Matchstick Message #47: Alarms Should be Easy To Use, Especially For People Who Are Not Fully Awake

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 1:28 AM subject Matchstick Message #47: Alarms Should be Easy To Use, Especially For People Who Are Not Fully Awake

Dear RIM,

The Alarm interface has four input fields in the following order: hour, minute, AM/PM, and On/Weedkdays/Off.

Now, if you were to make a bet on where BlackBerry decided to put the cursor upon entering this field, which field would you choose? Well, the most sensible choice for them would have been to put it all the way to the left, so that you can easily access the fields that most often need changing: hour and minute.

The least sensible choice would be one of the middle options, because then you would have to scroll to one direction and then back all the way to the other side in order to access all the fields. Based on the inefficiencies I have pointed out repeatedly in this blog, you may be tempted to put your money on this option. But NO! BlackBerry has thrown another twist in the game to be inconsistent even in the degree of their irrational decision making.

The cursor starts all the way to the RIGHT (as pictured above). Now, this is just annoying. Why should I have to scroll through On/Weekdays/Off and AM/PM in order to change the time???? On/Weekdays/Off is pretty much a constant setting--I don't expect most people change this EVERY time they set their alarm. Similar reasons apply to the AM/PM option (mainly because most people set alarms in AM denominated time slots). So WHYY should we have to scroll through those just to get to the time fields? The trackball is so wavery that I invariably end up changing one or both of those relatively constant options, and then I need to go back and fix it. Or worse, I accidentally set my alarm for 7:55 PM instead of AM. And nobody believes the story that your BlackBerry made you late, trust me.

So please, change the cursor so it starts off in the hour field. If we wanted to practice thumb agility there are other ways to accomplish that.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Punctuality Enthusiast

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Matchstick Message #46: The Call-Waiting Brain Exercise

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 4:42 PM subject Matchstick Message #46: The Call-Waiting Brain Exercise

Dear RIM,

A bug: so, lets say I answer my call waiting, and then switch back to my first call... the screen still shows the name of the second caller.

How often does this happen? Always.

This is a bug. And while for most people it shouldn't be a problem identifying who we are on the phone with--we haven't given up our brains for total reliance on our phones, yet--my motto is always why give information if its going to be wrong? (Unless it is April 1st; if the BlackBerry OS is an April Fools Joke, then I respectfully rescind my complaint)

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Brain Enthusiast

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The name is pretty prominent, no? Maybe if we can't handle the responsibility of all this complex data we should just go back to looking at the handset.

Matchstick Message #45: Free BBM

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 12:08 AM subject Matchstick Message #45: Free BBM

Dear RIM,

Ok so AT&T beat me to the punch in explaining the value of simultaneous voice and data transmission.

But if this were BlackBerry's commercial, it would be an even better sell. Why? BBM. Obviously.

This is also why it is such a tragedy that simultaneous voice and data is not offered. It is of utmost importance that we are able to maintain the heavy, uninterrupted stream of BBM conversations at all times of day, especially when we are on the phone. The purpose of BBM is to be better than SMS in every way possible, right?

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Uninterruption Enthusiast

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*Note 4/25:

Financial Times article published today argues that BBM is THE feature that is helping BlackBerry keep up with competitors. "It is used by more than 39m people worldwide with usage up six times over the past 12 months, making it a real threat to operators' text-message revenues in some markets."

So basically, people are starting to realize it makes sense to make BBM as compelling as possible.

There is a funny quote from Patrick Spence, RIM VP of Europe, the Middle East and Africa: "The beauty of BBM is in its simplicity--it's a clean, tight network. We are very careful about keeping the user experience."

I believe Mr. Spence should critically examine this statement--and the corporate name behind the acronym RIM--and see where changes can be made to maximize the value of this needle they accidentally pitched in to the stable along with the rest of the hay.

-TR

Matchstick Message #44: Why Phlox is Important For the BlackBerry

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Mon, Apr 18, 2011 at 12:10 PM subject Matchstick Message #44: Why Phlox is Important For the BlackBerry

Dear RIM,

It's been about 6 years since that little silver Samsung flip phone warmed my ear, and I still miss some of the features it had. Despite my eternal devotion to my first real love, this is just wrong--there is no reason for the latest, most technologically cutting edge BlackBerry to be considered lacking to a phone that is over three centuries old in technology-years*.

