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Landscape vs portrait mode: which is faster to use on your smart phone?

Published: 27 August 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Touchscreen smart phones can be operated in portrait (P) and landscape (L) orientation. However, whether a device is faster to operate in P or L and where to put a button in each layout for best findability and operability remains unclear. This research makes a first attempt to examine in which orientation a touch-operated interface is faster to use and whether certain "zones" can be identified that have a particularly good performance in either orientation. Our results indicate that such zones exist in both L and P, and that L is faster to use than P. However, the effects are only visible when the user has not been primed with the target name. We conclude our study with practical advice for designers to improve usability and efficiency of time-critical applications and dialogues.

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  • (2023)Studies and guidelines for two concurrent stroke gesturesInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102942170:COnline publication date: 1-Feb-2023
  • (2022)Investigating the Effects of Screen Size and Orientation on the Usability of Touch Gestures-Based User InterfacesHCI International 2022 Posters10.1007/978-3-031-06417-3_25(185-193)Online publication date: 16-Jun-2022
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  1. Landscape vs portrait mode: which is faster to use on your smart phone?

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    MobileHCI '13: Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services
    August 2013
    662 pages
    ISBN:9781450322737
    DOI:10.1145/2493190
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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    Publication History

    Published: 27 August 2013

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    Author Tags

    1. device orientation
    2. mobile hci
    3. scanning pattern

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    MobileHCI '13 Paper Acceptance Rate 53 of 238 submissions, 22%;
    Overall Acceptance Rate 202 of 906 submissions, 22%

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    View all
    • (2024)An Investigation of the Effect of Smart Cockpit Layout on Distracted Driving Behavior Based on Real Road ExperimentsIEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems10.1109/TITS.2024.345678525:12(21687-21696)Online publication date: Dec-2024
    • (2023)Studies and guidelines for two concurrent stroke gesturesInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102942170:COnline publication date: 1-Feb-2023
    • (2022)Investigating the Effects of Screen Size and Orientation on the Usability of Touch Gestures-Based User InterfacesHCI International 2022 Posters10.1007/978-3-031-06417-3_25(185-193)Online publication date: 16-Jun-2022
    • (2020)Where you Look Depends on What you are Willing to Afford: Eye Tracking in MenusJournal of Hospitality & Tourism Research10.1177/109634802095122646:1(100-124)Online publication date: 20-Aug-2020

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