News hit the web today that Matias Duarte, the one and only Android design chief at Google, expressed his feelings on Facebook’s Home application, saying the app shows, “an incredible amount of polish.” 

While it is quite obvious Facebook spent a lot of time working on this application, it was not completely apparent how Google felt about it. That was until Eric Schmidt voiced his feelings about Home, saying that this is what open source is all about and that he loves it. For the most part, Matias shares Schmidt’s feelings about Home and had this to say to ABC News:

The new Facebook Home shows an incredible amount of polish and attention to design detail, and that didn’t come from a hardware manufacturer. With the Home experience, they did a nice job expressing the Facebook experience, but so much of the Google design experience with Ice Cream Sandwich was in there as well.

Google has always been one to give credit where credit is due, so this is no shocker. As unusable as I find Home, it is well made, so here’s a +1, Facebook.

Via: The Verge | ABC

Matias Duarte Impressed With Facebook Home, Says it Shows a Lot of Polish is a post from: Droid Life

Yesterday afternoon, Matias Duarte – the UX master of Android – took to Google+ to field your questions on all things Nexus and Jelly Bean. A number of people responded, prompting Duarte to answer two questions thus far. He tackled the idea of the new tablet UI in Jelly Bean, plus the lack of SD card slots in Nexus devices. 

I’ve copied and pasted his entire responses, as to not diminish or miss any point that he was trying to get across. The first one has to do with the tablet UI that has confused some after seeing the Nexus 10. As you know, it looks like a stretched out version of the phone and Nexus 7 UI, something that was done on purpose.

Why did you make the system buttons and status bar consistent across all devices in Jelly Bean?

Consistency and usability are really important to us, and that’s something we strive to improve in every new version of Android. With Honeycomb we first introduced the idea of a completely onscreen navigation UI which gave us unprecedented flexibility in how that UI adapts and transforms – both when you turn the device in your hands and when the software changes and has different control needs. Now in Jelly Bean we’ve made the universal software navigation buttons and system bar consistent across all screen sizes.

This new configuration is based on usability research we did on all of the different form factors and screen sizes that Android runs on. What mattered most of all was muscle memory – keeping the buttons where you expect them, no matter how you hold the device.

Phones are almost always used in portrait mode, flip sideways occasionally, and never go upside down. As screen sizes get larger though, any which way goes. Imagine the frustration you’d feel if every time you picked up a tablet off the table ‘the wrong way up’ you found yourself reaching for a home button that wasn’t where you expect it to be? That irritation adds up and over time like a tiny grain of sand in your shoe and undermines the rest of your experience.

The Jelly Bean system bar always keeps the same 3 buttons where you expect them. This happens dynamically for every screen size, up until you get to small handheld screens where stacking the bars in landscape mode would leave too little vertical space.

The second thing we discovered was that there are almost as many different ways of holding our devices as there are people. In fact people love to use their Nexus so much that they use them for such long periods of time that having a single ‘correct grip’ is actually counter productive and increases hand strain. The Jelly Bean navigation buttons work equally well for left handers and right handers, one handed use, or two handed use, and for devices you’re carrying, resting on your knee, or putting on the table.

Last but not least, by unifying the design we are now able to put Notifications and Quick Settings right where you’d expect them, and only one swipe away.

The second question he answered had to do with SD card slots. As you know from previous Android team talks, Nexus phones haven’t had SD card slots in some time. While there are technical reasons for doing so, Matias puts reasoning squarely on user experience. If you add in an SD card slot, you potentially make it confusing.

Why don’t Nexus devices have SD cards?

Everybody likes the idea of having an SD card, but in reality it’s just confusing for users.

If you’re saving photos, videos or music, where does it go? Is it on your phone? Or on your card? Should there be a setting? Prompt everytime? What happens to the experience when you swap out the card? It’s just too complicated.

We take a different approach. Your Nexus has a fixed amount of space and your apps just seamlessly use it for you without you ever having to worry about files or volumes or any of that techy nonsense left over from the paleolithic era of computing.

