Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, Graphic Design
New icons for iTunes and Calculator on the iPhone 2.0
We did catch this during our liveblog of the SDK talk on Thursday, but just in case you hadn't seen them yet, it seems both the iTunes WiFi store and the calculator will be getting new icons in the iPhone's 2.0 patch. Of course, the App Store will apparently have its own icon as well, and we would assume, at this point, that each app will be able to take its own place on the home screen.
But while the Calculator icon change is kind of a strange one (does this mean the Calc buttons will also be square?), the iTunes change definitely makes sense. That will be the place to download music, while the App Store will be the place to download everything else.
But while the Calculator icon change is kind of a strange one (does this mean the Calc buttons will also be square?), the iTunes change definitely makes sense. That will be the place to download music, while the App Store will be the place to download everything else.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ryan Orlick said 8:06PM on 3-07-2008
Yeah I noticed that yesterday but just shrugged it off as "I'm wrong".
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Bob Smtih said 8:25PM on 3-07-2008
there was also an extra button on the bottom right-hand corner of the calendar app as well.
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Zach said 8:27PM on 3-07-2008
I would really like to know what Calendar is which with iCal, so here is hoping!
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Beau said 8:35PM on 3-07-2008
Bah, I want to be able to get videos and podcasts from the WiFi store too!
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Frank said 8:39PM on 3-07-2008
Maybe the calculator buttons are changing because the round buttons are a smaller target and hence slower to use (Fitts' Law)?
But they're also harder to hit inadvertently.
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TedB said 8:56PM on 3-07-2008
They have changed the calculator button before, I think during the 1.1 update.. and nothing changed with it.
Heres a pic of the original calculator button...
http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/images/apple-iphone-1.jpg
I reallllllly do hope that someone makes a powerful scientific calculator app. That would save me all the time during classes.
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JohnPQ said 9:15PM on 3-07-2008
One more iPhone 2.0 post and me head is going to pop. :-)
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Macroy said 9:19PM on 3-07-2008
Hey--the phone on the right is in ENGLISH, too!
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Ryan Valle said 9:24PM on 3-07-2008
they just cant make up their mind on the calculator app...
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Fernando Castro said 9:59PM on 3-07-2008
I liked the one that was introduced in 1.1.1 better, those square buttons look very very weird and almost too ugly...can't understand why they have changed the icon, and just that icon so many times!!!
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Brendan West said 9:59PM on 3-07-2008
A). Pic of that calendar button please!
B). What's with the German screengrab?
C). This is the third revision for the calculator app.
D). I wonder when the people who complained about iCal's static date in Tiger (I'm included in this lot) will begin to complain the Maps icon doesn't follow you around... :-p
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Alex said 11:56PM on 3-07-2008
Here's a shot of the Calendar app in iPhone 2.0:
http://graphr.net/misc/iphone2cal.png
Larry said 10:04PM on 3-07-2008
I like the older WiFi store button better, because the new icon doesn't really imply that you can download stuff from it.
Maybe you can't?
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Bassir said 10:29PM on 3-07-2008
Then what the hell is it for?
cbragg said 11:51PM on 3-07-2008
I agree. I actually think it's actually quite confusing, especially for being an Apple icon. The old program icon said "this program is for downloading something," while the new one says "this program is somehow related to music."
If you placed an iPhone into the hand of a first-time user and they decided to play some music, what do you think they'd click? I'd be that many people, with this new icon, would click iTunes because "That's what I click on my computer, and it looks like it has to do with music." Plus, I'd guess that most people would associate iTunes as a media player first and a music store second, not the other way around.
Larry said 2:02AM on 3-08-2008
Thanks cbragg.
It's also confusing because if I'm not mistaken, the icon for Music on the iPod touch is also the double crotchet.
Justin said 11:16PM on 3-07-2008
How about a Address Book icon Apple?????
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JClark said 12:41AM on 3-08-2008
What, like the one that's there already? Is there something wrong with the existing icon? (I know it's there, I'm looking at mine right now)
Oh, and it's "an", not "a".
MATT! said 11:21PM on 3-07-2008
I think one of the other reasons they changed it is that they moved the icon too. The old arrow was pointing to the iPod as if to say download to your iPod. Now that it's moved the arrow doesn't make much sense!
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JClark said 12:41AM on 3-08-2008
Well, since you can rearrange the icons to your liking now, I don't think exact icon placement is much of a design consideration. At least, not any more.