iPad Usability: Gestures

 I found the section of Gestures very interesting in the ipad usability article provided. It was interesting because this is one of the sole purposes of a touch screen, to have screen gestures that make a better experience.  This is especially being used on article based or book based typed website that are responsive on mobile devices. However, many of these websites have difficult swipe gestures because it only provides a certain space where you can swipe. For example, in "The Daily" article, it shows an arrow to show the direction for people to swipe. It seems very easy. However, problems arise. It becomes difficult because many people tended to position their finger consistently at that spot. This is because they view it as a physical book. There were other problems. The navigation bar at the top is unable to swipe as well. Also, the page contains what is a "carousel," however the gesture swipe only works outside of the carousel area. Although, the gesture of swiping is a great addition, problems like these are a big problem for users (especially new users).  This is why it is important to allow screen space for swiping, and eliminate errors. Most users swipe towards the ends of the ipad. However, in instances like this, they are being tricked because the few times they feel like they should swipe the middle, they can't because it doesn't work.

            There are a few recommendations for improving the swipe gesture. They include helping the users know which way to swipe buy providing "arrows" and "tips." Secondly, an improvement is that there should be more space able for swiping. Lastly, carousels and other features that seem to require gesture swiping should be eliminated.

            I think the swipe gesture is one of the greatest features of an ipad, because it combines futurism with functionality. Its great to look at pictures or other visually stunning web sites or apps and simply swipe.  However, problems do in fact arise because of the trickiness of using the swipe gesture.

            Another feature of the ipad is gestures in productivity apps. As I've said before, using swipe gestures for this is great and very helpful. It creates a perfect interface that is very futuristic and intuitive. One problem in many of these features is that the user does not how to use it, because some of it is quite advanced. Navigation on the user face of the ipad is very intuitive as well. However, some accidental touches on certain buttons are not too useful as well. A great addition to the UI of many different apps or web pages is the page viewer thumbnails. It allows the user to quickly pick from different page to different page, back and forth, very easily. It also allows users to retrace their steps on the app or web page very easily as well. When there is no back button, it is very frustrating, because certain searches must be done all over again. It takes the convenience out of the ipad. Because if their is an accidental touch, it is very inconvenient.

            Another improvement to be made is to make lists less interactive, and more traditional. For instance, many ipad interfaces have carousels for long lists. This is very timely and serves as an inconvenience because it becomes annoying. It also is difficult because many times it is not easy to move back at what the user was previously viewing.

            This data is very important because it is necessary for new updates to be made. The whole point of the ipad is to have a great design and fluidity with functionality. Apple has done a great job in this. However, they still must improve minor set backs that many times make a traditional laptop or desktop better. They must not forget that even though the ipad is so advanced, it is also important to also not forget about improvements. The ipad is one of the best tablets available on the market, however their are also other tablets on the market that beat the ipad because of their functionality perks. The researched used is not just for the iPad, but to get new ipad users acclimated to using a touch screen, tablet as something more than just watching movies or looking at pictures. The ipad has advanced functions, and this study proves that it also needs some work. It also provides the general opinion of the user of an ipad in terms of what they like about the interface and what they don't like about it.

            I chose this section of the data in the research because I view the gesture swipe as one of the most important aspects of the ipad. It gives the ipad an intuitive, interactive feel that separates it from the laptops and desktops. It provides a revolutionary way of using a mobile device, let a lone a computer.