Abstract.Mobile phones allow for the use of all kinds of applications, and their mobile applications often provide similar functionalities as desktop applications. However, they are constrained by the limited screen size of the mobile device. Accordingly, designs of mobile user interfaces require optimization for small screens. As a consequence, users are provided with less context and often have to switch views or resize content such as maps or pictures. We present MobIES 1 , a novel approach for extending mobile user interfaces by using external screens (e.g., the mobile phone and a large screen). Users can utilize more space and can thus overview a larger information context. We present a novel interaction and application concept and describe how user interfaces can be spanned across displays. Further, we contribute an original approach for using Near Field Communication to detect the devices' spatial relation. We report on a user study which compared MobIES with standard mobile settings. Results from the system usability scale show that interaction with MobIES is subjectively more usable. Furthermore, it provides higher perceived information clarity and supports faster sharing of information to others.
We present MoCoShoP, a system that supports the collaborative process of shopping and planning furniture and interior items. The system consists of a mobile application running on the users' mobile phones and an interactive surface application deployed on shared planning desks in the furniture retail store environment. Users belonging together share a virtual shopping cart. By scanning labels attached to furniture items with their phones that are of interest, users can inspect item details (e.g., dimensions, available colors) with the mobile application and add items to their shopping cart. The shared planning desk allows users to collaboratively review collected items and create possible arrangements of items on a floor plan. Finally, users can store furniture arrangements for later inspection. In this work, we contribute the design and a prototype implementation of MoCoShoP. Results of a first evaluation indicate that users appreciate how they can collect and share data during the process of shopping and how it supports collaborative planning.
Recent mobile phones allow users to perform a multitude of different tasks. Complexity of tasks challenges the design of mobile applications in many ways. For instance, the limited screen space of mobile devices allows only a small number of items to be displayed. Therefore, users often have to change the view or have to resize the displayed content (e.g., images or maps) to view the required information. We present the system MobIES, which allows users to extend the mobile interfaces of their mobiles phones using external screens. Users connect their mobile phone with an external display by holding it on the border of the external display. When the connection is established, the user interface of the currently active mobile application is distributed on the phone and the external screen. This enables users to take advantage of using existing screens in their environments and temporarily benefit from an extended screen space. In this paper, we discuss the concept of MobIES and present a prototype implementation.
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