basic usability issues

[fugounashi]

hi,

I just tried out the latest version and found some basic usability issues. here's a list of issues and corresponding features from an old ipod for reference:

power amp (2.02):

issue: truncates long names in library

issue: no skip when shuffling option

good: can sort albums by year

issue: no artist sort options

issue: doesn't auto-select only album when selecting artist

issue: cluttered track list with redundant identical artist and album names for each track

issue: no remaining time display

ipod (gen5):

good: scrolls long names in library

good: skip when shuffling option

good: sorts albums by sort field

good: sorts artists by sort field

good: auto-select only album when selecting artist

good: clean track list

good: remaining time display

thanks!

[Alen]

ipod is overpriced piece of junk well wrapped in shiny case.

ipod's general FAIL: dreadful sound.

Your post is off-topic, has nothing to do with this forum and it's useless.

Stay with your ipod and search some other appropriate forum.

[fugounashi]

Your post is off-topic, has nothing to do with this forum and it's useless.

the point of the post is a list of basic usability issues, hence a feature request to have them addressed

in particular:

add a feature to scroll, wrap, or telescope long names in the library, rather than just truncating them. truncation means that 2 entries with different names can't be told apart. the htc player also truncates

add a skip in shuffle feature. you otherwise have to manually skip non music tracks that pop up when shuffling. the htc player doesn't have this either

add ability to sort on artist and album sort fields. it can sort on year, and automatically skips "The" prefixes, so it's already an improvement on the htc player

add a feature to auto-select the only album when selecting artist. this is just a nice usability enhancement. the htc player doesn't do this either

add a feature to remove redundant identical artist and album names for each track from the track list. it really looks cluttered otherwise, distracts from the track titles, and takes up more space. the htc player shows the artist but not the album for each track

add a feature to show remaining time. pretty basic feature. the htc player can do this

ipod is overpriced piece of junk well wrapped in shiny case.

ipod's general FAIL: dreadful sound.

Stay with your ipod and search some other appropriate forum.

I'm actually using the htc player at the moment, mention of the ipod is just for a well-known, old, reference for basic features and usability

I think you protest too much, are you a closet ipod user?

[andrewilley]

Lots of good points there. Mostly fairly simple, definitely non-critical, stuff, but good for adding to the wishlist. None are really deal-breakers though.

I rarely use the Library options myself to be honest, I mostly use folder/file navigation. In fact, that's one of the reasons I didn't go down the iProduct route; they didn't give enough freedom to set up your media structure the way YOU want to, rather than the way the system wants you to.

Oh, and one on one point. you can turn the EQ/Tone features off completely.

Andre

[fugounashi]

Lots of good points there. Mostly fairly simple, definitely non-critical, stuff, but good for adding to the wishlist. None are really deal-breakers though.

I rarely use the Library options myself to be honest, I mostly use folder/file navigation. In fact, that's one of the reasons I didn't go down the iProduct route; they didn't give enough freedom to set up your media structure the way YOU want to, rather than the way the system wants you to.

Oh, and one on one point. you can turn the EQ/Tone features off completely.

Andre

itunes supports artist and album sort fields, so although you don't get much flexibility otherwise, you can at least fully control the sort order. the android media library doesn't seem to support these fields, but as power amp is using it's own scanner, it could support extracting them from the id3 tags and giving them as a sort option

you're right about just using folders though, thanks, that works for me too, as I have my folder structure using the artist and album sort names already

the main annoyance of the htc player I'm using now, apart from a total lack of sort options, is always switching back to the top of the artist list, you can't just go back up from the current track, so power amp is an improvement on both of those issues (not to mention lossless support)

thanks for the eq tip too, I hadn't noticed the toggle switches before, only the reset button. I'll remove that from the list

so yeah, the rest are pretty much minor usability enhancements, as you say, no deal breakers, just makes it a little nicer to use. skip in shuffle is important though for anyone who has non-music tracks and uses shuffle. you can work around it with play lists but it's not pretty

I'll keep using it until the end of the trial period, but it looks like I'll purchase then as the folder navigation and (implicit) sort functions are enough of an improvement over the htc player (and the 10 billion downloads market promotion has seduced me into finally adding my credit card to the market...)