Listen To This: Controls

Posted by: dgoldring on Nov 30 2008

So far, in this series, we have not really had much of a chance to get into specifics about the individual players.  We’ve done a quick overview, looked in the boxes, even checked out the hardware and accessories.  But none of what we have looked at so far has had much to do with the actual use of the players.  All of that is going to change now.  The next two articles will focus on the user interface.  Today, we will be talking about the controls on each of the six players.  In the next article, we’ll be looking at a related item, the menu systems in each player.  The two really go together, and if it helps, we can think of this as part 1 and the next one as part 2.

What I found interesting here was that, of the six players, four shared a similar layout; a candy bar shape with the screen on top of the face and the bulk of the controls in a D-pad like arrangement beneath the screen.  The Samsung also shares this shape, but incorporates a touch screen, which we will take a look at in a minute.  The biggest variance was the creative Zen X-fi, which had a control scheme unlike any of the others.

Let’s start by taking a look at the four which shared a similar design: the iPod Nano, MS Zune, Sony Walkman Video, and Sandisk Sansa View.  The first thing we will need to do is get them turned on.  The Sansa View has a power switch on the side.  On the other three, just tap any of the controls to get started.  All four of them do have a hold switch, which will deactivate the controls.  Regardless of which one you are using, I strongly suggest using this switch in order to prevent accidental button presses (which are more common than I would like.)

The control schemes on these media players actually present an incredibly interesting study.  The four players are similarly laid out, and yet very different in their control scheme.  It is almost as if the four companies had been given the same basic design scheme, and were challenged to see what they could do with it that would be completely different from the others.  Come to think of it, that is probably not so far off from what actually happened.  Let’s take a closer look at each.

Most of us are familiar with the iPod’s Clickwheel.  And I have to say that it really fits in with the space age feel that accompanies the iPod Nano.  Today’s Clickwheel is hardly a wheel at all.  Instead, it is more like a circular touch pad.  Just run your finger over it to scroll through the menus: clockwise for down, counter-clockwise to scroll up.  The button in the center is your selection button.  Unlike most touchpads, however, pressing the compass points of the Clickwheel also provices controls for your media.  Pressing left or right will scroll through your music while playing.  Down is play/pause, and up will return back to the previous menu.  The other really cool thing about the iPod Nano is that it includes an accelerometer, just like the one in the iPod Touch.  This means it can respond to motion controls. 

Try it.  Play a song and then turn the iPod sideways.  There you go, Coverflow.  Pretty wild.

Next up is the Microsoft Zune, which while it is not motion sensitive (like its mortal enemy, the iPod), has some pretty original features of its own hidden in those controls.  The controls are based upon a traditional D-pad.  While this does act in the manner you might expect, it does have a trick or two up its sleeve.  Hidden within this traditional-looking D-pad are touch sensitive controls.  Now this is pretty wild!  Just slide your finger across the D-pad to scroll through the menu options or media.  slide up and down to adjust the volume.  Be careful, though, because this can be a double edged sword.  Make sure you use the hold button to lock the controls.  On more than one occasion, the Zune slide around in my pocket, causing the volume to skyrocket with the headphones still playing in my ears.  Oops!  The other two buttons are the back button, which will drive you back through the menus until you reach the top level main menu; and the play/pause.  I did not really like having these controls separated from the other D-Pad controls.  There was really no need to have a separate buttons like this.   Nonetheless, while the controls on the Zune may not have been quite as sexy as the Zune, but they worked just as well.

The other two media players following this model: the Sansa View and Sony Walkman, were much more traditional.  Neither of them feature fancy touch or motion controls, but they are no less effective.

The Sandisk Sansa View features a more traditional scroll wheel which I have always liked.  The wheel scrolls around a central button, taking you through the menus and options.  Tap the right and left buttons to move between levels of the menu.  While playing media, left and right will scroll through your music, up is your play/pause button, while down brings up the options screen.  A separate button, floating like a satellite around the scroll wheel will return you to the home menu, no matter what you are doing. 

