The document discusses how the context in which mobile devices are used has become increasingly complex and unpredictable. Guidelines from a few years ago around mobile design being focused on quick tasks and limited attention are no longer reliable given that mobile interactions now occur in many contexts. The rise of affordable smartphones and proliferation of connected devices means that for many people around the world, a mobile device may be their only access to the internet. This is dramatically impacting user behavior and expectations.

1. the trouble with context...
presented at IA Konferenz, 2011
http://www.flickr.com/photos/procsilas/2833014872

2. things used to be
remarkably simple...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lonelyfox/4815935744

3. public space distractions
location?
designing for mobile meant
understanding the ‘mobile context’
limited aention
glanceable?
one hand tiny screen
tedious input
personal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oimax/3800475934

4. ...long day
only one hour left
oh no...forgot to go to the bank need a quick break
...its impact on
motivation
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7802947@N02/5547816310

5. playing a game
finding a bank nearby sending a text
checking the time of the next bus
...and on
behaviour
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7802947@N02/5547816310

6. so mobile design guidelines, went something like this...

7. “ Context is King: circumstances or conditions that surround
a person, place or thing. Content is of little value if it does
not address the context of where you are.
- Cameron Moll, SXSW, 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

8. “ Google (2007) breaks down mobile users
into three behaviour groups:
A. "Repetitive now"
B. "Bored now"
C. "Urgent now"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

9. “ Mobile user: typically on the go in an unpredictable
environment, interested in quick glanceable
information, focused on discrete individual tasks,
is often distracted.
- Joe Marini @ MIX 2010
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

10. lately however,
we have a problem...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barkbud/4914492619

11. cues and guidelines that were important logical just a few
years months ago are still useful...but no longer reliable

12. statements such as these are becoming
far more common

13. “ i love it! nice and clean look, easy to navigate
and easy to read. well done! but...can you put a
bit more news on there?
Source: Comments from readers regarding The Guardian’s new mobile web site http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

14. “ There should be a text only version of the
(desktop) site for those of us who don't like the
business of the main site.
Source: User talking about his habit of using the mobile Guardian site on his PC http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

15. “ ...mobile users want to see our menu, hours,
and delivery number...(but)...desktop users
definitely want to see this one megabyte PNG
of somebody smiling at a salad.
...for fun, Google
“Women Laughing
Alone With Salad”
Source: SitePoint Podcast: Responsive web design with Jeremy Keith http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

16. “ I’m definitely moving, I’m in a car. I’m going to look at your website.
This doesn’t mean my intent is to find an address, or quickly use
a news site...
Context can’t predict the way a user is going to use the site.
Mind reading is no way to base fundamental content decisions.
Source: Mark Kirby, The mobile context http://www.flickr.com/photos/webtreatsetc/4860505549/

17. so why this change?
and what does it all mean?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcoarment/2035853550

18. <historical interlude>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dumbledad/3262185149

19. free platforms
+ low cost components
= a perfect storm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deks/697297227

20. a free operating system (Android)
dual core ARM 9 @ 416MHz2G GSM/EDGE
2.8” QVGA resistive touch screen
2MP camera
GPS
WIFI and BlueTooth silicon
+ web browser
= <$90 components + plastic case Actions-Semi, MTK, TongXinDa , Rockchip...
~4 weeks to market!
http://casium.fr/component/kashyap/bc_detail/109
http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2010/09/waking-the-dragon-the-rise-of-android-in-china-2/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay/3300199882

21. despite this growth
smartphones are not yet
the majority
23%
Global smartphone penetration is only 23%...
http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2011/04/100-million-club-2h10/

22. but the featurephone of today is
the smartphone of two years ago...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanj/4432327487

23. and (most of) the rest
can easily install one
85% of new handsets now include
a web browser
Source: Tomi Ahonen Consulting http://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/4424185115

24. but connected devices
aren’t just small
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendry/5491251497/

25. they’re whatever shape
we need them to be
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mackarus/4289960218

26. “
One of the interesting estimates is that there are
about 35 billion devices connected to the Internet.
Soon, there will be so many that we’ll stop
counting.
- Eric Schmidt, Google
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_nj/4223680604

27. ...which brings us to the present
</historical interlude>
even beer
than cake...
they spent about
an hour staring
like this...

28. “
The most profound technologies are those
that disappear. They weave themselves into
the fabric of everyday life until they are
indistinguishable from it.
- Mark Weiser (1991)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/armaggeusa/3176297283

29. 77%
of the planet
owns a mobile devices
or 5.3 billion at the end of 2010 – U.N. Telecommunications Agency, http://www.itu.int

30. 1.3 billion
already use the ‘mobile internet’
...includes WAP and ‘real web’ via Tomi Ahonen Consulting

31. ...and for 1/3 of us, a mobile device
is the only access point
Russia 19%
UK 22%
China 22%
USA 25%
India 59%
25% of Egypt 70%
American’s
don’t use the 2-3GB home ADSL
Internet at all data ~$100/mth,
~$2/mth PAYG unlimited
mobile data
~$17/mth
Indonesia 44%
S. Africa 57%
Based on “Users who never or infrequently use the desktop web”, Source: On Device Research, Dec 2010
Related: Opera mobile-only study specific to India (May 2011) and NY Times article on lack of Internet access in rural America (Feb 2011)

