Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Unimpressed with Google+ on the iPad

I can't wait to see what the G+ iPad app (supposedly just waiting for Apple's approval) looks like - because so far I am far from impressed with my browser experience.

The "mobile" version is ugly and clunky like most mobile websites, and also like most mobile versions, totally unnecessary given the ipad's screen real estate. Worse, it's hard to use - while the desktop version turns adding people to circles almost into a game, on mobile you have to edit each person's circles individually. Slow and tedious. There also does not seem to be any way to edit your profile on mobile.

Luckily, there is a link at the bottom to switch to desktop mode - unfortunately, there is no link back. Which is a pain because although desktop looks nicer and is better for many things, it won't let me type comments or posts! Plus, scrolling (two-fingered) on the circles screen is very awkward and difficult to achieve without accidentally selecting someone.

Overall, neither site works great on the iPad, and adding people to circles is particularly annoying no matter what. I sincerely hope that they show a better understanding of the affordances and constraints of the iPad UI in the design of their app - I'm worried that it will simply be a standalone version of the mobile site, as so many websites' unnecessary apps are.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad