Apple hints at new UI for iOS notifications

Apple has scored a coup in mobile OS design as it was discovered today that key webOS interface designer Rich Dellinger left Palm in May to join Apple as a Senior UI Designer. The hire is best known for creating the unintrusive notification system in webOS. He was also instrumental to Palm's core Mojo app framework as he developed the CSS and HTML structure for webOS' namesake web apps.

Dellinger is no stranger to Apple, as he was a veteran at the company and a designer there for most of his tenure. Between 2003 and 2005, was key to designing an award-winning remake of Apple's support website; in 2005 and 2006, he was responsible for designing early iPhone and iPod apps as well as some Mac software. Palm is known to have actively recruited Apple workers to help build webOS, although most of these came after former Apple executive Jon Rubinstein joined Palm in 2007.

The job swap represents a small but significant trend of defections from Palm following HP's takeover. Another key designer, Matias Duarte, left for the Android team at Google.

Apple's plans for Dellinger's return aren't immediately evident but will likely have him influencing iOS design and possibly the notification component in particular. WebOS' notification system is often considered one of its best features as it shows alerts, messages and other info without preventing use of the existing app. iOS' system alerts and push notifications require a pop-up that appears in the middle or else freezes the entire OS until the message is closed. A subtler system would both help Apple's newfound support for multitasking and would provide it better competition against Android, whose notification system is also relatively unintrusive. [via PreCentral]

By Electronista Staff