With a Nexus you know exactly how much storage you get upfront and you can decide what’s the right size for you. That’s simple and good for users.

And there you have it. There is a chance that he continues to answer questions, so feel free to check out the Google+ thread we have linked to below.

In the mean time, I would love to hear your thoughts on these two subjects.

Via:  +Matias Duarte

Cheers Kane!

Matias Duarte Talks Tablet UI in Jelly Bean, Lack of SD Card Slots in Nexus Devices is a post from: Droid Life

Matias Duarte coming to Google to head up Android’s user interface was a huge acquisition for all us Android fanboys. Not only has he helped Android to grow up and into its own, but he has influenced many things about the OS since he arrived to help with Ice Cream Sandwich. His former job at Palm has never been more evident before today with Google’s new Charging Orb for the Nexus 4, which looks eerily similar to the Touchstone Charger.

Using the Qi charging standard, Google has created a half-orb that magnetizes to the back of the Nexus 4 for easy charging by just setting your phone on it. The new feature in Android 4.2 named “Daydream” will be activated when set on this dock and the phone will display information from Google Currents and Google Now. There has been absolutely no word on pricing or availability for this accessory but if you’re like us, you are waiting impatiently until it is announced.

Ready to move to wireless charging yet with your Nexus 4?

Via: The Verge

Google’s New Wireless ‘Charging Orb’ Might Be the Coolest Product Shown Off Today is a post from: Droid Life

Since Google had to cancel their winter Android event due to Hurricane Sandy, they went ahead and sat down with the folks at The Verge to walk through everything that they had planned to show. In the 15-minute video below, you’ll see the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, but you’ll also see all of the new Android 4.2 features that we wish we could get a hold of, right now. The new lockscreen functionality with widgets, updated camera software, new notification panel, Google Now, and more, all have us in full fanboy mode today. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video: Google Takes Us on a Tour of Android 4.2′s New Features, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 is a post from: Droid Life

Last week, Google’s Senior Director of Android User Experience, Matias Duarte was named one of the Top 50 designers that is shaping our world’s future. Up there with the creative director from Apple, designers from Twitter, Facebook, and other major companies, Duarte is one of the best.

He posted a ‘thank you’ on his Google+ page and someone decided that it would be a good time to remind him that Android still isn’t perfect. Being a classy man whom we’ve had the privilege to stand next to and share a beer with at Google I/O, replied to the comment on his page, stating that there is always more work to be done and he’s only one third of where he would like to be with Android as a whole. 

It’s true, we still have a lot of work to do. Personally I feel like I’ve gotten only about a third of the way to where I want to be with regards to consistency, responsiveness, and polish.

Better get back to work!

You couldn’t ask for much more than that. Jelly Bean has ushered in a new era of smoothness and responsiveness that early Android users may not have thought was possible. If Jelly Bean is only a third of what this man and his team are capable of, then consider me a Matias fanboy all the way.

Via: Fast Company, Google+

Matias Duarte Recognized as One of the World’s Top Designers, Says There’s Much More Work to be Done on Android is a post from: Droid Life

Been waiting for someone to pick the brain of the popular Googler, Matias Duarte?  Today at 4:30 PM EST (1:30 PM PST), on The Daily Beast’s Google+ page, you can watch a live hang out where they will be going back and forth with the man behind many of the Ice Cream Sandwich looks we know and love.  In addition, the entire event will be recorded for all those that can’t make it.

When:

December / 7 / 2011 (Today) – 4:30 PM EST (1:30 PM PST)

Where:

Daily Beast Google+ Page

If you are not able to catch the live action but still want to go back and watch, The Daily Beast will also be recording the event for later viewing on their G+ page.  Don’t know if they’ll be taking viewer questions, but that would be an added bonus.

Via: Android And Me

Watch Matias Duarte On Google+ Today at 4:30 PM EST is a post from: Droid Life