The N78 is the first S60 device that has been released with Feature Pack 2. Feature Pack 2 has made it easy for new users to access and use an S60 device, and there have been many UI and speed improvements over previous versions.
In this part of the review I will look at some of the improvements made in the software compared to previous devices and give you my thoughts!!!
Before I continue, you might be thinking that they have ‘dumbed down’ the OS to appeal to new users - this isn’t the case. In fact, this is the best (in my opinion) version of S60 yet… The interface is speedy and less ‘clunky’ than before. There are menu transitions and effects on the user interface that makes it look a whole lot nicer. Different effects can be added through themes. Of course, you can also switch the effects off if you prefer, and effects aren’t the only thing FP2 has to offer! You can do more out of the box than ever before, and numerous other improvements have been made to make it easy to access what you want.
One of the first things you will notice about FP2 is the fact that the central selection button is now labelled so that it is more clear what will happen when pressed. It was assumed that the central key of the D-Pad would select something, but now it has been made more clear to the user exactly what it will do.
As you can see, it is much clearer when the key will open things, add items to a list or open a sub menu. When the key will select an item from a list, it is labelled with a circle/spot.
Feature Pack 2 also makes it easier to multitask on your device. New users of S60 may not have known about/utilised multitasking (which could be accessed by a long press of the menu key). This functionality is still here, but in every menu (no matter what application you are running) you will also have a choice of showing any open applications you may have running. The good thing is that even though this option is at the top of every list, it isn’t the first to be highlighted so it won’t affect the usability of applications you are running (as you can see from the screenshot above).
I think this is great because this makes it easy for new users to see that it is possible to do multiple things at once on their ‘multimedia computers’. Another thing you will notice when viewing open applications is that the interface has changed from the list view in previous devices to a grid view. As the amount of programs you have open mounts up, the grid gets bigger. By scrolling over the application logo, you will be able to see the name of the application (which is missing from underneath their logos). One thing I found strange was the fact that the menu was always listed as being open, even after starting up the device for the first time. I didn’t really see the point in this and surely it’s easier to press the menu key to access the menu instead of holding it down to select it from the grid???
I think this is a big improvement and it makes sense using more screen real estate for this function instead of having to scroll down what could become a long list!
You also have the choice of a new active standby screen and menu views. As well as having the ‘Basic’ view, which (besides the clock, profile in use and other indicators) the wallpaper/theme background is visible, the ‘Horizontal’ view (well… you’ve seen it before!) there is now a new ‘Vertical’ view. This allows the remainder of the screen real estate to provide various other shortcuts and options for each of the items. This is particularly useful for shortcuts and the calendar (where more information can now be displayed without navigating through different menus).
I was a little disappointed with this new standby view because there is no way of customising what items are listed. I think it would be great if this could be customised and perhaps allow third party application to access this feature to expand further.
New menu views include ‘Horseshoe’ and ‘V-shaped’ which I think have been designed more for eye candy than usability. I much prefer using the standard grid/list views to browse through the menu. I think that these views are too slow to access the menu items because of the layout and animation used.
Another thing you will notice is the fact that the clock and any other status icons that are active can be viewed throughout the menus instead of being restricted to the active standby view. You are also alerted if the phone is busy loading an application. A circle spins next to the application logo you are trying to open so if it is taking some time, you know the phone hasn’t frozen, which in my opinion is really useful with applications like Maps/NGage which can take longer to load…
This loading animation also appears on the upper right of the standby screen if you are loading something that isn’t in the menu (for example, the standby screen).
I noticed a problem with this feature when the memory card was inserted… When the animation appears on the standby screen with the memory card inserted, it overlaps the memory card symbol mixing the two together for the period of time an application is loading. A simple fix could resolve this small issue.
This article has given you a brief look at some of the improvements introduced within S60 Feature Pack 2. I mentioned in the beginning of the post that it is possible to do more with the device out of the box, and some of these features will be highlighted soon!!!
Do you have a device that runs Feature Pack 2 and have had experience with a Feature Pack 1 device? What are your thoughts about the updates made and has it improved the overall user experience for you?
Filed under: Technology | Tagged: Review
