For the last few months I’ve been enjoying getting to know my iPhone. It’s been a joy. Actually, the getting to know you process happened pretty quickly. And that’s one of the great benefits of simplicity – you quickly understand the scope of the thing you are getting used to.
My experience with my iPhone contrasts nicely with my previous smartphone – the Palm Treo 750 running Windows Mobile. I’d been a Windows Mobile user for years – I remember stalking stores in late 2000 to get one of the first Compaq iPaqs when they hit Australia. But I never really felt I fully understood Windows Mobile. It always seemed a big thing squished into a little box. This was especially true of all the settings and preferences.
In contrast I’d got to the end of all the applications and settings of my iPhone in the first 15 minutes. I knew everything I could do with it and what I couldn’t. I’d found the edges. I felt in control.
And that’s one of the great upsides of simplicity. When we encounter and use simple things, we quickly discovered where the edges are. And once we know the edges, we can confidently build a picture or story in our head about how this new thing works. We feel in control. There’s not that lurking (demeaning) doubt that there may be a better way of doing something or that we are missing a feature that would be really useful. We can explain it to other people – and probably recommend it too. It truly becomes our tool, rather than feeling partially at the mercy of this piece of technology.
Simplicity is hard, especially as we add functionality. But it’s always worth the effort.
