Even when usability is taken into account, and sometimes because it is being taken into account, problems arise. (I think, other than being “kinda neat,” the appearance of touchscreens was as a step towards greater usability.) One problem that arises has to do with generations – human generations and device generations.
When you are young, especially as the majority of us who have experienced youth at some point over the last fifty years, you’ve grown up with technology of a certain kind, of a certain design. When new generations of technology come along, such as new generations of a computer, a mouse, software, a cell phone, you aren’t encountering them virginally, as you did with your first computer etc. You are incorporating them with a particular mindset, a particular expectation of how they are used (point and click, for instance). So when a design change comes along and tosses something out the window, such as a mouse in favour of a touchscreen, a good number of people have to relearn the way the use the technology, which is much harder than learning something for the first time. I think this explains one of the reasons Microsoft’s changes to Office with Office 2007 were so difficult for people to accept. They have to relearn the software because so much has changed – the location of functions and how they’re organized, for example.
Many people have complained in the past about web sites (among other things) where fonts were so small they were all but impossible to read. (Thus the appearance later of user options on sites or in browsers such as “change text size.”) Initially, perfect eyesight was an unarticulated assumption behind design. Perfect physical coordination was another. I definitely have no disabilities but a characteristic I do have is shaky hands. Really. My hands have shaken since I was child. I remember about age 10 when a friend pointed and said, “Look at your hands! They’re shaking!” And they were – but then, they always were, always do.
Imagine trying to manipulate an iPod Touch or iPhone with hands that shake! This may be one of the reasons I was getting Web pages, songs, and emails popping up right and left, as well as mistyping and accidently sending emails and tweets. You really can’t use a device like this with any efficiency unless you have great eyesight, steady hands and perfect hand-eye coordination.
Okay, that statement is too absolute. Having used the iPod Touch for a while I’ve become much better at manipulating the touch aspect, though I still get some things popping up right and left because I’ve yet to develop the dexterity necessary to really use it well.
Mind you, this is true of just about all cell phones. Once it was decided handheld mobile devices would be more than phones, additional features, tools and apps started getting tossed into the mix and room had to be made. Usability is taken into account, but it’s within a context that is, almost by definition, unusable for a significant number of people. It’s a bit like those ads for trucks and SUVs running on TV these days. Lots of testosterone, lots of power, lots of sweaty guys looking manly in the middle of the desert or wherever and roaring around on their machines – which are more fuel-efficient than ever, so we can save the planet!
In some cases, the vehicles may be necessary. But they aren’t fuel efficient; they aren’t friendly to the environment. It’s like asking a cat to be a dog. It isn’t in its nature. Similarly, a handheld device with numerous functions (beyond being a phone) can only be made usable within a limited context.
My hands don’t shake so much as to prevent me from using the Touch, but it would definitely be much easier to use if my hands didn’t. And if I had better eyesight and hand-eye coordination. As it is, I can use it, as I can with other small devices like simple cell phones. But it explains why I’d much rather work on my laptop.
But for those times I can’t, the iPod Touch is my preferred device.
Usability-for-all is probably unachievable. I think it’s impossible to design a device for everyone. I am impressed, however, at the degree to which some of these devices have been made more usable and thus accessible to more people, such as the landscape vs. portrait ability many small devices now have, and the ability to increase screen size with a few taps, thus making reading much easier and, again, possible for more people.
However, I do wonder about the idea of a mobile hub that unites all our communication needs and, to some extent, work tool needs. Can all these things be brought together in one small device that is usable for everyone? I imagine that at some point the whole aspect of physical touch with a device will be unnecessary with a voice response function added (though, again, the problem of relearning will pop up).
I’m inclined to think yes because I’m constantly surprised by what we design with technology and how things and people evolve and, despite its difficulty, our capacity to relearn.
I wonder what the future will look like …?
(Wow … sorry for the rambling. This is way longer than intended and is really just me thinking outloud online. Must reread my post on brevity.)
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