Last weekend, while on vacation, I saw this Surface (or Surface-like) table at the hotel’s concierge desk. The idea of making local information easily accessible to guests is, of course, a great idea. And the dual-interaction possibilities, so that both guest and concierge can work together to explore options, are empowering. But it’s the realities and details of the interactions that stand-out. And so, especially when we’re accustomed to the perfection of interaction on personal devices, the imperfections of the experience overwhelmed the possibilities.
For example, a map of the area is useful. But a flat, non-interactive, PDF?
Here is content that’s provided via a webpage.
But the combination of Surface and browser interface elements is overwhelming.
And I’m not sure how many users would be able to figure their way out of this situation…
Yikes.