A couple of hours ago the New York Times launched an update of the skimmer interface I wrote about earlier this year. It’s an alternative way to browser their online magazine. They call it The Times Skimmer. The new interface let’s you navigate between different sections of their paper by only using the arrows on your keyboard. The GUI also lets you switch fast between articles and once you’re done reading one you can easily move on to the next.
Times Skimmer features the following seven display options:
Stories displayed in a grid
Content displayed based on editorial ranked feeds
Headlines displayed in a list
Content presented in the classic typeface Helvetica
Content displayed against a black background
Headlines and brief summaries displayed in a wrap-around format
Headlines, bylines and brief summaries displayed in a design similar to word magnets for refrigerators
After I’ve been spending a couple of minutes with this updated interface I’m struck by what now seems obvious. Isn’t this interface perfectly adapted to be read of a 16:9 touch screen. Of course it resizes as you scale your browser, but that only means it will support a rotation.
Is The New York Times preparing for an Apple Tablet or maybe a reading device of their own?
Every time Apple has launched a new gadget they’ve made sure they gained some support by a selection of leading brands already tuned into their new shit. Well, in that case – could the Skimmer interface from The Times be exactly such a partner. If so…will we finally see an Apple Tablet in the near future?
Well. I’m sure about one thing. I’ll get my hands on one asap!
Update!
It seems more mags than The Times are preparing. I spotted this one this morning yesterday on YouTube. It’s Sports Illustrated’s version of a tablet prepared digital mag.
psst. You haven't missed the new app for kids aged 1-9 years old? It's created by my other company JAJDO. Check it out in the App store
Yesterday ReadWriteWeb reported on a new article skimmer interface over at New York Times. It’s a stunning new way to let you quick read the headlines of all the latest news from the Sunday Times. The simplicity of this thing is striking yet genius.
And as often before it turns out that content, usability and simplicity beats smart, strange and unique solutions online. Just have a look at Craiglists, the mother of simplicity.
Navigating on a website is merely a road to our goal ›› the content. By creating an interface that consist of a number of boxes that contain a small image, headline and an intro text, this new prototype makes it very easy for me to come back and browse the latest news in all categories. It doesn’t take me more than a couple of minutes until I’ve browsed the first page and another 16 sections.
The navigational experience is very close to my personal favorite RSS tool Netvibes. I bring all the feeds I want to read into my Netvibes account and then it doesn’t take me long to browse through the latest news online.
One of Johan Ronnestams Netvibes tabs.
The great benefits with these kind of solution is the way everything is equally weighed in terms of size, colors and content. The eye races over the screen and we’re not far from the offline morning paper behavior when we skimmer the newspaper before actually reading it. This was of course something that the Times wanted to replicate. Once they launch this simple interface as an iPhone widget then I’ll be the first to start using it. Until then I’ll continue to read my favorite Times sections through Netvibes, basically the same except for that Netvibes is actually better since you can read the entire article without leaving the interface.
We can all have great ideas. Be great at design. Write copy that makes people laugh or cry. Our strategy can be intelligent and smart. But if we don’t understand how the brain remembers things our efforts are doomed.
New York Times has an excellent article on the subject where among other things The Simpsons turns out to be a super strong brand.
In New York the three bloggers Rafael Martínez Alequin, Ralph E. Smith and David Wallis who had sued New York City after the Police Department denied them press credentials because they work for online or nontraditional news outlets were issued press credentials on Friday after the police relented.
What does this mean to the future of journalism? Heck if I knew but one things for sure – journalism will never be the same again.
Martin menar att nyhetstjänsterna för en ojämn kamp mot allt annat som släpps på mobilen samt att det inte är nyhetsändningarna som kommer stå först i kön för vad användarna vill ha i sin mobiltelefon i framtiden.
Martin har fel enligt mig. Nyheter är och förblir relevanta. Det handlar snarare om att nyhetstjänsterna inte förstått vad eller hur man ska göra samt att de är fortsatt protektionistiska.
Joost, Aftonbladet och YouTube visar vägen. Men det är långt kvar. I fredags släppte Joost, en internet baserad video tjänst sin nya applikation. Den lär snabbt stiga upp på listan. YouTube och Aftonbladet är redan där (Aftonbladets applikation låg på topplistan länge när den släpptes). När CNN och andra videobaserade nyhetskanaler släpper bättre nyhetsapplikationer, då kommer vi snabbt få se hur topplistan på Top Paid Apps får besök av mer kvalificerat innehåll, även om jag i och för sig tycker just Ocarina är en av de mest kvalificerade. En vanlig flöjt har stått sig i nästan 50000 år.
Hur ska en framtida nyhetsapplikation se ut då?
Min iPhone News App skulle sett ut något åt det här hållet.
I grund och botten är applikationen helt baserad på video och ljud. Text göre sig icke besvär. Dit kan jag surfa ändå om jag vill.
This blog is written by Johan Ronnestam. He's widely regarded as one of Sweden’s leading speakers and authorities in the field of modern creative and conceptual thinking and skill of innovating brands and their communication. In 2010 the readers of Microsoft Indikat named Johan Swedens most influential authority within digital communication
