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multiple windows versus multiple layers
Some readers have noted that their device running Opera Mobile (not Opera Mini) has multiple windows, so my previous post did not apply to them.
Well, sort of. You have multiple "layers", with different content in each. There is only one window.
Why does this matter? Consider the following real world tasks, which will have to be done on a mobile device if you are not using a desktop device.- Balance your checkbook using an online statement. This necessary task is annoying enough on a computer; I end up working on getting two windows side by side. The task is possible, though particularly annoying, on a multiple-layer interface. It is impossible on a single-window single-layer interface.
- Following a tutorial for one page or application, with the tutorial written in another page. While possible on a multiple-layer single-window interface, it requires frequent switching between screens.
- Intense email processing, including looking up information referenced in an email, checking and updating calendars, looking up a person on a social networking site, and so forth.
All of the above tasks are possible on a single-window multiple-layer interface, such as Series 60 or Windows Mobile (assuming you have a browser with multiple windows). That doesn't mean that they are fun. The email task is perhaps the easiest, as the demands on the user are the lightest.
These tasks have something in common: the user needs information from one screen to be able to process or act upon the information in another screen. Some such tasks are readily handled using copy/paste, but most others are handled by requiring the user to store the information in her head while switching between screens and processing the information on the second screen. This is a high cognitive load task, and out of the realm of what most users are willing to do for everyday tasks.
Many of the above tasks are impossible on a single-window single-layer device. The job of switching to another screen requires exiting the current page, and the cost to find the exact context may require the user to re-launch the browser, navigate to the site, log in, then navigate to the page in question. Far easier to send the page to a networked printer or fax machine. Or even write down the information.
So back to my previous post: even on high-end devices with high-end browsers, split windows and mashups will improve the user experience.
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