Macadamian Blog

Finally, the iPad has a real challenger - Amazon’s Kindle Fire

Since April 2010, the industry has been waiting for a genuine competitor to the iPad. While there are dozens of Android tablets on the market, none have made a serious dent in Apple's market share, which is hovering at a healthy 80% of tablet sales 

Enter the Kindle Fire.

How can Amazon, an online retailer and a relative latecomer, stand to steal market share away from Apple and be a real contender in the tablet space, when seasoned consumer electronics companies like Samsung and Motorola have yet to make a serious dent? 

Creating a Usable Mobile App

The best place to start a discussion on creating a usable mobile app is to make sure we’re all on the same page on the definition of ‘usable’.

What’s the difference between usable and useful?
Useful – A useful app makes your life, or a task in your life, easier. For example, most mobile banking apps are useful – they let you check your bank balance on the go, or transfer money from account to account. Very useful when you’re on your way to the airport and realize you may not have the funds to cover a big check you just wrote.

Usable – A usable app is one that doesn’t make you want to smash your smartphone into bite-sized pieces after using it. You can be both useful, and not usable or usable and not useful, but ultimately, an app that is both useful and usable will be a hit.

The Software Manager’s Guide to Practical Innovation

When we advise software product executives and product managers on the challenges they face, product innovation and differentiation are consistently at the top of the list. Yet for all the articles and webinars touting the importance of innovation, there is a severe lack of practical tips on how to actually execute.

This paper focuses on practical, actionable advice for software innovation, from the process of generating breakthroughs from technology limitations, to systematically uncovering user-driven features via research and design, to building an organizational culture of innovation.

Read our new whitepaper here.

ecobee wins an International Design Award

A big congratulations to our client, ecobee, who this week won an International Design Award for their Smart Thermostat. ecobee truly cares about great design, simplicity, and usability, which is why their product stands out in a field of products that are notoriously hard to use. Despite the fact that a programmable thermostat conserves energy and saves money, only 30% of people program their thermostat, while 86% of ecobee users program theirs. ecobee is a great example of how to differentiate with design, and we're delighted that they've been recognized by the design community and honored that we play a part in their success. Visit the case study to read more about the project, and check out the ecobee web site to see the Smart Thermostat in action. 

Creatividay - making the time to try new things.

One of the great things about being a consulting company is we're surrounded by cool projects. On any given week, we're designing tablet EMR apps or Android-based remote controls for a new consumer video conferencing play.  One of the tough things about being a consulting company is that we're surrounded by other people's cool projects. How do you find time to stretch your own creative muscle and try new things that may not be immediately related to an ongoing project?