The "Ultimate" Front End is getting a lot of response as far as what is best, and what it should or should not have. In the development process you must realize that there is now way, you can ever satisfy all interested parties. With that in mind, I set out to develop a very stable, very functional FE. I give credit to those who have come before me, and those who are still on this road of Front End Development.
It has been questioned as to why I do not skin a previous FE, that is because I want this FE to be as stable and fast as possible. I can accomplish this by starting from scratch. No extra bloat to slow the FE down.
Also I have chosen to limit customization to some presets. You wont be able to change what items appear on the home screen. You get what you get. It will be a very easy to use FE, with everything you should need right there. There will be an "Apps" page that will allow you to assign programs to buttons. This is as far as customization will go, with the exception of a few built in themes and colors.
Touchscreen vs. Griffin Powermate
**EDIT** Originally the concept for this FE did not encourage the use of a touch screen, but as the design process has come along, i have decided that it would be beneficial to alot of users to use a touch screen.
I am designing this FE for those who want to use it. I am not going to try and please the masses, because I never will. I will instead focus on what will make a solid program, that is easy to use.
With all that being said, here are some images; updated rough drafts of what this interface will look like, and what it will do. As I fine tune the images, they will be updated, so far here is the home screen.
We will start with the Home Screen
As you can see by this, it is very simple and elegant. The final design will be very glossy and rich. Here you have the Honey Comb interface that works very well with the Griffin Powermate. As you rotate the controller, the focus will change from one item to the next, as shown in the next image.
The currently selected item is highlighted in blue. You would press down on the item to bring up the page for that item.
If you double press on the Powermate, on any screen, basic media controls will appear, as shown in the following image.
This allows you easy access to basic media control functions; Play/Pause, Next Track, Previous Track, Rapid Scrubbing, Stop. It also has the volume up and down. As you rotate the Powermate, the individual controls will highlight. You press down, or hold down to perform the action. Now Playing and Album art is also displayed.
The above image shows the Now Playing information, as well with the Album Art. The Now Playing is always shown while music is playing, and the Album Art briefly displays when songs are changed.
When an upcoming action is required by the GPS Program, it will display it as shown in the following image.
The notification will show up over any page when it is needed.
This is the Apps Hive for your applications. You can assign a label or an image to each button. You will use the Powermate to scroll through the buttons, and press down to launch it.
**EDIT** Once again, to clarify, I have chossen to build this interface for touch screens as well as other input devices such as the Griffin Powermate
Linear Mode
