David John Mead

More to mobile than cell phones

With the iPhone and other “smart” phones, access to the web is now easier than ever.  They have pretty much hijacked the term “mobile web” in the public perception, so it was great to hear a talk by Dan Young (of DXY Solutions) at NEOUPA in June covering some of the myriad of different mobile projects they are connected with.

“10 years ago no one thought of dropping their landlines”

Dan passed around his very own Apple Newton, which pretty much set the stage for where we are now with mobile.  He also outlined the differences they see with today’s devices.

He pointed out that laptops are portable and generally, if its a work one, people don’t mind sharing them to check email.  Phones are mobile, and very personal, even if its company owned.  People seem to have a reluctance to share PDA’s and phones.

A lot of the work Dan is involved in use mobile devices other than phones.  These are the units that you see UPS or Meter Maids use.  They have a lot of different considerations such as:

• Environment – Sun glare, extreme cold or heat, dust or rain
• Size – Too small could sour the experience
• Dexterity – Can they use it one-handed? Do they wear gloves?
• Connection – Support isn’t always at hand
• OS – Java/J2ME, Blackberry, WinMobile, Symbian, Android etc.

Dan stepped through a little of their process. Screen flows help a lot to build the logic that a users follows (there’s no help on a cell phone). Having focus groups and watching the users handle and interact with both the device and the software, helps them make changes on-the-fly and re-test very quickly.  These sessions have also made them aware that users will “mask their fear” of the device initially, so when working with companies to provide these type of solutions they make sure employees are comfortable.  They have to also be cognizant that every touch (calls, back light use, etc.) drains the battery.

It was an interesting look into a still developing arena, from a local company heavily involved.

Technorati tags: dxysolutions, danyoung, mobile, small, devices, design, ui, neoupa

Cheap international mobile web access for all…

So my Mum is on a visit from the UK at the moment and one thing she did was but a new mobile phone for the trip.

She wanted to keep in contact with my sister back in the UK and with my Nan, but her old mobile phone would not work in the USA.  So she went to her local Tesco’s and purchased one for £20 and what a bargain it was!

This Motorola W377 phone can browse the internet, send SMS, work overseas, pick up FM radio, take photos and a whole host of other features.  All for less than $40.  Now it is a pay-as-you-go phone through Virgin, so pulling my web site up & checking voice mail  did deplete the funds a little, but still, to buy the same spec over here is around $80.

I think this shows the leaps & bounds the rest of the world has got over the USA on mobile acceptance.  That I could go and get a fully-featured phone, that will do what I need, for little expense and I would have no qualms ditching it if I wanted too after a trip.

Also, by using CSS on my freelance web design site pulled it up fairly fast and was usable.

update: Apparently all the calls my Mum makes she will recieve Tesco reward points (same as if she went shopping) which she can use towards gas etc.  Great idea all round.

Technorati tags: mobile, cell, cheap, international