Written by mkskeith on Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Definition Of Metro UI….Finally


Before After

If you have ever wondered what Metro UI is, as I have, you would have found that Google does not come up with the definition that we where looking for.

the second one shows a customized version with HDWalls, an application developed by a forum member. You clearly see that the second one gets rid all those clock panels, appointment backgrounds and slider bars, which is exactly the key philosophy behind Metro – the chromeless look.

Especially when compared to the iPhone or Android, the benefits of this design become obvious. It focuses much more on the actual content, the text, instead of buttons or toolbars, and simply looks incredibly elegant.

I hope this helps all those wondering exactly what Microsoft is up to with the Metro thing.

Do you want the content to shine or the menu’s and buttons?

Let us know your preference in the comments below.

[XDA-DEV]

Be Sociable, Share!
More in Windows Phone | 2 Comments


« • »

2 Comments

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


Robin Verdegaal
Jun 2, 2010

While ‘chromeless’ is indeed one of the keywords to describe the idea behind Metro UI, it’s not the only thing.

I would hesitate to call you’re showing here an example of Metro UI. In fact this is a tweaked version of it’s mobile predecessor; WM6 (with HTC’s interface shell on top). The chromeless approach doesn’t go together with the layered WM6 interface very well. A different background image, with more contrast and more white, and the interface on the right is rendered useless.

Metro UI needs to address issues like that, but also navigation and context layout issues. I like to think that the clear Zune-like navigation – top-down for hierarchic navigation and left-right for different views on the same content level – is somewhat of a requirement for the Metro UI concept.

For an insightful article about the chromelesness of WP7 in direct comparison with the iPhone UI, check this blogpost:
http://mortenjust.com/2010/02/17/iphone-and-windows-phone-7-series-side-by-side-the-chrome-the-chrome/


mkskeith
Jun 2, 2010

Thanks Robin Verdegaal,
I (nor the source I am sure, although I can’t speak for them) assumed that nobody would assume that this was an example of the actual Metr UI but rather a comparison of what the differences are. Thank you for pointing that out.
The link you gave is also another great example of how the iPhone UI focuses on bars and borders where the Windows Phone focuses on the actual content.
Makes it look irrisistabe in my opinion.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.