What can be learned from Apple’s iPhone is that what makes a device successful is not just the quality of its hardware, but the integration of hardware, software, and online services into an extraordinary user experience. The iPhone’s Visual Voicemail is a perfect example for such an integration. The same thinking process should be applied to the Redux Model 1’s design. Here are some ideas along these lines.

Assumptions

Before getting into the details of our software and services stack, we should review the set of assumptions they we must build it upon. First, one must be able to use all the device’s capabilities with the tablet only, without the need for the magnetic keyboard, which purposes are only to make typing faster, provide longer battery life, and duplicate some of the connectors and expansion ports provided by the tablet. Second, the Redux Model 1 is an almost-always connected device, therefore its native applications should rely on content and functionality provided by online services as much as possible — a good example for this is maps served by Google Maps instead of being stored on the device. Third, thanks to its embedded GPS, the Redux Model 1 is location aware, and such location can be pushed to online services using the device’s connectivity to the Internet. Fourth, the tablet can be used in landscape or portrait mode, with dynamic screen orientation capabilities.

Open Source Foundation

Because the Redux Model 1 is designed around a new form factor, it will require a custom designed user interface. We will start from existing Open Source foundations, such as OpenMoko and Maemo, but some additional work will be required to take full advantage of the Mini Tablet’s hardware capabilities and original form factor. The Redux Model 1’s screen has a higher resolution than the one used for the Neo 1973 (1024 x 768 vs. 640 x 480), therefore some OpenMoko applications that are (incorrectly) hard-coding the Neo 1973’s screen resolution will have to be modified (debugged). Similarly, some Maemo applications developed for the Nokia N800 will have to be modified in order to support dynamic screen orientation.

Windowless Environment

From a user interface standpoint, the primary difference between a laptop computer and the Redux Model 1 docked onto its magnetic keyboard is that the former uses multiple windows, while the later is a totally windowless environment. Most tasks are being performed within a web browser, where windows are replaced by tabs. And for those tasks that require native applications (Phone Dialer, Media Player, GPS Navigator), a simple Home button and a limited set of large icons is all that is needed, as being demonstrated by Apple’s iPhone.

Gestures and Overlays

What makes building an effective windowless user interface for a mobile device so difficult is the limited real estate available on a screen that is significantly smaller than the one found on a laptop or desktop computer, both in terms of dimension and resolution. A good way to overcome such a limitation when a touchscreen is available is by using gestures and semi-transparent overlays. What this means is that specific gestures made with a finger on the touchscreen will make context-specific controls appear and disappear on the screen. This is especially important for a device which industrial design does not incorporate any display of hardware status information, such as battery charge level or network connectivity.

Web Browser

The Redux Model 1 is being designed specifically for the use of Office 2.0 applications, therefore its most critical application is its web browser. Because the device is powered by a relatively slow CPU (Samsung S3C2442/400) and does not have very much on-board memory (256MB SDRAM or less), it is using the WebKit web browser, which is also used by the iPhone and iPod Touch. Among the modifications that will have to be made, improved support for full-screen browsing and remote storage of bookmarks (using the OPML format) sit on top of our priority list.

Voice over IP

Voice over IP should be supported through Skype, which has recently been ported to the Nokia N800. Audio in and out are supported through the built-in microphone and loudspeaker, the audio in and out jacks, or over Bluetooth 2.0. Videoconferencing will be supported through the tablet’s embedded camera.

Phone Dialer

The Phone Dialer is where we want to get our Wow effect when showing off the device. We will get it through the use of two tricks: one, pulling contact information from a remote application such as Salesforce.com; two, using an iPod Touch as remote dialing interface, as described in this past article. This is absolutely overkill, but totally cool…

Media Player

The Media Player is the piece of software that might require the most work, for we would like to use Apple’s iTunes as primary content management system. Since we want to build as little software as possible (if any at all), developing our own application for managing media content is a no go, and if we have to leverage an existing one, we might as well go for the most popular of all. Of course, iTunes is not available for the Linux platform, but it really does not matter, for we do not want to use the Redux Model 1 to manage content. Instead, all we care about is to upload some content on the device (or the SD Card it can host) and play it. Ideally, we would like the Redux Model 1 to appear in the list of devices that can be managed by iTunes when connected through USB, alongside your iPod or iPhone. We have no idea whether this is possible or not, but if it is, this is definitely the way to go.

GPS Navigator

The GPS Navigator should fetch and cache maps and directions from Google Maps, overlay location with data provided by the device’s embedded GPS, and provide voice directions. Audio in and out are supported through the built-in microphone and loudspeaker, the audio in and out jacks, or over Bluetooth 2.0.

Status Display

The display of hardware status information such as battery charge level and network connectivity (for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GSM) should be done using an overlay that can be displayed through a specific touch gesture.

Remote Configuration

In order for the device to be used as a remotely managed picture frame, as described in this article, all configuration parameters, including the set of widgets displayed on the web browser’s home page, should be managed by an online service and cached on the device. All configuration files should use the standard XML format, with a generic schema yet to be defined.

Screen Sharing

As suggested by Darren Ehlers as a comment to this article, the Redux Model 1 should support the sharing of screens among devices that are within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range. Such a capability could be offered through support for IEEE 802.11s (unlikely) or Bluetooth device pairing (limited bandwidth). Alternative options offering easy setup and increased bandwidth should be investigated.