My thoughts on WP Notification centre

[AngryNil]

I like the idea of the left edge swipe to switch apps. I'm not sure how feasible it is. Windows Phone 8 is built for portrait on smaller devices, and the app layouts already use swiping to the left and right. I'd have to see if edge swiping and ordinary swiping can be told apart easily - I end up accidentally switching apps all the time, I'm not for it.

I honestly don't see the huge advantage of being able to access the notification centre from any app. Press the Windows key, swipe to the right, and there are your notifications. To get back into your app, it's one single key - back. That said, it's possible that Microsoft may implement it in a different fashion to keep consistency between WP8 and Windows 8 (the tiles are laid out horizontally in Windows 8, so having the notification centre to the left wouldn't make much sense).

 

[MDak280]

At this point, MS no longer has the freedom to claim a gesture as their own (system wide) means of bringing up the notification centre. Doing so will break any number of the 150'000 existing apps, who relied on all possible gestures being their own. Frankly, it's just a generally bad idea... look at how many people are criticizing BB10 for the lack of gesture intuitiveness. WP on the other hand goes to great lengths to ensure that the use of gestures remains intuitive and is signalled consistently across all apps (often with the help of truncated text). Let us not start routing for an inferior approach, just because BB10 is the flavour of the hour.

I kind of see what you mean... so that means that MS will probably just add a notification center to the left of the start screen. I guess that's fine but if there's no way to access it from apps then I won't be completely satisfied. I really hope that MS changes the functionality of the capacitive buttons so that holding the Windows button takes you to the notification center and they move the voice commands to the search button. Whoever suggested that, it's a great idea!

 

[onedrummer2401]

I keep seeing the idea of putting it to the left of the homescreen and I just don't like it. It needs to be accessible from anywhere. Easy solution, put it to the right of the current card in multitasking view. That way you can always easily get to. The other way to get to it would be from the me tile. The multitasking option would be a shortcut.

 

[AngryNil]

I keep seeing the idea of putting it to the left of the homescreen and I just don't like it. It needs to be accessible from anywhere. Easy solution, put it to the right of the current card in multitasking view. That way you can always easily get to. The other way to get to it would be from the me tile. The multitasking option would be a shortcut.

I understand many share your viewpoint, but I just have to ask - why is it absolutely necessary for a notification centre to be accessible from anywhere, directly?

Sorry, but your suggestion isn't any better than the home screen one - it's actually worse. The task switcher is understood to display apps you have opened but not closed. Dumping in a notification centre there for no reason is bad. Additionally, the task switcher is tied to a long press - I'd wager there are many users who don't know of or don't use the task switcher enough to make that the de facto location for notifications, because then many will simply miss it altogether. To the left of the tiles is a far more justifiable place - the home screen already accommodates different things (tiles and an app list), it's the centre of your usage and will likely be found by users.

Having it beside the tiles is nowhere near as inaccessible as people make it out to be. Your suggestion - long press on back then swipe to notification window - is slower than a short press on Windows and swiping to the right. The home screen is accessible from anywhere. It seriously is. The app list isn't considered inaccessible just because it is an extra swipe away. I don't see why this is different. (Furthermore, having a notification centre as part of the home screen was an idea in Nokia's Harmattan. I don't think I ever saw anyone complain about the location of it in that case.)

To compare the two proposals in terms of traditional Windows - which would be better: having the notification centre on the desktop, or in alt+tab?

 

[ammarmalik2011]

I agree with you on the first part. But you can't blame the devs for the incorrect notification number on the tiles. They are updated every 30 mins, this is restricted by the OS.

it's a widely reported fact that live tiles have a habit of randomly stop working. I just gave you an example of MeTweets, that is a developer fault.

 

[Samst22]

I don't really understand why it makes sense to put the notifications in the multitasking view. It's unintuitive to press the back button to access notifications. It's just as quick to press the start button to back to the start page and then swipe right to open notifications.

What I propose is swipe right to access notifications from the start screen. However in addition this could also be accessed via another tap on the windows button from the start page. This means that if you were in any app, all you'd need to do would be to double tap the windows button (the animation would first show the start screen and then it would move right to show the notifications). Quick resume by pressing back from the notification page to go straight back to the previous app.

 

[invertme]

hey justin, this also is my first post/reply, because i think you are worth replying/registering for!
i personally think that a notification center is NOT necessary for WP.

i am an android developer, but i personally use a windows phone.
i think that startscreen is the notification center. if you want to access your notification from anywhere, just press to homebutton. want to go back? press & hold back button. what annoys me about android is the constant gesture of swiping down from the top part of the screen for notifcication. it really grows tiresome. blackberry has a gesture from the bottom, I think that is better, but may grow tiresome too.

i also agree that swiping to the left might not a good idea to show notifications. i think swiping left in the homescreen should show quicksettings such as wireless.

thats my 2 cents

Completely agree with you. A notification center isn't needed with WP - it already has a fanastic one built in. Also agree that swiping down is bothersome in Android. I have a DNA and it's a pain at times. Not only that but I get notifications for stuff over and over even after clearing them. I don't like that at all. I can't wait until the new Nokia phones go to Verizon and I will switch back to WP right away. I miss my sexy lives tiles and non disjointed os!

