Ther you have it, another problem solved! I love this place!

 

It does it on my ProNAV - especially when I scroll down the TRAFFIC INFORMATION list (and BT Phone directory)

What worries me, is that you are wearing out the ratchet/clutch device on it.

 

It's probably an electromagnetic stop, rather than a mechanical one. So I wouldn't worry about wearing it out.

 

It is .

 

Isn't this called "force feedback"?

I like it!

 

Absolutely. Its a really cool UI feature, BMW just have to learn to use it properly. Forcing you to ratchet down certain big lists and not others is not particularly consistent or intuitive. Either each compnent of the software was written by different teams/individuals, or it was a new gadget that the software designers just had to use somewhere!

Things like this will probably live on and on until all the other issues have been sorted out. Unfortunately UI often takes last priority in software design, even though it is often the bit that makes or breaks the software.

 

It's normal and to me it makes sense now, but in the beginning it felt a little odd. Maybe not the best interaction design..

 

I think BMW put this into the menus that are longer than others. It is normal and I understand why it is there...

When you are scrolling through one of those menus, the harder you push the knob against the resistance, the faster it scrolls through the list... It's simply a way for the user to control how fast you scroll up and down.

Also I like the fact that it clicks for each item that you scroll through.. For example if you look on the screen, and see that you have to go down two spaces, you just turn the knob until you feel two clicks, without taking your eyes off the road.

I do find it annoying sometimes when the system lags, but overall it's not that bad.

 

That's quite possible - in which case not as inconsistent as I thought - but unfortunately its not always the case - eg when some of the phonebook lists are only a few items long. What they could have done possibly is activate the force feedback when the list reaches the end of the page - however this kind of subtlety needs research - I wouldn't hope to solve BMWs UI problems in 20 mins over a coffee!

I think the speed thing is a byproduct i.e the harder you push it, the more quickly the dial returns from its stop position - I don't think there is any control over the level or resistance the system offers - a useful byproduct, but I doubt it's by design.

The other problem, as someone else has pointed out, is it is sometimes quite difficult to get to the item you actually want, by overshooting. This could easily be sorted out, but again it needs someone to spend some time on the exact timing of the clicks.

To be honest though all of these points are relatively minor, overall I think the system works reasonably well. If only it were a little more responsive and didn't do odd things so often!