CHAPTER 17

SEARCH ON TABLET DEVICES: THE FLIGHT OF DISCOVERY

Tablet Behaviors and Ergonomics PAGE 292

A Fine Line: The iPad as a Portable Device, by Marijke Rijsberman PAGE 293

Buttons Are a Hack, by Josh Clark PAGE 299

Tablet eCommerce Search PAGE 306d

What's Next? PAGE 311

In April of 2010, the original Apple iPad heralded the arrival of tablet devices. Tablets are bigger than typical smartphones, but with similar capabilities, so you might be tempted to assume that designing for tablets would be just like designing for smartphones—perhaps just on a bit larger scale. Do not let appearances fool you. Tablet devices with touchscreens operate under a different set of design and ergonomic constraints and support different goals and behaviors. Just as mobile ecommerce search requires you to think differently than when designing ecommerce search for the Web, designing for tablet devices such as the Apple iPad requires some novel approaches, as this chapter discusses.

TABLET BEHAVIORS AND ERGONOMICS

When designing for tablets such as Apple iPad, designers need to consider the mobility patterns and personalization issues that arise from the unique status of the tablet as a device shared between all family members. Other design considerations include two-handed ergonomics of the device and the unique paradigm of direct manipulation of on-screen content.

Mobility

Early Apple iPad TV advertisements show people browsing the Web while riding a bus or subway or while waiting at a doctor's ...

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