Current mobile email clients are essentially smaller versions of desktop clients designed with the assumption that mobile and desktop users engage in similar activities. Research on smartphone use, however, suggests that mobile and desktop activities differ, with mobile users focusing on triaging messages and deferring the handling of messages until they reach a desktop or laptop computer. The increased use of mobile email and the difference in practices presents an opportunity to reconsider the design of mobile (and multi-device) email user experiences. We contribute new guidelines for the design of mobile email clients that emphasize fast triage and the ability to capture intended actions. We also contribute the design, implementation, and evaluation of a new user experience meeting those guidelines that consists of a mobile email client, desktop email client extension, and web service.
By: Jeffrey S. Pierce; Jonathan Bunde-Pedersen; Daniel A. Ford
Published in: RJ10458 in 2010
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