Highly Innovative Mobile UI from MS Research and Univ of Maryland
Please continue the discussion here
As much as I love "mobile middleware", there are things I feel awkward using on today's mobile devices. One example is the calendar application: I would like to see details of today's task while still seeing the outline and repeat patterns of the week or month's schedule; Another example is Pocket Street maps: when I want the driving direction from A to B, I want to see a detailed map around each corner while still seeing the overall route (that is why big maps with fine prints are so popular). The list go on. But they have a common pattern: How do we fit drill-down information and outline information into a small screen at the same time?
That is indeed a big research question for UI designers. University of Maryland has developed a highly innovative "fish eye" UI solution with Microsoft Research to do just that. Their sample application, the DateLens, demonstrates the concept using a calendar application. Very cool. Make sure that you check out their demo video on their site. The desktop outlook plugin is available for free from their site -- you can see for yourself whether it improves your productivity. I hope they would make the .NET CF source code available under a shared code license! ;)
The research lab that developed this application has just entered a 3-year, 1 million dollar contract with Microsoft. In any case, I wish those innovative UI components (fish-eye grids and two-head scroll bars) make their way to WinForms designer toolbox very soon!