32. http://www.flickr.com/photos/misbehave/2352753067
We're in a world of one line of connectivity. That's us.
You see...we don't have to "go" to the internet any more.
Mitch Joel, TedX Montreal

33. this is having a dramatic impact on
our behaviour and our expectations...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/williambrawley/4522648456

34. using the internet
is no longer “an activity”...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatcouldgowrong/5320553588

35. envir
onme
n t focused user
privacy
reliable
network
unlimited
data
with a fairly specific context
comfy chair
full-sized keyboard
work surface
reliable power source
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzcat/22019163

36. ...people reach for the internet using whatever
device makes sense to them at that time
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghewgill/5046616680

37. “ ...[the Kindle browser] is somewhat slow but
it definitely works, in fact my teen daughter
uses hers constantly...among other things
she uses it to keep in touch with her friends.
People discussing the Kindle browser on a message board
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghewgill/5046616680

38. “
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcfrog/4692750598
...the mobile internet is more convenient
than my home connection...
say 30% of respondents - Yahoo/Nielsen Mobile Shopping PDF

39. the traditional ‘mobile context’ is still valid...

40. 80% use mobile during
miscellaneous downtime...
Source: Compete quarterly smartphone report, Jan 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/missmeng/5327470961

41. 80% use mobile while waiting
in line or for an appointment...
Source: Compete quarterly smartphone report, Jan 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderdawg777/662293238

42. but the device and the context
no longer go hand-in-hand

43. mobile is increasingly being combined with longer
or completely ‘non-mobile’ activities...

44. 62% use mobile
while watching TV
Source: Compete quarterly smartphone report, Jan 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcmom/375125992

45. 69% use mobile for
point of sale research
while shopping
Source: Compete quarterly smartphone report, Jan 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/lollaping/3327541574

46. and mobile is also used
to time-shift
59% ...and follow up
sometimes on the PC
visit a site
on mobile
Source: Yahoo mobile shopping framework study

47. 34%
visit a site on
and follow-up
on mobile
the PC
Source: Yahoo mobile shopping framework study

48. Research on smartphone,
67% then buy in store.
and so on...
Research on smartphone,
23% then visit store to check
product out, then buy on PC.
Research on smartphone,
16% then visit store to check product
out, then buy on smartphone.
Visit store, then buy
9% on smartphone.
Source: The mobile movement study, Google

49. ...facilitating completion
of larger tasks
“The most expensive item sold via eBay’s
mobile app was a 1985 Piper PA-46-310P
Malibu airplane for $265,000.“ src: Mashable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-46

50. “The largest purchase on the M&S mobile
web site last Christmas was two sofas
costing over £3000 ($5000)“ src: Marketing Week
and important life decisions...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/plagevinilosyadhesivosdecorativos/5549366513

51. “ With current growth rates, Web access by people
on the move—via laptops and smart mobile devices—
is likely to exceed web access from desktop
computers within the next five years.
...or by 2015 - Source: ITU vis mobiThinking http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/2938685296

52. public space
distractions
so while this is (still) ‘mobile’...
limited aention
glanceable?
one hand simple?
tedious input
personal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oimax/3800475934

53. environment reliable
network
focused user
unlimited data
full-sized
it’s now also this...
keyboard
privacy
comfy work surface
chair
reliable power source
http://www.flickr.com/photos/othree/5224045406

54. focused
user
1hr train ride
privacy
reliable
network? comfy
unlimited wi ? chair
two
hands
reliable power source?
and this...

55. comfy
chair privacy
one hand
reliable power prone to
source interruptions
gravity
and maybe some of this?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/2359224681

56. being mobile
it’s not just about...
your type of device...
your location...
your intent...
how long you’ve be there
your bandwidth...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mujitra/4571580931

57. features
it’s just one of
the many ingredients
in our new reality...
constraints
mental
expectations
models
magic?
opportunities
familiarity
reach
responsibility
accessibility
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenkieb/1449664622

58. and hopefully
a new way of thinking
http://www.flickr.com/photos/basheertome/5557362895

59. maybe what has been actual
is actually...not normal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2121472112

60. ...our mental models
around ‘mobile’
(and the web)
and a great many other things
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/26273015

61. display size/width
are1440 mere
a
historical accident...
1280
1024
512 x 342 1024 x 768
800
640
320 x 480
512 240 x 320
240
1984 1990 1994 1998 2004 2007

62. display size/width
public displays
32
and will continue to shift
????
1920
1024 x 768
1920 x 1080
1440
1280 600 x 1024
1024 768 x 1024 ????
800
640
240
1990 1994 1998 2004 2007 2011 201

63. creating
new cultural norms
“Sir, we’ll be landing soon. Could you please shut off your book?”
- Flight attendant, April 2011

64. until very soon
what was familiar to some...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubo_pakes/4472188820

65. pico-projector
will be unrecognisable
to others
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattedgar/3724116027 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0YVb3x2Amc

66. “For kids like my 13 year-old, the
boundaries between the internet and
life are so porous as to be meaningless.“
Comment on the Guardian web site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tocaboca/5523598823

67. thank you
hello@yiibu.com
http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu
Part 2 of The trouble with context
can be found in Beyond the mobile web
(starting on slide 62)
http://slidesha.re/dURaVL