Our applications are unique, in that they are designed and built specifically to the “inch-scale”. That is, they are simple enough to be presented on a small device, and to be used in one hand.

The applications are based on our IGLOO toolkit, which provides a rich, common development and run-time platform for devices running Microsoft's Windows CE / Pocket PC and Symbian's EPOC operating systems. Wireless access is the most important recent development of the Internet. Millions of customers worldwide now use wireless devices such as pagers, mobile phones and PDAs to send and receive data - and wireless activity is only going to increase. By 2005, there will be 1.2 billion mobile data users* (one sixth of the world's entire population), and many of these will have devices with advanced computing features.

Wireless and handheld devices must be small enough to fit in a pocket or the hand. The user interface of these devices must be built to the “inch-scale”. Scale depends on the physical size of the device and can help determine which applications are appropriate.

• Inch-scale: Post-It notes, PDAs and mobile phones are all handheld, or “inch-scale” devices. Their small size enables mobility but limits data input to one hand (since the other hand holds the device). Applications must be simple enough to be presented on a small device, and to be used by one hand.
• Foot-scale: An A4 note pad, a PC Web browser and a PC's keyboard & mouse are all “foot-scale” devices. They are not as portable as inch-scale devices, but their larger size does allow both hands considerable space and freedom to input data. Applications can thus be more complex than that of the inch-scale device.
• Yard-scale: Projectors, white boards and conference tables are “yard-scale” devices. They are not portable, but their large scale allows several people to gather and collaborate around them. Displays should be readable from feet or yards away. Their collaborative function, as well as their physical size, means that their interfaces may be quite different from that of the foot-scale device. Switching tasks, for example, may take several steps.

Scale helps determine the kinds of tasks that are suitable for a device. For example, foot-scale devices are more appropriate than inch-scale devices for tasks that take some time - writing several pages of notes, editing documents and interacting with Web sites, for instance. Inch-scale devices, on the other hand, are better for simple, more immediate tasks: dashing off a Post-It note, dialling a number or checking appointments in a calendar.

One way to evaluate a wireless application, then, is to think of it in terms of inch-scale devices. Ask the question: is this a task that could be accomplished on a Post-It note? If the answer is yes, then the question becomes will the user want to accomplish this task on a wireless device? The wireless device must create a user experience that is better than existing alternatives.

This is not rocket science. It's merely a subtle shift in how to think about making new media decisions - bring the technology to the user, and not the other way around.

The small size of handheld and wireless devices permits essential mobility, but limits the device in other ways.

• The device's physical interface: Mobile wireless devices, meant to be carried and used on the move, must fit comfortably in the pocket, be light enough to carry, and be small enough to operate with one hand. Therefore the devices cannot grow beyond a certain size and weight.
• Poor data entry: No handheld device has a data entry system that approaches the ease-of-use of a full PC keyboard. Mini-keyboards, soft input panels, handwriting recognition and speech recognition are the current options. But whatever happens, data entry will always be limited.

Healthcare professionals will only use wireless applications that quickly and easily add some value to their professional activities. For example, up-to-the-minute drug information, a list of patients to visit (along with their coded records) and disease management guidelines should be a single tap away at the point of care.

Except for the everyday voice phone call, most wireless applications today are slow, confusing and frustrating for the average user.

The only way for wireless applications to succeed is to provide a good user experience - either by offering a better experience than is otherwise available, or by allowing users to do something that they couldn't do at all without wireless devices. A good wireless user experience involves much more than usability or interface design. The application needs to make sense within the constraints of wireless technology and small, handheld devices.

To succeed, a wireless application must provide an experience that is better than that offered by existing alternatives.

Inchware is filling the gap by developing the IGLOO™ brand: a suite of handheld, medical applications, along with a development environment, designed specifically with the user experience in mind. Our products enable developers and users alike to get the most out of currently-available technology, in terms of both user experience and efficient use of available resources (screen, memory, processor, input etc.).