The thing that I love about this design is that the physical interaction maps directly to the mental model of the user. If I want the mp3 player to play, I fold it to look like the classic play icon, a triangle pointing to the right. See below:
In order to fast forward, I fold the mp3 player into the classic fast forward icon. I envision these signature moments surprising and delighting users. It's an interesting combination of iconic representation and mapping that make operation quick and very intuitive. Hopefully, our interactions with digital devices will continue to go in this direction.
What's not clear is how you maintain the current state without having to hold the small device continuously. For example, will I be able to put this in my pocket without having it get accidentally folded into shapes that interrupt my listening experience. I imagine this is key to making those signature moments worth it.
Via: Fast Company
I think its super cool that in our current ipod world of GUIs this functions primarily in the physical world. The major thing that bothers me about my ipod touch is that the only function I can really do without unlocking it is adjust the volume using the physical toggle button. Personally, I adjust the track setting WAY more than the volume and have no why they'd no let it be customizable. But this is cool, maybe not practical, but cool
ReplyDeleteI agree with Justin. I believe that this is an incredible and very innovative design but don't know to what extent it is practical. I think that this is the type of device that would be really exciting to have and use for the first week and then you would start hating it...I believe that after some use you would just want simple play and pause buttons instead of having to do origami every time. I think that the designer has a lot of merit for doing this because it is very creative and probably very complex to build...
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