Her research showed that when people are presented with too many choices, they freeze. Reducing choice actually improved engagement and increased revenue.

She recommended these four steps to prevent choice overload:

1. Cut

Reduce the number of choices. As developers of products, we always try to give consumers the most choice. But it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Really look at the choices and make sure they are necessary. Cutting the number of choices gives users less to focus on and directs them toward your ultimate goal–whatever it may be.

2. Concretize

I don’t know if “concretize” is a real word (spelling checkers don’t think so), but Ms. Iyengar’s point is to make the choices concrete. Use pictures and/or descriptions to better illustrate the choices. The more your users understand, the more educated they will be when they make their decision.

3. Categorize

We humans are able to understand more information when it is divided into groups. One of Ms. Iyengar’s studies showed that people understood choices better when categorized. Even if less choices are given with more categories, people thought they had a better experience. Group choices into categories and users won’t get overloaded.

4. Condition

Humans are also adaptive animals, so we can get used to things pretty easily. Ms. Iyengar confirmed this when one of her studies showed continuous engagement when increasing choices at each step in a multi-step process. However, when the steps were reversed so that the most choices were first, engagement waned. Starting with fewer choices got users used to the idea of choosing and conditioned them for more choices later in the process.

These steps could also apply to mobile UX. Mobile isn’t just about converting a web site to a mobile device. The engagement goal on mobile devices is different, so the approach needs to be rethought.

Mobile users are after specific information, so don’t present them with too many choices. Limit the choices to 3 or 4 that they are interested in.

Some situations will require that all of a multitude of choices be available to a user. In those cases, it’s pretty likely that a small percentage of the choices are chosen a majority of the time. Determine which choices are picked most often and hide the more rare choices within additional steps.

Giving users choices are a good thing as it gives them a sense of control and participation. But overdoing it will just make users shut down. Follow the steps above when developing for mobile and users will be happier and more engaged.

Last week, I wrote a blog post at my company’s web site that talks about the 5 steps an enterprise should take before embarking on a project to create an enterprise app. The steps boil down to an acronym: ADIDS.

Jump to my post to find out what the acronym stands for.

However, just mobilizing a web site is missing an important opportunity.

Consumers that engage companies through mobile devices don’t have the same objectives as when they engage through a web site. Typically, web surfers are looking for general company information, or are window shopping. Mobile users usually have a particular goal in mind.

For instance, a customer of a brokerage visiting the brokerage’s web site is probably looking for a lot of detail about their portfolio. This could include their portfolio allocations, historical performance, and transaction history.

On a mobile device, however, that same customer is probably looking for the day’s overall gains or losses or may want to make a quick trade.

Another example is with retail stores. Web site visitors are probably looking for products and may even want to place an order. While a mobile visitor is probably looking for the closest location and how to get there.

Companies should look at the analytics for their web site to get an idea of what information mobile users are after. They can then customize a native app, or mobile web site, to their needs. Make the most pertinent information as easily accessible as possible and provide ways to drill in for more.

Accessibility to a company through mobile is a huge opportunity. However, it can be a huge missed opportunity if the needs of mobile users are ignored. Providing quick hit information mobile users are looking for will allow companies to foster loyalty in their customer base and even sneak in new avenues of revenue.

What are some examples you’ve seen of companies engaging mobile users effectively?

While it’s true that there is a plethora of Android devices available, Android developers need only concentrate on a small subset of them. Research from Localytics shows that 83% of handsets in use consisted of one of four screen sizes (table 1). In addition, 76% of Android users were covered by 2 major resolutions and expanding that to 5 resolutions covered 90% of users (table 2). Tablets are even less fragmented with 96% of the larger devices being covered by only two sizes (table 3).

These numbers still seem a bit daunting, but are less so when you take into account Android’s built-in multi-screen support and look at Google’s own numbers. According to Google Play statistics, laying out a screen for a “normal” size will cover 84.8% of users (figure 1). Within that set, drawables (i.e. images) only need to be created for medium (mdpi) and high (hdpi) density screens.

Figure 1

Looking at tablets, Google points to developing more “extra large” layouts than “large” layouts, but their numbers don’t reflect the Kindle Fire (presumably a “large” screen). The Fire gets its apps from the Amazon app store and has been quite popular since its release.

As for the OS itself, fragmentation is limited there as well. Localytics reports 96% of users are covered by two versions (table 4). Google corroborates that report with similar numbers (figure 2). These ratios will likely change soon, though, with Ice Cream Sandwich hitting the market on 10 phones and more on the way. (BTW, Android 5.0, a.k.a. Jelly Bean, is also on the horizon.) However, manufacturers and cell carriers are slow to upgrade older phones so developers should plan on developing for 2.2 and above for at least another year.

