Nokie (from my mom :D ) and its good for my (its not joke)
July 27th, 2007
I’m waiting for the iPhone Release in Germany. A very good test you did here.
@Gry Erotyczne: my beloved mobile was a “Siemens S45i”. Another good one was the Nokia 6310i. Full calendar-functions like in outlook, GPRS, very good audio-quality and up to 10 days of battery storage
August 1st, 2007
The small device has truly revolutionize the whole mobile landscape. Prior to this one, I used a Sidekick III and at the time, I considered that to be the best thing in the planet. As a fellow Apple geek myself, I highly recommend that you give AppTappInstaller a try. It’s great!
September 10th, 2007
@Simon: “Siemens S45i” was a good model, though iPhone is beyond that all, and that will confirm many people who already own iPhone (friend of mine does own it, for example, and is really impressed by it – really!).
September 20th, 2007
it ist always nice to have something new fascinating to play with. This is the nice thing we adults have in common with our children. It helps us to understand them.
September 27th, 2007
That gadget is amazing, i talk about other Apple products too on my blog. If you want to stay informed about the iPhone, then visit my site.
I think i got hit by the iPhone effect too.
September 27th, 2007
It is nice to see that man have their toys, too to play with. To read what they feel after a buying. I always feel guilty the time I’m looking for new shoes and other important girls stuff. After I bought it, I never felt disappointed.
September 28th, 2007
I love iPhone it is amazing @Simon Nokia 6310i is a great phone. Besde all feaures that you are mentioning one more is worth to be underlined – the battery:) its capacity is impressive.
October 8th, 2007
I have the same, it is amazing there’s a lot to explore, keeping me quite busy.
October 10th, 2007
It is a quite expensive one, but I like it much more than the nokia I had before. On top of it, it is a piece of jewellery.
October 15th, 2007
I fancy to have one, too. The price for it went a little bit down, but it still really expensive here in germany. I probably have to have a look on ebay.com, as the dollar went down these weeks.
October 17th, 2007
it is very xpensive here :(
October 17th, 2007
Great article. Cant wait to get my iPhone!
October 18th, 2007
As another iPhoneless living in Germany kind of guy, I can only say, congrats, enjoy, and burn in… er, yeah. Congrats! They’ll be over here in two weeks, so we’ll see.
October 22nd, 2007
Have you seen the new Samsung phone that Verizon is getting as a competitor to the Iphone the F700. Im interested to see if they can even get close to the usability and interface design of MAC. I gotta say they pull of the intuitive aesthetic with ease. LUCKY! I’m going to wait till they come out with a much, much larger model, being that I have gigs upon gigs of music and movies that I cant just settle for a 8g. Maybe Ill just buy a Wii with that money insead, PS great site.
October 25th, 2007
i fancy the iphone, too. I downloaded the iphone icon buttons at mezzoblue, this makes it even more lovely.
October 29th, 2007
Thanks for very interesting article. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. It’s interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else’s point of view… makes you think more. So please keep up the great work. Greetings.
October 30th, 2007
We have still no Iphone in Poland – but I saw today new LG phone named Prada and it’s coooll
Andrew
November 2nd, 2007
Actually I am the exact opposite of a gadget addict. When I buy a new gadget or tool
and that is not too oftenI browse quickly the book or the gadget’s features and that’s all.November 13th, 2007
Oh man you’re lucky! The iPhone came out in the US so long ago, or so it seems and it only came out 4 days ago in the UK… Strictly on the UK network o2 and only on contract. I haven’t been out to get mine yet, but i’m sure i will soon. I have the LG Prada at the moment, i love it and i’m sure the iPhone is so much cooler (it certainly looks it). I’ve heard that UK users have to active their iPhone via the internet (or it will get blocked?) or something… Not sure if it’s true though. Thanks for the great post though, i’ll post again when i get my Iphone and let you know what i think of it =).
November 13th, 2007
It is true now for Germay. We are able to buy this fashionable phone since two weeks now. It is in the media and not only in advertisements. It is amazing this phone costs 8 times of a regular phone, but they buy it a sandwich.
November 14th, 2007
I am looking forward to see how mass mania it will be once iPhone come to Czech. Unfortunatelly Apple products are still much more expensive here than in US (US final price is less than local price without VAT, which is 19%). Globally I am worry iPhone will be a good sample for chinese producers who will copy it and sell for cheap price – like it’s with iPod now…
November 24th, 2007
I feel so left behind, I didn’t get my iphone yet! (even though I meant to earilier) I just have to save up some money to cough up the cash
November 26th, 2007
never seen one…(I don’t know if they sell them in Australia yet) and it will probably be a couple of years till anything like it reaches mass-market (affordable for most of us) pricing.
The only “iPhone effect” I’m seeing is that a lot of developers are claiming their sites to be “mobile-friendly” when they are completely unusable on the browsers on the phones most people are likely to have in their pockets.
If the site uses javascript, flash or depends on anything other than basic mobile xhtml it is NOT properly designed for mobile use! (with maybe a wml version for really old phones – you might be surprised how many of those are still out there!)
The REAL WORLD is not just a few wealthy early adopters!
November 28th, 2007
Now I’m with my iPhone… here in Jakarta, Indonesia… I buy this iPhone in SF…
It’s cool… and it’s mac….
November 28th, 2007
Ni Hao! I am Torsten,a German,but I live in ZhuHai/China. I am surprised that until now no one cloned that phone in China. Usually they are very fast,or do I miss some information/news? Please keep me informed if you know something more about it,I want to buy and test it. Have a nice day! – Zai Jian! – Torsten -
November 30th, 2007
Iphone, hmmm it is very nice, but for normal user (my parents) it is not necessay.
December 4th, 2007
Does anyone knows something about the UMTS integration in the iphone? I´m waiting only for this feature to be totally satisfied with this phone.
December 10th, 2007
I think that progress with integration wi-fi in mobile phones is the future of mobiles.
December 17th, 2007
Hm… iPhone of cource very famous mobile phone but i think there are no reasons to buy it…
January 3rd, 2008