Edward Tufte reviews the iPhone interface in this 56mb m4v video. He generally seems to think they’ve done a good job, especially as they’ve managed to remove most of the ‘computer administrative debris’ on content sections and provide rich information thanks to the high resolution screen and zoom-able interface. It avoids a deep hierarchy of thin information that seems to plague most small screen devices.

He does suggest that more detail could be shown in the stock and weather applications and mocks the ‘cartoonish’ interface design. I’ve actually been really enjoying using the iPhone/iPod touch interface, and apart from a few bugs, think the interface works well. While I think there are probably ways of making these applications more information rich, making them that much more detailed would mean scanning them quickly while mobile would be that much harder. I think the primary intended use of for the iPhone is while the user is mobile so wonder whether making the applications more detailed and giving them a photo realistic (smaller type and icons) style would actually make them less suitable/usable?