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October
29, 2001 | Hastings Research Inc. recently completed
a research report titled, "Wireless
Usability 2001-2002: A Glass Half-Full." The study took an angle
grounded well in the present as well as looking to the future.
As an R&D company, we are interested in the facts,
and began the study with as few preconceptions as possible. However,
the "D" part of our business is development: making software systems
work. In that light, we were surprised just how far wireless has
come in the U.S., and have written this report with "a glass half-full"
view: what wireless access is capable of doing now.
Usability is traditionally difficult to study quantitatively;
while it may be tempting to rely on benchmarks for performance,
measuring the perceived ease of use is more difficult. The study
prudently focused on qualitative measures. With more direct access
to the opinions of the participants of the study, there is no need
to second guess what's behind the numbers.
Wireless technology is in flux. Early applications
that have emerged are wireless web access, news, and email. Several
devices of varying degrees of affordability and complexity are currently
on the market. The study focused on a sampling of these devices
in the form of a web-enabled cellphone, a Blackberry page, a PalmOS
handheld computer, and a handheld PC, putting them in the hands
of real prospective users. While these early services are available
and seem to work, how well these devices perform that task is another
matter entirely. The result is a concise and cogent summary of device
capabilities with regard to the desired tasks. 
Is wireless ready for primetime with the public? Maybe, maybe
not, but more immediate gains are to be found in business intranets.
While cool gadgets may dazzle geeks, business ultimately operates
on the basis of the bottom line and return on investment. The study
looks at wireless from the vantage point of the enterprise. They
discuss strategies for employing wireless devices, with an aim to
leveraging potential gains from deploying and incorporating wireless
into real world processes.
Vendors and application authors stand to gain from the lessons
gleaned in this report. Knowledge of usability is essential for
effective wireless services, leveraging the strengths and minimizing
the weaknesses of each particular device. The study looked at what
works, what doesn't, and, more importantly, why. They dared to ask:
would you equip your company with these devices?
The authors of the study also look ahead to the future trends
in wireless and their likely impact on wireless deployment and usage.
For instance, they discuss the viability of WAP and the prospects
of improved device displays.
In short, this is a good primer and survey on the state of wireless
now, and is particularly useful to anyone who is engaged in serious
consideration of deploying wireless in the real world. In these
competitive times, it pays to get informed and avoid costly mistakes.
Hastings Research has made it convenient to get up to speed and
in the know.
bio:
Jim Lai is currently a senior
programmer. His first encounter with computers was around 1980,
and since then has developed many geekly talents and skills in
his idle quest to be a modern day Renaissance man. He lives in
Toronto, Canada with his wife Lisa, whom he met on the Internet
in 1992.
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