Developers: Consider usability when making apps

A lot of new applications for smartphones are arriving on the scene and all of the app stores are full of applications running the gamut from generics to those that serve very specific needs. I don't know how many software developers have discovered the wireless world but the number is certainly growing by the day. There are a lot of great new applications and some that are pretty boring, and they are built around a wide variety of user interfaces.

Some are web-centric, based on a belief that a browser has become the universal interface for both wired and wireless applications. Many of the new applications fit into this category and seem to rely on connectivity, which is assumed to be always there. These types of applications are generally used only by those who have a good grasp of this type of user interface and who have the tolerance for moving around inside a browser. The issue of having to be always connected when running one of these apps is that we still live in an always-on and sometimes-connected world.

Next up are applets, and here again there are many different types. Some are nothing more than a way to reach a specific website and land on a page with specific information, so they are very narrow in focus. However, some of the newer ones are beginning to be multifaceted and running one of these applets might retrieve information from several different sources, and then we run into the issue of whether it is an applet or an application. I know many people who keep multiple applets on their devices, perhaps one for weather, one for news, one for sports, and one to find the nearest Starbucks, for example. Applets are a step above applications with a browser interface and they are easier to use.

However, I believe the most successful applications will be those that have some common traits. While they may, in fact, retrieve information from the Internet, it is done in the background and the information is saved to the device so that even if it is out of range, the last information received will be available. One contrast example might be a turn-by-turn navigation program that returns to the web for the next directions vs. an application that downloads all of the directions at once and stores them on the device. There is this push to keep everything in the cloud and to run our devices as basically dumb terminals. This is not a smart idea in the wireless world since there are too many times when access is either not available or it is so slow that by the time you get the information you don't need it anymore.

When I look at full-blown applications, I look at more than what they do. I am interested in the user interface, how it interacts with the data it needs, and if that data is stored on my device. When talking to developers, there are two applications I use as benchmarks for being well written, having the ability to retrieve information in the background, and having a good clean user Interface.

Neither of these companies is a client of mine--in fact, I am a fully paid subscriber for one and a customer of the other. The first is World Mate Live, which I have installed on my BlackBerry Bold. It works well, the user interface is well thought out, and it solves a number of my travel issues--updating my flights and weather conditions, having a currency exchange calculator, informing me of time zones, and more--ALL without having to open a browser to go out to retrieve the information. It is sitting there waiting for me, and it syncs with my Outlook so both the travel program and Outlook have the same information in them, just organized in different ways. Again, the user interface is one of the best I have experienced on a mobile device. There is a free version that when downloaded will give you an idea of both the user interface and the smart back-end that makes this program even more valuable.

The second is a free financial program I also have on my BlackBerry. It is the E*Trade stock and financial information application. It is easy to download, easy to set up, easy to personalize, and even if you don't use E*Trade, it is free. This application provides you with a lot of great financial information and if you want, you can stream a stock ticker across the bottom of your screen. The information it provides is valuable, the current market conditions are only a click away, the user interface is clean, the screen layout is easy to read, and a number of options can be invoked to personalize what it shows you.

Both of these are great examples of what I believe will be the types of applications that will drive voice and voice and SMS text users to the world of data. Their ease of use and great user interfaces could well be a model for more successful applications going forward.

Andrew M. Seybold is CEO and Principal Analyst of Andrew Seybold, Inc. Andrew Seybold Wireless University will be held March 31, in Las Vegas, at the International CTIA Wireless 2009.