Else Smart Phone UI Inventive, Stunning (Video)Else Smart Phone UI Inventive, Stunning (Video)

Before I heap my endless praise for the most inventive user interface I've seen at Mobile World Congress, like some drunken barfly lavishing compliments at a cocktail waitress at 2 a.m., it's worth saying that Else must be prepared to out-scream and outperform a well-established A-list of smart phone platforms. I don't see how it can. I also think the company must all be right handed; but more on that later.The past year must have spurred virtually every device maker to rethink mobile user interfaces. As if touch screens weren't enough, now every device manufacturer claims to be an expert on how you and I experience mobile productivity. I've never heard so many companies claim: this is how people want to interact. Else is no different, but instead of just shuffling some icons around a screen, or building themed hubs (see Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series), this company decided to get back to single-handed phone operation and it created a powerful and surprising way to do that.

One concept it employs is a "fish-eye" approach, where the main content is always displayed in the middle of the screen, highlighted for quick access and natural viewing. For example, its personal information manager (which it calls Live PIM) brings up a contact in the middle of the screen, with all associated information displayed below it -- for instance, how many messages you have from that contact, its Facebook updates and so on.

Everything on this phone is touch-enabled. So normal device buttons, like volume or scrolling are also accessed via touch on the right-hand side of the phone. Which puts at risk all left-handed users, unless, like the left-handed Jimmy Hendrix playing a right-hander's guitar, users can figure out how to do everything upside down. Ah, that's what the iPhone is for!

Also fanning out from the right-hand side of the screen is what Else calls a sPla (no, that isn't a typo). If you watch the video demonstration below, you'll get a good feel for this, but the idea is that with your thumb you simply fan out your music or your contact list or any other application, diving deeper into the data and releasing your touch to open the application. This is the Blackberry scroll wheel re-imagined.

It's impossible to get across the simplicity of the Else approach, but a couple of points that illustrate the thought put into this device. First, to zoom into a picture, Else doesn't use the newfangled multi-touch two-finger pinch out; it lets you select the photo with your thumb, and then by rubbing the photo with your thumb you zoom in tighter, or back out. It's stupidly simple. Second, when you receive a call while performing another task (yes, it can run multiple apps at one time) you can reject the caller by sending them a polite message that tells them you're busy, and also asking them if the call is urgent. This sends a voice recording to the caller, who can then note the urgency. The Else user can then use a slider to indicate the window of time in which they'll return the call (again, delivered via a polite voice message). These are but a few of the caller notification options.

As I walked through more of the phone's capabilities, these fun examples kept popping up, whether it was the ability to toss aside my music player or cut and paste text without lifting a finger (just my thumb).

Now for the device. This is a partnership between Sharp, which makes the hardware, Access (which is behind one of the LIMO Linux platform factions) and Else, which focuses on user interface design. It will be in production by the end of Q2, with device availability by Q3 in Europe and the U.S. The company said it is in discussions with two carriers (one in each market), but wouldn't reveal who.

The phone has a 3.5 inch, narrow form WVGA screen, a 5 megapixel camera with stabilization and a half second lag time between shots, and it can also shoot video at 720 x 480.

Fritz Nelson is the editorial director for information and the Executive Producer of TechWebTV. Fritz writes about startups and established companies alike, but likes to exploit multiple forms of media into his writing.

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