So the grand idea is this: multi-colored indicator lights. There's just no reason not to have the option. I guess its classier just to have every single BlackBerry in the world always flashing red, but in this case I'd push for functionality over fashion. Its just more useful to know what kind of message you have waiting from across the room, or without having to set up a complicated system of vibration number and types (but thanks for giving us three different vibration lengths, that was a great idea). Right now, if a phone is on silent, there is just no way to tell what kind of message you have waiting for you. And, to soothe your justifiable fashion fears (its one of the only things BlackBerry still has a monopoly on--sexy) the indicator light palette can be couture-inspired. My suggestions: bamboo, everglow, phlox, and quarry would be a good start.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Fashion Enthusiast

PHLOX

* Calculations for Samsung flip phone in technology years:

78.4 (US life expectancy)

divided by

1.5 (number of years until phone is obsolete, optimistically)

multiplied by

6 (years since I had that Samsung)

= 313.6

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Matchstick Message #43: Interrupting Calls

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Sat, Apr 16, 2011 at 1:34 AM subject Matchstick Message #43: Interrupting Calls

Dear RIM,

So you're on a call. All of a sudden, somebody else calls, and your screen is filled with the classic "incoming call" screen. There are two problems here. 1) if you were doing something on your phone other than talking, like looking at something on a website, reading the latest juicy exchange with your ex-boyfriend off BBM (these are reasons we have BlackBerrys to begin with--to be ABLE to do many unnecessary things all at once), well forget it. You must wait FIFTEEN seconds, or whatever, until the call ends. Which is an eternity, these days. 2) If you want to get back to what you were doing, the only options you have are to reject the call or to wait it out. You cant send the interrupting call to the background, which would allow you to carry on your business and let the call ring its turn in the background. Hitting reject is just rude and obvious. Despite the fact that we know people usually see calls that go unanswered, hearing just two and a half rings and then the voicemail is pretty much still a universal insult.

So, I guess it would make sense to add a "close screen" option, or something. "Ignore" would be a good word, but its already taken for rejecting the call. Maybe we should switch it up.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Ignore Enthusiast

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Matchstick Message #42: Ignore Future Invitations?

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 11:51 PM subject Matchstick Message #42: Ignore Future Invitations?

Dear RIM,

Ok, so we all know BlackBerrrys are very exclusive and elite and this is a major reason for all of us Users to have one, but sometimes this pursuit of maintaining the brand image gets in the way of functionality (in a way other than the unreasonably cumbersome process of adding BBM contacts, which I've already covered).

Alright so if you go to delete somebody from your BBM contact list--maybe they got a new phone, or (an increasing trend) switched to an Android-- this is what you see:

I had to delete Scott because he switched to an iPhone. Which is a fail, because its not an Android.

I hope the comedy isn't lost here: "Ignore future invitations?"!!!! I mean, yes, we are all quite important and we have plenty of people to ignore from our already ultra-exlusive BBM contact list, but if it is going to be there, can it at least be on the bottom? That way I wouldn't have to scroll past it every time, and I won't worry about accidentally checking the box and barring myself from meaningful communications with that friend, forever.

But in reality, I don't think obsessive BBM invitations are much of a security threat to anybody (especially because that person probably also has your phone number, email address, first and last name, Facebook, Twitter and Flikr info). Also, if you're really worried about all the time it will waste to repeatedly delete such deleterious BBM invitations, you can just leave it in your Pending folder.

In summary, I applaud the commitment to exclusivity, but this is just a little silly. I guess if people are still REALLY worried about privacy after all of this, you can just add another option to BBM's infinite menu that allows you to block people, or make it an option from the BBM contact profile. It doesn't need to be on the Delete Contact dialog box, nor so prominently placed.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Exclusivity Enthusiast

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Matchstick Message #41:Calendar Functionality... It's About Time

from Tara Raffi to Student Information Requests date Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 12:55 AM subject Matchstick Message #41: Calendar Functionality... It's About Time

Dear RIM,

The Calendar is one of the main "superior functionalities" of the BlackBerry. I know nothing about this actually, because it doesn't sync with my iCal, so I don't use it. But anyway, there is one very basic function that it is missing for all of us lowly non-enterprise users: remembering the last view setting that we used before we closed the application.

