how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

Hi guys. i just wondered why most of the apps created for the N900 are generally bland and usually just have a black background with a standard layout.does the programming make it difficult? what is the answer guys?

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

Few, if any, graphic designers? A preference for a simple aesthetic? Consistency?

Most people making software for the N900 are developers, not designers.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

Also, being individual developers, we have limited resources and cannot hire anyone to make the UI magical. The best I've been able to do is gauge how irritated I get at using my application and symptomatically fix it.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

Its much work to make a app looking good. I've spent the most time in that in my DrinkCounter app.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

you get what you pay for. dont expect free things to be pretty - it is awesome enough that they are fully functional.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

As a UI designer, I use my n900 because of what it does, not how it looks.
I did dream of a day when maemo would become main stream and the UI eye candy important, but alas maemo looks dead.

I read somewhere that nokia only had 3 people working on integrating UI elements for Meego, I'd say you don't need more than 3 graphic designers but a few for hands to implement it.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

This is for me one of the most heard comments when showing the N900.
And one of the big reasons people underestimate the N900.

C'est la vie.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

There was a member here - he/she had a handle that was the homophone of "The Boo Troo". This member created a fairly beautiful UI for the greader app.

So here's my idea on this background: Can we get some UI designers here to look at Maemo apps and tell us what to improve?
If it takes only 2-3 UI designers and a lot of hands to fix everything, it should be possible.

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

function over form

Re: how come most maemo apps are not great visually?
 

To OP: because Maemo is not as great as what the Linux geeks on these boards would like you to believe?