Handheld Electronic Devices

Abstract

From PDAs to cell phones to MP3 players, handheld electronic devices are ubiquitous. Human factors engineers and designers have a need to remain informed about advances in research on user interface design for this class of devices. This review provides human factors research summaries and research-based guidelines for the design of handheld devices. The major topics include anthropometry (fitting the device to the hand), input (types of device control and methods for data entry), output (display design), interaction design (one-handed use, scrolling, menu design, image manipulation, and using the mobile Web), and data sharing (among users, devices, and networks). Thus, this review covers the key aspects of the design of handheld devices, from the design of the physical form of the device through its hardware and software, including its behavior in networks.The past decade has seen an increasing proliferation of handheld electronic devices and mobile services, and this will certainly continue into the future. In this review we address recent research and design trends related to this challenging product class.We first address the design goal of ensuring a good fit between the shape of a handheld device and users' hands. The input section addresses the methods by which users control devices and enter data through the use of buttons, touch screens, speech, or more exotic methods (for example, tilt and acceleration sensors). After discussing the parallel challenges of designing displays, we discuss interaction design, addressing fundamental tasks that involve both input and output, such as designing for one-handed use, scrolling, menu design, image manipulation, and using the mobile Web. Finally, few modern handheld devices exist in isolation. Handheld devices are especially vulnerable to theft and damage, and the resulting loss of data can range from annoying to catastrophic, making it critical to have easy methods for synchronizing data among multiple devices. Indeed, these small devices present many significant human factors challenges. ANTHROPOMETRYOne of the first steps in the development of a handheld device is to ensure a good physical match with the human hand. Although the gross dimensions and morphology of the hand have not changed in thousands of years, designers must consider the intended

Investigation of Icon Design and Touchable Area for Effective Smart Phone Controls

“…Furthermore, there are relevant studies that provide the guidelines for activation of icons on handheld touch devices (Lewis, 1993a(Lewis, , 1993bLewis, Commarford, Kennedy, & Sadowski, 2008;Lewis, Lalomia, & Kennedy, 1999). Lewis (1993b) mentioned that a touch screen can recognize the user input in a variety of ways.…”

“…This strategy provides the activation area that the user has touched when the user's finger leaves the touch screen. Lewis et al () also revealed that the suitable button size was recommended to be at least 20 mm for enhancing the usability of touch screen.…”

Snap Target: Investigating an Assistance Technique for Mobile Magic Lens Interaction With Large Displays

“…Lewis, Commarford, Kennedy, & Sadowski, 2008). Touching small targets with the relatively large finger while even occluding the actual target results is difficult (the "fat finger" problem).…”

An Empirical Investigation Into Typing Errors in Interactive Digital Television Applications

“…In the rest of this section we only revise some previous work either addressing the issue of writing text in the specific context of IDTV or studying errors in detail. For a general survey on typing methods, please see Lewis, Commarford, Kennedy, and Sadowski (2008).…”