Chamelephones

An article I read recently claims that Japanese children consider full-size computer keyboards too cumbersome and confusing, compared to the sleek keypads of their phones. Their attitude will probably change when they grow up and find themselves writing long essays – T9 doesn’t cut it for anything longer than a few sentences. Typing aside, today’s mobile phone interfaces are quite efficient and streamlined. But what about tomorrow? While it’s possible to control everything using the numpad and a handful of soft keys, it’s definitely not intuitive. The race to find a suitable replacement is now in full swing.

It all started with the LG "Chocolate", a stylish phone that introduced touch-sensitive controls to the mass market. The phone features four buttons that act just like the rest – but instead of pressing, one only has to tap them. This approach introduced more usability issues than it solved – for example, unless the keys are locked the phone behaves unpredictably when pressed against the cheek during a conversation. However, its novel design was so appealing that Chocolate became a huge success, inspiring a number of knock-offs from other manufacturers.

In the past few weeks, several major companies revealed prototypes of phones that ditch the traditional keypads altogether, while combining touch-sensitivity with OLED screens. The entire surface of the phone doubles up as both the display and the input device. Like chameleons, these devices adapt to the application that’s currently active, providing the optimal metaphor for user interaction. 

Out of these, Nokia’s "Aeon" is the closest to the traditional handset. A metal strip separates the “display area” from the “input area”, allowing the user to position the device upright. Knowing where the buttons are going to appear makes the experience more intuitive, but limits the available screen real estate.

Benq-Siemens concept phone, dubbed “Black Box” takes this to the next level. Buttons take different shapes and appear in different parts of the screen, adjusting to the current task. Smooth animations make the screen come alive during the idle moments.

Last but not least, there is the "Onyx" concept by Synaptics, a very well known user interface design company. Again, the touch-screen approach is used, but in addition, gestures are supported for even more intuitive operation. For example, one can “swipe” a text message off the screen for it to be sent. Sounds like fun!

Overall, slowly but surely the revolution in the way we interact with electronics is approaching. Mobile devices will be at its forefront – here, usability, efficiency and response times are not just buzzwords, but factors that influence lives of millions.