Article
Smartphone Text Input Method Performance, Usability, and Preference With Younger and Older Adults
Human Factors
(2015)
Abstract
Objective: User performance, perceived usability, and preference for five smartphone text input methods
were compared with younger and older novice adults.
Background: Smartphones are used for a variety of functions other than phone calls, including text messaging,
e-mail, and web browsing. Research comparing performance with methods of text input on smartphones
reveals a high degree of variability in reported measures, procedures, and results. This study reports on a direct
comparison of five of the most common input methods among a population of younger and older adults, who had
no experience with any of the methods.
Method: Fifty adults (25 younger, 18–35 years; 25 older, 60–84 years) completed a text entry task using five
text input methods (physical Qwerty, onscreen Qwerty, tracing, handwriting, and voice). Entry and error rates,
perceived usability, and preference were recorded.
Results: Both age groups input text equally fast using voice input, but older adults were slower than younger
adults using all other methods. Both age groups had low error rates when using physical Qwerty and voice, but
older adults committed more errors with the other three methods. Both younger and older adults preferred voice
and physical Qwerty input to the remaining methods. Handwriting consistently performed the worst and was
rated lowest by both groups.
Conclusion: Voice and physical Qwerty input methods proved to be the most effective for both younger and older adults, and handwriting input was the least effective overall.
Application: These findings have implications to the design of future smartphone text input methods
and devices, particularly for older adults.
Keywords
- touch screen,
- keyboard,
- mobile devices,
- voice recognition,
- age,
- shape writing
Disciplines
Publication Date
September, 2015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720815575644
Citation Information
Amanda L. Smith and Barbara S. Chaparro. "Smartphone Text Input Method Performance, Usability, and Preference With Younger and Older Adults" Human Factors Vol. 57 Iss. 6 (2015) p. 1015 - 1028 ISSN: 0018-7208 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/barbara-chaparro/26/