A Cross Culture Study on Phone Carrying and Physical Personalization

• Published in: Usability and Internationalization. HCI and Culture pp. 483 - 492
• Main Authors: Cui, Yanqing, Chipchase, Jan, Ichikawa, Fumiko
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Carry-ing; Culture; Mobile Essentials; Mobile Phone; Personalization; User Experience
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-73287-7_57
• ISBN: 3540732861; 9783540732860
• ISSN: 0302-9743

The mobile phone has become one of the essential objects that people carry when they leave home. By conducting a series of street interviews in 11 cities on 4 continents, we attempted to identify the main carrying options in different cultures and how these options affected user experience in interacting with the phone. We also identified several cultural differences ranging from the prevalence of cases, straps, and other physical phone modification to other ways to personalize and protect the appearance of the phone. Phone straps and decorative stickers were more prevalent in cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing but seldom witnessed in other cultures. Based on findings from this research, we identified a number of factors that affected carrying position and style, which can be summarized as ease of access vs. the need to maintain security. Non-instrumental attributes include: identity, sociability, and aesthetics. Some practical implications on interaction and industrial design are also discussed.