Mobile is different from Mobile

Bluepulse has a UI that's pretty well optimized for mobile usage. Among the guidelines are (a) subject the user to as few links as absolutely necessary [to minimize navigating keystrokes], (b) make everything compact [to minimize scrolling], and (c) keep pages small [to accommodate devices with limited memory].

Bluepulse has a UI that's not very well optimized for mobile usage. Among the problems are (a) not enough links to take the user directly to where they want to go, (b) not making the links really big [to avoid the fat-finger problem], and (c) not taking advantage of large scrollable screens [to minimize pagination].

I'm talking about the differences between keypad-navigated devices (most everything today) and screentouch-navigated devices (e.g., iPhone), of course. And more generally, the diversity of devices that a mobile team that's fanatical about the user experience has to deal with.

Device-capabilities profiles will help ameliorate this. Rapid advances in the mobile browser experience will solve this.

But the larger point is that today, it's (unfortunately) still naive to think there is a "mobile user experience" expertise by years of experience, and even more so to think that the lessons end at a set of desktop-vs-mobile comparisons and contrasts.

We're moving fast and are breaking things along the way. Everyday the world presents itself anew. But we have our heads and hearts in the right places. We'll get better, we promise. Sorry, iPhone users, your fingers are not fat. Our buttons are too thin. We've got some growth hormones in the pipelines.