ZHD home screen

[Icky6]

Am I missing something? I remember reading numerous reviews about the Zune HD that said you could swipe left or right to change between the regular home screen and the pins view. To my knowledge, you actually have to "click" on either one when it is in the background to actually bring it to the front. As far as I can tell, people are swiping and in the process accidentally just hitting the clickable area. You're welcome to correct me... I think swiping would actually be more consistent with the rest of the UI.

[CrowdAds]

[NSILMike]

Originally Posted by Icky6

Am I missing something? I remember reading numerous reviews about the Zune HD that said you could swipe left or right to change between the regular home screen and the pins view. To my knowledge, you actually have to "click" on either one when it is in the background to actually bring it to the front. As far as I can tell, people are swiping and in the process accidentally just hitting the clickable area. You're welcome to correct me... I think swiping would actually be more consistent with the rest of the UI.

You can swipe or touch to switch views. both work.

[Icky6]

Bring up the facet of the homescreen with music, videos, pictures, etc. Try a swiping gesture beginning from a part of the screen with the text... say from the middle of the word "pictures". It doesn't work. On the rest of the UI you can start the swipe from anywhere on the screen so I think people are trying to swipe the homescreen, are inadvertently "clicking" the facet in the background, and when it changes they think the swipe gesture worked.

[FallenArms3]

Not exactly, but sure. I can tell you how it's coded: if you begin a touch on the 'other menu', you are free to move the touch toward the opposite side of the screen (in a "swipe motion") or leave it there for any period of time. On release, you will switch over to that menu. However, you cannot simply start with your finger on the other menu and do anything, as your idea would seem to imply. Try making an L or an S shape instead of a swipe, starting on the opposite menu. It will not work.

This is different from "clicking" in the Zune UI because clicking requires two things: 1) your finger must remain on the button from press to release, 2) your finger cannot remain pressed for more than about 3 seconds before the 'click' is invalid and becomes a 'meta-tap' (or 'click-and-hold').

So, essentially, this is a special type of controlled swipe. It's like a normal swipe, except you must start on the opposite menu, and the actual swipe action does not occur until you release your finger (unlike normal swipe, which may complete before you release).

[Icky6]

Thanks for the insight. I didn't mean to imply that you can make any type of gesture at all, I was specifically referring to a horizontal swipe. Anyway, I think the bottom line is that it's just not consistent with the rest of the UI. If I have to stretch my thumb to the point where I could click on it anyway, what is the point of the swipe gesture at all? The benefit of a swipe is that you're able to treat that view like a physical page that you could flick out of the way... in real life a piece of paper doesn't require me to place my finger in a particular spot to start moving it. And that's the way it works in the rest of the UI. But then for no reason, the home screen requires you to start from a specific spot, or just directly click it? It's odd. Not meaning to complain over silly things, it's just a slight annoyance.

[That Guy Is Here]

Also if you press the home button at the home screen it will change over.

[FallenArms3]

Undoubtedly the UI design and usability team began with a standard swipe, but found that it could be too easily triggered unintentionally.

[Icky6]

Originally Posted by FallenArms3

Undoubtedly the UI design and usability team began with a standard swipe, but found that it could be too easily triggered unintentionally.

Hmm... maybe, but I've noticed that to prevent accidental swipes, on the other screens in the UI there's a little bit of horizontal travel you have to move before the screen will "snap out" of it's place and move freely. Not sure why they couldn't have employed that same method for the home screen.

[NSILMike]

Originally Posted by Icky6

Thanks for the insight. I didn't mean to imply that you can make any type of gesture at all, I was specifically referring to a horizontal swipe. Anyway, I think the bottom line is that it's just not consistent with the rest of the UI. If I have to stretch my thumb to the point where I could click on it anyway, what is the point of the swipe gesture at all? The benefit of a swipe is that you're able to treat that view like a physical page that you could flick out of the way... in real life a piece of paper doesn't require me to place my finger in a particular spot to start moving it. And that's the way it works in the rest of the UI. But then for no reason, the home screen requires you to start from a specific spot, or just directly click it? It's odd. Not meaning to complain over silly things, it's just a slight annoyance.

Actually, it makes a lot of sense. If I touch menu text on the main page and try to swipe, the UI has to decide which one I really wanted... and remember you may or may not touch perfectly. However if I touch or swipe the background item on a screen, it's pretty clear that the intent is to get that one in foreground. In fact without actually knowing how the UI is coded, we can't tell if it's a touch or a swipe that is flipping those two elements.

[Icky6]

Originally Posted by NSILMike

Actually, it makes a lot of sense. If I touch menu text on the main page and try to swipe, the UI has to decide which one I really wanted... and remember you may or may not touch perfectly. However if I touch or swipe the background item on a screen, it's pretty clear that the intent is to get that one in foreground. In fact without actually knowing how the UI is coded, we can't tell if it's a touch or a swipe that is flipping those two elements.

Well like I said above, in other sections of the UI, the screen has to be sort of snapped out of place... you need to travel horizontally a certain small distance before it will recognize it as a horizontal swipe and start moving the screen. This works well for guarding against accidental swipes. I don't see why this couldn't have been used for the home screen too.

[FallenArms3]

Let's just say this: I'm sure they had a reason, or they wouldn't have done it?

[Icky6]

Originally Posted by FallenArms3

Let's just say this: I'm sure they had a reason, or they wouldn't have done it?

Lol agreed. Perhaps we'll let this one rest