Micro mobility - I want to break free
6th November 09
Posted in mobile, technology
(Posted by Richard Schatzberger, Director of Creative Technology, BBH New York)
We spend a lot of time thinking about how now you can do things when you step away from the confines of your desk — tweeting in the supermarket, replying to email on the escalator. But what about when you are sitting in one of those comfy sofa’s or ergonomic Steel Case chairs? How does mobility come into play when you are in a fixed location?
I recently started using Apple’s Magic Mouse and have found myself leaning back in my chair and just using the touch functions to navigate. It’s an oddly liberating feeling to move your hand and mouse away from the desk and still be in control.
I have also spent the week with the Motorola Droid and by far my favorite feature is the dock that sits on my bedside table. I am no longer fumbling for my iPhone to check the weather in the morning to decide what to wear before I get up. I can now retreat back under the covers for a few extra minutes of sleep as, right there in my peripheral view, I can see that it’s “56 degrees and cloudy”.
And, right now I am sitting with my headphones on as I write this, but I would much prefer to be untethered and have a sound laser wrap the sound around my space rather than having a device wrapped around my head–allowing me to move slightly to hear the conversation rather than removing an object from my body.
Mobile phones have untethered us from objects plugged into walls and wires so we can run jump and call at the same time, but we do live and work in a society where people sit in single locations for large amounts of time. I like to think of the new technology as a way to enable 7.1 Dolby Surround… for everything. Surround screens, surround data, surround interaction.
Micro mobility requires design for all our senses and subtle changes in the environment, rather than distinct I/O control giving people a new type of freedom in the locations they spend most of their time.
If you could unhook or liberate one thing that is sitting close to you right now, what would it be?
3 comments on “Micro mobility - I want to break free”
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Ben Malbon
I woke up this morning to the sound of my iPhone telling me that today was an unusual weather day - no need for a coat and dress as if it was a warm spring day. I love the fact that the technology is providing smarts in a human way.
The trouble is, my phone didn’t do this because it’s still just a technology.
The Droid is no more advanced in its technology delivery by offering a bedside message, it’s just better connected to human needs and interaction.
It’s the simple stuff that’s breaking through but simplicity is hard.
In the hacked words of Marcel Proust, technology companies need help in seeing the the same world with new eyes.
Exactly, we are at a great point in technology where it is less about IF we can do something and more about WHAT do we do with it. But in many cases the more we do with something the more complex it becomes. After working in the design group at a mobile manufacturer I saw the amazing research that went into coming up with new devices and services. But there was (as there is in most industries) a language and process issue as ideas move from human centered concepts to individual features, then to code, and then to marketing. Simplicity (which doesn’t always have to equate to less) and value often gets lost as the technology reaches the person who will be using it.
As more and more great technologies come out integrating and tailoring it so it makes my life better gets harder and harder. Even for me as a mobile geek I have found it really difficult to find the best in class services to make my life easier, connected and more entertaining as I moved to a new phone. I needed the app stores to be about needs and my behavior not about categories.
I think there is a huge space of missed opportunity in how we communicate with people about technology. As we have all seen with the launch of the Droid there is a battle going on at a level which actually misses the value the technology was designed to deliver. To me new technology is more akin to having a baby or a new puppy its about how you integrate it into your life. You don’t think so much about the leash (for the puppy) you think about the training so you walk together in sync, you think about the feeding and sleeping schedule or the benefit different foods will give to the long term health of your new addition. This to me is how we should be thinking and talking about technology, lifestyle integration, not screens and data speeds.
Great post Richard. There’s real genius in the Droid device. And as Alasdair says, it’s all about simplicity. I
I wonder if we’ll see a shift in app and tech development. With a greater emphasis on true utility. Things that add to our LIFE OS, not just our phone OS. Connectivity takes on new meaning in this context. We’re not just connected to content, to people, to the web. We’re more connected to ourselves.