Developing software for smaller devices presents unique challenges. For example, how do you fit a lot of data into a small space without using a scrollbar?
Click on the graphic above to launch the demonstration using Web Start
Challenges of developing for small devices
Firstly, they tend to run on a myriad of operating systems. While Windows may command over 90% market share of the desktop, the handheld space is heterogenous. Everything in this space is interesting because there is a lot of competition between the JVM, HTML and Flash to be the de facto cross platform toolkit. In turn, it is fostering a great deal of innovation from the vendors to maximize developer productivity.
Secondly, designing for smaller form factors challenges the assumptions traditional GUI metaphors like Windows and complex menus. This is fertile ground for experimentation. User interfaces may be more tactile, and animation may be more than just window dressing, but it could be useful in signalling activity and movement. Once again, the key idea here is productivity. The vendor who can get ideas off a designer’s head and onto the digital canvas quickest will win.
The screen capture below is an example of a fisheye menu. As the pointer hovers over the options, the words become bigger and more apparent. This can be more usable than having scrollbars, and is capable of presenting a reasonable quantity of data in an unreasonably tight space. It was developed in under 100 lines of JavaFX code (not counting the data), which is a fraction of what it would take to develop using a conventional programming language.
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