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MEX: Enhancing mobile user experience in a multi-platform world

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May 2009, Manifesto #2: Achieving great tactile experience is a subtle art

Videos





Presentations

Christophe Ramstein on Manifesto 2, Day 1 - Achieving great tactile experience is a subtle art

Speakers
  • Christophe Ramstein, Chief Technology Officer, Immersion (Profile)
Session details

Time Activity Location
11:00:00 Keynote presentation Main conference room
11:30:00 Breakout sessions Team rooms
12:30:00 Breakout teams report back for group debate Main conference room

Manifesto statement
We believe...the tactile nuances of mobile products are of much greater importance to customers than the industry realises. Adding a touchscreen does not automatically equate to better user experience. The overall customer experience will be enhanced through a combination of touchscreens, additional touch-enabled surfaces, haptics and introducing new materials for device casings, buttons and accessories.

Tags
Tactile; Touchscreens; Haptics; Touch-enabled surfaces; Materials; Buttons

The story
Touchscreen handsets are suddenly everywhere. Nokia sold over a million of the 5800, its first mainstream touch product, in the first two months of availability. LG shipped 5m Viewty touchscreen handsets in the 14 months to January 2009. Apple had sold 17.4m iPhones as of January 2009.
However, unit shipments do not necessarily translate to great customer experience. RIM, which had one of the highest profile touchscreen launches of the last 12 months with the Blackberry Storm, has suffered negative sentiment from customers dissatisfied with the performance of the screen. A ChangeWave survey found 20% of Storm users citing the touchscreen as the factor they liked least about the device, while 21% bemoaned the lack of keyboard and a further 20% criticised 'ease of use'.
There are a range of technologies emerging which can enhance the tactile experience of mobile products. These will allow touch sensitivity to extend from the screen to other surfaces, embedding advanced haptic feedback and combining physical materials to create a new sensory layer for the user. In the future, proximity sensing may enable 'touch' interfaces without the user even needing to make a physical connection with the surface.

To get you thinking...
  • How can touch-enabling surfaces other the main screen enhance the tactile experience of mobile products?
  • Which interface elements can be effectively abstracted into software using touchscreens and when does a dedicated hardware button provide value for the customer?
  • Will the explosive growth of high-profile touchscreen handsets like the iPhone, Nokia 5800 and Blackberry Storm create customer expectations of touch features on every mobile device?
  • Is there currently a missing link in the touch experience, with many handsets still unable to talk back to the user through haptic feedback? How can this channel of sensory communication enhance the customer experience?
Further reading from the MEX archives
Stat Spots
  • 14.00%: 14% of BlackBerry Storm customers in the US were unsatisfied with their purchase after spending a month with the device. Only 33% claimed they were very satisfied, with most choosing a mediocre rating of 'Somewhat satisfied'. This contrasts with the results of a similar survey of iPhone users, which found 77% were very satisfied and just 5% unsatisfied. The primary reasons for the Storm's lacklustre appeal appeared to be the touchscreen interface, cited as a problem by 20%, the lack of a touchscreen keyboard (21%) and difficulty to use (20%). | (Source: ChangeWave)
  • 5m: LG sold 5 million of its touchscreen Viewty handsets in the 14 months to January 2009 | (Source: Mobile Entertainment Magazine)
  • $144: The bill of materials cost (BoM) for the HTC G1, the first Android-powered handset, is approximately USD 144. This compares with USD 175 for the iPhone 3G. The biggest single cost component is the ARM baseband chip, costing USD 28.49, (19.8 percent of the G1's total BoM), followed by the display panel at USD 19.67 (13.7 percent of the BoM). | (Source: iSuppli)
  • 6000: Sales of the Blackberry Storm by Vodafone UK fell from 20000 per week after launch to just 6000 a week a month later after reports of widespread bugs and errors in the device hit sales. | (Source: Mobile Today)
  • 1m: In the first 2 months of availability, Nokia shipped 1m of its 5800 'Tube' handsets, the company's first mass-market touchscreen device. The first 500,000 were sold in just over a month, with the remainder selling out even faster as Nokia expanded availability to new markets. | (Source: Nokia)

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Conference
> Register
> Introduction
> Manifesto
> Agenda > Innovations Gallery
> Scholarships
> Speakers
> Sponsors
> Venue
> Photos
> Contact us

> Homepage 		Latest insights
> MEX Blog
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> Buy MEX Report
Buy the MEX Report from 2nd/3rd December 2009

MEX Videos
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Watch videos from MEX, May 2009 		Services
> Consulting
> Analyst coverage 		Contact
Marek Pawlowski
t: +44 7767 622957
e: mp@pmn.co.uk
tw: @marekpawlowski
tw#: #mex10

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