After a week of using the fabled iPad I’m still really impressed by how it has made so many things I do on a computer more fun. In fact, that’s my usual review when asked how I like it by passerby’s in my local Starbucks. It’s just fun.

Really fun, but it’s not without its quirks.

I wish file sharing system wide was easier, and I can’t wait for the multitasking features announced in iPhone OS 4.0. But I have all faith in the brilliant Apple software developers. I’m sure these quirks are but an update away from being fixed.

Many of the apps I’m using are beautifully done. Some of my favorites include: Evernote, Things, Sketchbook Pro, iBooks, NetNewsWire, ABC Entertainment, USA Today, The Elements, Popular Science and of course WordPress; to name a few.

But there are still some apps I’ve come to love on my iPhone that I’m hoping will quickly make iPad versions. Developers if you’re listening, or maybe wondering if you should make the jump to the iPad, the answer is a resounding YES, especially for these must haves:

Tweetie 2
Momento
PanelFly
FourSquare
GoWalla
Flickit Pro
Mint.com
Google Earth
iDisk
DropBox

I’m waiting…patiently. I know thoughtful development takes time.

Is it ready now?

This futuristic Honda prototype is really sexy. The 2015 Honda CB 750 by Igor Chak features a four-cylinder liquid hydrogen engine, with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission with electronic lurch and traction control. All with electronic tuning controlled by the onboard computer!

That’s right, this superbike features a first-of-its-kind on board computer, which can be controlled through a 5” OLED multi-touch display positioned right on the fuel tank! Users can switch between 3 menus: GPS, Drive modes, diagnostics mode.

The frame and body is a constructed with a carbon fiber, aluminum, and titanium unibody. Seat cowling is part of the frame, allowing it to carry heavier riders- up to 300lbs.

Front and rear electro-magnetic suspension is also controlled electronically too. Sensors show readouts updating every 1/10 a second and can adjust everything on-the-fly. ABS, airbag, and steering damper. Rims designed to be sleek and aerodynamic. Radar technology to “sense an upcoming head-on collision and will automatically slow the bike.” – most of these features can be manually disabled to suit the driver.

GPS mode is like your standard GPS that will give you directions and etc, but it will be connected to the internet through Wi-Fi and 3G. This will enable you to find information on the go and implement it to your rout.

Drive mode: economy, race and standard. All can be electronically tuned.

Diagnostic mode: lap times, gas consumption, top speed and etc.

Honda, please make this bike! If you need assistance with the onboard screen control design and UI, I’d be happy to help.

(via Yanko Design)

Last night I went to my local Regal Theater to watch Sherlock Holmes and although the movie itself was fantastic, my experience leading up to the film, and then after was less than stellar.

I tweeted (can I use that as a verb?) that theaters need some design thinking and @wanderingalan asked what I meant via twitter. His question inspired this post.

What I mean Mr. Alan and anyone else still reading, is that the experience of attending a movie at the theater needs to be reimagined. The experience isn’t just about the film, but the entire fantastical experience of going to the movies. Currently parts of it feel a lot like waiting in line at the post office, or at an unkept fast-food restaurant. Why has so little effort been made to innovate and improve the audience experience? Why are user’s expectations so low as to settle for the least sticky seat that can be found?

Think about the last movie you attended. If you’re like me, a lot of effort has to be made to insure a good experience. First, to get tickets, we either get them online, or use the kiosk to avoid being herded through the stauntions for 20 minutes. Once inside, we often deploy the divide and conquer strategy. One gets in the line for snacks, while the other joins the line for a decent seat. I prefer snack duty. Who wants to defend the empty seats in the theater from the desperate incoming patrons who also have seat duty.

It would be fun to put together a small design team and tackle of few of the movie-going touch-points. Here are a few examples from my 5 minute brainstorm of one:

Acquiring & Using Tickets

I’m not convinced that tickets are the perfect method to screen paying patrons, but if we continue to use them, then why not give them some utility beyond being torn and shortly after, discarded? They could be well designed keepsakes from an amazing experience, like a concert ticket. They could lead to unlocked media or content on your mobile device or online, extending the entertainment and adding value to the $10 price of admission. Tickets could even be social passports, connecting you with others who have attended the theater, or seen the film.

What if your ticket was a card that you simply reload with credits to see films? What if you could buy a specific seat among a few reserved rows?

Interior Design

Patrons have come to expect a state-of-the-art projection and sound system, stadium seating and overpriced junk food. Though some theaters fail at these basic amenities, I mean to go beyond that to recapture the glamour, or elegance of moviegoing. I’m not talking about adding grand staircases or crystal chandeliers, although I think some luxuries are missing, I’m not sure opulence is what is needed most. I’d be happy with a few thoughtful interior design changes aimed at making guests feel more like guests, not cattle.

Today most theaters are designed to look best with the lights off. What if it didn’t feel like a warehouse? What if the carpet didn’t look like a pattern from an 8 year-old birthday party napkin?

Concessions

Who decided that the fast food model was best here? There have to be better ways to acquire our popcorn. What if it was brought to us, or even came with admission? What about being more ecologically responsible in regards to concession cups and popcorn buckets? Should they be made with recycled materials? Should patrons reuse them? What if there were a few healthier or more grown-up options too? I wouldn’t mind some granola and a latte for my next show.

