Context over Consistency?
“…why context is more important than consistency. It’s ok to be inconsistent if your design makes more sense that way. Give people just what matters. Give them what they need when they need it and get rid of what they don’t. It’s better to be right than to be consistent.”
The iPhone keyboard’s spacebar is replaced by web-centric options when you’re entering a URL. URLs can’t contain blank spaces so the iPhone gets rid of the useless key and replace it with ones that add value. Great example of context over consistency.
Via 37 signals
The product launches in the US later today, which means the world wide web is going to be reviewtastic very soon. Here are a couple to get you started…
David Pogue from the New York Times
Walter Mossberg, Wall Street Journal Personal Technology Columnist
June 29th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
At first glance I totally brought the blog post from 37 signals, and I still do in part - Apple’s customisation of the keyboard layout was the right thing to do on the iPhone’s behalf. This smart, clever detail change to the interface that serves the user is a good thing. But after speaking with some friends here I am not convinced that a minor tweak qualifies for the ‘great example of context over consistency’ certification?
June 29th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Yeah, and looking at it again — the shift button. When did url’s become case sensitive?