I'd say delusional is a little harsh. I won't deny many of us are fan-boys and are willing to look past a lot of the shortcomings.
Oh, I said *hardcore* WebOS fans, I consider myself a WebOS fan (I'm a tech ******, so I'm a fan of anybody who tries something new).
I have to disagree though that webOS doesn't still have greatness. While I am enjoying Win7 so far, there is an elegance to the card design and the notification system and even the keyboard that make the experience flow in a certain way that no other OS (desktop, mobile, etc) has managed to be.
Certain way doesn't imply better way. WebOS workflow was good, but it wasn't, in any way I can objectively describe, better (than current platforms), except for maybe (just maybe) just type and obviously the cards. The keyboard was really bad in all devices, but at least it was very integrated (as far as I've seen, on WP7 if you start typing on the home screen nothing happens).
I do have to admit that that part of our love of the OS was always in what it could and should be. So, maaaaybe, we border on the delusional there. The lag, small app-base and being abandoned several times are hard to get through. I guess that is what has kept the community tight.
Yes, it was about its potential. But truth is, WebOS barely changed from 1.0 to 2.2.
Of course, even the hardcore have their breaking point. Granted, some are hacking their hardware to stick with the platform but some of us are finally looking to other platforms.
I know, you were/are a fan, you expected HP to make WebOS moved forward, this didn't happen, unless you're a delusional irrational guy, you will jump ships.
1) Cards are still wow. While Win7 copied it, only in the barest of sense. It's the gesture (swipe up to bring up the card, swpie up again to close, and a flow to the app switching that just feels right)
I agree, I sad they took cues, not that they actually copied it. But, as technical value, I prefer iOS/WP7 model which prioritizes battery.
2) I very much disagree here. Granted, losing that row of screen realestate on that tiny screen could be annoying, but the design was top notch. No matter what app I was in, even a 3d game, would allow me to see my notifications without being interrupted. Then when I am done playing, a single tap brings up all of my notifications that I can then toss away if its not important without having to open the app. There is even a patch that lets me delete email right from the notifications.
This is part of being stuck on WebOS. Granted, even if you jumped to my currently favorite platform (WP7), you also jumped to the one which has the less stellar notification system. What you described is possible on iOS 5.x, and has been on Android since long ago. In fact, since they don't take away real screen state, they're less obtrusive.
Let me characterize it by showing a simple usage scenario: People browser the web while listening to music. On all other platforms you can get fast access to your multimedia controls without them permanently take screen space. On WebOS, you need to choose, either you get fast access to your multimedia controls or your full screen (by means of swiping off the controls).
Also, since the icons are colorful on a black background, they tend to be distracting. In fact, I would bet any amount of money that the usual usage pattern on WebOS is:
i) Get notification
ii) Automatically turn attention into the notifications, if on a hurry: swipe it off without caring much. If important: tap it and open the corresponding app.
I think there's barely any room for "will check it later", as people do on Android.
3) Agreed, webOS had the wow with synergy and agreed it completely squandered it. Lastly agreed that Win7 crushes the competition here. I love seeing that they are actively expanding it
Yep, WP7 really shines on that department.
4) The GUI as far as animations was and is lame, because for some damned fool reason they never hardware accelerated the thing to allow for more prettiness. The basic color pallet is pretty awful too
I know, it's so lame.
But..and this is a huge but, there is a most certainly a cohesion that only Win7 competes with (and maybe even improves, this is actually the part of the OS I am most excited about, buttons be damned!!!). But all apps had the app menu in the upper left, all worked with the backswipe gesture, metatap for shortcuts across apps, swipe to delete items across the board and tap+drag to reorder stuff. The cohesion is one of its primary benefits.
WP7 native apps are as consistent as it gets. There is less consistency on 3rd parties, I agree. However, WebOS had some (let me remark: some, most were fine) consistently bad designs, as the menu you just described, it was a bit of Palm OS era thinking inserted into a modern platform.
Well this turned into a novel. Anywho, thats my opinion on the matter
Glad you shared it. I think WebOS was good, and it had a lot of potential. But many WebOS (again) hardcore fans were really delusional and denied giving credit to any other OS ever coded.
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