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The wild west of mobileEvan Gerber, Principal ConsultantExperience Design

The Western Expansion

• In 1803, Andrew Jackson effects the Louisiana Purchase from France

• Suddenly …

Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar2

The Mobile Expansion


Go West, Young Brand - Overview

• Mobile Landscape– User– Carrier– Marketer– Device

• Findings and Lessons


• Findings and Lessons– Mobile and Teens– Mobile and Adults– User Centric Design

• Stump the Chump

The mobile landscape:End Users

The mobile landscape:End Users


Mobile – there’s gold in them hills!

• 7 out of 10 US adults have a mobile phone, 1 in 7 use it exclusively




• 88.4 million US households have at least one phone, average has 2.1 devices





• 89% of consumers have a mobile


phone






phone

• 17% of users are now on the mobile web – 34.6 million people






phone


• More than 33% of users send and receive text messages




• 89% of consumers have a mobile phone

• 17% of users are now on the mobile



• More than 33% of users send and receive text messages

• 30% of US adults have a web-enabled phone, and 40% have some form of data service

The market is almost saturated

Rates of cell phone adoption (US households)

60,000,000

80,000,000

100,000,000

120,000,000


0

20,000,000

40,000,000

60,000,000

2001 2005 2008 2012

But there is still room for meaningful growth

• 17% increase in smartphones (up from 10% in 2007)




• Average spend on new devices - $101 (up $9 vs. previous 6 months)





• 33% obtained their handsets


for ‘free’ (previously 36%)







• 40% ranked style and design as the most important consideration in choosing







• 40% ranked style and design as the most important consideration in choosing

• Average handset life is 17.7 months (16.6 months in 2006)

User sophistication is a barrier to adoption

– There is a discrepancy in the number of web-enabled phones in circulation as reported by carriers vs. consumers, • suggesting that some users aren’t fully aware of their

handset’s capabilities.




handset’s capabilities.– Users don’t know what features their devices have, and

therefore are not tempted to use paid services • Over 75% of phones have browsers


• Over 75% of phones have browsers• But only 45% of users know it• Ultimately, 25% of all users are on the mobile web

The mobile landscape:The Carriers

The mobile landscape:The Carriers



Consumers don’t like or trust the carriers. They switch plans quickly.


To minimize churn, carriers are offering unlimited plans.This opens new horizons for the US consumer.

Data is Clearly Becoming King

• While voice ARPU continues its march downward…

“Voice plans are pretty pricey, so I try to be a texter”


• …users’ appetite for data is surging and showing no signs of abating

“It’s one of those things that once you have it, you don’t know what you did without it.”

Many Platforms, Many Phones


Caution: Net Neutrality

• Carriers want to retain control




• Brands need their permission




• Brands need their permission

• This will change over time


• This will change over time– Android– White Space

The mobile landscape:The Marketers

The mobile landscape:The Marketers


The MarketersThe Marketers

Some major prospectors: Text Advertising

• Major brands adopting and pushing forward in many verticals– Consumer Brands – Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola


Some major prospectors: Transactional

• Major brands adopting and pushing forward in many verticals– Consumer Brands – Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola – Online Banking – Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays, Wachovia


Some major prospectors: Transactional

• Major brands adopting and pushing forward in many verticals– Consumer Brands – Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola – Online Banking – Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays,

Wachovia– Travel – Kayak, Orbitz, Delta


– Travel – Kayak, Orbitz, Delta

Some major prospectors: Social

• Major brands adopting and pushing forward in many verticals– Online Banking – Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays,

Wachovia– Travel – Kayak, Orbitz, Delta– Consumer Brands – Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola


– Consumer Brands – Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola– Social Networking – Facebook, MySpace, Google, etc…

Caution: Rapid Change


The bar is raised, and the game is changedThe bar is raised, and the game is changed


The bar is raised, and the game is changedThe bar is raised, and the game is changed


• Phone as fashion accoutrement

• Phone as all purpose digital accessory

• Phone as extension of persona

• Phone as fashion accoutrement

• Phone as all purpose digital accessory

• Phone as extension of persona

And it will open more with Android

• Rumor: HTC will be making multiple phones for the Android Platform

• Fact: The Dev Community is a little mad due to a buggy SDK, some people


buggy SDK, some people think it’s vaporware

• My .02 – Google is throwing money at it, they’ll make it so.

Rich User Experiences are Needed to Drive the Mobile Phone Market


• Aside from the experience delivered by the iPhone, a lack of rich user interactions on the mobile phone is a pain point for many consumers

43

But for the Phone to Succeed, the User Experience Must be Compelling


• AT&T experienced a sharp rise in subscribers after the release of the iPhone as users flocked to the device due to its engaging user interface and ease of use

44

“I chose an iPhone. Nokia had all the features but their user interface is terrible.”

The Mobile Device is Destined to be a Jack of All Trades


• At least 40% of all respondents want utility and interactions from their mobiles that mimics what they can get from their PCs

– Multi-tool: utility and functionality

45

But the cellphone is dead

• Currently, users seek to use their phone primarily as a communication device and organization tool

– It is thought of as a tool primarily for voice, email, and text communications, or light organizational tasks

– However, the market is changing• Data plans are opening up


• Data plans are opening up• Content is becoming more available• Users are beginning to expect more from their devices

The phone is undergoing cultural transformation

• What is now perceived as a communication tool with other functions will become a digital tool that bridges the divide between online and offline, digital and analog worlds.


