Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

An Exploration of Usefulness in Smartphone Applications

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Alex Bowyer

Downloads


Licence

This is the authors' accepted manuscript of a working paper published in its final definitive form in 2016. For re-use rights please refer to the publishers terms and conditions.


Abstract

85% of the world has access to mobile phones, while only 65% have access to clean water. By 2017, more than a third of the world’s population will own a smartphone. People use smartphones in many different ways, with over 5.7 million different apps available. But in a world of walled-garden experiences and closed-down interfaces and a crippling array of choices, smartphone user experiences are complicated; they are sometimes empowering but sometimes burdensome. A major challenge facing Digital Civics and HCI is, how can users be empowered by their technology? To explore this question, it might be valuable to explore what people find the most useful aspects of their smartphone apps, and what aspects are most disliked. If general patterns can be uncovered, these can inform future technology designs.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Bowyer AJB

Publication type: Working Paper

Publication status: Unpublished

Type of Article: Original Masters Student Research Report

Year: 2016


Share