mobile

Personas & Windows Phone 7; Apple Mouse Fix

March 15, 2010
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Two unrelated posts; both usability-related: I’m sure that Microsoft has used personas in design and evaluation before, but have they advertised it so broadly–even bragged about it?  I think one of the major benefits of personas is that it focuses development (and evaluation) reducing feature creep; something that the old Windows phones were definitely guilty of [Engadget]. This third-party “fix” [...]

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Design & HF Potpourri

January 24, 2010
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Comparison of text entry input speeds. Steve Krug (of “Don’t make me think“) has a new book on usability titled Rocket Surgery Made Easy.  See the first few chapters.  [via Photoshopblog] Smashing Magazine has a list of how various websites portray progress in multi-step tasks. A piece on complicated and overwrought design from the NYT.  Choice quote: Sadly, more and [...]

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HF Potpourri

January 6, 2010
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James Rubinstein sends along a this post about a 32 inch LCD TV presumably designed for older users.  It has features such as a dramatically simplified remote control, fewer wires, and a shut-off timer.  [Engadget] Designing Devices is a relatively new blog devoted to “how and why to create devices” from Dan Saffer (author of Designing for Interaction).  I’m loving [...]

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HF Potpourri

December 14, 2009
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More potpourri from the web: Jakob Nielsen has a new book on using eye-tracking in web usability. View a 32 page chapter PDF (26 mb) for free (via PhotoshopSupport). Using autistics for software quality-control work. Would this work for usability? An obsessive attention to detail is good for design/usability (via Slashdot) The HF/usability company HumanCentric held an internal competition to [...]

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Results of long-term educational use of Kindle

September 28, 2009
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The Kindle e-book reader has great promise, especially for students.  Who wouldn’t want to trade in a bunch of heavy books for a slim electronic device?  Amazon partnered with Princeton to see how students would interact with the device.  The results are not good.  The student’s comments sound vaguely familiar to my own experiences.  The Kindle is great as a [...]

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Consequences of Mobile Phone Usability…big consequences

September 16, 2009
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Time.com is reporting that part of the economic recession may have been caused by Warren Buffet not being able to check his voice mail: as Buffett was rushing out to a social engagement in Edmonton, Alberta, he got a call from Bob Diamond, the head of Barclays Capital…[ed. Diamond was creating a plan to save an investment bank and needed [...]

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HF/Usability Hodgepodge

August 28, 2009

Things too small for their own post but interesting nonetheless…it’s a hodgepodge, a mélange, a potpourri! Stay in touch with those who don’t have or want a computer (via Gadgeteer) “upgrading customer usability without breaking the bank” (via UXforward) If Craigslist got a makeover, what might it look like? (Wired) Men and women use car navigation systems differently (GPSworld)

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New Interface for Online Banking

July 2, 2009

There are many iPhone applications that integrate the phone camera with software in novel ways.  I came across this video demonstrating how it can be used to deposit checks electronically. The interface demonstration starts at the 1 minute mark if you would like to skip the advertisement.* *I’m not sure if it counts as an advertisement when most people aren’t [...]

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Smartphones as Event-based Prospective Memory Aids

June 18, 2009
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The calendar functions of devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and  smartphones have always been types of time-based prospective memory aids.  An item to be remembered in the future (e.g., go to meeting at 4 pm) is entered into the calendar and when that time arrives we are reminded with a notification or alarm (hence the term time-based). Prospective [...]

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Cannot be Undone (double negatives on iphone)

June 8, 2009

I just saw this image from Apple’s introduction of the new iPhone: Notice the wording:  I understand that this action cannot be undone or cancelled [ed: British spelling, huh]. Does that mean it can be done?  Not a huge deal but the double negative slowed me down for a second.  Not a place where there should be any confusion!  Off-topic, [...]

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Can you hear me now? Why yes, I can!

June 1, 2009

I just ran across this review of the Jitterbug phone and service.  It is a MVNO (a virtual mobile phone company) that rides on the Sprint mobile phone service.  The added value of Jitterbug is that the phone is designed to be simple (for older adults).  In this review, one thing caught my attention: The trouble with finding a full [...]

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Feedback is a valuable brand “differentiator” for mobile phones

November 13, 2008

Here’s an interesting story about how Verizon eliminated a tiny feature (a checkbox indicating a successfully sent SMS message) and discovered that users apparently relied on that feedback.  This video clip is from AdAge so they don’t discuss the human factors angle but it’s there!  I can’t embed the video so check it out: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — A tiny [...]

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Text Input in a Mobile World

September 10, 2008

I‘ve always thought text inputs from anything other than a keyboard were clunky. Cliff Kushler, the man who invented T9 (a word completion aid) has developed Swype, a new text entry method that capitalizes on eliminating the press and release component of the touchscreen. What was once a discrete target acquisition task becomes a continuous one. In the CNET interview, [...]

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Electronic Books–A Human Factors perspective

August 25, 2008
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So I finally made the plunge and obtained an Amazon Kindle E-book reader.  This isn’t a gadget review site so don’t expect a full review but I just wanted to comment on some of the ergonomic/human factors considerations after using the device for the past few days.  The bottom line?  There are some critical “book behaviors” that the device does [...]

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Driving and Talking in California

July 2, 2008

The new law, which generally bars drivers from talking on their phones unless they use a hands-free device, takes effect today, nearly two years after the Legislature passed it. In the weeks leading up to the deadline, customers have been flooding into stores to buy hands-free devices, particularly wireless headsets.  The Mercury News With recent news that it is now [...]

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Nagging via text messages to help teens remember meds

May 13, 2008

I‘ve heard of text messages being used to remind older adults, but this is an interesting take on that…I guess it addresses the same underlying problem in both age groups: prospective memory failures. WASHINGTON – 4gt yr meds? Getting kids to remember their medicine may be a text message away. Cincinnati doctors are experimenting with texting to tackle a big [...]

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