Analysing a Touch-to-Desktop UI Port Using Fitts’s Law

Daniel Kennett interrupts the lauding of the Reeder for Mac public beta to point out the ways that it seems optimized for a touchscreen, rather than a mouse pointer.

Update: No one, including Kennett, is saying that Reeder for Mac is a bad app. Nor is anyone saying that typical users know what Fitts’s Law is. Of course they don’t. Just like typical bicycle riders don’t understand the physics behind how a bike works. That doesn’t mean that proper gear design doesn’t make the bike more comfortable to ride. Same with Fitts’s Law. Some of the UI elements in Reeder could be a bit easier to hit, which make the app feel even better.

★ Monday, 6 December 2010