title: Display and device size effects on the usability of mini-notebooks (netbooks)/ultraportables as small form-factor Mobile PCs.
abstract: A balance between portability and usability made the 10.1″ diagonal screens popular in the Mobile PC market (e.g., 10.1″ mini-notebooks/netbooks, convertible/hybrid ultraportables); yet no academic research rationalizes this phenomenon. This study investigated the size effects of display and input devices of 4 mini-notebooks (netbooks) ranged in size on their performances in 2 simple and 3 complex applied tasks. It seemed that the closer the display and/or input devices (touchpad/touchscreen/keyboard) sizes to those sizes of a generic notebook, the shorter the operation times (there was no certain phenomenon for the error rates). With non-significant differences, the 10.1″ and 8.9″ mini-notebooks (netbooks) were as fast as the 11.6″ one in almost all the tasks, except for the 8.9″ one in the typing tasks. The 11.6″ mini-notebook (netbook) was most preferred; while the difference in the satisfactions was not significant between the 10.1″ and 11.6″ ones but between the 7″ and 11.6″ ones.
authors: Department of Industrial Design, Tatung University, Taiwan. Electronic address: lai@ttu.edu.tw.
authors: Chih-Chun
authors: CC
authors: Lai
authors: Department of Industrial Design, Tatung University, Taiwan.
authors: Chih-Fu
authors: CF
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D034201:Computers, Handheld / Q000592:standards*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers / Q000592:standards; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Input device; Mobile PC; Size effect