A design for texting with the device orientation inverted. This is just a patent application, and not a real product. It’s an interesting idea, though, because it doesn’t ask people to learn new input systems but rather just change the orientation of the device.
“Typing text messages in this manner is awkward, as the mobile is merely held pinched between the middle finger and the palm, while most of the handset extends unstably beyond the user’s palm. Furthermore, the thumb’s range of movement is restricted by the lower orientation of the keypad.”
Link: Mobile phone layout (iol.co.za)
Comments 4
Isn’t this already applied to the Bang & Olufsen / Samsung collaboration on the Serene phone?
Posted 07 Feb 2007 at 8:19 pm ¶http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp?id=54
It seems that the ergonomic approach for these two designs is different. It looks like the B&O phone is designed for two-handed use, where the concept is design for one. But thanks for reminding me about the B&O phone.
Posted 07 Feb 2007 at 10:46 pm ¶Having worked on a few mobile user interaction projects, I would argue that not only will the user’s hand get in the way of the screen, but it will also break a major interaction paradigm that is engrained in users’ heads. That is not to say that paradigms should not be broken. There is certainly a time when doing something in an alien way yields a much greater benefit than the cost of having user learn a new system. However, I don’t think that this fits the bill. Remember that it’s not just mobile phones that have keypad below the screen; it’s also calculators, fancy remotes, PDA, golf score trackers, etc., etc.
I think that the absolute biggest downfall of mobile devices is letter entry systems. It is insanely difficult to navigate and interact with the internet, for example, using a mobile phone. Anyone that has tried filling in an form online can relate. The placement of the keypad is certainly secondary to the nature and functioning of the keypad. QWERTY-like keypads help, but they are still difficult to use with only two thumbs and they usually make the mobile devices bulky. Yuck! I hate bulky.
Having said all that, thank you for the post. It definately made me think, and every idea is worth a though in the mobile UX world.
Posted 08 Feb 2007 at 1:40 am ¶Old concept: See Curitel Wildseed
Posted 15 Feb 2007 at 11:06 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] Source: SmallSurfaces [...]
Post a Comment