Understanding Cultural Differences in the Use of Mobile Phones

1
Understanding Cultural Differences in the Use of
Mobile Phones

• Sandra Hirsh
• Microsoft
• May 11, 2007

2
Agenda

• Goals for understanding mobile cultural
  differences
• What we studied and where
• Mobile behaviors and culture
• Mobile practices
• Mobile phones of the future
• Q A

3
Goals for understanding mobile cultural
differences

• Understand current mobile phone behaviors
• Understand user expectations for mobile phones
  functionality and design
• Understand future needs and desires for mobile
  phones

4
Penetration of cell phones and internet by country

• Japan
• Cell phone users 94.745 million (2005)
• Land line users 58.78 million (2005)
• Internet users 86.3 million (2005)
• China
• Cell phone users 437.48 million (2006)
• Land line users 350.433 million (2005)
• Internet users 123 million (2006)
• USA
• Cell phone users 219.4 million (2005)
• Land line users 268 million (2003)
• Internet users 205.327 million (2005)
• Source CIA Factbook

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What we studied and where

• Japan (October 2005)
• 1 study, with 8 people, Tokyo
• China (June 2006)
• 2 studies, each with 8 people, Shanghai
• US (February 2005-August 2006)
• Series of studies, Bay Area

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Data collection techniques

• Ethnographic interviews
• Participatory design sessions
• Usability of mobile prototypes and live
  applications (Wap2 and G2)
• Content grouping studies
• Visual design studies
• Diary studies
• Cultural observations

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Logistics for data collection

• Sessions were held in
• Usability labs
• Conference rooms
• Technologies to capture sessions
• Usability lab recording software
• Morea software/equipment
• Windows Mobile phones connected through Pocket
  Controller to PC to enable mobile phone screen
  capture
• Cameras (digital, video)
• International testing
• Local vendor conducts research sessions vendor
  provided valuable cultural context and
  interpretation
• Simultaneous translation
• Similar protocols in each country, localized and
  contextualized to cultural context and research
  questions
• Localized prototypes
• Training vendors templates provided

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1) Mobile behaviors and culture

• Differences
• Style of phones
• Atmosphere
• Mental model for mobile services
• Cultural influences
• Similarities

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Differences Style of phones

• Japan
• Decoration important
• Small size important
• China
• Game-like
• Big screens
• Lots of memory important
• US
• Functional
• Cost and service plan define first option set

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Phones in Japan Study
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Phones in Japan Study
12
Phones in China Study
13
Phones in U.S. Studies
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Differences Atmosphere

• Japan
• infused with light
• lots of sounds
• rounded/bubbly shapes extends to the UI
• China
• earthy, browns and blacks
• more calm activity wise
• US
• more techy looking (but in Silicon Valley)

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Japan infused with lightrounded corners
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Japan rounded shapes extend to the UI
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Differences Mental model for the service

• Japan
• based on the current design of phone and service
  (navigation, call history, route finders)
• China
• based on PC (Baidu, QQ)
• US
• more rooted in the basics (voice communication,
  address book, clock)

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Extra button for navigation (Japan)
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Search informed by Baidu (China)
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Differences Cultural influences

• Japan
• Solving problems with email
• Non-interruptive solutions
• Every street corner had places to buy phones and
  phone bling
• China
• Thought about the context in which the service
  was used
• Phone stores not as prominent
• Gender
• US
• Phone as status symbol
• Didnt know what functions were available beyond
  their service
• Phone stores not as prominent

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Japan Phones are everywhere
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China Context is important
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Similarities

