The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/4983
www.iltanet.org 50 Peer to Peer We looked at the design and user interface, keyboard presence or lack thereof, OS, functionality and availability of applications and tools to work with the device. The exercises used included: creating, replying to, forwarding, saving and foldering an • e-mail, contact and calendar item Making a phone call from a contact entry • voice dialing (when available) • Moving an app icon • opening a document for review and editing • finding an application that would allow tracking expenses • identifying the coolest app to be found for the device • Getting tech support for the device • design and Interface The iPhone is the clear winner in this category. Its pared- down physical control buttons make the device sleek, shiny and simple. Give it to anyone, and he or she can figure it out in minutes, if not seconds. Who doesn't love the multitouch screen? People are still amazed when you enlarge a picture or website for them. But as you really get going with the iPhone, something peculiar starts to happen. As intuitive and simple as the interface is, it gets more and more awkward as you add pages to contain an ever-growing number of apps. It also would be nice if some of the default apps that are never used could be deleted. Swiping through page after page can start to wear. Try to pull apps across multiple pages when customizing the layout, and you're going to get frustrated. Of course, this is only an issue for those of us who like to change the furniture around more often than once a lifetime. Doesn't the iPhone allow folders? You cannot organize, say, your social networking or RSS reader apps into a single folder. It just seems obvious. And BlackBerry devices? Well, they're BlackBerry devices. Both the Storm and Bold were evaluated. Both are fairly easy to navigate and operate, but I really don't care for the screen feedback that the Storm uses called SurePress. It gives a "weird click" that seems unnatural. Also, the SureType keyboard in the upright position is difficult for me to use. Many love SureType and swear by it; however, I have found a greater number of users who find it too difficult. The common buttons are a hit, as the memory recall on what the "funny dots button" would do on the Storm is the same as any other BlackBerry. The scroll ball on the Bold is better than the touch screen for scrolling and reading messages. The difference is the ability to use one hand for the operation. I hadn't realized this until it was pointed out, but touch screens have taken away the multi function capability that we have come to love. This might be a good thing, considering the hot button issue that texting and driving has become. It is important to note, I found many situations where I was holding a BlackBerry Bold with one hand and had full function with a single hand, where doing the same thing with any touch screen device would be difficult, if not impossible. The Ion and HTC Pure are fairly even on design. Both are full touch screens with virtual keyboards. They have similar control buttons, though the Ion offers a roller ball that is handy. The Pure, using Windows Mobile 6.5, goes a little too far with the touch screen, though. Far too much swiping and wiping is required to get to where you are going. The Ion is just like the G1, the first Android OS. The interface is fun and pretty clean. There are a couple of menus you need to drill into to get where you need to go, but they are fairly straightforward. The main screen consists of three panels that you can flip through and you can customize it with as many application links as you want. The default icons that you get can be removed or added as you wish. The only thing that I didn't like about the Ion was the lack of a multitouch screen. So how about the Palm Pre? Actually, I think the Pre is a little better than all but the iPhone. It isn't the most intuitive device to use, which explains the little animated tutorial that pops up when you first turn on the phone. However, the interface is clean. One button on the front of the device with a full touch screen is nice, but wait, what is that under the hood? Why, it's a full QWERTY keyboard! You get the best of both worlds between the touch screens and keyboards. Intuitively, you might try to use that front button like a BlackBerry roller ball to move around the screen, but you can only press it. Fire up the screen, and you get a tranquil scene with menu choices: phone, contacts, calendar, e-mail and applications. Moving around is just as easy as with the iPhone, if not easier. The apps menu does have the same problem as the iPhone in that, as the number of apps grows, it builds the pages. Unlike the iPhone, the Pre pages get longer, and you can scroll down for a long time on a page if you have a lot of apps. Once launched, though, getting between apps is simple and almost makes sense. Press the center button, and you get a parade of small shots of what is running. Flick your finger, and you can scroll to whatever you need. Who won? While I feel the Pre is the better "phone," the iPhone is truly the best design. It is the marketplace standard for coolness, class and status. You simply cannot compete with the simplistic design and form of the thing. So, first shot goes to iPhone. Operating Systems The iPhone OS has been updated to the 3.1 platform and has brought along many of the features that had previously been the cause of disdain and alienation from the corporate environment. These include ActiveSync, copy and paste, universal search, voice recorder and multimedia messaging, among others. Overall, the OS is pretty solid. The phone can freeze up and