this morning i received a service sms message from att wireless telling me they will be soon updating mMode with a new look and feel. mMode is att wireless' WAP/XHTML based font end to purchasing applications and setting up content, and i think you'll have to admit, this new look and feel is a bit better than any other WAP stack you've seen of late.
we typically haven't liked WAP at all for applications, as it was pretty much impossible to accomplish anything in the past given the shakiness of the network and low quality of the server based applications that ran on network, not to mention the differences in phones. some operators such as U.S. Cellular chose to launch without WAP for their 2.75/3G data services, and Verizon charges a monthly fee for access to a service that pales in comparison to their BREW based content offering.
att seems to be learning from their japanese cousins, and continuing to execute their mMode strategy with surprising results. a theme i am seeing here is easier access to content, fewer "clicks" and bringing innovations like location based services to the forefront. as much as we dislike WAP, mMode demonstrates some best practices in north america. good for them if they succeed in making this useful in time for their nationwide EDGE launch by the end of the year.
fewer clicks is good. colors not as boring, good.
the new home screen.
more of the new home screen. search, messaging and history all up front. good.
big names in content, easy access to the favorites. most people regularly visit 4-5 sites on a regular basis anyway.
"My 5 Nearby". this is all there in the current mMode, albeit buried.
in short - this is good. att realized what they were up against, and rose to the challenge in designing around the user experience.
i bounce around between phones and operators quite a bit, and i have been finding myself going back to mMode more and more these days to purchase things like J2ME games with my att ewallet (because it's easier, no credit card involved) - and then even transferring these games over to my t-mobile phone, who doesn't offer this level of content.
hopefully the full launch of this preview delivers. i like to be pleasantly surprised.
Posted by Steve at October 17, 2003 11:12 AM | TrackBack
when you say "some operators such as U.S. Cellular chose to launch without WAP for their 2.75/3G data services, and Verizon charges a monthly fee for access to a service that pales in comparison to their BREW based content offering," do you mean their WAP offering pales in comparison to their own BREW-based content offering? or to USCC's? I think you meant the former, but I wasn't sure.
Yep, looks like ATT got enough of their own people to talk to end users before they started coding. Always nice to see, especially in this oft-abused usability domain.
Posted by: matt at October 20, 2003 03:26 PM
Did you find a new screens shot application for your phone...something like a ScreenTaker version 1.01...or are you still using the program from PSI NT (Psiloc)? http://www.psiloc.com
Posted by: Andrew at October 30, 2003 06:20 PM
these were taken from the n-gage which comes with a screen shot utility out of the box. this isn't on the stock 3650 of old.
Posted by: steve at October 30, 2003 09:48 PM
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Posted by: driving directions at August 5, 2004 11:06 AM