As computing expands beyond the Beige Box, multidisciplinary product teams are beginning to explore new ways of thinking about content delivery and user interfaces. Sun Microsystems interface expert Eric Bergman has done abundant pontificating and research on post-PC systems, and he (in concert with an eminent group of experts) shares it eloquently in Information Appliances and Beyond.
More practical than other books about the so-called post-PC era, Bergman explores the various manifestations of real-life, nontraditional computing devices (mobile phones, personal assistants, set-top boxes, animated toys, etc.). He displays and critiques various creations, detailing the tradeoffs designers make to accommodate both physical requirements (batteries and screen size, among others) and general human ideas about efficiency and pleasantness in a user interface. A section of full-color plates drives home the effect colors have on users' perceptions of interfaces.
One particular highlight surfaces during a protracted interview with Rob Haitani. Now with Handspring, Haitani was the project manager of the original PalmPilot, and he made numerous design decisions while developing the Palm OS. At one point in the wide-ranging interview, Haitani says, "[I]f you only read one book to understand handheld user interfaces, it should be Strunk and White's The Elements of Style." That's the kind of thinking that defines this book, and that's why it belongs on the reading list of everyone interested in the near future of computing and communications. --David Wall
Topics covered: Information appliances--including mobile phones, palmtop computers, Internet appliances, and on-board navigation devices for automobiles--and the way people use them. Specific products analyzed include the Netpliance i-opener, the Nokia 7110 mobile phone and 9110 keyboard-equipped communicator, and three operating systems: Palm OS, Microsoft Windows CE, and EPOC.
Review
This book is both visionary and practical: future consumer electronics, toys, and games need great usability or customers will abandon them. "My new cell-phone is so complicated that I need a two-week training class. Not!--Jakob Nielsen Usability Guru, Nielsen Norman Group
An important book. Anyone involved in either interaction design or the development of information appliances will find food for thought, and everyone in the industry should read Rob Haitani's observations about designing the PalmPilot.--Alan Cooper, Cooper Interaction Design
Review
This book is both visionary and practical: future consumer electronics, toys, and games need great usability or customers will abandon them. "My new cell-phone is so complicated that I need a two-week training class. Not!--Jakob Nielsen Usability Guru, Nielsen Norman Group
An important book. Anyone involved in either interaction design or the development of information appliances will find food for thought, and everyone in the industry should read Rob Haitani's observations about designing the PalmPilot.--Alan Cooper, Cooper Interaction Design
Book Description
Information appliances and other interactive products "beyond the desktop" present user interface design challenges that are only beginning to be understood. In this one-of-a-kind book, interaction designers examine the issues they confronted in their projects: Microsoft Windows CE, a vehicle navigation system, interactive children's toys, and more. You'll enjoy reading their engaging and sometimes surprising stories, but more importantly you'll gain insights that will benefit your own design and development work.
* Begins with an interview in which design expert Don Norman details his vision of "making technology invisible."
* Includes an eight-page, full-color insert containing screen shots, product diagrams, and other illustrations.
* Presents inside accounts of information appliance success stories including:
* An interview with Rob Haitani, lead interaction designer of the original PalmPilot
* The design and evaluation methodologies behind Nokia's mobile phones
* The high-level information appliance design considerations emphasized by Sun Microsystems
* Essential reading for interaction designers, human factors engineers, usability specialists, software engineers and project managers working in all of these areas.
Book Info
Interaction designers examine the issues they confront in their projects: Microsoft Windows CE, a vehicle navigation system, and interactive childrens toys. Softcover.
From the Back Cover
Read the Chapter 1 from the book
Read an article from the Sept/Oct issue of interactions
"This book is both visionary and practical: future consumer electronics, toys, and games need great usability or customers will abandon them. "My new cell-phone is so complicated that I need a two-week training class." Not!"
Jakob Nielsen Usability Guru, Nielsen Norman Group
"An important book. Anyone involved in either interaction design or the development of information appliances will find food for thought, and everyone in the industry should read Rob Haitani's observations about designing the PalmPilot."
Alan Cooper, Cooper Interaction Design
Information appliances and other interactive products "beyond the desktop" present user interface design challenges that are only beginning to be understood. In this one-of-a-kind book, interaction designers examine the issues they confronted in their projects: Microsoft Windows CE, a vehicle navigation system, interactive children's toys, and more. You'll enjoy reading their engaging and sometimes surprising stories, but more importantly you'll gain insights that will benefit your own design and development work.
Features
Begins with an interview in which design expert Don Norman details his vision of "making technology invisible."
Includes an eight-page, full-color insert containing screen shots, product diagrams, and other illustrations.
Presents inside accounts of information appliance success stories including:
An interview with Rob Haitani, lead interaction designer of the original PalmPilot
The design and evaluation methodologies behind Nokia's mobile phones
The high-level information appliance design considerations emphasized by Sun Microsystems
Essential reading for interaction designers, human factors engineers, usability specialists, software engineers and project managers working in all of these areas.
About the Author
Eric Bergman is a senior interaction designer in the User Experience Group, part of the Consumer and Embedded organization at Sun Microsystems. Recently, he has led interaction design teams responsible for a television set-top box and an information appliance application suite. He is currently working on user experience issues for mobile devices. One of his other principal interests is accessibility for users with disabilities. A regular presenter and organizer of HCI professional events, Bergman holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Emory University.
Information Appliances and Beyond ANNOTATION
Audience: Interaction designers, human factors engineers, usability specialists, industrial designers, and project managers as well as researchers in the HCI and Human Factors engineering fields.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"This book is both visionary and practical: future consumer electronics, toys, and games need great usability or customers will abandon them. "My new cell-phone is so complicated that I need a two-week training class." Not!"
Jakob Nielsen Usability Guru, Nielsen Norman Group
"An important book. Anyone involved in either interaction design or the development of information appliances will find food for thought, and everyone in the industry should read Rob Haitani's observations about designing the PalmPilot."
Alan Cooper, Cooper Interaction Design
Information appliances and other interactive products "beyond the desktop" present user interface design challenges that are only beginning to be understood. In this one-of-a-kind book, interaction designers examine the issues they confronted in their projects: Microsoft Windows CE, a vehicle navigation system, interactive children's toys, and more. You'll enjoy reading their engaging and sometimes surprising stories, but more importantly you'll gain insights that will benefit your own design and development work.
Features
Begins with an interview in which design expert Don Norman details his vision of "making technology invisible."
Includes an eight-page, full-color insert containing screen shots, product diagrams, and other illustrations.
Presents inside accounts of information appliance success stories including:
An interview with Rob Haitani, lead interaction designer of the original PalmPilot
The design and evaluation methodologies behind Nokia's mobile phones
The high-level information appliance design considerations emphasized by Sun Microsystems
Essential reading for interaction designers, human factors engineers, usability specialists, software engineers and project managers working in all of these areas.
ACCREDITATION
Eric Bergman is a senior interaction designer in the User Experience Group, part of the Consumer and Embedded organization at Sun Microsystems. Recently, he has led interaction design teams responsible for a television set-top box and an information appliance application suite. He is currently working on user experience issues for mobile devices. One of his other principal interests is accessibility for users with disabilities. A regular presenter and organizer of HCI professional events, Bergman holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Emory University.
Art & Photography
Book Info
