Palm Quick Install
Previous Home Next
Human interface design
CallConnect Client
CallConnect Web
CallConnect Admin
Sonim Push to Talk
Palm Tours
Palm Quick Install
Palm Camera
Palm Voice Dialer
Palm Voice Memo
Palm Fonts
Palm Icons
Palm OS Color
Apple System 7 Intro
Apple 1987 Annual
Human Interface Process
Product Management
Graphic Design
Publications and Teaching
Resume

Background

Installing new applications to Palm handhelds has never been easy for new users. To support the launch of the Zire 71 Palm needed to make installation easier for a new group of consumer users.

The project

I was responsible for the design and interaction of a new Windows desktop installation utility for Palm handhelds.

In the finished design, users can drag and drop Palm-compatible files on the Quick Install icon which appears on the Windows desktop. Files are automatically queued for installation to either the Palm handheld or an expansion card based on a set of rules and interactions I worked out in conjunction with engineering. Files are installed on the Palm handheld at the next HotSync.

Double-clicking on the Quick Install icon reveals the Quick Install window. Users can override the automatic installation rules by dragging and dropping files directly on the handheld pane or the expansion card pane.

User testing and product reviews show that Quick Install was a vast improvement over the prior installation utility which had not been redesigned since the introduction of the Palm Pilot in 1996.

 

 

 Quick Install screen
Quick Install icon The Palm Quick Install icon resides on the Windows desktop. Users can drag and drop files directly on the icon and have them automatically queued for installation. Double-clicking the icon reveals a window with handheld and an expansion card panes. Users can see and manage all the files queued for installation. When a file is selected, properties and previews of the file appear in the right hand pane.