1. AnimalPak200's Avatar
    Aside from the flat keyboard,.. the one thing that bothers me the most about 10.3, is the changes to the calendar. Specifically, the fact that they did away with the ingenious "growing numbers", and they instead expanded every day digit to almost fill in the square (in month view). Now everything looks crowded and you can no longer "get an idea" of which days are busier with a quick glance. As a digital scheduling calendar, is it really more important to display the digits of every day of the month (known information), or to efficiently convey what is scheduled on those days (new information)?

    I mean, it now basically looks like a BINGO board.

    I hope BlackBerry is not confusing "flat" with needing to remove useful context. Regardless of whether you "like how it looks", as far as utility goes, this is a pretty idiotic change.

    Does anyone else miss the Calendar "growing numbers" after using the 10.3-img_20140830_113346.png

    Vs.

    Does anyone else miss the Calendar "growing numbers" after using the 10.3-img_20140830_113402.png

    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by AnimalPak200; 08-30-14 at 11:42 AM.
    08-30-14 10:48 AM
  2. ArmedHitman's Avatar
    Aside from the flat keyboard,.. the one thing that bothers me the most about 10.3, is the changes to the calendar. Specifically, the fact that they did away with the ingenious "growing numbers", and they instead expanded every day digit to almost fill in the square (in month view). Now everything looks crowded and you can no longer "get an idea" of which days are busier with a quick glance. As a digital scheduling calendar, is it really more important to display the digits of every day of the month (known information), or to efficiently convey what is scheduled on those days (new information)?

    I mean, it now basically looks like a BINGO board.

    I hope BlackBerry is not confusing "flat" with needing to remove useful context. Regardless of whether you "like how it looks", as far as utility goes, this is a pretty idiotic change.

    Attachment 294630

    Vs.

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    Posted via CB10
    I agree, the calendar before was more efficient at showing what days were more important by making it more apparent with the bigger digit.. Them little things that make us love our phones I guess.
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-30-14 10:57 AM
  3. anon(3993749)'s Avatar
    I don't know, I think the 10.3 app looks cleaner. You can still tell what days are busier by looking at the vertical green bar next to the number. It's also a lot better from an accessibility point of view.
    08-30-14 02:22 PM
  4. beemaabeemababy's Avatar
    Totally agree. Why would BlackBerry take away functionality? I always had my calendar in month view so that I could easily see when I was free to book in clients. Looks like it won't be so easy to do in 10.3.

    And what are those green lines? What do they represent? It doesn't seem like it indicates anything.

    Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but have they taken away the colours in the month view too?

    The calendar app is probably my most used app and the different colours and different sized numbers all made it very easy for me to read my schedule and create bookings for clients.

    If they take that away from me, it just won't be as easy!

    This seems to be the first thing that has put me off 10.3

    Posted via CB10
    Jeffm63 likes this.
    08-30-14 02:52 PM
  5. joeldf's Avatar
    Yes, I miss the growing numbers. That was the second change to the calendar that I noticed. The first was the slightly thicker stroke for the numbers.

    Posted via CB10
    08-30-14 03:42 PM
  6. anon(3940229)'s Avatar
    I think that it looks cluttered now, but only because of the bold typeface they used. If it was a little lighter I would like it a lot more
    nah.uhh and mjdimer like this.
    08-30-14 03:48 PM
  7. hannes89's Avatar
    I miss the numbers too.
    And by the way I dislike the new calendar icon. It looks really "cartoonish" in my opinion.


    Posted via CB10
    08-30-14 03:48 PM
  8. Thesmartmale's Avatar
    10.2 growing numbers are way better than the calendar in 10.3, it looks like crap now with those big numbers.

    Posted via CB10
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-30-14 06:52 PM
  9. RDZONE99's Avatar
    Definitely missing it! Hard to see what you have scheduled

    Posted via CB10
    beemaabeemababy and Jeffm63 like this.
    08-30-14 06:54 PM
  10. mokimoki's Avatar
    Yup, it makes sense to put it back

    Posted via CB10
    08-30-14 08:08 PM
  11. BBPandy's Avatar
    I agree. The new calendar looks better but isn't neer as efficient as the old calendar. If I wanted something that looked good but didn't do much I would buy an iPhone


    Posted via CB10
    08-30-14 08:43 PM
  12. Michael Weinberger's Avatar
    Growing numbers is awesome hope they keep it

    Posted via CB10
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-30-14 11:13 PM
  13. deadcowboy's Avatar
    The calendar app from the most recent 10.3 build is absolutely awful on my Q10. Borderline unusable consider how amazing 10.2.1's calendar app was. Almost enough to make me want to leave, but I'll wait to see how it runs on the Passport. It's sluggish, wonky, floaty, and unintuitive on my Q10.

    And what's the deal with the green accents? Why just this app? It's really cluttered seeming now, and honestly pretty ugly compared to the old one in practice.

    Posted via CB10
    beemaabeemababy and SharonRD like this.
    08-30-14 11:47 PM
  14. AnimalPak200's Avatar
    The calendar app from the most recent 10.3 build is absolutely awful on my Q10. Borderline unusable consider how amazing 10.2.1's calendar app was. Almost enough to make me want to leave, but I'll wait to see how it runs on the Passport. It's sluggish, wonky, floaty, and unintuitive on my Q10.

    And what's the deal with the green accents? Why just this app? It's really cluttered seeming now, and honestly pretty ugly compared to the old one in practice.

