As an iPhone owner, I am a little biased when it comes to the opinion of the iPhone interface. I find that the interface is very user friendly. The iPhone was my first experience with a smartphone. My previous cell phones were “dumb” so to speak. I was excited when I was able to purchase my first phone that could not only make calls and text but could also check my email so that I could see if my morning class was cancelled from the comfort of my bed rather than after I have walked all the way to class.
I felt that Edward Tufte’s critique of the iPhone interface was very dry and boring. He goes through the interface of the iPhone with a very monotone voice that led me to have to restart the video a few times, forcing myself to pay attention. I don’t know if it is because I am an iPhone user and I love it, but I didn’t think a lot of his critiques were valid. He seems to complain about some of the stock applications that apple has put onto the iPhone. Stock applications come on every smartphone, not just the iPhone and many people use the stock applications. If they don’t what it given to them, they can download a similar applications which features that they prefer. This is the beauty of the App Store.
We have learned that interface design is so important. People want to use technologies that are useful and also easy to manage. If it is too difficult, people will lose interest. I think this is partly why the iPhone interface is constantly updating. The newer updates are there to keep up with demand and to also make it easier for people. Now, Siri provides a voice activated personal assistant service so people so not even have to type anything into their phones anymore. I wonder what Edward Tufte would have to say about Siri?
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