iPhone input-related articles keep rolling on in – this one from CNET is an interesting discussion on one-handed vs two-handed operation.
“The smart phones that most people are familiar with—the Nokias, BlackBerrys and Treos—only require one hand for basic operation. Obviously, typing on the QWERTY keyboards used by most of those devices is a two-handed operation, but navigating through the menu, looking up a contact, and using countless other functions only requires a single hand. “Everyone is still trying to make a one-handed product,” Rolston said. “It’s the easiest way to distinguish a truly portable device from a workstation. Handhelds are about doing something else (while using the handheld), they fit within the context of people’s active lives.””
Link: Coming to grips with the iPhone’s design (news.com.com)
Comments 1
Yes, everyone is still trying to make one handed devices … for the most part. I believe that this is in part legacy of the affordances and constraints of old skool devices, both cellular and wired. Most of the smartphones have side buttons as well as the QWERTY, which provides some dual-hand support.
Looking outside of the consumer market, many business mobile or wireless or even wired handheld devices have dual hand controls. They key issue is one of control visibility: placing a keyboard on the back of any of these would require a super user who has muscle memory of the hidden keys. Beyond use, training would be an act requiring Shaolin skills.
I have heard rumors of a iPhone/iPod with “invisible control” which will provide cursor control from the backside of the device. We’ll see, having never tested anything of this nature, it may be amazing. Or not.
Personally, I think haptics will go much further.
Posted 07 Sep 2007 at 10:39 pm ¶Post a Comment