Maps for public transport users

Even if modern trains are getting more and more friendly to passengers, many of them are still terribly lacking if we consider this aspect, at least in Italy.

As I’m writing this post I’m travelling through Tuscany on the railway. I’m not familiar with the landmarks, the train doesn’t announce its stops and it’s dark outside, making it impossible to read the names of the stations until it’s too late to jump off.

If you have ever been in such a situation, you do certainly understand how annoying it can be.

This is where mobile maps come to help: you just have to take a look at your phone and know instantly where you are.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could see stations, timetables and trains as well? Although it is one of the most challenging projects we can conceive, something like an interactive transport map certainly has the potential to be a killer application.

The only drawback… is that you’d certainly end up being distracted from the conversation with that pretty girl sitting next to you.

A new use for margins

While I still read books on my way to work, I recently started reading online articles and blog posts using my phone as well.

This morning, while I was reading a column on Alertbox on iPhone, I noticed with pleasure a small detail: the left and right margins of the page have more than a merely aesthetic purpose.

As anyone who ever used an iPhone will certainly know, you usually slide your thumb along one side of the screen to scroll the page you’re reading.

Now, look at the screenshot below (red margins were highlighted later): because of the empty space at the sides of the page users are able to scroll without hiding text under their fingers. That’s relevant if you have the habit of scrolling and reading at the same time.

I don’t know if Alertbox is styled like that by chance or by design, but I appreciate the result nonetheless.

As a side note: Alertbox is one of the most mobile-friendly websites I read. As such, it’s perfectly readable even on the small screen of my Nokia E71.