iOS5 has a new keyboard that can be split for easier thumb-typing.  It’s a breeze to use, but presents some new app design considerations.  Take a look at this screencap from one of my new favorite apps, Business Model Toolbox:

This is how the app works in standard mode - when the app requires keyboard input, the screen divides nicely allowing a full sized keyboard with the screen above for context.  

Now take a look at the same app in iOS5 with a split keyboard:

The split keyboard can be moved and placed wherever the user likes - this is where I positioned it for comfort.  Look at how it covers much of the context of the input - the text on the left is covered as is the color selection on the right.  A minor inconvenience in this case, but definitely affects my perception of the elegance of the app itself…  it’s easier to type but a little bit harder to use.

Here’s another screenshot - this time in a game of Scrabble (pay no attention to the score!):

Here it’s worse - the keyboard covers my input and much of the useful information all together.  This might be something at the end of the day we just expect iPad users to understand… but my UX buddies and designers will take note I’m sure… we can’t rely on a fixed keyboard position in the upcoming iOS.

Google Wave is such a complex tool that I hadn’t really considered that there might be a mobile version of it. With Google having such a robust web-based mobile offering, it seemed like a possibility, but given that Wave is only in preview release - and stretches the limits of a desktop browser - it seemed like a remote possibility at best. So, when I tried to access Google Wave on my iPhone, I found what I expected to find:

A roadblock telling me my browser wasn’t supported. Fair enough. But then I noticed the last line - “If you want to continue at your own peril, go ahead” - all but encouraging me to continue and see what folly awaits. Boy, was I surprised at what I found….

What loaded up was a fully-baked mobile UI. Pretty even, by mobile standards. Surely, none of this could work… preview release and all, it must be a mistake… a build that was released in error to be rolled back ASAP… so I clicked on a wave to test…

And the whole wave loaded up… well, except for the extensions. Truly, I don’t expect most Wave extensions to make the jump to mobile well, if at all. But the rest of the wave was there, playback controls included.

This wave’s extention was fully functional from the iPhone.

I could create a new wave…

And even comment on existing waves.

Honestly, I’m now more excited about the mobile version of Wave than the desktop version. Something about the mobile interface makes the whole concept of a wave more digestible and friendly. Sure, maybe all the extensions won’t work, and maybe the real-time execution on mobile will come across as a little less real-time…

The point is, Google clearly isn’t treating Wave on mobile devices as an afterthought. Which makes Wave even more of a game-changer than it already was.

QUICK UPDATE:

Further evidence that mobile Wave isn’t an afterthought:

When you bookmark Google Wave from Safari, you’ll see the above icon.

A quick follow up to my earlier post - here are some caps of the mobile dashboard of springpad at my.springpadit.com.  Executive summary - springpad’s mobile dashboard makes it even more worth your time to use springpad’s web-based notepads.

Like the full web version, the mobile version of springpad makes it easy to log in using your Facebook, Google, or Yahoo IDs.  For me on my iPhone, clicking the Facebook button immediately logged me in - no extra work required.

Once logged in, you’ll see 2 tabs - My Stuff and My springpads.  The My Stuff tab has an overview of the information you’ve recorded so far.  For me - with little information entered - it looks like this:

The My springpads view let’s you see your various task-based tools - Weekly Meal Planner or My Pet’s Information for instance.  You can click into the information contained within a tool:

The shopping list created from the Weekly Meal Planner is readily available through the My Stuff tab.  You can check items you’ve already found - note that there are 2 listings for avocados here…  it’d be cool if the app consolidated like items for the shopping list.

Here’s another key differentiator between springpad and Evernote.  Evernote offers rich applications (iPhone, Palm, Mac, Windows) for accessing, searching, and creating notes from presentations, photos, audio, etc…  these notes also sync with Evernote so that much of the content can be accessed offline.  Springpad focuses on notes and tasks, without the offline component.

There you have it - the mobile dashboard for springpad is sleek and mission-focused.  I’m officially a fan.