Quite simply, if I have no personal information in my calendar, I don't ever care to see the calendar in day view. I know what order the hours go in. What is more useful to me, and others of my consumer segment, is seeing what day of the week April 18th will fall on, or what is the date of three Saturdays from now. You can't see this in day view, and must switch to month view.

In fact, every single time I have gone into my BlackBerry Calendar in the past 4 years, I have had to go to Menu and View Month. I'm not saying that the default should be month, I just think we have reached a level of technologization that personalized everything is... well, everything.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Personalized Enthusiast

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Matchstick Message #40: The Mystery Behind Moving Our Pictures, Decoded

from TaraRaffi to Student Information Requests date Mon, Apr 3, 2011 at 11:34 PM subject Matchstick Message #40: The Mystery Behind Moving Our Pictures, Decoded

Dear RIM,

Tonight I'm writing about an issue that is dear to my heart because it is one of the most hilarious and utterly confusing functions of the BlackBerry: moving pictures. You'd think that we would have this one down pat by now. Computers most basic functions are organizing information into folders and files. Humans have has practice filing papers for centuries, if not millennia. But with the BlackBerry, a little more work needs to be put into it .

The way this function is designed is actually so perplexing that I'm not sure how to go about describing it--there are just so many random, needless things (there's no logical word for it even) happening. Alright so let's just dive into the rabbit hole as many unsuspecting Users have done before us:

Step 1:

Here, we have simply highlighted a picture, then gone to the Menu and found the Move task. Simple, right? Well, this is where logic, reason, and simplicity slip quietly out of the widow.

Step 2:

What is this?!?!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?

My BlackBerry tells me to "Select" either the Media Card (Which you can't highlight. This makes sense because the picture is currently saved on the Media Card, but then why is listed as if it is an option?), Device Memory, or one of the many pictures on my phone.

Step 2.2 Lets start with the most ridiculous option: the picture icons

As you see, the picture in the background is highlighted and I tried to "move" my selected picture there. At first you would think, why would BlackBerry give me the option of moving a picture on to another picture? Its not a whole folder being highlighted, its a SINGLE picture. But then, upon undue amounts of inspection, you would realize that the Media Card option that you couldn't highlight (see Step 2) was trying to tell us that we were IN the Media Card folder. Not only is this unprecedented, but it defies organizational logic. There should be no picture icons available as options (let alone a few hundred). The Media Card option should just be open to selection.

Step 3 The only option really available: Device Memory

Here, we have selected "Device Memory". Now, disregarding the ridiculous menu options--Receive Using Bluetooth (we've already decided not to do that) and Switch Application (right now?!?!?!)--we have quite an interesting assortment of options: Move Here, Move Into, Open, Explore.

Now, unless this is an exercise in synonyms (A+ for that), I really am not sure about the abundance of options here. What is the difference between Move Here and Move Into? What is the difference between Open and Explore? I JUST WANT TO MOVE MY PICTURE!!!!!! For the sake of argument though, let's explore each.

Move Here:

Hm, the most obvious choice, mysteriously unable to work.

Move Into: This is the well-hidden button that actually moves your picture. They did a good job concealing it but I found it!!!! Mahahahaha.

Open:

If you select Open, and THEN Move Here, it works. Not sure why one must do the extra step to make this work.

Explore:

This sounds like the same as Open to me, but its really a way to see the skeleton of the file organization. This is a GREAT idea. Perhaps this is what you should see at first when you want to decide where to move your picture. The only problem is that it includes a lot of folders that you ostensibly wouldn't want to move pictures into (eg. audiobooks, dvz_temp, voicenotes).

My final analysis is that there was a room at BlackBerry full of people with good ideas, and they decided to implement all of them at once, instead of actually developing a single system that would be reasonably easy to understand and use. Kind of like a quilt. Well, quilts are nice, but if we want one we'll go buy one on purpose.

So please, just give us a normal directory that resembles basic computer folder organization we've become used to. And Move Here should just mean that pressing it moves the picture to that folder. No conditions, no loopholes. Just Moves.

Sincerely,

Tara Raffi

Move Enthusiast

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P.S. Some other jems posted below:

Why would the Camera be on the list of folders where you can deposit your picture? Nonsensical.

Forget where I saw this, but not even sure what it is trying to tell me. Also its just funny.