Show

I work for Disney, a company that knows a thing or two about showmanship. Let’s add a bit of panache back to attending a film. Starting with the people who work there. Attendee uniforms shouldn’t look like they’re picking up a shift at Taco Bell right after. They don’t have to be in tails, but come on…

The slides before the film really know how to spoil the mood. Why not play music from the movie’s soundtrack? Live orchestra? Or maybe, have the director & cast introduce the movie? I promise, no one will miss the local business ads or bad movie trivia.

Lighting is a big deal. It sets the tone and mood. We should pay more attention at how the theater is lit before a show. Maybe the lighting could even change to suit the films mood?

Social?

Everyone runs off before the credits have reached the supporting cast. Why not provide a space to bring these people together to discuss the film if they choose, or to provide their review online? Think mini cyber cafe, encouraging patrons to share their experiences in social media spaces like I did.

Alright, enough rambling. I love storytelling, and therefore movies. I’d like to see that experience improve. With a little effort theaters could recapture movie-goer imaginations and separate that experience from ever advancing home theater technologies.

As an Interactive Designer I can’t help but get all giddy about the possibilities that a tablet computer presents. Or to be more specific, a location-aware, video camera & accelerometer equipped, multitouch tablet computer on a high-speed network. And like many of you, I believe/hope Apple is close to launching such a device with all of Apple’s polish and panache.

Still, several people have asked me what all the hype is about. Why use a tablet? Isn’t it just a smaller laptop, or a bigger iPhone? Why do we need it? Well, that’s a little like going back a few years ago and asking “Why do we need a touch-screen on our cell-phones?” It was hard to imagine how people would use a screen that small at then-current network speeds.

It all comes down to how we interact with, share and create media (content). There’s the way we do it now, with current devices and web services, and the way we can imagine doing it in the very near future. And the future is very exciting as we are imminently approaching the type of media convergence predicted at the internet’s humble beginnings.

Several industries, like the dying magazine and newspaper industries could be completely reinvented with the success of a tablet device. How? By delivering content in new ways to the digital native generations who don’t read “dated” printed periodicals. While others industries, like Wacom & Bamboo input tablets stand to be rendered obsolete almost overnight.

Interactive Designers in almost every field have begun to consider how the tablet might effect their worlds. Time Magazine partnered with The Wonderfactory to create a demo video (below) showcasing what Sports Illustrated might look like on a tablet. Not only is it a preview of some potential U.I. options for the tablet, it’s also a great peak at converging media, and a wake up call for “old-school” content creators and publishers.

Sports Illustrated Tablet Demo from Jared Cocken on Vimeo.

Getting excited? Here’s a design study (video below) created by Bonnier R&D imagining how content might be best displayed and consumed on a tablet. I love some of the thinking showcased in this video, like the idea that people need a sense of success. We want to know that we’re done consuming the content, like reaching the end of a magazine. In the video the designers use little stacked bars to represent the pages and give users visual feedback of where they are in the content.

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Even Microsoft is imagining life with the tablet. In this video demo of the “Courier”, they use the journal metaphor more literally in what they dub your “infinite journal”.

As a designer I like to work with my hands. The tactile nature of a multitouch tablet is much closer to the way I’ve always wanted to interact and create on a computer. I’m looking forward to creating content and applications that are more mobile and more social, accessed on devices like the much heralded tablet.

Come on Apple, ship it soon!

Despite the fact that Microsoft can’t get some things right with current products *cough*Internet Explorer*cough*, they’ve created this lovely video that explores some future possibilities with how we will interact with data, how the data might look, and devices we might use to get to the data.

Some of the U.I. and data visualizations have nice details. One of my favorites is this coffee cup that lets you know when it’s safe to, say, compose a coherent blog post.

Several tablet like devises are showcased for those of you who still don’t get the allure of the much hyped tablet, you can see a few examples of how people might use them.

VIDEO: Microsoft Sustainability from Hana Ken on Vimeo.

Who doesn’t like some paper toy fun? Ever since I discovered Mat Hawkins blog, I’ve folded together quite a collection.

The super talented Matt even helped us to create these Disney paper toys that we used as free downloadables earlier this year.

So naturally, I was excited to discover some new fantastic folded creations from paper engineer Marshall Alexander.

Below is just a sample. He’s got a very creative collection available as downloadable .pdf’s for that empty shelf in your office.

Just ordered myself a handy iPhone stencil kit from the creative folks at Design Commission. This die-cut aluminum time-saver helps you quickly sketch out your iPhone app ideas. And best of all, it’s only $16.95.

It sure has wounded mine. Not many things seem worth a full post these days. I’ve been satisfied with micro-blogging any cool finds or random quips.

Well today I’m dusting off the ol’ blog, and getting back to it. After all, I went through all the trouble of creating it, and I do like to ramble. Stay tuned for lots more design and interactive related rambling.

Ok…breath, just relax. It’s just a pithy post title. This is not an actual iPhone. That’s right, take slow steady breaths…

TheNextWeb had me excited too, with this “speculative design” by Jim Young (not Johnny Ives). It’s features are just the stuff a dream iPhone is made of. It’s loaded with true GPS, an iChat camera, removable battery and is video capable.

But if you look close, it’s missing a bit of Apple polish. Like that unnecessary hole at the bottom right for a mic, way to obvious iChat camera and square button. But, hey… I’ll still take one.

I can’t wait to see this film! Objectified is a feature-length documentary on Industrial Design by Gary Hustwit. Gary covers creativity in desgining all sorts of products, from toothbrushes to high tech.

“It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.”

Trailer