The device doesn't look like it can be picked up using one hand, since the control panel with buttons on is so small and the screen is so big, my thumbs overlap onto the screen, and this doesn’t seem like it should be used this way. I tried holding the device by grabbing the control panel but this seems unnatural and the device feels top heavy. Its practically impossible holding the device and pushing menu buttons at the same time with the desired effect, by holding it in one hand, so I swapped to two hands. Even then I was unfamiliar with using any kind of device with two hands, the hi-fi and TV remote is not like this despite the buttons, which indicate the familiarity. I was having to grip the screen by the side because it didn’t fit in the palm of my hand while I punched in the buttons using my other hand, and I felt like I could drop it at any point. I finally put it on the table since it seemed the easier option and I didn't want to break it. I think the way in which you hold the device could be refined since I was unsure. Something to grip onto would be nice, and then I wouldn't be afraid of dropping it, possibly even a strap to connect it to my wrist.
I felt the size of the screen was just right and the text displayed on it was easily readable, which is a problem with some devices since they think smaller is better! I liked the idea of the button design being like a Sky TV remote, I instantly know which button does what. The fact the UNDO button is always on the left on devices like these brings familiarity, although text underneath the button saying UNDO would be nice since I wasn't 100%. I'm not really sure what the difference between the okay button on the right and the select button in the middle is? I also feel the arrow buttons should be further apart since at one point I pressed left, and the menu did something different. I didn’t understand the difference between the red and green buttons? I definitely think you should round off the corners at the top, like you did at the bottom, to make the device safer. The rounded edges at the bottom are very nice though.
Onto the actually things on the screen! I started by trying to scan in an item, and had to awkwardly pick up the device again since resting it on the table, the device couldn’t see the barcode of the item I wanted to scan, in fact where is the scanner located, I guess its at the top but it looks the same to me, I will try doing that first. I put a can of beans in front of where I thought the scanner was and nothing really happened so I kept putting it in the way. I was about to give up but something came on the screen. The device started beeping at me, what does that even mean? I should have really read the handbook, but the box told me its simple to use! A picture of a can of beans flashed up on the screen, it seems to have worked, now where do I press to go back to the main menu, do I press back or next, I’m not sure. I press next and the software reverts to the main menu, I assume its added it in to the machine, a warning would be nice, but maybe that’s what the beeping was for!
Next I tried adding some food without scanning it through the barcode. I was confronted with a men u about food groups, a can of beans fits into none of those food groups so I went through each one, clicking undo if I couldn’t find beans in the list. This men u seems a bit confusing to me, but maybe I should know more about food than I do! I liked the idea that the food groups correspond to colours still! I also like the fact that the menu shows where along the chain I am in adding food. This comes in very useful if I put the device down and pick it up five minutes later, I don’t have to start again! I finally worked my way into adding beans, and clicked confirm, that seemed quite simple despite the early mishap. The beeping sound must mean its been added, maybe I didn't need to read the manual after all.
After a few days I felt like trying out the other menus since the device had enough information to work out my dietary needs. I clicked on recommendations and it showed me how much I had eaten of each food group, this was interesting! Too many carbohydrates for me compared to fibre, better try to balance my diet. I don't mind having one meal a week that I don't enjoy to improve my health, it might keep me living longer, so I can play more sport!! I clicked the next button to recommend meals to me to fill out my diet. A list popped up of meals to have and I clicked on the food that I enjoyed the most and it showed me the meal to make. This seems quite simple and the ingredients were listed too. I added them to the planner and made the meal as per description on the page. I went back to the recommendations page, and it said my diet was balanced, I could choose what to eat next! Great!
I tried clicking on this analysis of health menu, which is for my doctor to see what would happen. It might give me some useful information about my diet. It showed me a graph of my levels, and suggested a few things, that I was eating healthy, and so on. It gave a few medical names too, which I ignored since it was for the doctor really. It doesn’t seem too useful for me; I’ll leave it for the doctor to handle!
Overall I feel the software was of a decent standard, the familiarity I had with the hardware helped me use the software more easily. With the removal of one or two useless menus, and a few more warnings and ideas of where to click when I’m done with things, I think the product could be useful, to someone like me at least! I'd happily follow the diet plan if the doctor recommended it to me, so I could carry on with life but I could see the more elderly people having trouble with some meals in here.
