The Interface

A finger friendly phone makes its mark with its interface. The iPhone features its pages of icons, with no real way to tailor the interface (unless you jailbreak the phone), but its capacitive screen is very responsive to gestures and the finger friendliness pervades all settings screens and applications. WinMo manufacturers have to contend with an OS whose current version was designed around stylus navigation. Since the iPhone has relegated the stylus to the status of "so early 2000s", the WinMo manufacturers have countered with finger friendly shells that sit on top of the stylus friendly OS. HTC's TouchFlo is probably the best known of these shells and it does a pretty good job of providing finger friendly functionality for many tasks. However, eventually you're going to have to use the native WinMo applications and settings screens, and their stylus friendly designs (small menus and controls on the screen) expose cracks in the finger friendly façade. HTC's latest version of TouchFlo 3D on the Diamond 2 and Pro 2 extends further than ever, even to some degree into the native WinMo applications, where they replace the small menus with larger ones that are easy to navigate by touch. As you may know, changes to the core of the WinMo OS for versions 6.5 and 7 will improve matters by making the native applications much more touch friendly.

So how does the Acer solution measure up?

The Acer Shell

Instead of the series of pages used by TouchFlo 3D, Acer provides the Acer Shell, based on a more literal desktop metaphor. You're given 3 pages of "desktop" on which to place widgets that access various applications; some also display information regarding the application content. Widgets can be moved around (they get smaller as you move them further away from the "front" of the desk) or removed.

Figure 9: The first desktop page. Sort of reminds me a bit of Microsoft Bob... at least there's no annoying dog.

Figure 10: The globe display provides overly generalized information that's fairly useless. How about replacing it with more weather info as in TouchFlo 3D?

The clock widget shows the date, time and name of your carrier. Tap on it and it shows you the locations that you've defined on a globe.

Figure 11: Hmmm, fictitious friends... guess I must have started my third childhood already.

Figure 12: Behind on my e-mail as usual...

Pressing on the phone widget in the center of the screen brings up the call history. The envelope widget displays the number of unread e-mails and pressing on it takes you to a graphical display with previews of your messages.

The paper plus paperweight widget displays the number of unread text messages and pressing on it brings you into the text message inbox. The calendar widget displays the date and time of your next appointment and pressing on it takes you into the WinMo calendar. Even the window is a widget… it displays the weather of the currently chosen city and takes you into a weather application when pressed.

Figure 13: The second desktop page. Guess I need professional help with my picture mounting...

Figure 14: As you can see, at least my taste in fictitious friends is improving somewhat.

On the second desktop page, you have a "Rolodex" widget that shows the first contact picture that you've assigned. Press it and you get a graphical display of the contact pictures.