Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8. Summary of technical problems
Issue
Finding
Downloading data intensive content
The capacity of mobile network was not always optimal for transferring large amounts
of data, and as a consequence users got frustrated with long download times.
Non-responsive tags
Users found tags that did not give any response upon touch, and were annoyed about
that; service providers should take care of the maintenance of tags.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
INTERFACE AND CONTENT DESIGN
in our environment can be used to provide cues
about Mobile Internet content and services avail-
able. For example, a medicine package could
provide a cue that by touching the package,
Mobile Internet content describing the medicine
can be accessed (Isomursu et al. 2009). In the
second scenario, service and content providers can
bring new visual elements into our environment
advertising all available Mobile Internet content
and services. Information tags described in this
chapter represent the second scenario, as they
are visual objects that are not directly linked to
any physical object in our natural environment,
but rather create new visual objects. Both visions
require that users have learned the language and
signs needed for service discovery, i.e. the new
digital literacy skills of mixed reality user inter-
faces. The users need skills to identify the digital
affordances in a mixed-reality environment to be
able to discover the digital services and content
available. The examples presented in this chapter
have suggested one alternative for creating mixed
reality interfaces with NFC technology.
The limitations of visual impaired users should
also be taken into account when planning for the
placement of the tags. To optimize the discover-
ability of the tags for this user group, the service
provider should ensure that the tags are placed
consistently on a standard location so that the
visual impaired person will know where the tag
would be available. For example, at bus stops the
tags providing access to bus timetables should
always be placed on a same pre-agreed location.
In tag design should also be utilized audio cues
that would inform the visual impaired user when
the mobile phone detects the tag.
Our findings both confirm previous findings and
the expected benefits of NFC-enabled touch-based
Mobile Internet access, and provide some insights
that can be used by Mobile Internet content de-
signers for aspiring to provide a successful user
experience for Mobile Internet users. Here, we
conclude our recommendations for interface and
content design into two categories: (1) Tag-based
interface for Mobile Internet content and service
discovery, and (2) Mobile Internet content.
Designing Tag-Based Interface
for Mobile Internet Content
and Service Discovery
The mixed-reality user interfaces realized through
tagging the environment to allow direct access to
the Mobile Internet through the physical interac-
tion of touch can relieve the service discovery
problem by bringing the service access points
physically to the mobile usage situations the
user might face, and visualizing services in our
everyday environment. The visual cues embedded
into our environment can be used as indicators of
services available through the Mobile Internet,
and therefore increase user awareness about its
content and services. In addition, Mobile Internet
services and content can be made available at the
locations they are most needed, as NFC tags can
be attached virtually anywhere.
Two alternative visions can be seen in embed-
ding visual cues into our environment. In the first
scenario, the visual elements naturally available
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