Saturday, April 23, 2011

Smartphone Widgets

Like the desktop widgets you commonly see on desktops these days, I personally feel that smartphone widgets should be equally important. Why is that so ? We would analyse through deeper into this blog post.

Benefits:
  1. Quick accessing of data and information. (Weather, Currency, News...etc)
  2. General simplicity of use.
  3. Summarised information that is otherwise bulky.
  4. Quick access to other apps or applets.
Cons:
  1. Waste space on the screen.
  2. Looks ugly. (if badly designed)
  3. Leeches additional CPU and Memory (and possibly Network) to continue feeding users with updated information.
The list of Pros and Cons could go on but the above are the general and common Pros and Cons. It really depends on what your aim is and your vision of the smartphone "desktop".

I personally see the smartphone "desktop" or home screens as similar to your desktop "desktop" and therefore, gadgets and widgets providing only the important information should be loaded onto the desktop of smartphones. It is obviously unwise to litter the desktop screens of smartphones with so many widgets that it clutters your desktop space and resource usage (which generates bad user experiences).

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