[Tickets #11165] Re: Default view for IMP smartmobile view

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Ticket URL: http://bugs.horde.org/ticket/11165
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  Ticket             | 11165
  Updated By         | Michael Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org>
  Summary            | Default view for IMP smartmobile view
  Queue              | IMP
  Version            | Git master
  Type               | Enhancement
  State              | Feedback
  Priority           | 2. Medium
  Milestone          | 6
  Patch              |
-Owners             |
+Owners             | Horde Developers, Jan Schneider, Michael Slusarz
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Michael Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org> (2012-04-27 14:32) wrote:

> I'm not sure if that is a good idea. Actually I think it is not. I'm  
> Android-biased so maybe some iPhone users may chime in. But for me  
> the navigation inside smartphone is really page based, with a fixed  
> order and hierarchy of pages where you navigate from left to the  
> right, from broad to more detailed.

I will agree, at a theoretical/conceptual level, that this is a  
reasonable UI decision.

> The only navigation order that makes sense to me (and that is used  
> at least by all Android email apps that I know) is from  
> Applications, to Folders, to Mailbox, to Message.
> I *could* be convinced to go directly to the Inbox when entering IMP  
> the first time, as long as this is the user's preference and the  
> back button (both top-left and browser button) still go back to the  
> folder list. Though that still feels like skipping some page, which  
> it actually is in this case.

The problem I have is that the smartmobile app is now behaving unlike  
any other email app in existence.  Strict adherence to a bottom-up  
approach doesn't appear to be appropriate.

And maybe I have configured things differently, but my android e-mail  
app always opens directly to the INBOX (which is what I want).  I'm  
using K-9 mail, so maybe its different that the default app, but I  
believe to access the folder list in the normal scope using the app  
(e.g. opening and using the back button), you have to change the  
default configuration.  Otherwise, the only way to access the folder  
list is to use an options menu.

Not to mention that this is exactly what we are doing in Kronolith.   
It could be argued using the above UI logic that we should be showing  
the week (or even the month) page first, and then have the user  
navigate the hierarchy to reach the day page.  But that is not the  
expected behavior of a calendar program: I will always want to know  
what my schedule looks like today so that should always be the first  
page opened (which it is now).

> Regarding the link to the application page, this should *not* be the  
> top-left button, as this is the back button in JQM interface flow.

I will agree with this.

> Since we only have one always visible navigation bar and we need the  
> log out button too, I'm not sure where else to add the application  
> link.

What about to the side of the logout button?  Or maybe we can add a  
catch-all options button next to the logout button (similar to the  
options popup button as implemented in Ice Cream Sandwich), that will  
popup either a link back to the applications page or the list of  
applications themselves.

> The action bar at the bottom doesn't make any sense to me either.

I agree, especially since that bar doesn't exist on every page.

> I personally haven't missed such a button yet either, though I have  
> to admit that I only use the JQM interface for "one-shot" quick  
> access to single data objects, rather than browsing and productively  
> using all applications.

This is my normal usage flow also, but I definitely could see users  
bouncing between apps.  And since this is a strength of Horde in the  
first place (multiple mature apps), it seems like something we should  
continue to stress rather than minimize.