IDA: I think that if we look at the business implications of design techniques such as the one in this post, it is undeniable that the needs of mobile users are VERY different than those of a user on a desktop screen. And it is not necessarily a need rooted in speed all of the time. Of course the needs of users on different screen sizes do converge at points, but the underlying needs are different.
I think Jeremy inadvertently touches on this in the example. Was Jeremy displaying the the results of a google search on a larger screen size simply because he had the screen real estate to do so? I don’t think so. I think that there is an underlying assumption about user intention as screen sizes change.
If a user is on a tiny screen and is mobile, every business behind a website needs to ask why would someone sitting on a train look us up on their phone? What would they be looking for?
I believe that it is short-sighted of us as web developers to assume that the needs of those on smart phones are the same as those on a desktop. At the end of the day, this becomes less about actual screen size and more about user behavior and how we respond to it in our designs.
Matt
IDA: I think that if we look at the business implications of design techniques such as the one in this post, it is undeniable that the needs of mobile users are VERY different than those of a user on a desktop screen. And it is not necessarily a need rooted in speed all of the time. Of course the needs of users on different screen sizes do converge at points, but the underlying needs are different.
I think Jeremy inadvertently touches on this in the example. Was Jeremy displaying the the results of a google search on a larger screen size simply because he had the screen real estate to do so? I don’t think so. I think that there is an underlying assumption about user intention as screen sizes change.
If a user is on a tiny screen and is mobile, every business behind a website needs to ask why would someone sitting on a train look us up on their phone? What would they be looking for?
I believe that it is short-sighted of us as web developers to assume that the needs of those on smart phones are the same as those on a desktop. At the end of the day, this becomes less about actual screen size and more about user behavior and how we respond to it in our designs.