Jason Snell: Hands (and Fingers) on the iPhone

Jason Snell on using an iPhone prototype:

It feels small, and quite thin. The screen is remarkably responsive — I could sense no delay between when I pressed an on-screen button and when the phone responded to that finger press. I typed on its on-screen keyboard with my index finger, and after about a minute I felt that I was already well on my way to be a proficient iPhone typist.

“Remarkable responsiveness”, if it holds up in the actual shipping units in June, is going to be a key aspect of the iPhone’s user experience. Any sort of perceptible lag could break the illusion that you’re actually touching things, as opposed to the more abstract feeling that you’re using your finger to manipulate a UI.

★ Tuesday, 16 January 2007