User Experience and Cross Platform App DevelopmentOr, It’s Like an iPhone App But One BiggerCarlo Longino –Wireless Industry Partnershipcarlo@wipconnector.com

In the next 12 minutes

• Understanding devices• Understanding users• Understanding context

Housekeeping

• Carlo Longino, Community Manager, Wireless Industry Partnership– http://www.wipconnector.com– Connecting developers to information,

resources and people– carlo@wipconnector.com–@caaarlo– Slides: http://slidesha.re/sxsw-apps

Let’s get started

• Are you a mobile developer?– Yes, even if you don’t know it– Your content lives outside the desktop

PC

• Two choices: ignore it or account for it

• It’s not about adaptation or screen size

• It’s about building a better experience

• * this does not apply solely to apps

Understanding devices

• First, there was the iPhone– “Finally, a decent browser in a phone”

• Then came apps– “Hey, people use these things

differently”

• Then came the iPad– “it’s like an iPhone with a bigger screen”

A plethora of options

• iPhone -> iPad• Android phones -> tablets• TVs and set-top boxes• GPS units• Cars

More than a bigger screen

• Lots of significant physical differences:– Size/weight– Input options–Wireless connections– And yes, screen size

• These all affect user behavior

Lugging things around

Input options

Input options

Food fight

Food fight

It all adds up

• Where will people use the device?• How long/short periods of time will

they use it for?• What are the sorts of things they’ll

want to do with it?

Behind every app, a user

• Who is your user?–What is your targeted segment?– Do they have particular

characteristics/tendencies?

• How will they want to use your app?

Let’s play Sudoku

• Me vs Dad• You mean I have to talk to users?

Context

• Device + User + Situation = context• Who is using the

device/app/service?• What are they doing?• How are they doing it?

All aboard

Different device and experience

Context and monetization

• In-game video ads– Is the user connected?– Are they on a free connection?

• Server-side features– Unlocking new content– In-app purchases

What have we learned?

• More than screen size– It’s not a question of how much real

estate you have, it’s about how you zone it

• Know your users– You can’t get around this

• Know the context

Resources

• Device database– http://deviceatlas.com/– http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/

• Design and development thinking–@barbaraballard–@fling– http://www.cloudfour.com/blog/

Thanks

carlo@wipconnector.comhttp://www.wipconnector.com

@caaarloslideshare