Touchscreen smartphones given the thumbs down
Posted on 2 Nov 2009 at 17:35
Touchscreen phones might be the trend of the town, but more than half of all finger-driven smartphone users plan to go back to buttons for their next handset, according to research from Canalys.
The study finds that while some touchscreen phones have proved popular, too many have failed to meet consumer expectations, leaving early-adopters disappointed.
“It's partly because a lot of touchscreen phones on the market didn't focus on consumer experience,” Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at Canaly, told PC Pro. “It's bad news because, for most people, this will be their first experience of a touchscreen phone and if it's a bad experience they won't want to come back.”
Cunningham blamed the criticism on touchscreen interfaces used in Windows Mobile handsets, which were adapted from the original concept of stylus input. “The Windows UI has struggled because it was designed for use with a stylus. The finger-based UI was put on top as an improvement, but it can only go so far.”
Touchscreens can also be frustrating for people who input a lot of data, whether that is through email or SMS. “There has always been a question mark over how well touchscreens would work among an SMS-centric audience and the results indicate the transition has not been totally smooth,” Cunningham said.
Despite the negativity, 38% of all respondents said they would like a finger-based touchscreen phone as their next device, a figure perhaps inflated by the iPhone factor and marketing hype.
According to the report, HTC and Apple stood out as having a much higher proportion of users wanting to stick with their touchscreen gadgets, while Sony Ericsson had the lowest proportion of happy customers among the major handset vendors, at just 29%.
Canalys interviewed 3,000 users in the UK, Germany and France for the report, which is due for release on November 5.
From around the web
Typo-alert in the title...
By HowMcD on 2 Nov 2009 
On screen keybaord? [sic]
I wonder if a poor user interface can be blamed for the typo 'smartpohnes' in the title of this article!
By Stiggy on 2 Nov 2009
when i first switched from an n95 to an omnia without even seeing a dummy model in a shop, i thought what have i done.. i now have got used to the painful interface and enjoy the extra memory (24gb) installed and its shape. BUT. it can be a pig to use as a phone or text, good job i dont have to ring people much!!!
By equityguru on 2 Nov 2009
Windows 7 rox!
Windows mobile OS sux, I tried real hard to like it but failed . . .
By zeevro on 2 Nov 2009
Twat
"Windows mobile OS sux, I tried real hard to like it but failed "
At least be constructive you tit. I actualy like WinMo, i'll agree the interface is very clnky and i've been very vocal on the disapointment of 6.5 BUT it has a good base code, is easy to dev and with HC sense and multitouh I did prefer it to my GF iPhone.
By JStairmand on 2 Nov 2009
smartpohnes?
Makes me feel a bit better after all my typos.
By Lacrobat on 2 Nov 2009
@ JStairmand...
Ha ha! You said what I had been thinking!
I have been using touchscreen for years as have many others so not sure where this early adopter line comes from. I started with a Sony W950, it had buttons but they were never used, only to 'press 1 for more delays, 2 for for worse service, 3 for a kick in the...'. It also had a stylus but you didn't need it, it encouraged finger use (advertising and user manuals). LG Viewty (again, had a comedy stylus, but it was optionally attached or left in the box) after that and it seemed excellent until I recently used it again after having an iPhone for a while. The Viewty seems rubbish now, but only because the iPhone got it so right. HTC are leading the way as far as Apples competitors go.
By onegin101 on 3 Nov 2009
smartpohnes?
Is there a running joke today that I don't know about.
By peterm2k on 3 Nov 2009
Touchscreen's great
With the continuing decrease in the size hardware based keyboards the choice of keyboards (portrait or landscape) available with the HTC Magic has been a joy.
I can't say I'm the world's best typist but the touchscreen has been wonderful where the actual applications have been up to it.
By JohnFair on 3 Nov 2009
WinMo SUX @ just about everything
Constructive enough for you?
By zeevro on 3 Nov 2009
Moving from a touchpro 2 to a hero I am torn, I love android and find it a big step in the right direction from the outdated windows mobile but I really miss the keyboard, onscreen keyboards are annoying and unreliable and this is what makes me dislike the hero and go slowly crazy. Oh well only 23 months to go...
By jonners99 on 4 Nov 2009
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