"Simple is smart" - even for mobile phones

(Source: BBC News)

New phone features 'baffle users'

The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry, research suggests. Some 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts. Compiled by consultants Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. Of those questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if the technology was easier to set up. Web browsing Mformation spokesman Matthew Bancroft said users were frustrated by having to call an operator or look online for help. "There is an enormous range of things modern phones are capable of doing but the paradox is that many people are not using these capabilities," he said. Of the 4,000 people questioned for the survey, 95% said they would be more likely to use new features if the initial set-up was easier. Mr Bancroft said bad experiences turned people off trying to get more from their phone. "If an application does not work once or twice, they just will not use it or try again," he said. Some 61% of those questioned said they stopped using an application if they could not get it working straight away. Mr Bancroft said setting up a new phone should take only 15 minutes but many people were spending an hour or more to get the handset to do what they wanted. He added that most people wanted to do such tasks as browsing the web, reading e-mail, or sending picture messages, but the complexity of modern handsets was leaving them foxed. Industry work on standards for basic handset operations could help the situation, said Mr Bancroft. As phones packed in more processing power, he said, that computational ability could be used to anticipate what users were doing and help them find their way around the handset. He said operators needed to remove the frustration because new data services were likely to form a bigger part of their revenues in the future. "People are already using handsets as much as possible to do voice calls," he said.

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Lessons Learned

All new offers should be scored in a scale of User friendliness at the project concept and implementation phases. And, proposals should have a specific section on “how this offer can be made more user-friendly”.