Thinkcorps

update: I got a look at one over the weekend at a Dell mall kiosk in Portland, OR. I have to admit, it has a nice heft to it, and seems solidly built. BUT —the button configurations are not that well, thought out, and the scroll wheel is too small in my opinion (all the buttons are too small, imo).

I wonder if the Dell designers weren’t thinking too PC-centric. What I mean is simply that a typical PC has a very structured interface with the user—you sit directly in front of it in order to see the monitor and align your hands with the keyboard and mouse. The cellphone has evolved in a similar way, with the inclusion of screens, cameras, and other PC-like functions etc.

However, I don’t think you necessarily want such a structured interface in a portable device like a music player. The primary function of the device is so simple that you should be able to work it from inside your bag, with only a limited memory of its configuration. That was the genius of the original iPod: 4 clickable play control buttons (and menu), one for each cardinal direction, laid out around a scroll wheel (non-clickable), with a clickable select button in the middle. In a pocket, these functions were easily distinguished from each other.

Much more emphasis needs to be placed on the buttons themselves as well—just cause they’re chrome-painted, doesn’t make them good.