Stephen Wellman describes the six key elements that Google considers when designing mobile applications. “Understanding users, anywhere, anytime” is one of them:
“Rechis said that Google breaks down mobile users into three behavior groups: A. “Repetitive now” B. “Bored now” C. “Urgent now”
“The “repetitive now” user is someone checking for the same piece of information over and over again, like checking the same stock quotes or weather. Google uses cookies to help cater to mobile users who check and recheck the same data points.
“The “bored now” are users who have time on their hands. People on trains or waiting in airports or sitting in cafes. Mobile users in this behavior group look a lot more like casual Web surfers, but mobile phones don’t offer the robust user input of a desktop, so the applications have to be tailored.
“The “urgent now” is a request to find something specific fast, like the location of a bakery or directions to the airport. Since a lot of these questions are location-aware, Google tries to build location into the mobile versions of these queries.”
Link: Google Lays Out Its Mobile User Experience Strategy (informationweek.com)
Related:
- New mobile user experience blog
- The Seven Rules of Mobile Data User Experience
- Review of Designing the Mobile User Experience
- Designing the Mobile User Experience
- User models of ubiquitous computing
Tags: google, strategy, userexperience, ux
