Feel UX to change the Android OEM skinning Game

In the game of Android you find various ideas, thoughts and opinions. That is what makes Android so wonderful and so annoying all at the same time. On one side you have the die hard pure Google experience lovers who hate everything else. On the other side you find various fans of Motoblur, Touch-Wiz, MIUI, Sense and many others. It all really comes down to personal preference and what your experience is with them. Each has something to offer, but most of the time the bloated OEM skins end up catching a bad rap and lack something that really sets them apart. We have to give credit to them for trying, even if they miss the mark sometimes, or most of the time.

Not all OEM skins are bad though. A new skin was just previewed for the world from a design firm name Frog and Sharp. The skin is called Feel UX. Offering up ‘A New Kind of Android Experience.” Much of what you will see in the video below will remind you of various launcher apps and custom skins you have seen in the past. Personally I think it has a whole lot of MIUI build into it. It has a similar lockscreen style but with many enhancements that we think you will wish you had. Check it out.

Feel UX is pretty stellar don’t you think? We really like the lock screen best of all. The easy access to pictures and information without unlocking your device has always been a major perk. The live weather forecasting across the image on the lock screen is a nice touch too.

The Feel UX is slated to hit Sharp devices in Japan sometime this summer, so that is a bit of a bummer for us here in the states. We are confident that it will get the usual XDA treatment and get ported over to other devices eventually. We will definitely let you guys know if we run across it somewhere. Until that happens though, what do you guys think of it as it sits now? Would you like to try it out, or are you to dead set in your ways to give it a chance?

frog Redefines Android Experience

The new Sharp AQUOS smartphones with Feel UX, designed by frog, will be available in Japan summer of 2012.

TOKYO, June 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — Leading design and innovation firm frog today announced that it has partnered with Sharp Corporation (Sharp) to create “Feel UX”, a new Android smartphone experience that is easy to use, highly personalized, and visually stunning. The collaboration brings together a global interdisciplinary team of strategists, designers, and engineers across both companies to design a distinctive and meaningful connected experience for the next generation of Sharp’s AQUOS smartphones.

According to global business analytics firm comScore, four out of five mobile phone users in Japan currently own a feature phone. However, in February 2012, the number of purchased smartphones surpassed the number of feature phones over the same period. This signals an ever-increasing importance for handset manufacturers to design and develop compelling and differentiated smartphone experiences for consumers.

“To capture the expanding market of smartphone users, we wanted the new Sharp AQUOS handsets to be a unique kind of Android experience, to look and feel different and standout from competitors,” said Paul Pugh, Vice President, Creative, Software Innovation at frog. “By simplifying the interaction model and reducing clutter through a more curated experience, it will be immediately apparent to customers how to use the phones and make them more personal. In addition, the design caters to current Android users by giving them new tools to organize and optimize their handsets, while personalizing the phone in ways not previously possible.”

The newly designed “Feel UX” for Sharp’s AQUOS smartphones will be available in Japan during the summer of 2012 and include the following features:

Personalized and innovative lock-screen experience, allowing users to browse photos and widgets without unlocking the devices
Real-time weather display motion experience and animation
Desirable, gender-neutral palette and visuals
Streamlined, curated home space to smoothly manage applications, widgets, and shortcuts

“frog was chosen as Sharp’s innovation partner because of the company’s unique combination of consumer insights, strategy, design, and software engineering capabilities,” said Itsuki Kouchi, Division Deputy General Manager, Global Product Development Center at Sharp. “Through our collaboration with frog, we have adopted an advanced approach to Android’s concept, features, and philosophy, creating a distinctive device that will ultimately increase the life of the product and enhance customer satisfaction.”