The Usable Products Company has compiled a report into which handsets are deemed to be easiest to use - and naturally, the hardest to use. The study highlights Cingular's Motorola RAZR, T-Mobile's Nokia 6101, and Virgin Mobile's Audiovox Flasher, in addition to ten previously-studied phones (2004). The Motorola RAZR, available from Cingular, ranked 11th out of 13 phones tested in late 2005. Nokia's first US flip phone, the 6101, available from T-Mobile, scored 7th. Audiovox's Flasher V7, available from Virgin Mobile, scored 6th.
23% of all US cell phone users downloaded at least one ringtone in 2005, according to Ipsos Insights. In October 2005 alone, 3.5% of all cell phone users purchased a wallpaper and 3.0% purchased a game for their phone, according to M:metrics. Usable Products Company's independent study of mobile telephone media purchase usability indicates that, despite being a multi-billion-dollar global industry, media purchase usability remains as challenging as ever.
Samsung and Sanyo phones are the easiest to use while the Motorola RAZR is much harder to use than expected as-is T-Mobile's newly-released Nokia 6101 flip-phone.
The average rankings for mobile phone enhancement purchase and installation:
These rankings reflect Single Usability Metric scores based on performance and perception data from 20 one-hour usability interviews. Interviews were conducted on each of 13 different mobile telephone models offered by Audiovox, Blackberry, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sanyo, available from Cingular, Sprint (and Sprint Nextel), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile.
In December, 2005, Usable Products Company delivered the first commercially available Single Usability Metric results. "This metric enables a true ranking of usability of mobile telephones with respect to enhanced user services, like ring tone, wallpaper, and game shopping, purchase and installation," according to Usable Products Company CEO, Scott Weiss. "The Cingular Motorola RAZR's poor usability surprised us, coming in with a 47% success rate for ring tone download and installation, as compared to a 94% success rate for the T-Mobile Motorola v600. Participants had difficulty finding the place from which they could buy media, and extra steps to complete downloads stymied users.
Nokia's first US flip phone, the T-Mobile Nokia 6101 fared little better with a 60% success rate for wallpaper download and purchase, though it was much better than the 7% success rate achieved by participants using the T-Mobile Nokia 3660.
"The Audiovox Flasher V7, also new to the study, was slightly better than average," stated Weiss, "with a 79% success rate for wallpaper, but an 84% success rate for game downloads."
The Media Download Usability Study is a complete snapshot of the usability of thirteen mobile telephone handsets available from U.S. mobile carriers."
Posted to the site on 16th January 2006
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/15592.php