Google Mobile iPhone Specific: FAIL

So Google Mobile just announced an iPhone specific version. Just two weeks ago I talked about Google’s Mobile reader and that I actually liked it much better than the full web version (known as “scroll”). So what are my thoughts of the update? Suck. I hate it. I almost find it unusable. Here’s why.

Broken Back Button

I understand why Google provides a stripped down version of the site when you click on an item and I like that they provide a ‘See Original’ link. The problem now is when I click the see original, which I often do, I can no longer get back to where I was in my unread items. If I hit the back button, it takes me all the way back to the Google iPhone home and not to where I was in my feeds. I understand that the iPhone is Ajax-capable but that doesn’t mean use it everywhere and if you do, please don’t break the back button in an app as simple as a feed reader.

Width Issues

With this latest update, the stripped down version never seems to be the correct width (as it previously almost always was). I constantly have to scroll left and then back right to read the whole line of a paragraph. For longer articles, I have to do this so much that I tend to just star it and come back to it in the full web version to read later. If you are going to set a width and it’s not correct, don’t turn off the zoom in/out feature of the iphone. I’d rather squint than scroll.

These two issues may not seem huge but they have made it a pain in the butt to read my feeds on the go (or sitting on my couch to lazy to open up my laptop).

On Ajax

I was one of the first people to jump on the Ajax bandwagon. I remember playing with it before there were libraries that did it all for you. Heck, it might not have been officially coined Ajax back then. That said, I’m starting to think it has all been a mistake. Don’t get me wrong. There are times when it is not just ok but actually vastly improves user experience. However, the number of developers who understand when those times are seems to be few.

Next time you go to throw some Ajax in an application or website, be sure to not break expectations (such as the back button) and that it actually improves user experience. Anyway, I’m off the soap box for now. :)