Research- Overview

Designing for any small screen device weather it be a Mobile in your pocket, an iPod clipped to your hips, or a satellite navigation system on your cars dahboard, its screen size is going to be the obvious constraint from a designers point of view.
As time goes by, the resolutions of these devices are likely to increased, but its physical dimensions are not going change, if they get to big, their not going to be a 'Mobile Device' anymore.

Thought and consideration needs to be in order, I just can't put large amounts of information on the screen in the hopes that something there will be what the user wants to see, as the small screen size will simply not let you.
Research is key, not only do I need to look into the interaction design and usability testing, but knowing your end user/target audience is cruital. Their preferred mobile device and their sizes are areas that i will be looking into.
A small device with a small screen will force single-window interaction. So its interface navigation is going to be that of simplicity. Slightly different to our interaction on the web, where the possiblities and navigation could be endless and confusing.
This 'Mobile Web' needs to be capable of user needs when they are on the go, hence the world 'mobile' an idea does not need to cram as much as we can into the interface, focusing on the users end goals and requirements and helping them acheive this with ease.
To get the best out of our device i think research into how the device is used, and who uses it is needed, therefore limits the bounduary ideas and just focuses on the main concepts. I need to know the users capabilities and limitations, getting an insight into their daily life and usage all helps to making the prototype successful.
From this information we can understand the context within which they use the device, understand which tecnology is best suited for their context, resulting in designing systems that are as simple as possible which suits them.

The ways in which users interact with a system or product isnt just down to its design interface which we make, it also has a connection with the phone features itself.




An example would be Navigation, the Sony Ericsson mobile has a joystick for up, down, left, right movement, a push button(thejoystick itself) with 2 buttons either side for Call/Select and Cancel/End call.


http://www.sixthseal.com/images/se_k700i_keypad.jpg

Or The highly successful and user friendly iPod which incorporates another design feature, for the user to navigate around their playlists their is a Apple Click wheel. The user performs a rotation movement around the wheel which scrolls up or down, with the 'Click' button which takes them to the next screen from which they have clicked. On each side and top and bottom there are press buttons which double up allowing different outcomes,REWIND, FORWARD on the side, and MENU,PLAY/PAUSE on the top and bottom.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=1B65A5BF&nclm=iPodnano


Each device has its own functions and features and this Tom Tom Go 510 is no different, this concept is completley different to that of the other two, this device incorporates a LCD Touchscreen navigation, there are no buttons they claim

'with just a few taps of the screen you’ve inputted your destination and are all set to go'

http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/full/45915i1.jpg

so there are many different devices that have different functions/features, not only will i need to investigate my design interface, but also what platform the device is, and how my design will incorporate their design aesthetics and ergonomics.
So all these these aspects will need some careful consideration and expantion, reserach into how other devices accommodate these will be useful, and find a soulution for my idea.