I got into a lively usability debate the other day with a mobile vendor over the iPad. It seems some mobile vendors will insist that they know all the standards for iPad and are already settling into a set of rules based on user behaviour. This is because they have been developing for iPhone for the last couple of years and well …it stands to reason that the user’s behaviour will be similar –right?

I am putting this in the context of a digital publication. The iPad is fast becoming a powerful platform for magazines and newspapers.  The argument made by the vendor was somewhat flimsy, as they tried to tell me that iPad users don’t want a globally accessible menu. They asserted that the users prefer to back-track to the beginning of an experience to find a menu rather than jump to where they want to go next.  When I can pick up a newspaper or a magazine and flip through at my leisure to whatever section I want, I asked myself – why would an iPad user want a more onerous experience than what they get on paper?  The rationale from the vendor didn’t stand-up.

Notwithstanding that almost every publication app comes with a persistent menu that can be engaged at any time. Apps such as Wired magazine, Flipboard (timeline) and the Apple-endorsed Maclife all use persistent menus.  The point I’m trying to make in all of this is that the iPad is a new frontier, and though application development is a similar process between iPad and iPhone, the user experience deserves a different approach.  Mobile vendors must realize that we are all new to this and are still getting a sense for the possibilities while trying to establish key usability standards.

The rules aren’t written yet but be wary of any mobile developer that claims to be an expert at usability on the ipad. The possibilities in using HTML 5 will level the playing field even further. Unlike iPhone, where mobile optimized experiences tend to be watered-down, we can build a number of robust HTML 5 applications for iPad.  Regardless of the possibilities in this new frontier, good usability is good usability and applying the solid design thinking that we’ve learned over the last ten years is the best place to start.

While the News publishing industry is still trying to figure out how it will monetize content online, the comic book industry, in the form of a new online digital format, is moving ahead.  Marvel Comics has had a free iPhone and iPad app since April and now DC comics is trailing close behind with their own apps. With digital comic books selling anywhere from $0.99 to $2.99, this format is taking off and users want more of it.  I imagine graphic novels will soon follow.

I know first-hand from reading a comic book on the iPad that the experience is visually stunning. The ability to zoom-in and pan on image blocks makes it even more appealing than the print equivalent. Though I suspect there will always be a limited edition print product for years to come. After all, you can’t really call the digital edition a collectible.

Perhaps the rest of the publishing industry can learn something here. Readers want options and they like to consume content that is visually appealing. Maybe the news industry can take a page from the comics (no pun intended) and allow users to consume content in a more visually interesting manner. One of the things Newspapers aren’t doing enough of is leveraging their archives to bring a more cohesive content offering to the table. This, coupled with a better digital format, perhaps scrap-booked around topics, would make for a very powerful online product. Another thing to keep an eye on is Marvel’s Xbox Live-style subscription model. They offer an annual plan for $60.00 per year. This makes it affordable to pretty much anyone.

The difference here is that comics are for a wider audience and newspapers are traditionally meant for a local audience. While most metro dailies are still looking for that local market to go online, maybe it’s time to start broadening the market to a wider web audience.  At any rate, we should keep a closer eye on what the comic books are doing digitally to monetize their product – there is something to be learned here.

Check out the digital editions for comic books:

http://www.comixology.com/

http://marvel.com/digitalcomics/

Users are being given more and more control over how they consume content on a website.  Apple’s latest version of the Safari browser, Safari 5, is a great of example of how we’re evolving in this direction. The new reader feature built into Safari, allows the user to consume content in an easy to read format that subdues all the advertising on a website along with all other extraneous elements.  In an attempt to make the web a more readable experience, the Safari reader presents content to the user in a very elegant and simple format. This is clearly part Apple’s well planned strategy with a view to giving users yet another reason to buy an ipad and let go of print products.  If you never download a single app for your ipad, although I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t, you will still get a clean pleasurable experience reading your favourite content on the Safari browser that comes native with the device.

Of course, it goes further than the ipad. Any device that can run windows will also have access to this version of Safari and the new reader feature. It makes me want to read more online and it’s as easy as clicking one button. It just works – no configuration required.

Being a user experience professional in the digital publishing industry, the first alarm that goes off is, “what happens to our ad impressions?” The initial web page still has to load before the reader button is available so the impression should still register. Although animated ads that string through a number of animations or elaborate take-overs may suffer from this new feature. There is some relief for advertisers however; the reader feature is not available on index pages and other lead pages. In the case of an index page, the reader button is replaced by an RSS button. Only once you have selected an article, will you see the reader button.  Perhaps reader will strike a nice balance between the commercial experience and better web design.  Overall, I think its step in the right direction. This new feature underscores the need for UX designers to employ a simple, clean design approach. If we don’t do this, browser developers might do it for us.

Try it out – Download the new Safari Browser