Experientia s.r.l

Mobile TV

Experientia conducted a usability study in two countries to evaluate the usability of a new concept mobile phone for watching TV. The study involved 24 users. The set of findings was discussed and negotiated with the design team. Most of the recommendations were accepted and included in the first release of the product in the European market.

Testing
Nokia asked Experientia to conduct usability studies on a new mobile phone for watching television. The goals of the research were:

  • To assess how people moved through the interface and made sense of it
  • To understand people’s expectations regarding the scenarios and see if they were satisfied
  • To assess how the global experience of watching TV on mobile was experienced

The tests involved 24 participants in Italy and Ireland, who each took part in a sixty minute individual session. All participants were people who watched over 15 hours of television per week, who had a lot of down time, due to travelling, commuting or their kind of job, and who used this down time for media consumption.

Through a handheld hardware and software (Flash) prototype, usability tests of the mobile TV interface were conducted, involving use cases and scenarios. People’s interactions were recorded and a qualitative analysis of the results was carried out.

The findings were also discussed and negotiated with the Nokia design team, to discuss possible implications of the recommendations for the final product release in the European market.

Final deliverables
Experientia’s executive report detailed the findings, including overall reaction to the platform, descriptions of the task performance by participants, usability observations, expert opinions, and recommendations for specific improvements. The recommendations were prioritised into High (recommendations should be implemented), Medium (recommendations could be implemented) and Low (recommendations might be implemented).

Most of Experientia’s recommendations were accepted and included in the first release of the product in the European market.