User Interface

Zumobi , which has created an ad-supported user interface using widgets, said its BlackBerry application is now officially available. In addition, the Seattle company said it has new widgets from NPR, AP Olympics report, Major League Baseball, Facebook, Twitter (pictured) and from the blog "BlackBerry Cool". Users can register and download for the app from either online or from the phone at http://get.zumobi.com . Once the application is downloaded, users can pick 16 widgets that can be viewed from the homepage.

HTC went big Tuesday morning with the launch of its HTC One smartphone, a slim silver and black 4G smartphone that the company hopes can stem its flagging fortunes. The HTC One brings a couple of distinctive features to the table, including a redesigned user interface that echoes Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 design, though on a phone that runs Google's Android operating system. HTC calls its new skin "Blinkfeed ," an interface that highlights updates from various apps in a grid-like layout.

The dustup over Instagram's terms of service changes earlier this week has many users looking for alternatives to the popular photo-sharing site. Instagram chief executive and co-founder Kevin Systrom reassured users that they a) still own their photos, b) won't see them in advertisements, and c) have the same amount of privacy they did before the changes. Still the new terms of service have plenty of people spooked and looking to jump ship before the new use agreement goes into effect on Jan. 16, 2013.

Apple's said to be testing a curved glass watch that will work with users' smartphones — the main appeal of which seems to be to make everyone feel like a spy. Or a hard-boiled detective. Reports about the watch in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have already sparked a round of Dick Tracy nostalgia among the tech media, but specifics about the device are still sketchy. Wearable devices are expected to become a growing trend in the coming year, with fitness-focused gadgets already gaining traction...

HTC's third Android OS-based smartphone is loaded with features and offers plenty of customization options with HTC's Sense user interface. Nevertheless, the Hero's performance can be sluggish and its video is unreliable. ($180 with two-year contract from Sprint) Full review | Video

HTC went big Tuesday morning with the launch of its HTC One smartphone, a slim silver and black 4G smartphone that the company hopes can stem its flagging fortunes. The HTC One brings a couple of distinctive features to the table, including a redesigned user interface that echoes Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 design, though on a phone that runs Google's Android operating system. HTC calls its new skin "Blinkfeed ," an interface that highlights updates from various apps in a grid-like layout.

This enormous and allegedly unsolicited blog entry by an "ordinary Joe developer" (is he related to the plumber?) details some of the under-the-hood stuff that's going on with Windows 7 development. Although Ballmer has described 7 as being "Windows Vista with clean-up in user interface [and] improvements in performance," this guy seems to think it's a little more than that. I nursed my hope that 7 would be a completely different experience for a while, but now it seems less and less likely by...

Nik Cubrilovic gives Seesmic a little user interface advice in this interactive video hosted at¿Seesmic. Very funny if you use both Seesmic and Twitter. The other 95% of you should just move on the the next post. Disclosure: I'm a Seesmic investor. And I still think this is funny (Nik seems to imply that Seesmic is a waste of time). Leave your best video comment below and tell Nik why he's wrong. or right. or not funny. etc. Best one gets a TechCrunch Tshirt. Bonus points are awarded if you are...

I mean, seriously. Apple 's chief complaint against the Google Voice application was "The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone's distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls. " And that's ok, because we all know that the real reason Apple won't let Google Voice through is that they are scared out of their mind that...

When news of the Litl Webbook broke out on Wednesday , I was pleased to learn that the company is located here in Boston, since there aren't nearly as many people in this area making actual hardware devices, as opposed to software and web companies.I got a chance to sit down with CEO John Chuang for a thorough overview of the Webbook, so check out the video inside for some information about the design philosophy and user interface behind the $699...

Much of the conversation about online and mobile privacy focuses on using clear language, but Web and app developers may also want to mind the p's and q's of good graphic design to stay out of hot water. On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had settled with the social network Path concerning charges that Path improperly collected user data. What's interesting about the charges, said Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, is that the FTC didn't fault the...

The dustup over Instagram's terms of service changes earlier this week has many users looking for alternatives to the popular photo-sharing site. Instagram chief executive and co-founder Kevin Systrom reassured users that they a) still own their photos, b) won't see them in advertisements, and c) have the same amount of privacy they did before the changes. Still the new terms of service have plenty of people spooked and looking to jump ship before the new use agreement goes into...

Apple sent its latest version of iOS to users Wednesday, and while there was a lot to like in the update, there was one thing that reviewers have almost universally hated: Apple's new Maps app. The app, which pulls its mapping results from TomTom and other listings from places such as Yelp, is good-looking but — quite frankly — riddled with problems . For example, my Post colleague Michael Rosenwald let me know that a search for...

Just when we started getting used to the Metro name for Microsoft's new design aesthetic, the software giant ended up backing away from the term to avoid a prolonged legal battle. Now it seems Microsoft may just replace it with a much simpler (and more boring) phrase: Windows 8. Sources tell ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley , that Microsoft workers are now being guided to plug in "Windows 8″ for every previous reference to "Metro. " For example, "Metro-style applications" are now referred to...

Microsoft's Surface burst on to the scene Monday, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the tablet. Here are five, basic and very practical things that we just don't know about the tablet yet. Price: For one, we don't know the all-important question of how much this tablet will cost. With two versions of the tablet unveiled, it seems like Microsoft could be going after the laptop replacement market and the high-end of the tablet market. The company wouldn't give pricing details, saying only...

After showing off a whole slew of hardware announcements , Apple revealed more about their next version of OS X, Mountain Lion. It will be an upgrade from Lion and Snow Leopard, letting some users skip one version of the operating system — a new thing for Apple. The system will be shipping in July for just a $19.99 upgrade, Ars Technica reported . The company outlined eight features in Mountain Lion, several of which had been announced before. The new operating system will have a notifications center, a...

Not a week after we derided Brightcove for its difficult user interface in a story about newly emerged competitor Delve Networks , the Cambridge-based video hosting company is releasing a completely rebuilt version of its service into private beta. Existing SaaS customers now have the opportunity to try out Brightcove 3 Beta, which will be made available to new customers sometime in the Fall. Development on Brightcove 3 began about nine months ago and has focused on three primary areas: a new publishing model, support for long-form...

Let's be honest: Typing with thumbs just isn't fun. Sometimes, you want to use your own handwriting to take notes instead of the keyboard on your mobile device. Enter Use Your Handwriting, which lets you do exactly what the name promises. Essentially a to-do app, it lets people write on the screen with their fingers and uses a rendering engine to make your letters look cleaner and clearer. The to-do portion of the app is fairly straightforward: You can check things off by dimming or deleting...

Had Google introduced something that really changed the mobile mapping landscape Wednesday during an event in San Francisco, you could believe it was an event they had planned for quite some time. Instead, by introducing some nice but incremental improvements to Google Maps for Android and Google Earth days before Apple is expected to introduce its own iOS mapping software, Google accomplished little other than forcing the company to dodge questions about the ramifications of losing the iPhone.

Microsoft appears to be expanding its built-in Windows 8 apps for the upcoming Release Preview. Due in the first week of June, Windows 8 Release Preview will include News, Sports, and Travel Metro style apps according to winunleaked. The site has been posting screenshots and information about the Release Preview build over the last few days, revealing that the final code is completed internally at Microsoft as build 8400.winmain_win8rc.120518-1423. The inclusion of additional...