ubuntu-phone team mailing list archive

[Bruno Girin <brunogirin@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 02/03/13 15:00, Dalius wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Here is what has been done on calculator in last week:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17fG82OfX04

I like the light grey closing brace. On the other hand, it looks more
confusing to use than the previous one for two reasons:
- The backspace key is now at the bottom, while it really belongs next
to the C key,
- At first glance, the M key looks out of place and if I didn't know
what it does based on previous discussions in this mailing list, I would
not know what to do with it (and would be looking for = instead)

If you look at the mockups that have been published on
design.canonical.com [1][2], the interface is simplified in terms of
calculations: it's a simple 4 operation calculator; but is more advanced
in other areas such as the ability to give a title to the calculation
sheet and tag each number, a bit like a cash register would do. I like
this simplified design for the following reasons:
- 90% of the time, I just need a simple 4 operation calculator; just
having + would probably even cover 50% of my casual usage! The day I
need something more complex, I don't mind going to a different
scientific calculator app.
- Having the numbers in column makes it easier to review them and check
that I've all entered them properly. It also opens up the possibility to
go and correct a number higher up in the calculation without having to
delete what was typed after that.
- The ability to tag each number means that you can quickly pass the
device round a group of friends and say "check your number".

OTOH, shortcomings of the mockups:
- How would you show operator precedence in a way that makes sense and
is it important?
- How do you start a calculation with a negative number as you have no
+/- key? With the - key?
- How do you use the % key?

I hope that feedback doesn't sound too negative and is useful.

[1]
http://design.canonical.com/2013/02/app-patterns-applied-core-utilities-for-ubuntu-on-phones/
[2]
http://design.canonical.com/2013/02/app-patterns-applied-core-utilities-as-rituals/

Bruno