Big changes coming in user interfaces

Implications: Graphical interfaces on all kinds of devices -- ATMs, cell phones, microwave ovens, and PCs, to name a few -- will soon look very different.

Apple's iPhone is only the beginning. New "soft" interfaces will change shape and content depending on the context in which they're used.

This will likely be a huge boost in usability -- and should help not only end-users but also vendors of LCD screens, as well as vendors of consumer and business products that utilize the new context-sensitive interfaces.


Analysis: Apple's iPhone introduced a new model for user interfaces in smart phones -- instead of fumbling with rows of tiny keys, users will instead have a "soft" interface -- a display screen whose contents change depending on whether the device is acting as a phone or music player or web browser.

But the context-sensitive interfaces in Apple's iPhone are only the beginning. Soft interfaces have a huge range of potential applications in business and consumer devices, ranging from bank ATMs to PCs to kitchen appliances to automobiles. Virtually anything that is programmed today with a keyboard might better be controlled via an LCD screen in the future.

Some designers, including the one cited in this article, go even further, with screens whose contents change depending on how many fingers are used -- an interesting and useful approach for any application that organizes data in a treelike structure. (Think of shrinking or expanding a family tree by "pinching" or "stretching" the tree with your fingers.)

Other LCD designers are adding tactile feedback, such as slight pulses that "feel" like the "edge" of a virtual key.

My company, Network Test, conducts frequent assessment of usability of computer networking devices. In our experience, ease of use is often an afterthought, even in devices intended for nontechnical consumer markets. With soft interfaces that change contents according to context, vendors have an opportunity to vastly increase ease of use.

The biggest near-term winners from this trend are likely to be LCD makers and small software and industrial design houses. Longer term, vendors of any device that use the new interface model are likely to see increased sales as well.