Get a Grip

Phone designers are always in pursuit of it -- the proverbial better mousetrap. The ideal phone must be cost-effective, stylish, allow access to e-mail, let you browse the Web and perhaps even cook supper. But above all, it must be easy to use or "ergonomically correct."

Ergonomics, which coordinates the design of devices, systems and conditions with the capacities and requirements of the user, has become big business. Ergonomic considerations are becoming a vital aspect of the design process. Such considerations, once simply a way to catch attention, are now an intricate part of the business plan. After all, the design of the phone is one make-or-break aspect of wireless service. Customers are becoming more selective, and they are likely to spend more time on a phone that fits them well than one that is uncomfortable to use.

Handset designers meticulously and methodically experiment with thousands of interfaces, switching gadgets as if they were children playing with Legos, because not only does the phone need to have all the right features, it needs to have the right shape. And not only are users concerned with sound quality, they also are concerned with button placement and screen size.

Gaining Perspective But how do engineers go about finding what is ergonomically correct? When trying to figure out what consumers want, it may be helpful to take a step back and try to look at the task objectively.

"When we work with the engineers, we take off our Sony hat and study existing products and say, 'How would I like this better if I didn't know all the things about phones that I already know?'" said Dave Whalen, Sony vice president of sales and marketing. He added that another crucial link to designing the perfect handset is carriers.

"Carriers give us the best feedback," Whalen said. "They have so much experience with knowing what consumers like that their input is invaluable."

In addition to scientific procedures, which include testing and sampling, and carrier advice, vendors also conduct another tried-and-true approach: They ask consumers what they want. Focus groups are one method of finding out what works.

After extensive research working with both external and internal focus groups, customer preference is implemented into the phone design, said Tony Sellers, Mitsubishi Wireless Communications IS-136 product manager. Considerations are made for ease of use within the user interface including such basic things as LCD and button size, he said.

NEC focus groups consistently show an association between quality and size, said Jose Sosa, NEC Americas Wireless Voice Terminals Division director of marketing. Consumers value quality/durability, but within a certain size or weight envelope, he said. Outside that envelope, when the phone is noticeably smaller or lighter, the group perceived the phone to be inferior. Sosa added that this is especially true of the U.S. market, less so for the Asian and European markets.

Still Smaller? To answer the size question, Sosa said you have to divide phones into two categories: traditional and flip phones. He said traditional handsets are close to optimal size, weight and volume, the three handset design parameters, but in flip phones, much smaller footprints are available. Nevertheless, significant manufacturing and durability issues arise, he added.

"While we manufacture a very good and stylish flip phone for the Far East, we have a wait-and-see posture for the Americas market," Sosa said.

Sony's Whalen said that consumers continue to embrace the smaller-is-better theory.

"The industry is demanding smaller phones," he said. "The ones in Japan and China are typically much smaller than the ones in the United States, and designers are increasingly coming up with ways to increase battery capacity in smaller phones."

Although it may seem that phones are already fairly small, technically, at least, smaller is still possible, said Heidi Lax, Nokia product manager, Product Marketing Americas.

"Phone sizes can still decrease so that components such as mechanics, display and batteries begin to define achievable form factors," Lax said.

She went on to say, however, that the human hand and face, as well as multiple usage situations, also affect phone design considerably.

Sosa said that NEC also pays particular attention to the way the phone fits the contour of the face.

"This is an area where too small a handset begins to cause concern," Sosa said. "Many people believe that if the microphone is not physically in front of the user's mouth, sound and voice quality will suffer, so we take that into consideration when we design our phones."

Lax said when starting the design process, she considered the most crucial elements a classic, timeless design; harmony; proportion and balance. A complete concept is important, and all of the pieces need to work together.

"We also consider the design based on our humble understanding of the customers' needs," Lax said. "We want the user to feel respected, not cheated. We want them to say, 'I get it. I understand.'"

She said the product concept itself is important -- how the phone is used relative to what it delivers. The concept must meet or exceed the expectations for the consumer as a whole.

The Road Ahead Sellers said he sees handsets becoming very small in the future.

"Customers are demanding it, and the market is moving that way," Sellers said. "This doesn't mean small phones beyond reason. It means small, lightweight and functional, with more interactive features and powerful functions that are easy to use."

The Sony vision includes a convergence of applications into a hand-held device that will allow the end-user to access the Internet and e-mail from his wireless phone, Whalen said.

"With CDMA data throughput, we will be seeing music being downloaded," he said. "I predict phones will become very small, and the talk time will increase as the technology becomes more mature. The new technology will touch everyone, meeting and becoming compatible with all lifestyles."

Sosa sees function rather than style driving the future of handsets.

"Web browsers and a desire to surf the Web using wireless technology, plus data requirements to support e-mail and data applications, will push engineers and designers to larger screens, color and graphics," Sosa said.

He added that these new functions will, in turn, create non-traditional buttons, such as the voice mail and e-mail direct-access buttons being seen today. These new features will reinforce the importance of simple, user-friendly designs and intuitive icons, he said.

Lax said she sees advanced user- interface technologies such as voice recognition and predictive input as maturing, while the cost of MIPs and memory will decrease.

"Future trends will include new product concepts such as phones without pads or phones that have a separate user interface and transceiver parts, but still are very small," Lax said. "Technology will enable a variety of concepts, but the market growth, increase in penetration and increased competition will drive segmentation.

With wireless phone sales expected to surpass the $15-million-a-year mark when we enter the next millenium, vendors agree it's time to get going. That's a lot of mousetraps.