The usability report from 3G Labs is really nice. It gets the test design, flow, and results across quite well: clear, concise, and fun to read. It also demonstrates the HUGE gulf between the two companies’ design capabilities. Sony tends to be gadgety and often difficult to navigate. Nokia has a solid reputation for user-centered design and usability. This report shows it in spades.
It’s well worth registering with 3GLabs to download the PDF version of the full report.
I suspect that Sony/Ericsson added photo capabilities to a basic cell-phone platform that they’ve been using for years. They just added a few items to a few menus and voila! , they had a photo-snapping cell phone. And placing the lens where it is usually occluded by the user’s hand! Come on!
On the other hand, Nokia repurposed the phone to make photo-shooting a primary function, right along side dialing a phone number. Note that Camera is a top-level menu choice, when the phone is first turned on. I also like that a photo can be used as the wallpaper for the normal state of the phone.
Way to go Nokia, and way to go 3G Labs.