    Posted via CB10
    I've been testing it on a Z10, and I can barely handle the "crampedness" of it. I can't even imagine how it would look on a Q10.

    I really feel like they are listening to an entirely different set of users as far as aesthetics and design choices are concerned. In the past every design choice (whether good or bad) by BlackBerry has been backed up by some logical engineering/optimization rationale,.. however I fear that's not the case with the 10.3 UI elements. It feels more like some left-handed artsy person is in control... or maybe they're using the same focus group provider that American automakers use (we need softer ride, more cup holders, and much more faux chrome please).

    Ah well... not the end of the world I suppose.



    Posted via CB10
    CMcRob and Ducca683 like this.
    08-31-14 12:32 AM
  15. bounce007's Avatar
    I agree with you OP... what are they thinking? Please BlackBerry bring back the 'Growing Numbers' in the calendar!
    beemaabeemababy and Jeffm63 like this.
    08-31-14 11:24 AM
  16. greenberry666's Avatar
    Wow, they took this feature out?!?!

    They are nuts.
    08-31-14 12:05 PM
  17. eddy_berry's Avatar
    Agreed AnimalPak. The old calendar was more efficient in that regard. It wouldn't take much to add it back so I hope someone in the BETA program can pass this info on. I really wish I was in the BETA program.

    Posted via CB10
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-31-14 12:09 PM
  18. Xandrex_BSCF's Avatar
    I don't know, I think the 10.3 app looks cleaner. You can still tell what days are busier by looking at the vertical green bar next to the number. It's also a lot better from an accessibility point of view.
    I agree with TheoRadu.

    From a UI point of view, especially for a grid view, the font size should be reserved to indicate a hierarchy (for example bigger font for the week number). The calendar is not a tag/keyword cloud.

    With the new layout above, it is still possible to view instantly if the day is crowded with meetings with the vertical line, and even know when it is going to be crowded (for example if the line is only in the morning or in the afternoon).


    and if you look back... here is a calendar view in OS 7.1. You can see instantly that on August 25, I had a lot of meetings. It will be the same with the above screen, but this time you have several colors for the vertical line depending on the calendar.

    Does anyone else miss the Calendar "growing numbers" after using the 10.3-img_20140831_200008_hdr_edit.jpg
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-31-14 01:05 PM
  19. jojon2se's Avatar
    Even without considering the growing numbers feature; From the screenshots things certainly look crowded - whitespace is important in layout.
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    08-31-14 01:14 PM
  20. bb_tv's Avatar
    And I don't understand the green line in front of the weekdays when you have meetings (it's not showing during the weekends). It makes the meeting indication bars even more difficult to see.
    However I must say the 10.3 calendar has less lag then the 10.2.1 version. In 10.2.1 the first 20 seconds when opening the calendar app was always freezing. So that's def better!

    Posted via CB10
    08-31-14 01:48 PM
  21. anon(3993749)'s Avatar
    And I don't understand the green line in front of the weekdays when you have meetings (it's not showing during the weekends). It makes the meeting indication bars even more difficult to see.
    However I must say the 10.3 calendar has less lag then the 10.2.1 version. In 10.2.1 the first 20 seconds when opening the calendar app was always freezing. So that's def better!

    Posted via CB10
    The vertical green line indicates that you have a meeting with a reminder on that day. Unfortunately that line is always green, there doesn't seem to be any colour coding in the month view. Maybe they will change/fix this.

    Posted via CB10
    08-31-14 01:55 PM
  22. deadcowboy's Avatar
    I agree with TheoRadu.

    From a UI point of view, especially for a grid view, the font size should be reserved to indicate a hierarchy (for example bigger font for the week number). The calendar is not a tag/keyword cloud.

    With the new layout above, it is still possible to view instantly if the day is crowded with meetings with the vertical line, and even know when it is going to be crowded (for example if the line is only in the morning or in the afternoon).


    and if you look back... here is a calendar view in OS 7.1. You can see instantly that on August 25, I had a lot of meetings. It will be the same with the above screen, but this time you have several colors for the vertical line depending on the calendar.

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	294852
    This is about 100 times more readable than the mess that they've made with the 10.3 calendar app. I love 10.3 for the most part, but the calendar app is borderline unusable now (I've sold people on BB10 on the Q10 because of the 10.2 calendar app). If it's not fixed, I'll need a third party app (or I'll need a new OS--one not made by BlackBerry).

    Posted via CB10
    08-31-14 11:24 PM
  23. AnimalPak200's Avatar
    The vertical green line indicates that you have a meeting with a reminder on that day. Unfortunately that line is always green, there doesn't seem to be any colour coding in the month view. Maybe they will change/fix this.

    Posted via CB10
    The green line basically shows you the "work day hours" that you have set in the settings/options. Then it places little squares indicating appointments next to the lines to show at which point in (or outside) your work day those appointments are.

    The problem is, that even if you were to have one short 15 minute appointment in a day, it adds the entire green vertical line, which only serves to further crowd the calendar. It's actually a good idea (to visually tell you when, in relation to your work hours, each appt occurs), but it would be way better if combined with the growing numbers,.. because it would give it more space to be noticed!

    Posted via CB10
    08-31-14 11:31 PM
  24. Thesmartmale's Avatar
    Someone needs to show this thread to Michael Clewley

    Posted via CB10
    09-01-14 06:05 PM
  25. skstrials's Avatar
    We want the growing numbers on the calendar!



    Posted via CB10 using BlackBerry Z30
    beemaabeemababy likes this.
    09-01-14 08:48 PM
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