With every new Apple product announcement come the stories of how the Cupertino folks like to keep it simple. The iPhone’s details were a secret, but everyone knew it was coming. The big news was how Apple had changed the game, making a phone that’s intuitive.

I had a Sidekick back in 2003. That’s when I learned there’s nothing quite like access to a full QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone has it, but I clicked all over Apple’s website yesterday trying to find it.

John Maeda, author of The Laws of Simplicity, had the patience to watch the entire demo (or the keynote). The keyboard is part of the touch screen and reacts to hovering fingers. He calls it On-demand largeness. Pretty cool.

Greg Bell not only lauds the iPhone, but says that most phone manufacturers suffer from UI Laziness. That’s a good way to put it. Don’t blame constraints, but embrace them and find a creative solution. That’s how to separate simplicity from laziness.

But say, what do you think? It may be worth a copy of Maeda’s book. Details here.

Elliot weighs in with what simplicity should never be:

1. A lack of necessary features.
2. An excuse for bugs.
3. A design that fails to communicate the emotions and personality of those it represents.
4. A lack of sufficient content.
5. Confusing.

He’s right, of course.

What does “simplicity” mean to you? Share your thoughts and you could get a signed copy of Laws of Simplicity. Share your opinion here.

If a project isn’t working, if it’s stagnant, or if nobody seems interested, it needs a change. In making a switch, there are two choices: think bigger or think smaller.

It’s about niche and focus. Thinking smaller means narrowing in on what’s most important. If you get too small, think bigger, because you’ll reach more people that way.

Judy’s Book set out to be the people’s local opinion repository for everywhere. They ended up keeping the everywhere, but focusing on shopping. They thought smaller.

As you might have gathered from my previous posts, I’m rather proud of my free Portland Wi-Fi site. But I had visions of publishing a monthly print version and connecting the many members of the laptoperati in Portland. In this sense, I probably thought too big.

Yet, I also thought too small. Why just Portland? Well, it went along with my grand vision. But if I had made a site that could easily work across the entire U.S., it probably would have seen a lot more success. In this case, I thought too small.

The fellas behind Unthirsty found a middle ground. They focused on Portland Happy Hours, but made a site that works nationwide.

Getting smaller means thoughtful reduction. Getting bigger means that you’ve left out something that is meaningful. It’s the same dance I discussed in my Laws of Simplicity series.

What does “simplicity” mean to you? Share your thoughts and you could get a signed copy of Laws of Simplicity. Share your opinion here.

The more I explore simplicity, I realize it means different things to other people. Or maybe, from many angles, simplicity can look different.

Tell everybody what simplicity means to you! Can it be achieved? Is it easy or hard? Any great examples? Do you have a simplicity mantra?

Add your comment below. If you have a blog, send a trackback to this post. There could be a free book in it for you. John Maeda was kind enough to sign a few copies of his book, Laws of Simplicity for me. I’m giving them away to random commenters and trackbackers.

In December I wrote a series of posts based on this book. It’s a quick read full of great ideas. And it could be free if you enter by January 15.

Based on my last book giveaway, you’ll have a great chance to earn a free book. So, what does “simplicity” mean to you?

As far as I’m concerned, the End-user Manifesto can stop at number three:

1. Don’t waste my time
2. Help me do the right thing
3. Respect my decisions

A good new year’s resolution would be to focus on even one of these.

(Thanks to Duffy’s winery web site blog).