While I am on the topic of UI Design I Palm released their new handset this week called the “Palm Pre” it looks very nicely designed and should be good competition to the iPhone and Android if it works as well is it looks good. Looking though the designs for all the screens published on their website most of it looks nicely designed with a consistent feel, though they are let down in a few places like the calendar month view which is very sketchy compared to other screens. Overall I think they have done a excellent job well worth looking though the images in the more link.
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The way they use the they make the top of the screen in the normal view look like part of the front of the phone is very interesting, wonder how well it works for real rather than in touched up images like these. You can see in the media player the bar with battery life etc that looks like part of the device in the picture above has gone. In the later pictures tabs appear in this area which is neat way of tracking where you are.
The folded paper spring idea for showing where there are empty gaps is a very neat idea to get more useful data on the screen at once.
  
The recessed divider bars and stacked pictures are nice details.
  
I like the HUD style button bar on the camera page and the 3D recessed semi transparent look on the Search screen.
  
I think the navigation between multiple web pages or multiple applications as in the first picture is a cleaver 2D adaption of the now classic Display Shelf style view as in Apples iTunes and iPhone. They have also done a nice job with all their icons they look consistent and smart. Don’t think they look quite as nice as the iPhone as Apple were cleaver fitting all their application icons into a standard rounded rectangle which made them all look uniform which is a nice effect.
  
Over all they have done a good job, the only thing that bugs me is their pastel color palette and the fact they are not consistent with their color pallet.
All images copyright Palm Inc how they don’t mind me showing them here 🙂
I’ve had my Pre given that shortly following launch and am glad to locate (via this forum) that I can now set a ring tone on incoming text messages and can seek by means of e-mails and this kind of. Now is there any hope for an upcoming release by which I can research my calendar? Would make my employment much less complicated, obtaining dates of last appointments. No other complaints, except that yesterday I was in and out of Sprint support (not unusual). I think I was roaming, and looked at my calendar. Anything in the calendar was just one hour earlier than what I had input. The clock was just one hour early as nicely. I used to be frightened to death–then, once we got back into Sprint program once again, every little thing was normalized. Has this happened to anybody else?? Searching forward to answers, but please don’t forget, I’m no techie and speak English rather than technospeak.