S60 Open to new features

Related to my previous entry, I'm thinking of ways of improving the everyday use of the S60 device, making it more efficient. We, as users, tend to do things the way we are used to, repeating the same patterns and routines again and again. This is quite natural and part in learning and memorizing how to use a complex environment designed to perform a huge number of different tasks (and S60 qualifies here!). These patterns may occur in the navigation ("Open menu, scroll down, enter folder, scroll, open application") or inside various applications.

Sometimes these patterns may feel natural, sometimes we don't even notice their existence - and sometimes they repeatedly annoy us ("Why haven't they come up with a better way to add a simple smiley to an SMS!").

In a perfect world, good design and extensive research makes the UI easy, intuitive and efficient to use from the very first release. Then there's the real world with all the time and resource constraints. However, application developers should have an open eye toward user feedback, always eager doing it a bit better next time.

Can you identify patterns in your everyday use, things you repeat that may not be the most efficient way of getting the task done? Why do you repeat them - because you don't know a better way? Or are you limited by the UI and the environment?

And, do you know how to work around the problem?

During my first long stay in Finland, from 1999 to 2000, I was already very impressed by the mobile phone prevalence (even among young kids). In the US during that same time, mobile phones were really used by those who travelled and commuted for long periods of time and for safety reasons (this latter reason is similar for many users around the world).

I remember riding on the tram and watching people use their mobile devices. I was struck by how active people were in communicating with their friends, family etc., i.e. they were often typing something or reading something. I soon came to discover that many of them were simply playing games on their phones. I, of course, didn't get it.

However, just a few weeks ago, I was waiting for my husband in a cafe. I found myself playing with my mobile phone, checking my emails, sending some messages, looking at some photos. I realized what I was doing: I was masking my "aloneness" by doing things on my mobile. Nobody actually knew what I was doing...I just looked busy and, with any luck, important!

It got me thinking about the capacity to be alone; are young people these days unable to be alone, not comfortable with it? Do they fear it, can they stand it? Do they reach for their mobile devices as soon as there is no exterior stimulation? But, even if these young people are not comfortable with being alone, does it really matter? What would a psychologist or a sociologist say about individuals and society, respectively?

We could make an argument that this need to "look busy" is nothing knew. Perhaps it is similar to when we waited in a doctor's office, we read magazines, books etc. We usually did not sit around and stare at the walls or other people. So perhaps it is not that different from the past (!). Only now, we have a different way to look busy and preoccupied.

Perhaps the change is good in some ways. Now people, instead of reading magazines or jotting down notes to fill their time waiting, are often communicating with others with their mobile phones (talking, texting, emailing). Many users often explain how they've become more social and active with their mobile devices. Their mobile devices have offered more flexibility to reach people and to be reached. Shy, outgoing, tired, busy...the mobile life offers the solution for all. And, since we often don't know what people are doing on their mobile devices, it offers the possiblity of looking connected and, with any luck, important!

I was in Vienna this weekend, riding public transportation, and observed something that I haven’t seen yet in Helsinki…young kids are listening to music from their mobile devices and they are sharing the experience with their friends. Here’s the problem for me: they are listening to it in public spaces and I don’t necessarily want to listen to their music--especially if it’s competing with others talking on their mobiles or listening to their music (even with earphones, you can still hear “something”).

I know this problem is elsewhere in other European cities, e.g. London, and there have been public responses to this (and, in turn, some new rules that “prohibit” these behaviors). But it forced me to think about this: there are users who would like to share their music with their friends; they want to do this anywhere, anytime and, most likely, with no restrictions. My guess is that this doesn’t stop with music--users will want to share anything and everything (e.g. pictures, MMSs, video clips etc). So, the bottom line is that there is an obvious need yet to be met…how can/will/have developers respond(ed) to this need?

Until recently, only traditional research methods have been used to understand the use of mobile devices and applications. These include, for example, focus groups, observations and interviews that are conducted in controlled laboratory-like settings. In reality, however, these methods possess several challenges and even problems. Most importantly is the fact that these methods do not consider or measure the influence of context. The fact is this: a user does not exist in a social or physical vacuum.

Many of the complexities related to gathering data about mobile technology use emerge from the fact that the real life is “out there”– it’s not enough to gather information in a fixed environment. The physical movement and ever changing geographic location found in the modern mobile lifestyle suggests the need to use a more fluid, hence less static, method of analysis. Therefore, the methods used to study mobile use and usability need to be context-centered.

I spoke to a 15-year old boy this weekend. He has an S60 N-Gage device. Basically he never talks on it--he only uses it for playing music and games. Sometimes he will send and receive text messages. I was very interested in this...it reminds me of many people I know. Yes, I know, this is a bit along the same lines as my last entry...but I'm obsessed!

So the question must be asked: Is too much being invested in the development of these devices? Is it worth it to create devices that offer so much when users use so little? Or should devices be created to meet the needs of the most experienced users and let the "newbie" users do their own thing? Or...should we be selling/marketing to these users different devices? I don't know the answer (or at least I'm not telling if I do)!