Presented by Stephanie Rieger at Breaking Development in Dallas, April 11 2011 and Mobilism in Amsterdam, May 12, 2011.
Context is often cited as the single most important factor in design for the mobile medium. Mobile devices are of course 'mobile', but they are also small, always on, always with us, and can instantly connect us to the people we love. Mobile services must therefore be simple, social, and well-focussed--enabling us to quickly get things done on even the smallest screens.
This is all well and good, but mobile devices have changed. They may be mobile, but many have already stopped being 'phones'—nor do they resemble what we traditionally think of as computers. This presentation will explore how our use, and perception of mobile devices is changing, and how these changes may impact how we should design for them going forward.