Developers should keep in mind that while the majority of Android OS versions in use today can be narrowed down to just two, various flavors do exist by phone manufacturers and cell carriers. Both seemed intent to bastardize tweak the platform with their own branding and features and, as a result, introduce idiosyncrasies that hurt more than help. It’s been our experience that there are some flavors that are more troublesome than others, but that these are exceptions and not the rule.

While developers should still run their apps on various phones to be sure their app works, it is clear that one can concentrate on four (soon to be three) brands: HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and Google.

Running on one phone within a brand should be nearly identical as running on another phone within the same brand.

I am baffled by phone manufacturers and their need to create umpteen variations of phone hardware, even within a single brand. It seems to me they would save a lot more money if they kept the screen sizes and resolutions fairly uniform.

While I applaud Google for making Android open source, they should have done what Sun did with Java and kept better control over it. They should have formed a consortium to get input on what features to add and only allow phone manufacturers to use their sanctioned version. They also should have dictated the screen sizes and resolutions.

Now they have a PR problem. Statistics show fragmentation isn’t as big of a problem as the media makes it out to be, but perception is reality. When big companies hear of all the fragmentation problems, they shy away from the platform and make it harder for Android to penetrate that piece of the market.

Ultimately, an enterprise should look at their own analytics and determine which devices are most popular for their app or web site. Testing for 80-85% device coverage is reasonable. Trying to make an app work for 100% of devices is just unrealistic.

What’s been your experience with Android fragmentation?

I had read that I/O 2011 sold out in 59 minutes, so late last year, I scoured the Net for information on when registration would open for I/O 2012. I found that registration would be sometime in February.

Life got busy and before I knew it, it was near the end of February. I was sure there was no point to see if I/O 2012 was still avaialble, but I decided to check anyway. Registration hadn’t happened yet! It was to open March 27.

I set an appointment on my calendar and was poised to jump on it when it opened at 9am CDT. For a half hour, my calendar reminded me every 5 minutes to prepare for battle. With 15 minutes left, I opened up a browser and went to the registration page.

When the final reminder popped I went to refresh the I/O registration page, but it already said “Registration is Open”. Uh oh. I’m already a few seconds behind. I clicked the “terms of the ticket” checkbox and clicked the Register button.

Someone, somewhere, was playing the Jeopardy theme song.

Several minutes passed and I started to get nervous. What if something goes wrong and the page doesn’t refresh? I didn’t dare try to refresh it manually, so I open another window and start a new search.

Another few seconds go by and I open a third. Then, at 9:04, my draw drops.

I quickly try again. Another minute later and the second window shows the same message. I reset that one, then the third fails. I keep trying, starting the search in all three windows as they try to dash my hopes.

At once point, I notice that there is a message next to the Register button that the academic tickets had sold out. No message for general tickets, so there was still hope!

I felt like I was in an infinite loop. Click checkbox, click Register, wait, repeat.

Then at 9:28, all is lost. “General tickets sold out,” it said. The terms checkbox was disabled. It was over.

First come, first served seems like a fair way for Google to release tickets, but I noticed through my multi-threaded attempts that the windows didn’t refresh in the order I cycled through them. The network definitely played a part. I wonder how many people from overseas actually got tickets?

Too much advantage is given to those with faster Internet connections or proximity to Google HQ. I wouldn’t be surprised if some clever developer even developed a bot to register themselves.

Google should go to a lottery system in the future. And if you’ve been to an I/O in the last 3 years, you should be ineligible. That would give everyone a chance to attend I/O. If they stick with a FIFO policy, the same people will likely be there year after year.

I’ll be resigned to attending I/O through my computer again this year. While I’ll still get the information, there is nothing like being there.

Time pull out the virtual tent and get in line for WWDC.

They had three tracks: technical, business, and general. I stayed mostly in the business track, but also attended one of the general sessions. Most of the talks were very informative and I came away with some great new information.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Foster Interactions Without Feeling Intrusive


Guy Thier, CIO of Bally’s Fitness, developed an iPad app to take memberships anywhere in his clubs. Previously, if a prospective member was interested during a tour, the salesperson had to lead them back to an office where they sat on opposite sides of a desk.

With the iPad membership app, the moment a person was interested in signing up, they could do it on the spot. The iPad even had a credit card swiper to take care of payment.

This interaction didn’t interrupt the flow of the conversation, allowed for a more personal sales experience, and most importantly, didn’t allow the customer to change their mind.

