Scrolling versus menus on small mobile device screens: a mobile portal usability study

Abstract

<p>Developing an application interface for wireless portable devices that is acceptable to end-users is more complex than it is for desktop displays. One way this challenge can be addressed is by providing application access through wireless Web portals. This paper presents a usability study of a wireless Web application, based on reusable portlets that support different functionalities t1:1rough wireless PDAs. Two wireless PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) interfaces were developed for an organizational application. The first used a PDA display of the equivalent desktop version that made all functionalities available by scrolling, and the second version utilized five portlets in separate displays, each supporting a functionality that linked to the other portlets through menus. Summative comparisons of the wireless interfaces were used to gather user perceptions of three versions of the interface: a full desktop computer display, the scrollable PDA version, and the menu-driven PDA version. Outcomes indicated that users preferred the desktop interface but their ranking was indifferent between the menu-driven and scrollable PDA interfaces.</p>