iPhone in the Philippine context
Written by Andoy Montiel
I have gone through five mobile phone brands in a span of 9 years. In my experience, Nokia has produced some of the most easy to use handsets. And I guess I’m not the only who finds Nokia handsets quite usable.
Enter the iPhone 3G, a new mobile device that has catapulted itself to become the most popular phone in the US within a matter of months after its launch. When I got hold of an iPhone, I was quite giddy at the prospect of testing out it’s new interface. This was my first foray into touch-screen phones. And since Apple has often been hailed as one of usability’s best friends, I expected a lot from this 3G handset. Sadly though, my experience was quite disappointing.
In my opinion, the iPhone does not fit well in the Philippine context. This is largely due to the following reasons:
- The predictive dictionary cannot be turned off. In the Philippines, we often use abbreviate words (text speak as they say) or Filipino when we text. The dictionary annoyingly suggests (and often times automatically inputs) words that I do not intend to use. I tried sending a couple of messages to my friends. Almost all of them replied asking what I meant by the cryptic messages they received.
- No tactile feedback. In a country that communicates via SMS more than voice calls, quite a number of us are so used to texting that we can do it even if we are not looking at the screen. I believe that this is largely due to the fact that we can feel the layout of the phone and know what button we are pressing. The iPhone, on the other hand, does not provide the same experience because the screen that also serves as the keypad is flat and provides no tactile feedback. I wish Apple would have employed even simple haptic feedback, like what HTC did for the Touch Diamond.
- No SMS forwarding. The lack of a copy and paste capability - coupled with no SMS forwarding - makes resending those important messages (or even those funny jokes) extremely difficult.
On the positive side, the iPhone is still quite easy to use if all you want is a media player. The touch interface is so intuitive that my kid, who was around 16 months old when he played with the phone, could easily navigate the image gallery via the finger flick action. Also, the information architecture Apple deployed in this gadget was well built; I easily found the help items or phone settings I was looking for.
Overall, the iPhone is still a revolutionary device. However, it may take a while before Filipinos - citizens of the world’s texting capital - get used to the new “non-SMS-centric” user experience it brings.
To those who have used the iPhone, what is your feedback regarding its usability?
Image of iPhone is from Dan H’s Flickr page.
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