Wireless Phone Usability Could Be Improved, Study says

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NEWS
Issue #2001 - 08 (Feb. 2001)
(Updated on Feb. 21, 2001)

MARKET OUTLOOK

Wireless Phone Usability Could Be Improved, Study says

Usable Products Company (UPC), a usability testing and information architecture consulting firm, has released their Wireless Phone Usability Study to determine the usability of the NeoPoint 1000 mobile phone as well as the services offered by Sprint PCS Wireless Web.

The study was based on one-to-one interviews with participants described as Web-savvy and mobile phone savvy. They were asked to get stock quotes, weather information, movie information, and receive and send e-mails using a NeoPoint mobile phone.

Highlights of Findings

Key Functions:

Respondents had difficulty finding key features on the phone

Difficulty using the SHIFT key

Menu and back buttons were not obvious to most users

Text Entry

All respondents had difficulty entering text and sending e-mail

Cursor did not move fast enough.

Could not easily locate CLR key to correct typos.

Navigation

Difficulty connecting to the Internet

Wireless Web icon from the phone’s main screen was not recognizable

Confused by the scrolling menu items that were flashing

Overall Recommendations To Improve the User’s Wireless Web Experience

Connecting to the Wireless Web should be made more obvious.
Personalized features would make it easier to navigate sites and eliminate the need to log on each time to access e-mail.
More instructions should be included on how to operate the minibrowser.

For more information: www.usableproducts.com/wireless/study/index.htm

Mobileinfo Comments and Advisory: This confirms some of the conclusions made by other studies in terms of a gap between what the user interface that mobile users would like and what they are being asked to use. Is the industry listening?.

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.

All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.

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