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2.4.3. Keypad – Easy to press incorrect key
The keypad of the phone is non-elevated and the individual keys are separated only by an
elevated outline of each key. This design makes it fairly easy for me to accidently press an
incorrect key when dialling a number of typing a text message at a fast pace. I found that I could
type more accurately at a fast pace using a previous keypad that had a slightly elevated keypad
with separated individual keys.
3. Interface Design Solutions
The solutions that I have devised are simple, low-cost modifications to the interface that should provide
significant improvements to users who experience the problems that I have described previously. I
believe that engineers should not overdesign complex solutions to a problem when a simple yet
effective solution already exists. These are described in the following subsections.
3.1. Joypad – Addition of a friction pad
The problem of my difficulty in navigation is due to the lack of friction. In order to increase the
friction to prevent my thumb from slipping, there are two alternatives:
1. Increase the surface area of the joypad
2. Increase the coefficient of friction of the surface.
Because alternative 1 would require a redesign of the interface (such as smaller keys and smaller
LCD screen) and thus increasing the cost of the design modification, alternative 2 would be the most
cost effective while achieving at least the same result if not better. Looking at existing products that
are successful in the market that uses a joypad, it is clear that one with a rubber surface provides
better control. The additional cost of applying a friction pad on top of the joypad is negligible (ie.
would not cause a significant increase in the cost of producing the product) looking at the cost of
bulk sheet rubber (http://rubbercal.com/CI_Sheet.html).
3.2. GUI – Joypad Icon indicators
Looking at how the functions of the two keys to the side of the joypad are indicated by the text on
the GUI on top of each respective key, it is natural that the functions of the 5-way joypad are
indicated similarly on the GUI, on top of the joypad. Since there is not enough room on the GUI to
display the text of each button/direction, icons would be much more preferable. A simple prototype
of this new GUI is shown in the following figure. Note that this is a rough prototype and an actual
implementation would have the new indicators match the style of the GUI.
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