2. Augment the Environment


Mr. Thier also developed an iPhone app that allowed a member to schedule personal trainers as well as purchase smoothies from anywhere in the club. This made these operations more convenient and cut down waiting time at the appointment desk as well as the smoothie bar.

3. Mobile Web is Growing 8x Faster than Internet


Lisa Foote of mixmobi showed a graph highlighting the incredible growth of mobile web. I suspect the dramatic difference is due to the fact that when the Internet came to be, no one knew what it was or how to use it. Now that people are familiar with the idea, a new way to access the same medium has been adopted much faster.

4. 10% of Media Time is Spent on Mobile, but only 1% of Marketing Budgets


Foote also pointed out some statistics from Nielsen that showed 10% of time in front of all media outlets was done on mobile. However, advertisers aren’t spending a comparable amount on mobile marketing. It’s a missed opportunity that marketers haven’t figured out how to take advantage of.

5. Don’t Get into Bed with Something You Can’t Abandon


Technology is moving at lightspeed. Companies need to adapt to emerging technologies quickly. Don’t commit to something if you can’t move on to the next big thing and profit from it.

On the other side of the coin, too many companies are too worried about losing money they have invested in new technologies. If a company doesn’t make some kind of an investment, it’s going to be left behind. Nothing lasts forever. Especially in the technology space. Better to embrace what is here and now and make some headway than be behind a competitor.

6. On Mobile, Engagement Goal is Different


This should be a pretty obvious statement, but one that many companies miss. Especially when developing a mobile web site, keep in mind that your customer is likely coming to your site for a completely different reason than if they were to come to your site on their laptop or desktop.

Consider the motivation of the mobile user and tailor it to their objective rather than what you want them to know. Review your site analytics to determine what information mobile users are after, then tailor a mobile web site to give them that information. Users can always click links to learn more.

7. 26% of Mobile Users Use an App One Time


Tech Marketer, Curt Prins, used this stat as an argument to not build apps. The gist of his presentation was that apps are great and can be useful, but don’t forget the rest of the population that uses mobile through mobile web and SMS.

What I took away from the above statistic is that app developers aren’t capturing the hearts and minds of users. I did a search for Prins’ source and found that usage steadily declines up to the 10th opening of an app. 26% of app users will use an app 11 or more times, but we mobile developers and marketers need to figure out how to capture more of the remaining 74%.

8. Connect Emotionally with Your Users


In a presentation titled, “What Can The Beatles Teach Us About Mobile Web Design,” Norman Orstad drew parallels between The Beatles’ career and web design. He summarized it in three words: Experiment. Delight. Design. The Beatles did all three.

The statistic above indicating the number of people that abandon mobile apps highlights needing to connect with your user. Mobile is a very personal, emotional experience. It makes people feel good. Connect with your users on that level and you’ll go a long way to making your app successful.

9. Responsinator.com


Responsinator.com is a great tool that allows you to enter a web site address and see how it displays on a multitude of different mobile platforms. It includes iPhone, iPad, a sampling of Android devices, and even the Kindle.

Unfortunately, responsinator.com doesn’t send the correct User-Agent for each format, so if your site depends on that setting, it may not display the correct UI. However, sites like the Boston Globe work fine, so they aren’t keying off the User-Agent. Perhaps you shouldn’t either.

10. Two new terms:

Geo-fencing – the act of tracking a user via geolocation services such that when they enter a virtual perimeter (i.e. virtual fenced-in area), something happens on their mobile device

Transmedia – developing for multiple platforms and multiple form factors

• Bounus: Realmac Software Really “Gets” the iOS Paradigm


Just watch the Clear for iPhone video. No need to elaborate.

Mobile March was a great event and well worth the nominal registration fee. While it was hard to be inside on an 80 degree day in March in Minnesota, I got a lot out of it. I’m looking forward to next year.

The 3rd generation iPad (as Cook called it once during the hour long presentation) touts a retina display, quad-core graphics, 5 megapixel camera in back, and 4G LTE capability.

I won’t get into a review of the new device as I haven’t seen it or touched it and plenty of media is already covering it. But I do wonder about its name.

If it is indeed the 3rd generation, why not call it the iPad 3? Is Apple afraid to have its progress tracked where we could eventually be salivating over an iPad 17 in 2026? If they are worried about that, they could simply do what Intel did with the x86 chips and rename the 5th generation iPad the “PentiPad”, then break into cryptic “PentiPad X2″ type of monikers. Or they could go the Microsoft route and name next year’s model “iPad 2012″. Otherwise, we could be talking about “the new new iPad” next year, and “the new new new iPad in 2013.

