The RSPB required a web application through which they could provide learning material to people interested in birds and birdwatching. Once a user has logged-in they are presented with 6 different modules as well as access to the resource library which contains the RPSB Handbook of British Birds and Where to Watch Birds - Britain.
There has been a lot of buzz over the internet recently regarding Apple’s September Keynote where Steve Jobs announced the introduction of the iPod Touch and the revamped iPod Classic and Nano.
Whilst the Classic and Nano are in essence the same product with a few modifications; storage capacity, screen-size, interface enhancements, the iPod Touch is a different animal. It comes in two different sizes, 8GB or 16GB which make use of the latest advancements in flash drive storage.
Many have compared it to the iPhone which has already been released in America, but not here in Europe. It seems to have the same capacity, the same multi-touch display, allows for the playback of most popular music and video file formats, but most revolutionary is the Wi-Fi capability of the media player. In fact, on the surface, the only difference between the iPhone and the iPod Touch is the price and the ability to send and receive calls.
So now a media player with wireless internet capabilities? Well it isn’t the first to do so, anyone remember the Zune? It adds to the challenge of being a web designer/developer with the growing need for apps to adapted for mobile devices. As Apple did with media players, they are beginning to do with mobile web devices, they are shaping the conventions of use.
Apple successfully brand their products to become fashionable items to have and in doing so a lot of people buy them. Through their use of the product they become aware of how to work the product; the Click-Wheel was a real innovation when it was first released and a lot of people had to learn how to use it. This is the same for the iPod Touch, in particularly the multi-touch display. Apple have removed a lot of the buttons you would see on most mobile web devices and instead the device relies on input through the touch-sensitive display.
There is no physical keypad, it is presented through the multi-touch display whereby you touch the characters presented in order to type. Similar to an on-screen keyboard you might seen on your desktop computer. This means that web designers/developers need to make it easier for users on mobile web devices to operate the web applications because of the new conventions used and because of the more constrained browsing environment in contrast to a desktop computer.
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2 Responses to “iPod Touch and the mobile web”
Personally I think that Apple’s methods of presenting the web onto a mobile device are almost removing the problems that developers had with other mobile devices as the iphone and ipod touch display the web in a similar way to that of a traditional computer display, but just smaller. With the ability to scroll and zoom around the webpage it provides a rick user experience never before seen on the mobile web. Thankfully blurring the divisions between computer and mobile based output.
by Kean on September 10th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I’ve just had a look at the new ipod products Apple have just announced, including the ipod touch guided tour.
http://www.apple.com/uk/ipodtouch/guidedtour/
The touch looks really good - (I wonder if Apple have ditched the Media player/phone combo idea already?) but I found the way in which is makes it all seem so simple to download music from iTunes using the wi-fi feature a bit creepy. I mean, it’s just a simple browse, enter your password and there you go - no mention or thought to the cost. It almost makes you believe downloading from iTunes is free!
The other thing I didn’t like is the way it promotes Starbucks and the way the Touch synchs in with the music played in the shop through wi-fi. Talk about corporate whores joining forces! I worry about the future generation of kids hanging out at Starbucks with their trendy gadgets listening to Mika and giving all their money to iTunes…
Having said that, the Apple store on Regent St is a great place to go and play with the products - a technology funhouse!
by Jonny Crook on September 19th, 2007 at 11:09 am