Is tilt interaction better than keypad interaction for mobile map-based applications?
Bradley van Tonder, Janet Louise Wesson · 2010
Map-based applications are becoming standard features of most smart phones. Keypad and touch-screen interaction have traditionally been used to interact with maps on mobile phones, but both these interaction techniques have several shortcomings. Tilt interaction offers an alternative approach with several advantages. Tilt interaction is intuitive and can be performed one-handed. Previous research has shown that tilt interaction offers equivalent or inferior results in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and preference. Similar studies have offered limited insight into the comparative performance of tilt and keypad interaction. This paper discusses the development and comparative evaluation of a prototype mobile map-based application supporting both keypad and tilt interaction. The results of this evaluation showed that keypad interaction was more efficient for tasks requiring precise selection, but that tilt interaction offered greater perceived controllability, efficiency and ease of use for navigation tasks.