I had tried to be nice, and limit my criticism of Peter Merholz's Toddler Mode to people I was talking to, but it's now become sort of a thing, without question, by entirely too many folks.
So I'll go ahead and be the bad guy, as I often am. If you think I am not downright annoying about design, you don't know me well enough. And as a full-time mobile designer, a number of things about this make my spine itch. Here's just three:
- "Being the only physical button on the device, and thus the only the that provides tactile satisfaction, toddlers press the [Home] button all the time." But we're otherwise supposed to believe that touchscreens are all powerful and kids love them as the only intuitive device ever. NUI lives! No. You have to pick ONE. I don't even know if he's stated in other blog posts that this is true, but a lot of others have, so you can't just skim past it as some one-time assumption.
- "And iPhones are personal devices — it’s reasonable to expect only one person uses an iPhone, and that the design should optimize for that. iPads, at least in my household, and those of folks I talk to, are family devices." Not in my experience. And I am speaking a little out of turn here, but I think mobiles are actually getting shared a bit, at least with family. Oh, and I have too little iPad experience because the several in the office are closely guarded by their owners. If anything, the opposite.
- "I haven’t figured out the best way out of Toddler Mode, but I’m thinking a quick triple-click on the home button, followed by a swipe, should work." Um... this has been solved. Just enter an unlock code. If not the actual typed code, then any number of specific unlock methods, like patterns, should work. But multiple-clicks and random swipes are what kids do when in their bouncy seats playing with squeaking crab toys. Every kid can unlock my Android, which has a "specific" button click and drag sequence, just by pressing buttons and randomly swiping for about 30 seconds. So reliably, I have stopped trying to tell them the right way, and just hand it over now.
- Actually, let's break that last one off and call it "four" things. The same principles can be followed that are used with the Parental Controls stuff on Apple desktops. I want it not just for toddlers, but for kids of all ages. I don't really want a toddler mode, but multiple profiles (we almost got that with the 3G/CDMA launch years ago) and things like a Simple Finder mode for some users. Some mobiles are close to this, but generally a profile switch requires wiping the previous one (Pre). Why?
Which, I should add, I use. we have a 10 year old, and we foster so I have had all ages (and trustworthiness) of kids for a few days or weeks at a time. I love the idea of a locked mode, and use Parental Controls on my desktop at home. Which is a key part of the solution. My MacBook Pro is off limits as a work computer, as is Alison's. But phones are routinely used by kids. They type my SMS while I am driving. They get to play games, etc. But we have to monitor them (gasp! parenting!) to make sure they don't mess with other stuff. Sometimes – not a lot, but sometimes – it would be nice if I could leave them a device and not worry about what they are doing.
When the neighborhood kids visit, they often are borrowing mom's phone. Same for friends and co-workers sometimes. And go to dinner to catch up with friends. They'll pass around handsets to show off photos. You are usually expected to scroll through the album, interacting with the device. This is not just nerdy behavior from people who design all the time, but increasingly general behavior.
I do hope that manufacturers, OEMs and app makers figure this out. But I also hope they think about users, their needs and goals, and the real contexts of use. Toddler Mode might work for a few people at Adaptive Path, but It's not going to be the best solution for me, or anyone I know.