Monday, May 23, 2005
Vodafone Launches Back-To-Basics Mobile :
A real sign that companies are paying attention to the fact that many people, in particular the older generation, are fed up with having to keep up with the latest trends in technology, ever increasing options, smaller buttons etc... Vodafone have launched 2 new handsets that offer enhanced usability through providing only a bare minimum of functions (just voice & text) and giving direct access to each. Look at these features:
- Buttons dedicated to a single task
- One button to get to all your messages - when it flashes, press it to retrieve the messages
- A home button to always take you back to the main screen
- A contacts button giving easy access to names and numbers
- A specific button to set the ringing volume
- A single switch to lock your phone to stop you making accidental calls
- Large, clear, high resolution colour screen showing, in plain English, signal strength, battery life, ring tone volume and, if the customer wishes, their phone number
- Large well spaced buttons to avoid misdialling or mistexting
These are all excellent features in terms of improving usability, and they highlight just how bewildering phones without these design features can be. I'd like my phone to be designed like this. There is no reason why a phone can't be this usable *and* still have all the fancy features I use occasionally.
A real sign that companies are paying attention to the fact that many people, in particular the older generation, are fed up with having to keep up with the latest trends in technology, ever increasing options, smaller buttons etc... Vodafone have launched 2 new handsets that offer enhanced usability through providing only a bare minimum of functions (just voice & text) and giving direct access to each. Look at these features:
- Buttons dedicated to a single task
- One button to get to all your messages - when it flashes, press it to retrieve the messages
- A home button to always take you back to the main screen
- A contacts button giving easy access to names and numbers
- A specific button to set the ringing volume
- A single switch to lock your phone to stop you making accidental calls
- Large, clear, high resolution colour screen showing, in plain English, signal strength, battery life, ring tone volume and, if the customer wishes, their phone number
- Large well spaced buttons to avoid misdialling or mistexting
These are all excellent features in terms of improving usability, and they highlight just how bewildering phones without these design features can be. I'd like my phone to be designed like this. There is no reason why a phone can't be this usable *and* still have all the fancy features I use occasionally.
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(c) 2003-2005 Russell Beale
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