One of my favorite features of the Sansa controls, however, is that they rotate with you.  When the View switches to landscape mode, the controls rotate, meaning that play pause will always be up, no matter what orientation you are using.  Note, however, that this rotation is not motion sensitive.  Instead, it is simply linked to the mode switch between portrait and landscape which occurs when you play video.

The most traditional controls belonged to the Sony.  This featured a square of buttons pointing in each direction, with a large selection button (which doubles as the play/pause) in the center.  Two buttons hover outside this arrangement.  The one on the left is the back button.  Push and hold it to return directly to the main menu.  The one on the right  will open the options menu, and turn off the device entirely. 

 

A few leftover controls spilled over to the side of the Sony.  There, we find the volume controls, as well as the Bluetooth connect button.  The problem I had here was that every time I grabbed the player out of my pocket, I ended up bumping the volume controls by accident.

Finally, both the iPod and the Zune share one very important feature.  When you unplug the headphones, they automatically pause the music.  This is great, because it ensures your player stops when you do.  More players should include a feature like this, which really helps you in the battle against unnecessary battery drain.

Well, that takes care of the four similar designs.  Let’s turn our attention now to the more original controls on the Samsun YP-P2 and the Creative Zen X-fi.

 

I have to say that for a touch screen based unit, the Samsung sure did have a lot of buttons.  While there was nothing on the face (except for the blinking blue power light), the sides contain the power button, hold button, and volume controls. 

Again, I was not a fan of these buttons on the side.  While they did keep the face free from clutter, they also were far too easy to bump accidentally.  The rest of your controls, including menus and media controls, are all handled by the touch screen.  I have to admit that I did have a few reservations about this, as it was quite unique.  While PDA’s have been well known for their touch screens, no other media players feature a touch screen.  So, I was incredibly impressed by the responsiveness of the touch screen on the Samsung.  It really worked extremely well, and offered a fantastic means of navigation.  The only problem I had here was the same complaint I would make anytime I try to watch video on a touchscreen.  Hello fingerprints!  Otherwise, though, I found the touchscreen controls to be well designed and intuitive. 

The final player in our roundup is the Creative Zen X-fi.  And I have to admit that I am at a complete loss on this one.  Having spent a considerable amount of time playing with it, I am really no closer to understanding the layout and design of these controls than I was when I opened the box (heck, it did not even photograph well.)  In a word, it is just awful.  We can start with the nine buttons arranged in a square grid.  What the heck are these?  They are not labeled, so there are no clues there.  In fact, this is the D-Pad control.  The middle button in the top, bottom, and center of the two side rows are the directional controls.  Enter is in the middle.  The other four buttons in the grid are your customizable.  Never have I seen a less intuitive layout on any portable media player.  There are a few other buttons, which do perform as expected: menu, play/pause, back, and the X-fi activation.  Any usefulness these buttons may have offered was by far outweighed by the confusing and unintuitive arrangement of that 9 button grid.  Want a better look?  Here is a picture i swiped off of Creative’s website. 

This one was just a complete disaster.  I have still barely been able to figure out how to get anything done with this crazy control scheme.

The controls on a media player are the gateway to your music and other media.  If the controls are not intuitive and easy to use, then your media will remain frustratingly locked within the confines of your media player.  This was exactly my experience with the Creative Zen X-fi.  I knew the tunes and videos were locked inside there, but deciphering those tiny buttons made it almost impossible to get there. 

Fortunately, the others fared much better.  I did find it interesting how they used much the same layout and design, but arrived in very different places.  Some featured Clickwheels and scroll wheels, others used touch controls on the screen or D-pad.  Regardless, as important as the controls are, they are meaningless without a good menu system.  Like I said when we started, the interface and the controls work hand in hand.  Stay tuned.  We’ll take a look at the other side of this coin next time…

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