10 October 2002

AOL: We're about to launch a whole series of voice-portal products Ted Leonsis says that he's "like a cockroach that survives the nuclear winter", and talks about AOL 8.0 (which is about new user-focused features) compared to its 6.0/7.0 predecessors (more AOL-focused: run more ads, sell more TimeWarner magazine subscriptions). AOL 8.0 may include voice features: Q: So how will you make money in the future? A: We have multiple drivers of the business. But first and foremost is the membership. [We have] lots of levers there. If [members] stay longer, there's less churn. And there are also new services we can sell. We're about to launch a whole series of voice-portal products. Some 60% of our audience has one phone line. The new service alerts you when a call is coming in, and you can leave the caller a message, and they can leave you a message. Those will be packaged and sold as add-ons. There won't be a ton of these add-ons. Most of the innovations will go into the core price to make it more valuable to the customer. 9:01:46 AM     comments

Usability: Nokia 7650 beats Sony Ericsson T86i 3G Lab's usability test shows that the Sony Ericsson beats the Nokia in immediate desirability, but lost in the long-term keepability for its poor user experience for picture-taking. Our own informal experience with both bears this conclusion out. Members of the public were recruited to compare the usability of the Nokia 7650 and the SonyEricsson T68i. On first impressions test subjects preferred the T68i, but after completing a series of tasks they quickly switched allegiance to the 7650. The SonyEricsson T68i immediately proved the most popular choice based on its stylish physical appearance and aesthetically pleasing design, but during testing participants became disappointed by the complexity of menu systems, poor screen display and phone build quality. In contrast, the Nokia 7650 was initially found to be "chunky" and "brick-like", but on completing the tasks, all users said that they would purchase the Nokia phone over the SonyEricsson. The reasons given were that the Nokia had an easier and more intuitive menu system, the best screen size & display, and the phone was generally of higher build quality. As Jakob Nielsen comments "you can't just show a design to people, you have to let them use it to get true feedback on the quality of the product". [via gammatron] 9:00:45 AM     comments