Galaxy Tab 10.1 Touchwiz UX – Unique and Convenient User Experience

We all know technology changes fast, right? The speed of our lifestyle changes right along with it. To keep up with all these changes, it’s important for IT companies to keep the user and their experience in mind. User Experience Design (UXD) is a subset of experience design that makes devices much easier and convenient to use. The need to improve UX(User Experience) has become essential. So, Samsung Electronics has continuously developed Touchwiz UX, which has been applied to previous products including the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Today, as we explore the features of Touchwiz UX, we’ll hear from the designers as well as some of the rave reviews coming from trusted technology blogs.

Live Panel

One of the most striking features of Touchwiz UX in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is Live Panel. It is a series of new Android widgets on the home screen that allow the users to adjust the basic settings of applications such as weather, news, photos, SNS and so on. Users can now control the size and location of the widgets on their home screen, and also receive real time updates. If sports are important to you, go ahead and bump up the size of your sports tracker. If you constantly access your social media feeds through your Galaxy Tab 10.1, why don’t you put that right in the center? Live Panel is fully customizable by you.

“It is very convenient to utilize the widgets on social hubs and e-mail because users can check the information in real time.”

– Minkyung Lee, Designer

Mini Apps

Mini Apps. are also one of the coolest features in Touchwiz UX. Although previous smartphones had multi-tasking functions, the users had to switch the screen to operate the other function due to the small screen size. With Mini Apps, users can start another program while still operating the main one. A mini application literally pops up on the same screen so that you can truly multitask.

“I wanted to check my calendar while reading emails. That’s when the Mini Apps idea popped up. I tried to offer ‘the better multitasking experiences optimized on a big screen of Galaxy Tab 10.1’ to the users.”

– Minkyung Kim, Senior Designer

Let’s see what Donald Bell, CNET’s Senior Editor for tablet PCs had to say about our mini apps

Personally, I feel that the update’s standout feature is the new Mini Apps tray located on the bottom of the screen. This is a tray of utility apps (notes, calculator, calendar, task managers, and so on) that is hidden from view until you pull up from the bottom of the screen. Once a Mini App is launched, it floats as a window on top of the currently running app, offering a handy way to take notes while reading or consult your calendar while in e-mail. It’s a trick that no other Honeycomb tablet (or the iPad, for that matter) can pull off.

Of course, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is equipped with many more convenient features such as a clipboard, optimized for editing documents and pictures  as well as the virtual key board, designed for smoother and speedier usability.

Touch Wiz UX with Google’s Honeycomb

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is different from any other Android based tablets due to the combination of Touchwiz UX with Google’s advanced operating system, Honeycomb. It was not easy to combine the UX with Google’s newly introduced OS because of the limited information on Honeycomb. Unlike TouchwizUX, which went thru many progressive developments and modifications, Android Honeycomb OS was uncharted territory. Therefore, the majority of the development efforts had to be put into adjustments and finally the Touchwiz UX was applied.

“Compared to other products, we had numerous meetings among ourselves and also with the technical development team. We concentrated on what kind of user experience we’re trying to deliver at the end of the day based on the previous OS such as Gingerbread and Froyo. Hence the adaptability to the frequently diversifying OS was optimized.”

– Minkyung Kim Senior Designer

The Best Tablet Ever for Any User

Touchwiz UX is not only for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. It was created after some pretty intense research and studies to provide convenience and ease of use.

“We designed the UX based on survey results; we found that customers use tablets very often when they are on the move. Therefore, of course it has to be slim and light, but also the operating speed is also a very important factor. Therefore, we designed a more convenient, speedier and exceptionally vivid UX.”

– Minkyung Lee Designer

Of course, don’t just trust us! Here is what Jason Bauman of androidcentral.com says

One of the biggest complaints about manufacturer customizations is that they tend to slow an otherwise fast device down to something aspiring to be a crawl.  Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Samsung’s Touchwiz update.  The new browser seems to be a lot faster than the stock experience, and this largely carries over into the rest of the device.

The screen feels more responsive to the touch, and I didn’t notice any slowdown when flicking through my homescreens.  Samsung also tweaked the look of screen changes slightly, making them more noticeable.  This makes switching between apps, or closing out of one feel even faster than it really is, which is a nice touch.

For the final say in whether you should upgrade to Touchwiz UX, let’s check in with Chris Burns of “Android Community” has to say

Yes you certainly should [upgrade to Touch Wiz UX]. For more than one reason: first, it’s a new look at Honeycomb. The only drawback being the slowness of the Mini Apps Tray – but if you’re not just a big stickler on how apps pop up, you’ll never know the difference. A rather important point to make here if you’re an avid user of such home screen replacement apps as ADW Launcher EX is that yes, indeed, you can use said replacement apps, but the new TouchWiz toolbar will remain. It’s not giving up THAT easily.

Once you’ve got the update, you’ll not be sad that you did. It’s what the manufacturer, Samsung, intends for you to get for the device they’ve made, and most of it can be done away with if you’re not feeling it. Grab it now! Found in Settings under About tablet and Software update. Should take you less than 30 minutes for the whole situation to complete itself, and make sure you’ve got your tablet plugged in during the process!

As with everything Samsung designs, the priority in designing Galaxy Tab 10.1 was the users’ convenience and enjoyable experiences. As the result, Galaxy Tab 10.1 is equipped with Honeycomb UX, the most advanced OS among existing system. Galaxy Tab 10.1 reflects the customers’ needs on Touchwiz UX and definitely has become a smarter tablet.