1 The Future of Mobile Device Research in HCI Jacob O. Wobbrock Human-Computer Interaction Institute School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University

2 Trends “Gap” between user and desktop widening Both in time and space Widespread mobile device proliferation Mobile phones achieve huge penetration in Africa (Ferrett ’04) Mobile device use is more intermittent than desktop use Mobile devices are used in a wider variety of contexts Environmental, social, contextual factors become increasingly important Convergence of computing capabilities onto the phone Take photos, play music, record notes, etc. Our society is aging 12% is 65+ in 2000; 20% will be 65+ in 2030; 419 million by 2050 Accessibility of mobile devices will be an issue.: Consider device context, not just capability

3 Research Responses Improve mobile device accessibility Small devices Miniature buttons, keys Tiny fonts Postage-stamp screens Low pixel counts Poor contrast Understand, sense, and adapt to “situational impairments” Orientation Light level, glare Temperature Vibration, walking Gloves Noisy environment User attention/distraction?

4 Research Responses Ubi-input “Learn once, write anywhere” Sensors everywhere Many things will need some rudimentary input Don’t want to learn a new technique for every new device Simple, extensible techniques applicable to a variety of devices MDITIM (Isokoski ’00), EdgeWrite (Wobbrock ’03) Deliver education and medical information on mobile phones Particularly in developing nations