4 ms·

Reminds me of the preinstalled clock app on the pre-Android Blackerry smartphones. Basically to set any alarm or timer you just moved the finger around a clock

Reminds me of the preinstalled clock app on the pre-Android Blackerry smartphones. Basically to set any alarm or timer you just moved the finger around a clock to the desired time. It was satisfying to use and intuitive. Now my "Android One" phone has the worst UI I've ever seen for setting timers(you have to enter every individual digit, from hours to seconds, in the right order...). I really wish Google would copy more good ideas from the now-dead competitors, like the text selection and context menus on Windows Phone. Or the alphabetical lists that also work well for left-handed people. Many great user interface ideas died with these systems. But to be honest I'm not sure if they would even be allowed to do that legally. You never know what kind of crazy software patents are floating around out there.

treerock 7y ago
Android's 'time picker' sounds very much like the blackberry version you describe. https://i.stack.imgur.com/60z61.png https://i.stack.imgur.com/60z61.png
- alpaca128 7y ago
  It does have similarities, but is still more complicated - BB simply had one watchface view where you'd set the time for alarms with minute accuracy just by dragging around a marker(one for each active alarm). On a separate tab you had the same UI for the timer etc. Google's approach feels like a more convoluted approach to the same idea, where the hours and minutes are separated and the selection is in a separate popup view instead of being embedded directly into the clock. It makes sense as it's a more generalized widget usable by other apps, but that's also the reason it's not quite as natural to use. EDIT - here's a (partial) example screenshot: https://forums.crackberry.com/attachments/blackberry-10-apps-f274/312401d1415232481t-new-blackberry-clock-app-img_20141105_180736.png https://forums.crackberry.com/attachments/blackberry-10-apps...
aasasd 7y ago
> you have to enter every individual digit That's actually the fastest time input method I've used. Only I need just minutes and seconds, e.g. ‘500’—or hours and minutes in the alarm, like ‘915’. And this app has gigantic buttons for the numbers, and checks on the fly for when a ‘9’ makes no sense so the button is disabled. I wish devs adopted this method instead of the inane ubiquitous scrolling dial. I need three or four taps on huge buttons which are in muscle memory by now, like with a calculator pad—as opposed to a ridiculous amount of scrolling through the 60 minutes and looking for when the dial lands on the right number.

treerock 7y ago

Android's 'time picker' sounds very much like the blackberry version you describe. https://i.stack.imgur.com/60z61.png https://i.stack.imgur.com/60z61.png

alpaca128 7y ago
It does have similarities, but is still more complicated - BB simply had one watchface view where you'd set the time for alarms with minute accuracy just by dragging around a marker(one for each active alarm). On a separate tab you had the same UI for the timer etc. Google's approach feels like a more convoluted approach to the same idea, where the hours and minutes are separated and the selection is in a separate popup view instead of being embedded directly into the clock. It makes sense as it's a more generalized widget usable by other apps, but that's also the reason it's not quite as natural to use. EDIT - here's a (partial) example screenshot: https://forums.crackberry.com/attachments/blackberry-10-apps-f274/312401d1415232481t-new-blackberry-clock-app-img_20141105_180736.png https://forums.crackberry.com/attachments/blackberry-10-apps...

aasasd 7y ago

> you have to enter every individual digit That's actually the fastest time input method I've used. Only I need just minutes and seconds, e.g. ‘500’—or hours and minutes in the alarm, like ‘915’. And this app has gigantic buttons for the numbers, and checks on the fly for when a ‘9’ makes no sense so the button is disabled. I wish devs adopted this method instead of the inane ubiquitous scrolling dial. I need three or four taps on huge buttons which are in muscle memory by now, like with a calculator pad—as opposed to a ridiculous amount of scrolling through the 60 minutes and looking for when the dial lands on the right number.