The next big thing in retail?

Apple’s new groundbreaking patents

Patently Apple reports that Apple has recently received approval on some new and exciting patents.

1. New multi-touch gestures
What’s interesting here is that these gestures distinguishes between neutral and spread-hand performances.

“With these neutral and spread distinctions, a two-handed gesture set can be packed into a one-handed touch surface, or for two-handed touch surfaces, twice as many intuitively customizable gesture command sets can be accommodated.”

2. Adjust tempo with Nike+
As a runner, this is functionality I can appreciate. This new Apple patent enables joggers to adjust playlists per tempo. So if you want an intense work out, you can easily use the toggle to set a higher tempo.

Multi touch doodling

Lovely multi-touch doodling application by Bryan Roman.

User interface as a status symbol

From the people I know in the financial industry, the Bloomberg terminal is a big deal. Getting your own terminal earns you bragging rights. However, the system is expensive (around $1,500/month) and the user interface is seen to be overwhelming and tough to master. According to UX Magazine, what’s really interesting from a user experience perspective, is that Bloomberg is not looking to evolve the interface much, because the mastering of the interface is seen as a status symbol.

“Bloomberg isn’t looking to do a major overhaul of its terminals’ graphic design anytime soon. In fact, company executives see the Bloomberg terminal’s unique presentation as a status symbol and a selling point. ‘We have to be religiously consistent’ to satisfy users who become attached to terminal’s look and feel, says Bloomberg chief executive Lex Fenwick. ‘You can see a Bloomberg from a mile away.’”

Quote from Portfolio.com

The future of magazine advertisements?

This iPad application produced for Dutch car magazine Autoweek shows the mindboggling potential of iPad applications for magazines. The traditional banner advertisement has got some serious competition.

ring°wall

Developed by Sensory Minds, this is the world’s biggest multi-touch wall situated at Nürburgring, one of Germany’s most known race tracks.

More than 80 users can simultaneously interact with the 425 square meter (4,574 square feet) total surface.

E-commerce within Facebook: a fad or a channel shift?

This week, Apple launched their App store inside Facebook. It’s a nifty little system enabling Facebook users to see top apps and to search the vast app database.

But does this really provide utility for consumers? Would you prefer to search for apps within Facebook, rather than on apple.com or directly via iTunes? Personally, I would use iTunes, but is this indicative of a larger movement? Is Apple spearheading a new paradigm for commerce? Will more brands adopt Facebook as a channel to drive sales?

Below are two other examples of brands that have dabbled with Facebook as an e-commerce platform.

1-800-Flowers

Their novel Flash based system is basically a condensed version of their own website. I haven’t gone through purchasing a product, but giving it a cursory run-through, it’s pretty straightforward, although the Flash interface can be rather clunky at times. A frustrating aspect, however, is that you have to be a “fan” to be able to use the system. Why add that as a hurdle?

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut has an ordering application, which lets you place a pizza order within Facebook. Though, before you can actually order, you first have to install the Facebook application and also create an account. That said, I think this could be the perfect application for those Facebook users who habitually get lost in time browsing friends’ profiles and wind up craving a late night pizza.

I admire these examples. These brands are testing the waters. However, if I was a brand manager, I would be cautious before jumping on the good old bandwagon. There are a few problem areas with Facebook as a sales platform, namely:

It’s limited
One is inherently confined within the Facebook framework, which limits screen real estate, design and technology.

It’s a third party
If Facebook changes their code base, some of your functionality might go down.

There is a potential trust issue
Do users really trust completing a transaction within Facebook? With identity and credit card theft at epidemic levels, will they trust Facebook security?

This month Facebook topped Google as the #1 trafficked site in the US. In other words, it is beyond question that Facebook is a great platform for brands, but is it the perfect place to drive sales? Not at this point. Facebook is not currently set up to be an e-commerce platform. If Facebook starts tailoring their framework more for commerce, and if consumers start trusting Facebook as a reliable and user-friendly platform, there will be a seismic channel shift, but now, it’s too early to tell.

Simplicity

“I define simplicity as the means to achieving clarity, transparency, and empathy. Building humanity into communications.”

That quote is by Alan Siegel from a Ted presentation where he tackles the design of legal documents.

We all know how much frustration credit card statements, tax documents and contracts cause, and Alan shows how it is possible to make these documents easy to understand, by just focusing on simplicity.

[via PSFK]

Re-inventing the book with the iPad

This demonstration was done by Penguin’s CEO John Makinson showing the endless possibilities publishers are given with the iPad framework. It’s just jaw-dropping to see how Apple, yet again, can transform media consumption.

Sync/Lost

Genres in electronic music are interconnected. Techno influenced trance, hip hop influenced breakbeat, disco influenced house music and so on. A Brazilian project, Sync/Lost, visualize these connections and lets participants interact with the installation using Wii remotes. Brilliant.

Learn more about their process.