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The ubiquity of cell phones means that almost all of us have experienced mobile voice calling and texting: instant communication with anyone, anytime. We are used to getting what we want extremely fast and in just the way we like. Most consumers have brought those same expectations with them as they move to smartphones and mobile applications (apps). The apps of today are all about speedy access to discrete actions and specific information. This is a very different environment from the fixed workstation, large-screen desktop environment of traditional enterprise applications.
Mobile devices are the new PC. With sales outpacing desktop systems in 2011, consumers increasingly use smartphones and tablets to access products and services. However, mobile usability lags behind desktop usability, and the user experience is often difficult and disappointing.
Most people reading this have probably read at least one eBook or are considering doing so in the near future. What gives this assumption validity? The fact that adults in the United States who own an eBook reader doubled from 6% in November 2010 to 12% in May 2011 (according to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project).
Many of us work from home, at least part of the time. According to Thomas L. Friedman's book, The World is Flat, today 23.5 million—16 percent of the American labor force—works from home at least part of the time. However, as remote workers, we face unfamiliar challenges for which we are not prepared.
Mobile devices connected through Wi-Fi, 3G, and Bluetooth allow users to share information more easily than ever before. According to Contently.com, an estimated 1.6 million blog posts are written every day; only 35% of those posts are written by professionals. Users add approximately 60 images per second to Flickr. Twenty-five billion tweets were sent in 2010. And these numbers are growing.
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