Summary thumbnails: readable overviews for small screen web browsers

ABSTRACT

In order to display web pages designed for desktop-sized monitors, some small-screen web browsers provide single-column or thumbnail views. Both have limitations. Single-column views affect page layouts and require users to scroll significantly more. Thumbnail views tend to reduce contained text beyond readability, so differentiating visually similar areas requires users to zoom. In this paper, we present Summary Thumbnails-thumbnail views enhanced with readable text fragments. Summary Thumbnails help users identify viewed material and distinguish between visually similar areas. In our user study, participants located content in web pages about 41% faster and with 71% lower error rates when using the Summary Thumbnail interface than when using the Single-Column interface, and zoomed 59% less than when using the Thumbnail interface. Nine of the eleven participants preferred Summary Thumbnails over both the Thumbnail and Single-Column interfaces.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
PDA, overview, semantic zoomingblutwurst, small screen device, thumbnail view, web browsing