Avatars sound like an interesting idea outside a phone conversation; something to help with continuous low-intensity communication. Not sure about in call, though.
“Danielson sees the avatars as a means for more effective phone conversations. “One form of nonverbal communications is nodding and shaking the head. How many times have you nodded your head while speaking on the phone? That nonverbal communication never makes it to the remote party,” says Danielson. “Imagine if that communication was automatically conveyed through the use of an on-screen avatar. Other types of nonverbal communications, such as smiles, frowns, and raised eyebrows, can be controlled.””
Link: Building Your Own Phone Face (businessweek.com)
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Tags: avatars, design, hci, interactiondesign, ixd, mobile, ubicomp, ui, userexperience, ux
I’m not sure how this will play out during a voice call, but the other aspects of it are interesting… especially the idea of a single avatar that could be used across multiple places—AIM, Flickr, Google Groups, etc.