On Mobile Handset Usability and Design

One of the hardest parts of designing for mobile phones, compared to, say, websites, is that your target market is huge - pretty much everyone. Segmentation is possible, but when people get in the phone store, they’ll change their mind on a whim, often influenced by a special offer, or simply which looks to be the smallsilvershiniest.

With Nokia, the problem is intensified - even those handsets that are ‘niche’ will still sell more than all of some other manufacturers’ handsets. Which means I’m really glad that Nokia releases phones like the 7280 or the 3650. Nokia is trying to push phone design forward, and whilst the mass market may not see the point of these models, to a certain percentage, these phones are perfect.

I am in Hong Kong at the moment, and sure, the phones on sale are the latest and the greatest, but I’m really disappointed. Where are the new form factors? The uniquely styled? Those with different input and output mechanisms? The most future thing I’ve found so far was in one of the markets - a little dialer keypad that goes between your phone’s accessory port and your headset (why take the phone out of your pocket to make a call?). (Via OK/Cancel)