Case Studies


User Centric Mobile DesignUser Centric Mobile Design


User Centric Mobile DesignUser Centric Mobile Design

What is User Centric Design?


User Research: Make sure your audience is there

• Within different groups, there are different behaviors– Not just age– Ethnicity– Income

• Make sure that


• Make sure that the audience you target uses the phone in the manner you want to use

“I wouldn’t text if it wasn’t for my girlfriend”

User Research: Analyze their phone usage

• Carriers


User Research: Analyze their phone usage

• Plans and usage


Email Browsing the web SMS

User Research: What kinds of phones do they use?

• Sophistication

• Operating Systems

• Interfaces


WAP HTML TEXT

Designing: Optimize for Small Screens

– Visual design – Content modeling – Heuristic cues


Optimize content for smaller screens

Will images scale? Can they see the buttons?

Designing: Simplify Interactions

• Simplify content entry and data manipulation– Tough to Type– Hard to Use Dropdowns


Designing: Consider the Context

– Ever-changing environment– Sporadic Connectivity– Public Spaces vs Private Content


Designing: Design for the Platform

• Application code impacts battery longevity– Simple Graphics– Minimize Data Transfer


Designing: Speak a language they understand

• Speak a language they understand• Icons, menus, and behavioral systems• Users have to teach themselves the language of the

phone• Clean icons at top levels, logical navigations within


• Clean icons at top levels, logical navigations within applications

Building: Don’t Miniaturize it

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Building: And then pare it down again


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Testing applications for mobile

• Setup – you don’t have as much control– Backup phone, charger– Decent connectivity– Tools to see phone as well as user



• Setup – you don’t have as much control

• Scripts – be flexible– Lots of different phones means lots of

different experiences– Prepare to adapt on the fly and then

normalize findings– Have a plan for when their phone crashes



• Setup – you don’t have as much control

• Scripts – be flexible

• Test before you test– Test early and often, but only once app is

stable and reliable– Test in different areas


– Test in different areas

Testing usability with teens

• They are sometimes intimidated– Harder to get the truth from them, they want to please– Not especially good at thinking out loud



• They are sometimes intimidated

• They are hard to nail down– They will waffle based on your questions– It’s hard to dig in



• They are sometimes intimidated

• They are hard to nail down

• With teens, come parents– Lots of rules and laws– Be careful!


– Be careful!

Results from user testing


Results from user testing

Some Of Our FindingsSome of Our Findings

Some findings

• More sophisticated phone users expect an experience more analogous to the web


Some findings


• Older phone models do better with a simplified, text based UI


Some findings



• Teens are adapted to rapid change and emerging technologies

• Comfortable with rapid change


• Comfortable with rapid change• Think they know more than they

might• MMS is still not widely understood

Some findings



• Teens are adapted to rapid change


and emerging technologies

• Kids are so proficient that they get ahead of themselves

• Cause hang-ups• Impair using the platform

Devices aren’t responsive

• Communication with the device will become as important as communication between others

• Data entry and manipulation is core to the process

“The feedback from the touch screen – the way it vibrates in acknowledgement.”


the process• Have the device react to user inputs• The device should be proactive, not

reactive to user needs• Learn from user behavior, and predict

actions• Provide haptic feedback when typing

and interacting

Users want control of their devices

• Not only do users require the ability to highly personalize their devices, but they will want to be able to easily organize and manipulate information through the GUI.

• Solutions:• Allow them to organize their own


• Allow them to organize their own files and data architecture

• Make the information structure as flat as possible (don’t bury things)

• Simplify personalization of ringtones, wallpapers, and system settings

• Enable users to move or hide menus that are not frequently used

The learning curve is steep

• Users have to teach themselves to speak the language of the phone. The more the phone can speak to them, the better.

• Solution:

• Use a visual language that they already understand, i.e. windows and files


i.e. windows and files

• Develop clean iconography at the top levels, combined with simple, intuitive menus

• Avoid unnecessary animations and graphics

“Simplicity and Usability are paramount to all users, but articulating this at point of sale might be challenging.”

It is hard for users to read smaller screens• The screen is the heart of the

GUI. While it can be hard to increase the size of the device, there are ways to increase the value of the available space.

• Solution: • Simplify information, hide


• Simplify information, hide extraneous data

• Higher screen resolutions squeeze more onto the page

• Avoid distracting animations• Ensure that color palettes

have contrast, but are not jarring

Summary

• Mobile is taking off

• Big Brands are getting involved

• The ecosystem can be very complicated

• Teenagers are a great audience


audience– Reach the right ones, with the

right message, in the right way– Develop applications tailored

to their needs– Test carefully and thoroughly

• Go West, Young Brand!

Thanks for coming! Any Questions?


Appendix A – contact information and resources

• http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/#iddiv3126674664– It’s dry, but comprehensive – the W3C’s Mobile Best Practices

• http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=321– This is a great, if somewhat visually unengaging site to check

out


• http://www.boohooforyou.com/– Funny, if a tad weird, site talking about functionality available in

japan. Take it with a grain of salt. It might be down, search for it on the wayback machine.

• http://fiercemobilewireless.com/

Drop me a line, email, SMS, MMS, text …


Evan GerberPrincipal Consultant, Experience Design

P 415.541.2835

F 310.907.3565

E [email protected]

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