Do we really need a Webbook?
Does anyone know about the litl? It´s a so called »Webbook«, a tiny computer without anything, just made for browsing the web and reading RSS-Feeds. This gadget that looks deceptively like a laptop but works nothing like any computer you’ve ever used. The hardware to the user interface to the activities it supports, the new machine created by this Boston-based startup, rejects three decades of convention. But what can you do with it? Just browsing the internet seems to be nice, but the developers should asked theirselfs: What is this stuff for? What value does it add to our lives? (John Thackara)
If you want to buy a litl, you a get a small computer which is radically downsized for about 700 bucks (!!!). It has a 12″ display, an Atom Processor with 1,6 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB Flash Memory, 1x USB and a 802.11g Wifi chip, that´s it. It even hasn´t enough space for a operating system so they offer you »litl OS« which has two modes. A simple grid view and a 3D view based on the z-axis which reminds me of Apple Time Machine.
In my opinion these product has three main failures. First of all it´s a tool which can only do one thing, browsing the internet and receiving atom feeds. This is a nice idea, but chumby is already doing stuff like that. You can get this small device which is able to play wifi radio, play games and use one of 1500 additional applications for about 100 dollar. And chumby offers you a touch sensitive display,…
which brings me to the next failure. It is the way the user is interacting with the product. You can chosse between a reduced QWERTY keyboard, a touch pad and a remote… Why? What´s about touch? What´s about motion tracking? A radical product like these is screeming for new ways of interaction. The litl offers you a very light weight computer with a small display. A touch interface would be a more direct way of navigating and browsing the content especially in 3D mode. Last but not least…
Abbett.org gets it right:»The litl is like a family media device, but it can’t play DVDs. It’s great for browsing photos, but you still need a laptop or PC to upload them to a photo service. It’s got good sound for a laptop, but you can’t put your existing music library on it. It’s simple because it lacks user logins, but your whole family has to share the same set of cards, the same browser sessions, the same font size … It’s good for kids, and kids might want to do their homework on it, but it doesn’t support printing. These are the details that can only be crafted with a deep understanding of one’s users, but the litl folks seem too single-mindedly committed to their business vision to challenge it.«
This post was written by Thomas
on December 8th, 2009
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Hi Thomas-
Thanks for your interest in the litl webbook. Briefly, let me address your concerns.
(1) We think there’s a large market of home users who, more and more, use the web for emailing, enjoying digital photos, listening to music, socializing with friends, playing online games, and even watching TV/video. The litl webbook helps make all these online activities simpler, funner, and more enjoyable, especially for people not interested in mastering today’s overly complex personal computers. So, there’s a lot more to litl than just browsing and RSS feeds.
(2) We don’t think a touchscreen adds anything to our user experience because our UI was designed from the start to not need it. We give the power of a full keyboard, trackpad, and screen when users need “lean forward” input/output (browsing, searching, typing, etc.) … and then we use our scroll wheel and optional remote for more relaxed “lean back” usage (music, video, photos, etc.). Touchscreen isn’t needed (and doesn’t work) when you’re across the kitchen enjoying photos or across the den connected to your large-screen television. It also doesn’t add much when you’re hard at work emailing, searching, banking, etc. — you’d much rather use your keyboard and trackpad.
More importantly, let me clarify our approach to interaction design. We’ve already addressed them at Jonathan’s IXDA blog post, but to reiterate:
1. We profiled many, many families before designing the system. We spent more than two years building our OS and spoke at length with well over a hundred families (outside of our own). We took time and care to make sure we understood our target audience.
2. We engaged Cooper to research and create our personas. Cooper conducted extensive primary research to create these personas. They did a great job and we still use these personas today. Now that we have actual customers, our personas have been validated as correct.
3. We incorporated multiple rounds of alpha and beta feedback before shipping the product. And unlike traditional OS’s, we incorporate feedback into the automatic system updates that every litl owner receives. In fact, we have a new release this month that’s already building on the feedback from our first customers. This feedback-improve cycle will repeat over and over again in 2010.
Again, thanks for your interest in litl. We encourage you and your readers to visit our site (litl.com), read our blog (blog.litl.com), or follow us on Twitter (@litl) to learn more about litl. You’re also welcome to email me directly to schedule a demo or interview.
Thanks,
James
by James
on December 8, 2009
Hello James,
thank you for the reply… I will post some answers on your comments:
(1) I agree that there is a need to enjoy all the entertainment stuff with a hardware which is pretty simple to use. And litl seems to handle this, but there is more than just watching videos and pictures. I´m thinking about some additional applications and games, which can be useful. “Traditional” apps like Navigation, Calendar, eMail, Chat and some Space Invaders (just for the fun of it). Simplicity is good, but sometimes things can´t be made that simple. In my opinion the main interface is to abstract.
I wouldn´t called it desigend, because its just a 3×4 preview matrix of windows. There are some open questions regarding the UI which have already no answer. Does it have an options section? Where can I personalize some functions? Is there a visual difference between browser preview and my photo album? How do interface elements look like e.g. checkboxes, lists…? Just to name a few…
(2) I think that touch is not the almighty way of interaction, but it has some advantages. For example the use case with the kitchen is really a problem, especially if you are cooking a big fat turkey. I don´t want to use touch in this situation, but I also don´t want to use remote. A simple swipe gesture for getting to the next step of your recipe would fit perfectly for that. By the way it would be interesting how User Interface for a recipe application could look like. I´ve only seen a digital egg-timer…
Anyway, I still think that touch is the best solution if the user is in easel mode. You have a picture of at your website were a couple is in bed watching a movie or something right in front of the screen while they keyboard is turned down. Why should I use a remote? Touch is the most intuitive and direct way. Look at a object and point on it… That´s it. If the litl would be able to use multi-touch you could add more “touch shortcuts” to some functions, which could make interactions faster.
(3) But after all I think that your prizing is to high. Today I saw an offer of a local computer dealer. You can buy a Samsung N130 with a pretty similar configuration 10″ Display, Intel Atom 1,6 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HD et cetera for 299 EUR (http://tinyurl.com/yc9kstv) which means 440 Dollar at this time. If I would kill all apps, just leave firefox and media player as shortcut at your desktop, I had a simplified functionality.
I think that the price of 700 Dollar is to high for a product which is so radically reduced. The best example for reduction is the iPod shuffle. You have a gadget with less functionality, but Apple sells it for a higher price. If you want to hold the price up to your level, you have to add something special. Improve the User Experience with some visual features, some additional ways of interaction and more intelligent applications which help the user to manage the everyday life. For product design I would try to have something were the litl is unique. It has to be the smallest, roundest, lightest, flatest, smoothest, most quiet or fastest computer at this planet. Otherwise you have to drop the prize, because people will not understand, why they have to pay closely the double amount of money for something which offers less.
If I compare it to the OLPC concept (100 Dollar) or to chumby (100 Dollar) it´s to expensive for such a gadget. You have to decide if you are more low-cost or premium. 700 is premium, but litl doesn´t look like a premium product at this time. The idea is good, but I think it has to be improved in some aspects to be “the bomb”…
by thomas
on December 11, 2009