For the past two months, we’ve been working with Adaptive Path, an agency based in San Francisco that focuses on experience strategy and experience design. When looking around for a partner, we felt that Adaptive Path was the clear leader in our space, and they haven’t disappointed.
The goal of this project was to create a more unified user experience within the world of smart.fm. We’ve been exploring new metaphors and UI directions, and we’ve come up with some interesting variations on the current themes. We’ll be sharing these with you soon, as we’ve just reached a point where we can actually start building.
Over the course of the site redesign project, we realized that Adaptive Path would also be the perfect partner to build an iPhone application with, so we’ve teamed up with them to bring you a killer smart.fm iPhone app by August.
Development on the iPhone app is now underway, and our friends at Adaptive Path have set-up a special blog to capture the entire developmental process, from way-out-there brainstorming to the nuts-and-bolts of user paths and flow. It’s called An Owl’s Life, and it’s a fascinating look into the creative processes of a group of gifted and experienced designers.
The first post, Bringing the smart.fm Experience to the iPhone, gives an overview of the project and summarizes the results of the one-week trip that Dan Harrelson and Alexa Andrzejewski made out to Tokyo to spend time with us and gather all our thoughts.
We mapped out a bunch of mobile use cases and then tried to organize these into mental spaces. Features that didn’t map well onto these spaces, or that were better handled by the web app, were cut, allowing us to rein scope in. The last thing we want to build is an overly complex and bloated app. The beauty of the iPhone is its simplicity, so we’re trying to build an experience that is elegant yet still rich.
By the time Alexa and Dan took off, they had a solid understanding of what the iPhone app should achieve. They also had a good introduction to our “work hard, play hard” mentality. With that vividly in mind, they quickly rescheduled, albeit two months too late, all 9:00am (Tokyo time) conference calls to noon. Thanks guys!
The second post, How to Move from Mobile to Web, is Alexa’s thoughts on smart guidelines to follow when taking a product from the web to mobile. This is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in this space, and it’s also reflective of the general philosophy Adaptive Path brings to all their work. Their work is rooted in the belief that experience is the product, and that you can’t build the right experience without adopting the mental space of your user.
And for anyone interested in the nitty-gritty of paths, here’s a sneak peek that covers a whole wall!
The third post so far is by Dane Petersen, a super-talented summer associate who we are lucky to have join the team. In Imagining Possible Worlds, Dane shows off some pretty outside-the-box thinking about the materiality of the learning items. In two short videos, he walks you through his sketchpad and the logic of his visual explorations—pretty cool stuff that has already led to some beautiful mock-ups.
Seeing the wireframes that came through this afternoon sent a BUZZ of excitement through the office. Really inspired thinking. We can’t wait to show you those…but we’re a little cruel, so we will…
…more coming soon, from “An Owl’s Life: Operation iPhone”.
It’s about time! I’m looking forward to this!
I love it. I really hope this come out because I can have many oppurtunies and be outside instea of stuck inside with my comp. Kudos!
I am looking forward this app, I’ve used the web app, it wasn’t really efficent and not esthetic at all, but good effort.
I always wonder how does smart.fm keep going without any adverts on their site, will this app cost money perhaps?
smart.fm does have adds in a sense… they build word lists off new movies coming out etc.
Totally psyched. This is the missing link. I can’t wait. My birthday is in August. They must be thinking especially of me!
I sure hope the tool can be used offline. For ipod touch users, I would imagine that would be essential. For iphone users, less so, but there are times when we iphone users can’t be online for one reason or another. (On an airplane, out of the country, on a mountaintop or in a secret underground bunker). So, I sure hope ability to study offline is built into the app.
This is awesome. I can’t wait.
@yukkuri_kame,
Yup, offline studying is being built into the app, which is especially important for the large number of ipod touch users out there (and the ipod touch is very popular here in Japan).
@Aaleen,
No need to worry–the smart.fm iPhone app will most certainly be free!
Regarding the web site, we’ll be introducing paid premium features into our service later this year. At this point in time, we’d rather do that than advertising.
Depending on how things go, we could create a pro iPhone app later, but we haven’t given that much thought yet. Right now our only concern is to build it well, and then get it into as many hands as possible.
