On Monday I wrote about my new cell phone,
which is as badly designed as a wooden fire door. What really makes me
mad is that there's just no reason it couldn't be better. Even a $50
phone could have buttons that are easy to see, a navigation system
that's intuitive and an alarm clock that can be set without looking at
the owner's manual.

This got me thinking about all the other devices I have that could be designed better. For example, the power supply of my Xbox 360 is nearly as big as a Nintendo GameCube,
while the PlayStation 3 has a power supply built in. I'm sure that
adding an internal power supply to the 360 would have increased its
cost, but the existing solution is just too ugly for words.

Even
worse is the portable CD player I bought a couple of years ago. The
buttons are near the bottom of the unit, where they're hard to see.
They're almost impossible to find in low light. And the batteries can
only be replaced by taking out the CD. I'm not an engineer, but I can't
imagine that buttons cost the same wherever they go.

The
ultimate example might be my parents' DVD player, which has its buttons
under the sliding disc tray. That means that it's hard to see the
"close" button when the tray is open, especially if the unit is beneath
your line of sight – which most DVD players are. Anyone who thought
about it would have realized that it's a silly place to put the
buttons. So why didn't anyone think about it?

Using any of these items feels like a chore – especially compared to
devices that are designed with the user in mind. The Nintendo Wii
is elegant, easy to use and pleasant to look at – a first for a
videogame console. It looks like something that's fun to use, which is
one reason why it's so popular with non-gamers.

I also appreciate the design of my MacBook –
not it's looks, but the way the ports are all lined up on one side and
the CD-ROM is on the other, without a tray that would intrude into the
next airplane seat if you're in the sky. The power supply even has its
own plastic extensions to wrap the cord around. It's a great idea – but
I can't help but wonder why someone didn't think of it sooner.

Consumers
obviously care about these issues. Just look at the enthusiasm for the
iPhone compared to the more powerful phones offered by other companies.
They may do more, but they're annoying to work.

Why didn't
anyone else think of making a smart phone that's easy to use? Perhaps
some of the people who design tech devices simply aren't thinking at
all.