Posted on Tue, Apr 22, 2008
I know, I know, not strictly usability.
However, every day, I look at my blog stats, and one of the most common search terms I see relates to people looking for themes for their iRiver Clix.
So, I think it’s only fair that I help those guys out.
Where to get themes
The iRiver website or the Clix instructions don’t really hint where to get themes from.
Don’t worry! The fantastic folk at www.clixhere.net have compiled a “favorites” list from sources all over the Internet. There are a couple of hundred or so themes to choose from. You may have to register to use the site, but don’t worry – it’s all painless and they don’t spam you with anything.
The direct link to the themes is here.
Also, you can visit the iRiver Korea website too. Sure, it’s all in Korean, but it’s fun downloading themes and not quite knowing what you’re going to get – I’ve got a couple of absolute beauties from there. Here is the link.
How to transfer themes to your device
- Download the file to your desktop. It will be a .swf file (Flash file). You may have to unzip the file – some you do, some you don’t.
- Plug your Clix into your computer using the USB cable.
- Go to My Computer and locate the Clix.
- Double click the Clix icon (it is shown as an external drive) top open it.
- Copy or drag and drop your .swf file from your desktop into a folder on the Clix called “Themes”
- Unplug the Clix and go to Display>Themes
- Select your new theme and back out. Don’t forget to hit the Save UCI menu item (this saves your theme)
- You’re done!
If my instructions are a little crappy, let me know and I’ll try to elaborate further.
[digg=http://digg.com/gadgets/iRiver_Clix2_how_to_put_themes_on_your_device]
Posted on Tue, Apr 15, 2008
Yesterday, a brief, yet interesting usability article was published on PC World’s website.
The article talks about the differences between men and women when it comes to mobile devices.
One thing that stands out in my mind as being an amazing finding is this:
“Women carry their phones in purses, where they bang around, so the finish needs to be durable. And it’s dark in there when they look for their phone, so it helps if the device lights up, and when they reach in and touch it, it needs to feel different. That’s why, for instance, our (Samsung) BlackJack has a leather panel on the back, to give that tactile feedback.”
Usability isn’t just about the software interface design, it’s also about how we physically interface with an object. The Blackjack feels different to the touch so it can be indentified with relative ease (I say relative, because nothing can be identified easily in my wife’s purse) simply by rummaging around a dark purse interior.
The article also reminds us, as usability testers, that we need to identify and test websites among a variety of homogenous audiences – what may be usable to one audience may be brutal for another!
[digg=http://digg.com/design/Mobile_device_usability]