Research > Mini Advertising

I have looked into the way in which Mini advertise their brand and car. I have found the current marketing campaign is called 'Make sure its a Mini Adventure'.

The marketing campaign involves TV and print ads as well as the website above. The concept of the campaign is to advise the public to be aware of the growing number of fake Minis and then helping them to spot a genuine Mini.


The concept of the ads works well with the main idea and selling point of the Mini being a fun car. The campaign plays on the fact that people will go to extraordinary lengths to own a Mini - even painting a garden shed.

Research > The Small Screen

With the advances in mobile device technology and the development of the mobile web, users are continually turning to small devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and even PSPs to access the internet at a time and place that suits them. However, many issues have occurred relating to the usability of these devices in accessing and displaying content. Following are the main issues that I think face the user and designer of mobile content and applications.

SIZE
Due to advances in technology, digital devices especially mobile phones are designed to be as small and compact as possible. However this causes one of the largest problems from a design and user perspective; screen size.

(above) restrictions of small screens.

Not only is there the problem of remediating content for small screens but also having to take into account the diversity of different screens relating to each different device.


(above) are the relative screen sizes of the Ipod Nano, Nokia N73 mobile phone and a PSP.

INPUT DEVICE
Digital devices are not always designed with web browsing as a main function, mobile phones are primarily communication tools with sometimes only a keypad and joystick as a means of input and navigation. PDAs are generally used as organisers and many feature a touch screen with a pen to input information. Therefore navigating web pages using these methods is often difficult and confusing for the user.


CONTEXT
Users are always on the go when using their mobile or PDA and are often going to be in a distracting environment or trying to multi-task while accessing the web. Therefore web pages or applications need to be kept as simple and easy as possible.

WHATS THE SOLUTION THEN?
What is the user most likely to be accessing the web for? What are they doing, that makes them require some sort of information form the web? Finding out what the user wants, where and at what time is perhaps the best way to making mobile web and applications successful. Having purpose specific applications for individual tasks, as opposed to the web in general having apply to any situation.

Research > Mobile Technology

BLUETOOTH
"Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range communications system intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed electronic devices." Source: www.bluetooth.com

Bluetooth technology is now pretty much seen as a standard feature of mobile phones. It is a simple way to transfer data to other devices or across platforms. The only main drawback is the range of the Bluetooth signal, which makes the system more appropriate for location-based services.


RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
"RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts. Consumers of RSS content use special browsers called aggregators to watch for new content in dozens or even hundreds of web feeds." Source: Wikipedia

RSS feeds are a great way to view web content on mobile devices as the display of the information is a simple text-based list. This is also an example of the user having control over what content they receive, users are 'pulling' information that they want to see rather than having unwanted content 'pushed' to them.


LOCATION BASED SERVICES
Location Based Services (LBS) are used by phone networks to send customised advertisements or other forms of information to mobile phone subscribers depending on their current location. GPS chips built into the phone allow the networks to find the exact location of the person, and then send them information about that particular area.


FLASH LITE
"Flash Lite is the Flash technology specifically developed for mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. Flash Lite dramatically accelerates the delivery of rich content and browsing, and customized user interfaces." Source: www.adobe.com

Flash Lite is an optimized version of Adobe Flash Player especially designed to improve the delivery of content and enhance interaction on mobile devices.

Reaearch > Mobile Interfaces

I have researched the interface design of three different leading mobile phone manufacturers, to gain an insight into designing for small screen devices. I have chosen three phones from the top 10 at www.thelink.co.uk. All of the phones use either a joystick or four way buttons for navigation, along with two soft keys.

MOTOROLA RAZR V3
The main menu on the Motorola uses icons in a grid layout as navigation, when the user navigates the menu the name of each function appears a the top of the screen. When a function is selected the sub-menus are in a simple text list layout. If a user selects the right hand button whilst in a sub menu a separate menu pops up from the bottom right corner giving more options.



NOKIA N73
The Nokia main menu is layed out in a similar way using icons in a grid formation, however the Nokia also includes text under the icon with the name of the function. Once in the sub menu the Nokia also uses a text based list but with small corresponding icons at the top of the screen. Further along in the menu the list includes small icons to the left of the text.



SONY ERICSSON W800
The Sony Ericsson menu is fairly identical to the Motorola in using icons and the corresponding function name at the top of the screen. Once in the sub menu Sony is the only phone to use a tabbed system to navigate, like the Nokia it also uses a text based list with smaller icons. The Sony also has the same pop up menu as the Motorola giving the user more options.


-Image source: www.mobile-review.com

Research > Websites and Articles

After much Google-ing and researching on the web, these are the websites and articles that I find the most interesting and useful.

WEBSITES
www.smallsurfaces.com
Website tracks articles and papers about design for mobile technology. Loads of articles dating back to May 2005, all categorised under topics.

www.w3.org/mobile
The W3C Mobile Web Initiative works with the leading industries in mobile production and content providers in the aim to make mobile web browsing easy and accessible.

www.opera.com
Opera Mobile browser. Site includes a lot of information about how they have developed the technology to adapt web content for viewing on small screen devices.

www.mobiface.com
A blog site which posts articles and links about new mobile interfaces and applications.

ARTICLES
Designing the Mobile User Experience
"Achieving simplicity and speed of access is the key to expanding people’s perceptions of the mobile Web to include information, entertainment, and commerce services. If people are to use these services while they are on the go, we must avoid cramming as many features as possible into them—just so we can claim to have the biggest and best service."

Article covers a lot about designing for the mobile web, discusses restrictions, contexts of use and goes on to say how designers can successfully make content for use on mobile devices.

Mobilize, Don't Miniaturize
"Too often, when companies decide to make a mobile version of their application, they take their desktop application or site, decide which features work for mobile, and then convert those features to a mobile language or two. Through this method we get flight times, stock prices, checking email, checking calendars, local weather, and several other useful but limited applications. These applications do not fully meet user needs. To do anything in particular, the user has to visit several applications, one after the other, remembering data from application to application."

Highlights need to have mobile specific applications and web content, not simply those adapted from desktop computers. Has a very good example of a simple mobile application, and compares this to what the user would usually have to go through with a computer.

Small Screens, Big Ideas
"The results of a new study, 'Mobile TV – Attitudes to Broadcast on Mobile', confirms the need for broadcast and entertainment brands to work harder to tailor their content to mobile phones. The most successful mobile TV will also be of the right quality to work on a mobile screen and targeted to a specific audience."

Discusses having innovative content from TV programmes especially adapted or created for mobile phones. Research showed the public are interested in mobile TV but only if the content is speceffically made for phones.