There is a strange phenomenon that grips the user when their first looking at a new piece of technology. Obviously, the first is the look of the item, taken in by those two orbs filled full of vitreous humor, called eyes. The second comes when they touch it and take it in at a closer level, and for those big on haptics, this can be quite pleasurable. This state constitutes the stage most often referred to as the “shill stage”, where the features are listed (e.g., bluetooth, EDGE, WiFi). The third state is the one that is rarely mentioned, and the one that seems to continually get it’s own focus, oddly enough apart from the first two states: The user interface.

The user interface (UI) often seems to run tight on the heels of functionality. By that, I mean a UI usually only goes as far as linking the user with the necessary hardware. You want to send an SMS? No problem, there is a program written that allows you to do just that. Trying to retrieve your mail? Got you covered with a program for that too. But for the most part, that seems to be as far as it goes. And while companies think most people will be quite happy with that, they are dead wrong. People want, nay, need stuff that works elegantly and beautifully. And why not? This doesn’t seem like an impossible feat. After all, the designers are humans themselves (or I should still hope so!).

So what can you do about it? Well, the first step is to recognize that hardware is not software. Sure we all get caught. I, myself, bought the Moto RAZR when it came out. I had to have it because, let’s face it, it was one heck of a sexy phone. But I quickly discovered how awful the interface was, and soon enough, I grew annoyed and then downright frustrated every time I used it. Hey, we all get hit sometimes. But we have to learn from our mistakes. So the next time you fall in love with that phone, or that computer, take a look at the interface. Try it. Use it. Because that should truly be your number one concern. We don’t just stare at our notebooks and mobile phones, we use them. When the software works, it usually increases the quality of our lives (Facebook is probably the exception), but when it’s poorly designed, confusing, or just plain unintuitive, life becomes a grind. So be critical. Demand usable interfaces, not just pretty hardware.