• Need to have with them all the time
• It is like my security blanket. If I did not
  have it, I could not get a hold of others.
• It is my way of staying connected, on top of
  things, having control, getting things done. For
  all of these things, my cell phone is the
  gateway.
• Anxiety if the phone is lost or gets damaged
• If I lose my phone, I am in a lot of trouble
  (because contact information was only in the
  phone)
• It is a big part of my life and keeps me in
  contact with everyone. It is like your wallet
  pictures and credit cards and everything
  important is with me where ever I go. If I lost
  it, I dont know how I would call all of my
  friends.
• Cost matters to everyone
• I thought Id surf the web but the cost deters
  me from doing it. If it were free, Id do it
  more.
• View as extension of their personal identity.
  Personalize both the UI, sounds, and exterior of
  phones.
• Consistent task success and failure across
  countries for key tasks on all of the mobile
  products we studied

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2) Mobile Phone Practices

• Phone life span
• Phone purchase
• Schedules
• Services most often used
• Phone behavior

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Phone life span

• Japan 13-24 months
• China less than one year
• US determined by service plans

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Phone purchase

• Japan
• Cost of service package
• Design and color
• China
• Brand
• Design
• Screen size
• US
• Service plan

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Schedules

• Japan
• Little SMS (2 of 8 reported ever doing it)
• Commute focused on email
• GPS on the commute (the train routes)
• Little or no IM on the phone
• China
• Phone IM used mostly in the day SMS used a lot
  in day 10-50 messages per day (rarely in evening)
• Phone camera in afternoon
• Like to play music and games on the commute
  (Video)
• PC, mail, internet, messenger used throughout the
  day
• US
• SMS all day and night (2am)
• Commute phone/voice
• Little or no IM on the phone

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China Schedules
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Services most often used

• Japan
• Email, email, email
• Many participants used Route Search service
  (doing destination searches)
• Weather, shopping and auctions, restaurant
  search, 3 of 8 already using Infrared
• China
• Text messaging (including color)
• Downloading
• Music
• Games
• US
• Voice
• Text messaging
• Friends are bad about answering the phone but
  they will answer text.
• Text for me is unlimited so I dont know why I
  would use IM.
• Mobile internet (for ringtones and pictures)
• Basic phone features Clock, alarm, contact list,
  etc.
• The most essential information on my phone is my
  phone numbers.
• Camera on phone

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Phone behavior

• Japan
• Keep phone on silent, manners mode, dont answer
  phone when with others
• Japan personalizes phones on the outside and with
  ringtones
• China
• Phone interrupts their day
• Personalize with wallpaper, ringtones, and screen
  savers
• Add their own images for contacts
• US
• Phone interrupts their day
• Personalize with ringtones and photos
• Keep multiple phones, each with a different
  purpose (one for work, one for going out)

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3) Mobile phones of the future

• Asked users to draw their ideas for mobile phones
  of the future in Participatory Design (China, US)
• Asked interview questions (Japan, China, US)

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Dreams for the future

• Japan
• more advanced our futuristic stuff was the
  basics for them
• want smaller and combined with other things like
  watch, glasses, etc
• China
• entertainment focused
• blue tooth/wireless/infrared/connectivity
• focused on the hardware (made comments about the
  hardware like bigger screens to enable)
• US
• asked for things that already existed, like
  history of text messages, syncing with PC (e.g.,
  for address book)

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China Mobile of the Future Participatory Design

• Killing time future ideas
• Most frequent ideas
• Video and movies, games, music, video chat
• Additional ideas
• Bigger screens and higher resolutions
• Phone as remote control/walkie talkie

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Conclusions

• Important to ensure that products will be adopted
  beyond the US. Series of research studies were
  performed in Japan, China, and US
• Found similarities and differences across
  cultures for user mobile needs, behaviors, and
  future expectations/desires.
• Similarities importance of the phone, extension
  of self, concern about costs.
• Differences mental models, services used,
  cultural influences and norms.
• Cultural research and insights were used to
  inform mobile internet products in terms of
• Visual design
• Navigation framework and UI
• Language/Localization
• Feature development

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Questions?

• For more information
• Sandy Hirsh, Microsoft
• Windows Live Web Communications UX
• shirsh_at_microsoft.com