Ovi gives you a look inside the User Experience process for great apps

Recently in the Ovi Daily App we have been featuring the results of some work that was done late last year to provide user experience (UX) evaluations of various mobile apps. These UX consultations were done by experts working with Forum Nokia, and they provided recommendations to the developers of these apps about things that could be done to improve the applications for users. And, as you will see, the results - that is, the enhancements made to these apps - have certainly been worthwhile.

Recently in the Ovi Daily App we have been featuring the results of some work that was done late last year to provide user experience (UX) evaluations of various mobile apps. These UX consultations were done by experts working with Forum Nokia, and they provided recommendations to the developers of these apps about things that could be done to improve the applications for users. And, as you will see, the results – that is, the enhancements made to these apps – have certainly been worthwhile.

Now, before we begin, let’s make one thing clear. All of these apps were already really good before the UX evaluations – there were no slackers in this bunch. But now, these apps are really great on all levels – they’re better than ever.

Do you want to see the results?

Let’s start with Vringo, a mobile app for Nokia S60 3.x devices. Vringo is a combination website and mobile app that lets you create, download and share video ringtones on your Nokia device. When you receive a call, you see and hear your unique ringtone. And you can easily share your Vringo ringtones with friends and others.

Best of all, Vringo lets you create video ringtones from nearly any type of video, slideshow, or other image. You can take these images from just about anywhere, too. That includes your own personal collection, as well as Vringo’s library of more than 5,000 (and growing) video clips, which you can borrow at no cost.

To share your ringtones with friends, you use VringForward, a secondary feature of the app. Cleverly, the app lets you share video ringtones whenever you want, not only during a call. Vringo 2.0 is free to download in Store.

To learn more about how the UX consultation helped Vringo, check out this short case study on Forum Nokia.

Next up, we have Loan Calc. Like its name suggests, Loan Calc is a mobile app for Nokia Symbian OS, S60 5.0 devices, as well as new Symbian devices like the Nokia N8 — developed with Qt – that calculates your monthly loan payments for either a housing mortgage or simple cash loan. The app’s calculation is based on variables you enter, including the amount of money you want to borrow, the down payment (if any), the loan’s interest rate, and the amount of time you have to pay off the loan.

Because Loan Calc lets you tweak the variables, you can also use this app to shop around for a loan. For example, let’s say you want to borrow $30,000 for a nice new car. You could first get several loan offers from banks and car dealers. Then use Loan Calc to determine how much each loan would actually cost you on a monthly basis.

Loan Calc also lets you save your loan calculations, edit them, and share them by e-mail.

One note for users outside the United States: Because the current version of Loan Calc is aimed at the American market, it displays U.S. dollars only. To use the app for loans in another country, you will need to convert the dollar figures into the local currency.

Loan Calc is available now in Store for $0.99 (USD). The app runs on Nokia Symbian OS, S60 5.0 touchscreen devices (including the Nokia N97, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia C5-03, and Nokia X6) and new Symbian devices including the Nokia N8. You can learn more about the UX review for Loan Calc in the online case study.

And the other UX rock star to share with you today is the Qt-based Wikitude World Browser … now, many of you may already know this app, and know that it is a winner on many levels. So, why would this app need a UX review? Some would say “there’s always room for improvement”, right? The developers behind this app – Austria’s Mobilizy – were willing to consider some suggestions.

As a result of the consultation, Mobilizy made several UX improvements to the Wikitude app. These include: larger, more touch-friendly buttons throughout; an easier way to quit the app; and a more effective arrangement of the controls in landscape mode. Also, selected ‘Worlds’ – Wikitude’s term for geo-located information services — are now saved and preselected on the next start.

And, as you can imagine, achieving a simple UI is anything but simple for complex apps like Wikitude. This app simultaneously uses a smartphone’s camera, GPS, compass, accelerometer, and Internet connection. Wikitude then combines information from these components into a single view.

Wikitude, gives you three ways of exploring your surroundings: Worlds, Camera, and List. “Worlds” in this case are geo-located information services, which is a fancy way of saying that Wikitude provides localized versions of web-based services. These include services that are familiar — Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. – as well as some that are not, such as Gasmuseet and Playmysong.net. In turn, you can sort these Worlds in any of three ways: A-to-Z, New, and Nearby.

The Wikitude World Browser is free in Store. The latest version of the app runs on all Nokia Symbian touchscreen devices; an older version of the app, still available on Ovi Store, runs on Nokia Symbian S60 3.x  devices.

Have you tried any of these apps? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2011/02/25/ovi-gives-you-a-loo...