An innovative design is the new must for Journal Apps from iPad. The original printing and web formats do not do the Tablet-PC justice – and its users anticipate a more intuitive interface and an iPad-specific design.
That is the conclusion drawn from our latest user experience study, in which the following the iPad Apps of evening papers were chosen – Nürnberg, Spiegel, Vogue, The Iconist, and Wired – and were tested in the hands of users.
Test Setting and Methods
All of twelve participants had no prior experience with the iPad. They were asked to freely delve into the five eJournal Apps for 30 minutes.
Their user behavior was recorded on tape. In addition, various implicit methods such as eye tracking, galvanic skin response measurement, and EEG measurement were employed. Subsequently, each user was guided through a qualitative interview accompanied by a questionnaire in order to better understand their user behavior.
Results: standards are missing and potentials are given away
Currently, three types of eJournal-Apps are in the market: the paper-type like the Nürnberg, the hybrid-type like the Spiegel-App, and the iPad-optimized type like the Iconist or Vogue.
The design of the “paper”-app conforms to the format of Gutenberg and its print layout is almost completely compatible with the Tablet-PC. The pages are set up like in print products – nevertheless, the small font makes reading on screen difficult and users often get lost when they zoom in.
In terms of structure and design, hybrid-apps embody elements not only of the paper format, but also of the web format: the directory resembles those of websites, and buttons and other navigational aids are used. However, the layout of each news article resembles that of a printed version. Users were disappointed to see a text-heavy article with no additional features hidden beneath the graphically appealing site map.
Although the evaluated apps embody certain elements of the Internet and are similar to iPhone Apps, they are not completely adapted to the iPad device. This gives away their big potential, which of course can be regained in the future by seizing more opportunities the iPad provides.
Intuitive learnability and fun, friendly navigation
In contrast, iPad-optimized apps offer many interactive elements and the option to customize each individual content. For instance, with the tip of their finger, users can simply drag away a textbox for a better view of the full-screen picture underneath – a novel, nevertheless easily learnable feature.
Navigational elements are not explicitly represented, but instead are embedded within interactions between contents. This enables users to frequently discover new functions by accident while navigating, which they learn with joy. This means that navigation itself is a fun factor, regardless of the content.
Advertisements were also spotted more frequently by the users in this domain. In particular, video ads were considered as entertaining.
Conclusion: exhaust functions and reduce stress
The winners of this study are the eJournal apps that display a deeper understanding of the new format from iPad and get themselves involved with the new interactive environment. They offer the users the opportunity to separate pictures and texts according to their individual preferences, are clever enough to use entertaining video formats for advertisements, and take advantage of the iPad potential through myriads of new, invisible interactions. They let themselves be in the hands of intuition and thus elicit much less stress.
The eJournal apps that merely apply their print- or web-layout to iPad are not taking advantage of such potential and rather irritate the users. A strengthened utilization of opportunities promoted by iPad is the key to optimizing the app.
