WTF Cell Phone Design

[Flint]

Originally Posted by BigV

...

Understood, I need to populate my speed dial list.

However, anybody I already know should be in my speed dial list will already be in my recent calls (see post #8).

So I won't gain much for the time spent activating a feature that should be a core functionality of the device. That is to say, every number on my phone should be quickly accessible, not just a select group I have to spend my own free time to program--because the designers of the product were too thick-headed to allow the device to perform its own main function; i.e. place phone calls.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Flint

because the designers of the product were too thick-headed to allow the device to perform its own main function; i.e. place phone calls.

You're behind the times, my friend. The main function of a cell phone, for many (most) these days is for texting.

Have you read the manual? Some phones allow you to set shortcut keys and rearrange the menus to suit your uses.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by dar512

Have you read the manual? Some phones allow you to set shortcut keys and rearrange the menus to suit your uses.

It's a phone! If it can't function like a phone out-of-the-box then somebody has failed. Why do I have to do their job for them?

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Flint

It's a phone! If it can't function like a phone out-of-the-box then somebody has failed. Why do I have to do their job for them?

Um. Because it's got more than two buttons and you don't know how to use it yet?

Seriously, every cell phone I've had so far (1 Nokia and 2 Motorolas) was set up out of the box so that if you pushed the menu button at the main screen, your phone list came up. I can't imagine that yours doesn't have something like that. What model phone do you have?

[dar512]

Actually, I think that can be extended into a general rule. Anything with more than two buttons has underlying complexity and will require a manual.

Things that have more than two buttons that you think are intuitive are only easy for you because you have experience with some similar metaphor previously.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by dar512

Actually, I think that can be extended into a general rule. Anything with more than two buttons has underlying complexity and will require a manual.

Things that have more than two buttons that you think are intuitive are only easy for you because you have experience with some similar metaphor previously.

I think you're placing the burden of de-obscurifying badly designed devices upon the customer, who has already paid his hard-earned dollars to purchase a product that should be designed to perform the function it was intended for.

It's a goddamn telephone. I don't care if it has cameras and all this other useless crap on it, make me punch extra buttons to get to those superfluous features, and I wouldn't mind; but--it's a PHONE! It should function well, as a PHONE, without me having to hack the damn thing just to get it to work.

If I open the telephone, guess what? I'M CALLING SOMEBODY. There's no excuse for my stored numbers not to pop up by default. Make me re-program the device to default to a web browser or a Tetris session, and I wouldn't mind. Because it's a phone; asking it to do some non-phone task might conceivably be a few clicks back.

Incidentally, I've found that clicking "down" on the navigation nexus mysteriously materializes my stored numbers. Up to this point, I've avoided the "iDrive" toggle on my phone, because every time I've ever touched it, I've launched a WAP session or some other feature I'm probably getting charged by-the-second for until I can figure out how to terminate it.

Maybe I need a Jitterbug. Made by Samsung, the same people that made my phone. [/Andy Rooney]