Here is something I hadn't ever pondered: the tradeoff between usability and user experience:
Freeways are usable, since they take you from A to B in the most effortless way. But they are also utterly boring. A twisting mountain road on the other hand is exiting. But far from usable.
According to Baekdal, we end up with mediocrity if we try to balance usability and user-experience. It's like trying to turn a mountain road into a freeway.
Via: The interaction designers coffee break (link no longer works).