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1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> |
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2 <!-- Copyright (c) 2007-2010 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies) All rights reserved. --> |
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3 <!-- This component and the accompanying materials are made available under the terms of the License |
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4 "Eclipse Public License v1.0" which accompanies this distribution, |
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5 and is available at the URL "http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html". --> |
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6 <!-- Initial Contributors: |
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7 Nokia Corporation - initial contribution. |
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8 Contributors: |
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9 --> |
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10 <!DOCTYPE concept |
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11 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Concept//EN" "concept.dtd"> |
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12 <concept id="GUID-F4F3A37A-AB0C-47B8-A538-C05F1CA73BF3" xml:lang="en"><title>Touch-enabled |
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13 vs. touch-optimized</title><prolog><metadata><keywords/></metadata></prolog><conbody> |
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14 <section id="GUID-5A2B0210-EE1A-4B8F-A714-F7CA1EC2B1EA"> <p>Rather than being |
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15 touch-enabled, certain applications can be touch-optimized, that is, designed |
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16 primarily for touch screen interaction. When developing applications for a |
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17 touch interface, it is important to consider interactions which benefit the |
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18 most from touch UI. While physical strokes and gestures allow for more natural |
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19 interaction with objects, the fact that one can apply them does not mean they |
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20 are appropriate for every situation. </p><p>Following are some useful tips |
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21 that can be used when designing applications for touch use: <ul> |
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22 <li><p>It is imperative that design decisions are based on real-time touch |
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23 use cases.</p></li> |
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24 <li><p>Since touch functions require a fair amount of discovery from the user, |
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25 it is good if only very obvious functions are made touch-enabled. </p></li> |
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26 </ul></p><p><b>Why to use touch</b></p><ul> |
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27 <li><p><b>More flexible:</b> Compared to fixed hardware keys, the interface |
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28 can change dynamically. This allows for more flexible configurations depending |
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29 on the functionality requirements, languages, and so on. Thus a very small |
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30 screen can change its buttons as required. Also, with indirect strokes and |
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31 gestures, there are numerous possibilities of flexibility. No use of physical |
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32 buttons is required.</p><fig id="GUID-30369880-1F00-440E-A12C-2C75511FDEE8"> |
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33 <image href="GUID-785160B9-A6BC-47FA-957E-5BB87E79B4E7_d0e74811_href.png" placement="inline"/> |
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34 </fig></li> |
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35 <li><p><b>More intuitive:</b> Manipulating objects directly by touching them |
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36 is natural and intuitive. Keyboards, mice, trackballs, and other input devices |
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37 are not able to convey as much subtlety as touch can. Direct manipulation |
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38 can deliver a lot more meaning to controlling a tool. </p></li> |
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39 <li><p><b>More fun:</b> One can design a game in which users press a button |
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40 and an on-screen avatar swings a tennis racket. But it can be simply more |
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41 entertaining to mimic movements physically, and to see the action mirrored |
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42 on-screen. Strokes and gestures encourage play and exploration of a system |
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43 by providing a more hands-on experience. </p></li> |
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44 <li><p><b>More engaging:</b> Through play, users start to engage with the |
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45 interface, first by trying it out to see how it works. </p></li> |
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46 </ul><p><b>Limitations of touch</b></p><ul> |
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47 <li><p><b>Heavy data input:</b> A hardware keyboard is faster for most people |
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48 to use when entering a large amount of text or numbers, and applications which |
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49 involve heavy data input are not necessarily ideal for touch devices. Virtual |
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50 keyboards are adequate, for example, for messaging applications. Consider |
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51 utilizing adaptive methods - such as options and selections filtered according |
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52 to what is available on the screen or in a list - and pre-filled items, when |
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53 possible.</p></li> |
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54 <li><p><b>Reliance on the visual:</b> While the Symbian platform provides |
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55 tactile feedback capability, some applications can rely heavily on visual |
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56 feedback to indicate actions. Allow for scalability, larger buttons and text |
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57 sizes, for example, for visually impaired users.</p></li> |
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58 <li><p><b>Reliance on the physical: </b>Touch interface can be more demanding |
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59 on the physical context than mechanical keys. Tapping a touch screen button |
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60 can be difficult while wearing winter gloves, or with long fingernails. The |
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61 inverse is also true: the more subtle and small the movement, the less likely |
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62 it is that everyone will be able to do it. To overcome this, the most basic |
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63 use cases, such as answering an incoming phone call, must utilize large enough |
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64 elements and straightforward interaction.</p></li> |
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65 </ul></section> |
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66 </conbody></concept> |