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The official BlackBerry blog interviewed the Director of User Experience Research, Joey Benedek, to chat about changes to the home screen in OS 6. We’ve already seen a lot of it and sussed most of the details out for ourselves, but it’s worth seeing what RIM considers to be the important parts.
For one, they’re trying to strike a balance between newness and familiarity – a fair move, considering the sizeable installed base of existing BlackBerry users who are comfortably set in their ways. Of course, those putting BlackBerry side-by-side with the likes of Android and iPhone quickly notice the lack of swooshiness, so hopefully the UI refresh will address that disparity. The organization of icons into Frequent, Favourites, Media, Downloads and All is an obvious improvement that RIM is pretty excited about, and I am too, given how busy the standard icon screen can get. It’s also a nice evolution of the tired old folder paradigm. They also tout what’s being called “quick access areas”, where you can get to connectivity options by clicking the top area, and universal search, notifications, and profiles through the bar just below it. Universal search is easily my favourite part about OS 6, but it looks like there’s going to be a lot to enjoy once it’s released this summer.
There are a few more screenshots at the via link, if you want to see something sharper than what’s already been captured on video.
[via IBB]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
