Palm loses their lead webOS designer to the Google Android team

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/27/palm-loses-their-lead-webos-designer-to-the-google-android-team-others-may-follow/

by dzlobin • 16 years ago

89 31 16 years ago

mobilecrunch.com

jackfoxy• 16 years ago

What a coup for Android. (Assuming the reporter knows what he's talking about, which I can't vouch for.)

vito• 16 years ago

Engadget confirmed it here: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/27/palms-matias-duarte-has-j...

ashishbharthi2• 16 years ago

Absolutely right move Google. User interface has been one of the weakest part of Android. Looking forward to see totally revamped UI in 2.3!

studer2• 16 years ago

Can you give concrete examples of things that needs to be totally revamped, or are you just parroting the Apple fanboism here?

buster• 16 years ago

While i think that the current 2.2 UI is great, one thing that always striked me is the inconsistency of colors on widgets (well, since there are widgets, not always ;) ).

For example, the google buzz widget, youtube widget and settings widget is black.. facebook and twitter (facebook came preinstalled) is white/blue. It'd be ok for non preinstalled apps.. also atleast it should be skinnable. LevelUpStudios widgets are a good example of skinnable (Beautiful *). That's more of an issue of 3rd party components though, as i believe widgets (like apps) use the correct theme per default and 3rd parties have to change it.

Apart from that, i have no complains. But what do you know.. maybe the PalmOS design god comes up with some surprise :)

ashishbharthi2• 16 years ago

Yes currently I have iPhone but I don't like the fact that I will have to pay Apple $100 per year to run my own apps on my phone. I am a Java Developer and I love the fact that I can write Android apps in Java.

For that reason I always wanted to move to Android. I went to stores every time new Android device launched but I am not satisfied with the User Interface and touch screen sensitivity. Android UI is not quite up to the level where iPhone UI is or for that matter Palm WebOS UI.

replicatorblog2• 16 years ago

The fact that the Android Marketplace lists apps in Dollars, Pounds, Euros, Yen, and other currencies. You need a currency conversion app just to use it. That is an example of TERRIBLE UI.

pkulak• 16 years ago

The app launcher is in 3D and snaps to the closest row, so that right before you click on an app, it bounces forward or back about half a row and you miss or hit a different row.

To tell the difference between a tap and a scroll, you need to wait some period of time. Just a fraction of a second. However, if it's a scroll, that means that by the time you figure it out, the finger will be a centimeter or so from where it started. On Android (in the browser mostly), when it learns it's a scroll, the page jumps ahead the distance that it missed, totally taking you out of the "scrolling" metaphor because of the sudden, jerky movement. The iPhone and WebOS (I think) just start moving without skipping to make up ground. This makes it just seem like your finger slipped a tiny bit before gaining traction, which is seamless.

And forms. Do I need to say anymore? They just look terrible. Like a website from the late '90s.

There are some more, but I can't think of them right now.

whereareyou• 16 years ago

Gruber, "If true, Google may be serious about taking the ugly stick out of the Android development process. This is a seriously big hire." http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/05/27/paczkowski

stcredzero• 16 years ago

Google needs guidance like this all around. (To be fair, recent trajectory is already good.)

rimantas• 16 years ago

One just has to wonder will the new hire bow to A/B testing for 40 shades of green Android logo should be colored…

Tichy• 16 years ago

What ugly stick?

not_an_alien• 16 years ago

That guy is just a prick who hates everything Google/Android.

mortenjorck• 16 years ago

I have to admit I'm suddenly just a bit worried about the future of WebOS. Not for HP/Palm's loss of one (or possibly more) smart UI designer, but for who or what will replace him.

If Duarte's shoes end up filled by some HP design committee and not a strong UX leader who can earn the respect of his teams, there's trouble brewing. WebOS is far too immature right now to be left to grow in that kind of bureaucratic environment.

I really hope they treat this search with the gravity it deserves instead of just dumping a suit in the seat.

megaduck• 16 years ago

Too bad Aza Raskin's already got a gig.

latch• 16 years ago

A win for Google, and a loss for HP. These types of thing tend to lead to cherry picking. Google will end up with many of the people Matias Duarte considers to be winners, while leaving HP with a higher % of dead weight

Palm loses their lead webOS designer to the Google Android team

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