 

[AngryNil]

Most/many devs know how to push notifications for less than 30 min intervals eg few top weather apps

Just wondering, do you know how this works? If developers are setting up servers to push the notifications every 15 minutes, that's terribly hacky and not even viable in many instances.

 

[devize]

I think Microsoft need to do something about this and I really hope they come up with a great way to do it. All the big players have their own way of doing it and now that they're last this is a big chance for them to come up with something that can beat them all. An app on the homescreen just won't cut it. A swipe to the left on the start screen is a nice idea but there's no way to access it whilst using an app. A long hold on the windows key could work but it isn't as quick an approach as a flick up or down like in iOS/android/bb10. A gesture could cause problems. There doesn't seem any glaringly obvious ways for Microsoft to include something that'll trump the competition whilst keeping to their design philosophies. I think that might be why they couldn't get it out in time for WP8's launch, because they don't know how to include a notification themselves.

 

[rockstarzzz]

I think Microsoft need to do something about this and I really hope they come up with a great way to do it. All the big players have their own way of doing it and now that they're last this is a big chance for them to come up with something that can beat them all. An app on the homescreen just won't cut it. A swipe to the left on the start screen is a nice idea but there's no way to access it whilst using an app. A long hold on the windows key could work but it isn't as quick an approach as a flick up or down like in iOS/android/bb10. A gesture could cause problems. There doesn't seem any glaringly obvious ways for Microsoft to include something that'll trump the competition whilst keeping to their design philosophies. I think that might be why they couldn't get it out in time for WP8's launch, because they don't know how to include a notification themselves.

Having read this and tried to imagine it on my phone, I now think it might just be better to put it all in the ME tile. Its already there, just refine it and no hassle?

 

[philpeeps]

Most/many devs know how to push notifications for less than 30 min intervals eg few top weather apps

Push notifications are instant and not restricted by any time limit. It is background tasks that have a 1x/30 minute limit. However, in order to have push notifications, the developer needs a server to handle the push notifications, the cost of which, many have no desire to incur.

 

[devize]

Having read this and tried to imagine it on my phone, I now think it might just be better to put it all in the ME tile. Its already there, just refine it and no hassle?

But then you're left with the problem of having to exit your app and find the ME tile on your homescreen. It isn't nearly as efficient as the competition.

 

[Blkacesvf41]

But then you're left with the problem of having to exit your app and find the ME tile on your homescreen. It isn't nearly as efficient as the competition.

Point well taken. Obviously MS has to come up with something as efficient as the "peek" feature in BB10. Perhaps one way to avoid having to close the app you're in would be to long press the Windows button, which would bring in the notification center from either side or the top.

 

[spaulagain]

Swipe from the left. Easy and logical.

 

[Doom At Last]

What's wrong with a pull down from the top system?

 

[spaulagain]

What's wrong with a pull down from the top system?

Already being used for utility bar (battery/wifi/etc.). Plus that would be very much a "me too" functionality.

Currently swipe from the right brings you a list of apps. So it seems perfectly natural that swipe from the left brings you a list of notifications.

I guess the issue people have is accessing it while in other apps.

 

[Doom At Last]

Already being used for utility bar (battery/wifi/etc.). Plus that would be very much a "me too" functionality.

Currently swipe from the right brings you a list of apps. So it seems perfectly natural that swipe from the left brings you a list of notifications.

I guess the issue people have is accessing it while in other apps.

One swipe from the top can bring the notification screen while keeping the same icons.
It's either that or long pressing the Start button for me.

 

[MikeSo]

There's nothing inherently more logical or intuitive in putting a notification center onscreen with a swipe from left than with a press of the left arrow, or the Windows button... not sure why people think so. Whatever way they go, a user will have to learn to do it.

 

[halibutstu]

For the most part I'm ok without a notification center just as far as emails and text messages go. Between the lock screen and live tiles I'm good.

But there are times I really need some sort of notification center. Here's an example:

I use my phone as an alarm clock. When I snooze the alarm and then get up before it goes off again I have to open the alarm app and turn that alarm off then on again. When I had an Android I would open notifications and right there would be "Alarm (snoozed)" I'd touch that and it would go away.

I'm still new to WP8 so maybe I'm missing something but I found a few things I liked about Android needlessly missing on WP8. Simple things. A screen orientation lock. Independent volume controls. Quick access to these setting and others like wifi, blue tooth,settings or GPS right there on a notification center. A few other things as well but they are things I feel I just need to learn and spend some time with.

I love my WP and am loving it more and more as I go along here. I didn't as much at first though but I had a lot of preconceived notions on how to use my phone. I had to change some habits and routines but it's getting better all the time. Also I know there is a big update coming.

And a of couse there are things about WP8 that blow every other phone out if the water! Photo hub is amazing and I love how it gathers all your social networking stuff there too. There;s so many things that the phones do very, very well and I love them. Best keyboard ever too! Just wish I could add swear words to my dictionary!

 

[ammarmalik2011]

Swipe from the left. Easy and logical.

So I have to exit to the start screen, then swipe left to view notifications? Too long, too inconvenient. There should be one gesture I can do to view notifications from within any app. And swiping from the left will cause many unintentional swipes since we hold the phone from the sides.