I know that everyone’s a critic. And I also know that it’s very hard for successful pieces of software to fundamentally change their user interface. That said, I can’t help but feel that Amazon’s new homepage and main navigation user interface is a step backwards. I have no doubt they’ve tested it endlessly, and triple checked that it’s a significant improvement both in terms of usability and in terms of driving purchases across their broad catalog. That said, the Amazon homepage is the face to an application that I depend on and really like. It’s like I suddenly woke up and saw that the face of this long-time friend of mine suddenly changed… a lot. It’s not just the change. The thing feels uglier, busier, and less coherent. Just clunky. I’m sure I’ll get used to it but count me among the folks sad to see the tabs go.

Here’s a shot of the old and new user interfaces. Old first, then new below.