Perhaps Apple is playing psychological games and is trying to stem expectations that come from going from one major release to another. Or maybe it was just Apple’s way of thumbing a nose to the media for trying to name their product line.

It will be interesting to see how Apple names the rumored “iPad Mini” (if it’s real). Maybe when the new iPhone comes out this fall, they’ll call it the “iPad Nano”.

This case lives up to its billing. It’s well-made, elegant, and the iPad fits in it perfectly. In fact, it almost fits too tightly. It takes some doing to get the iPad out once it’s in.

Just like a smart cover, the Contega has two stand positions. It can lay flat-ish like a keyboard where the top of the iPad is raised slightly, or a groove on the inside of the cover can act as a stop for the device to stand up more vertically. In fact, the cover has two stops so it actually has three stand positions.

 

The moleskin-like leather cover looks and feels great. It looks professional and is a great cloak for an expensive device that could otherwise garner unwanted attention on a bus or subway. I love the crackling sound the binding makes when I open it, but I anticipate that will go away over time.

The embossed Pad and Quill logo on the back is a nice touch. Normally, I don’t like obvious branding, but there is nothing obvious about it. It’s subtle enough to not be intrusive.

It’s not quite perfect, though. I only have a couple of complaints. First, they added a pocket in the back. While that in itself is a nice touch, it’s opening is in the wrong direction. When you prop the iPad up using the cover, the opening points down and everything falls out.

Second, even though there are gaps in the wooden edges for the power button and volume control, they are still hard to get to. The designers left a little ledge of wood in the gaps, but unfortunately, they don’t work well with the iPad’s beveled edge. The added ledge does cloak the iPad better than without it, so it’s not that big of a deal. The gap for charger access works perfectly. I assume the headphone jack access works well, too, but I’ve never plugged a set of headphones into it (blasphemous, I know).

Lastly, the case is a little heavy. I had a smart cover before I bought this case and the difference is significant. It was definitely a noticeable change.

None of these problems are show stoppers, however. The business cards I had put in the pocket are now kept in my moleskin notebook, I don’t access the power and volume controls very often, and I got used to the weight after just a few days.

At $89.99, the Contega is a good value. The cost of shipping tips it slightly on the pricey side. Fortunately for me, Pad and Quill is in town, so I was able to pick mine up in person and save that extra cost.

Pad and Quill also sells a less expensive case called Octavo that doesn’t have an inside pocket or grooves in the cover for it to be propped up. They also have cases for iPhones & iPods, MacBook Air, and Kindles and Nooks.

Overall, I’m very happy with the Contega. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality, professional-looking case.

In my post, The Visionary of a Generation, I recapped how Steve Jobs changed our lives up to that point. As I mentioned in that post, I couldn’t wait to see what his next great vision was. Less than a year later, he introduced the iPad.

Once again, Jobs changed the way we viewed technology. But more than that, he changed the way common people and technophobes alike used technology. While the iPad hasn’t yet replaced the laptop PC, it is well on its way to doing so. All it lacks is a few productivity tools and a decent keyboard and the laptop will eventually become a thing of the past.

The death of Jobs this week marks the end of an era. Sure, Apple will continue bringing innovative products to the market. They will also continue the amazing sleek (and sexy) designs first introduced by Jobs. But the leadership that brought us the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad is gone.

It is yet to be seen where Tim Cook will take Apple. I’m sure he’ll keep Apple growing and innovating. But one can’t help wonder what Jobs would have brought to the world had he lived another 20 years.

Apple fanatics mourned the loss of their messiah this week. Who knows when, if ever, another individual will come along that will have the impact on our lives that Steve Jobs did.

At first I thought it was a problem with a specific computer. Only one user existed on the laptop, so I was sure I was logged in as an Administrator and had administrator privileges. I couldn’t figure out why the SDK Manager didn’t have permissions. Then when I got the same error on another computer under the same user conditions, I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.

In Google’s defense, this issue isn’t their fault. The fault belongs to Windows. It turns out that just because you are logged in as an Administrator, doesn’t mean you run applications as the administrator. The access permissions is easily fixed by right-clicking on the SDK Manager and selecting “Run as Administrator” in the context menu.

Even though I blame Windows for causing my headaches, Google does not get away scott free. They should have documented this issue better. The best thing to do would be to add a message in the SDK Manager log to suggest the solution. At the very least, there should be some information in their SDK Manager documentation under the Troubleshooting section. It’s a pretty common problem from what I can tell researching the issue.