Touch-Based Access to Mobile Internet - Human-Computer Interaction and Innovation in Handheld, Mobile and Wearable Technologies - page 237

Figure 2. Theatre visitors consuming Mobile
Internet content about the play

vices. The users were recruited primarily for
testing these application concepts, not the infor-
mation tags. Information tags provided an add-on
service that all recruited users (or any other user
with an NFC-enabled phone) were able to use
during the trial period. The parking pilot users
were recruited from companies operating in the
city area, as their employees needed and used
parking services regularly. Theatre users were
also recruited through local companies, who
wanted to provide a theatre experience for their
employees. Restaurant and pub users were re-
cruited from the regular customers of both places.
The individual pilots were active at different times
(see summary in Table 1).
Two main sources of data were used for ana-
lyzing and interpreting the use and user experience
evoked through the information tags. The first
data source was the automatically generated logs
about use. The logs provided information about
who used the tags, which tags were used, and
when the tags were used. The second data source
was a questionnaire and related interviews. They
were used for collecting subjective experiences
related to the use of the information tags.
The user's subjective experience was collected
immediately after the trial with questionnaires. In
some contexts, a web-based questionnaire was
used (e.g. for the theatre visitors), and for some,
a paper-based questionnaire was applied (e.g.
for the parking application users). The choice
was made on the basis of practical arrangements:
in the theatre, each user used the NFC-enabled
mobile phone to access theatre specific Mobile
Internet content only once, and they did not meet

Figure 3. Pub customer accessing Mobile Inter-
net content describing special beers available
at the pub

provide them with the NFC-enabled mobile
phones. Information tags were available for use
for the total of 238 trial users, who were recruit-
ed to use other NFC-based applications, namely
NFC-enabled parking payment, ticketing in a
theatre, ordering lunch and pub customer ser-

Table 1. Timing of information tag pilots and duration of use for individual users

Period Duration Duration of use for individual

user

Parking pilot 3 Sep - 1 Nov 2007 approx. 8 weeks Whole pilot period

Theatre pilot 8 Nov - 19 Dec 2007 approx. 6 weeks One evening

Pub pilot 12 Nov - 31 Dec 2007 approx. 7 weeks Whole pilot period

Restaurant pilot 19 Nov - 31 Dec 2007 approx. 6 weeks Whole pilot period