If technology doesn't work for people...it doesn't work!®
December 2007 Usability Spotlight
User Centric is very excited to launch the first edition of our newsletter! We hope it will give you valuable insight into the field of usability. Sent out quarterly, it will also give you a taste of who we are and hopefully entertain a little as well.
iPhone vs. QWERTY
Direct Comparison of iPhone and Hard-Key QWERTY Phone Owners Indicates Higher Text Entry Error Rate for iPhone
User Centric, Inc. finished a third and final study examining the user experience of Apple's iPhone. Previously, User Centric found that overall design and usability of the iPhone was good, but the iPhone's touch keyboard was a weak point for many users. Highlights from the final study:
iPhone owners entered text rapidly, but made many errors which were not alleviated over time
Numeric owners performed best on hard-key QWERTY
iPhone corrective feature was both helpful and frustrating
Download an excerpt of our report.
Related Links
- Cell Phones Keep Getting Smarter
- A Phone Tower that Reaches the Gods
- Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the iPhone
- Microsoft Surface: Behind the Scenes First Look
- Can't Touch This
Data Doesn't Lie
by Gavin Lew
The finding that an actual keyboard performs better than a virtual keyboard should not be surprising. Hardkeys have the affordances of tactile feedback when navigating your fingers/thumb and pressing. The results of the study analyzed thousands of text entries across scores of users. It is real. But, those iPhone users who have difficulty believing the results based on their own anecdotal texting are missing some key takeaways:
- iPhone owners showed no difference in time. The difference was in errors. This is a perception problem because several dissenters say they “type as fast or faster” and the data support their belief. What the results reveal is that errors are significantly higher with the iPhone and that’s WITH auto-correction enabled!
- Those who use standard phones with primarily numeric keypads (non-QWERTY) should do well on the iPhone because performance was equivalent on initial use. Imagine what learning will do to performance.
- The results are not intended to bash the iPhone, but to suggest to manufacturers of virtual keyboards where false alarms and errors manifest to improve text entry for next gen devices.
Usability Tip
When designing small-screen devices that allow fingertip input, consider enabling a secondary means of input (such as stylus input). This will help reduce frustration among users with larger fingertips or longer fingernails.
Fun Links
The Not Usable File
www.leotrace.com
Puppy Love! Managing Director, Bob Schumacher, recently added some excitement to his household by adopting a golden retriever mix from a local shelter in November.
Well, the holidays bring memories or turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and, what else, Beaujolais Nouveau!