Google snags Palm webOS UI guru Matias Duarte to work on Android

By Phil Nickinson
last updated

You might have heard us (erm, OK, me) gush on occasion about certain aspects of Palm's webOS user interface. Now let us (erm, me again) gush a little about Matias Duarte, who has left Palm and is now User Experience Director for Android. And he's a friendly face among the Android leadership, having worked on the Sidekick with Andy Rubin when they were both still with Danger.

Some of you prefer the stock Android UI; others prefer Sense or (gasp!) Motoblur and TouchWiz. But we'd love to see the stock Android UI revamped.

In fact, we'll even go so far as to throw out this completely unsupported opinion: Now that Android's getting things together under the hood in Android 2.2 (and we're still expecting more before the end of the year), perhaps this move will bring a fresh UI to Android sometime next year. Stay tuned, folks. [All Thigns D, Engadget; via PreCentral]

16 Comments
  • YEAH!!! I'm going to guess the next update is going to be a 3.0 (not 2.3 or 2.4...), they are going to come up with an amazing UI for stock android and it will change the game even more!!! xD
  • I'm converting from the Pre and I am slightly excited.
    But I feel bad because many people are leaving Palm. They need all the help they can get. And the user interface was one of the key things Palm's WebOS had going for them.
  • Domino effect for Palm, they are going to lose thousands and thousands of users to the EVO, and now this!! Thats what happens when your always 3 steps behind the competition.
  • too bad Rimm didnt pick him up. they need someone like him to help them with the OS on blackberry.
  • that's a freakn understatement...
  • sweet !!!!!!
  • Now my Android Phone can have too many cards! YAY!
  • Hahaha, LMAO, I love this post.
  • Guys at PreCentral are hating this news. I, being a new convert, am thrilled.
    I little "WebOS" style polish on Android will be great.
  • yeah, i wouldn't mind something fresh,,,,,,as long as i can go back to the vanilla.
  • Android could definitely use polish, and more consistency throughout it's OS. I bet Gingerbread will be jam packed with aesthetic tweaks, and features.
  • GREAT news, can't wait to see the progress :)
  • I would love to have a better multitasking interface like cards.... multitasking on Android SUCKS right now...
  • UI is uber important, that's one of the major reasons why so many people are attracted to the iPhone. Smart move Google!! Matias, just be sure the new Android UI is backwards compatible to as many previous devices as possible!!
  • Sounds like this could clean up Android and raise standards and functionality.
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