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Ever since Apple released Cover Flow as a method of music discovery on their iPhone and iPod Touch lines, the world has sought to copy this idea. At first blush it seems really nifty, almost groundbreaking. It’s like a jukebox in a diner. It reminds you of the pleasure of flipping through a milk crate of records. It’s just the kind of thing you’d think you’d love.

And then reality sets in.

It is quite simply the lowest density of information with the most work to come about in computer interfaces in 30 years. For each swipe or press, you’re rewarded with very little new information. As an efficient method of discovery, it’s a disaster. You use it a few times and you try to never rotate your iPhone or iPod horizontally ever again.

Even though almost no one actually likes Cover Flow, it’s everywhere now. The metaphor has metastasized to Apple’s MacOS X. It’s somehow wedged itself into Netflix (especially the made for television versions) where it has rendered navigation a laborious chore. Versions of it are the key views in Pandora and on the Amazon’s Kindle. Everywhere I look, this utterly lousy interface has spread.

This interface is good for exactly one thing: The ten second demo where you get to be amazed at how responsive the software is.

Past that, what’s the point?

Note: We actually use a Cover Flow style widget to augment our AdForge software. The primary view is (and will remain until something better comes along) a browsable list.

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