Is this new feature somehow related to the progress page being “Undefined” this morning?
I don’t mind ads. As long as they are not flashy the way Myspace has become.
Sounds great! This has been the missing piece of the puzzle. Glad to hear about the offline feature. Keep up the great work!
Great! I was waiting for this ever since I got my iPod touch. Please remember to make it available world wide.
I can’t wait! I’m going to buy an iPod Touch just for this!
I’m also looking forward to the mentioned UI updates and premium accounts. ^^
I’m really looking forward to the iphone app.
This app will make or break my investment in an iPod touch.
Looking forward to it. The currently available smartfm – linked iPhone app just lets you browse your lists, which, once you’re used to something as interactive as the web-based app, just isn’t very satisfying.
Now, ultimately, what I’d REALLY like to see is a stroke-recognition functionality for kanji like what’s in KingKanji for the Palm OS, where it recognizes correct/incorrect stroke order for kanji input from a blank slate. Combining that with the spaced-repetition aspects of iKnow would be unbeatable. That’s a tall order, I realize, and probably a pipe dream, but that would make an iPhone app absolutely perfect. (I don’t have much use for such on a desktop, since I hate trying to draw kanji with a mouse, and it seems to have limited carryover to actual writing. Writing kanji with a finger or stylus, however, is excellent practice.)
im also looking forward to the iphone app.
I love smart.fm. I am grad they are thinking of other ways to help me study. Letting me use my Iphone to study is going to be great.
Hey guys, please give some love to windows mobile too.
I would prefer non-flashy annoying ad’s than paid features, to be honest.
But this ipod app seems awesome! I can’t wait! Hopefully it will be out by time I get one!
I purchased “iKnow Touch” yesterday from the iTunes App Store. Thanks to a friend I was under the impression it was made by Cerego. It’s not. And it sucks.
Looking forward to this. The wireframes over at AdaptivePath look rad.
Want an app I can use in “airplane mode”.
Want an AD-FREE paid version (that’s worth paying for).
I wouldn’t mind paying for this *_*
This will be an iPhone/iPod touch app only right, and not just a touch-enabled flash app?
That’s too bad. Other touch-phones are becoming very popular, and I’m sure there are other users than me, that would be very happy if you could support those too (:
Personnally, I would have no problem with not having all the features the iPhone app will have, but just a modified touch-friendly version of the Mobile Japan flash, you already made. That would be great!
I don’t have an iPhone, but that sounds awesome. Smart.fm while commuting!!!
iPhone and/or iPod.
I don’t have an iPhone but have been enjoying smart.mf. programs
on the iPod.
St. Paul
Man, we need to get it to the android! I’m on my G1 more than my computer!
Thats so awesome! I can’t wait for the app. I’ve been studying on my iphone whenever I take the long bus trip home but the application I use now is boring and just flashcards. You guys seriously rock.
@big_in_japan Did you know you can do handwritten Kanji using a Chinese keyboard on the iPhone/Touch? It doesn’t test your stroke order of course, but the recognition is increased if you follow correct order, etc.
Seriously excited about this!! the Iknow app is ok for keeping a list of vocab but its the training aspect that people desire. I also hope it allows for creation of lists… this is going to be good.
Did I miss the launch? Or is this now behind schedule? This would really enhance my working with Smart.fm. Can’t wait!
Any Android plan for this ^^?
Any new iPhone ap info? I’m hooked on the iPhone, and I would use this ap all the time.
I’m with everyone else, Did I miss the launch. I cant seem to find this app in the app store. I just got my 3gs, Softbank was practically giving them away last month. Too bad most Japanese people don’t like these phones, they are missing out. I dont know about you but I would rather have access to all these amazing apps than have a keitai strap, but to each their own. Anyway back on topic. So whats the deal. The app was supposed to come out 3 months ago. What is it called.?
i just got an app from the apple store called “iknowc” and when I opened it up it said “powered by smart.fm” I was shocked because I didn’t even know the app was available. the only drawback to the application is that it is an online application and I don’t always have internet on my itouch. The application is also different from the quiz here.