PageTailor: reusable end-user customization for the mobile web

ABSTRACT

Most pages on the Web are designed for the desktop environment and render poorly on the small screens available on handheld devices. We introduce Reusable End-User Customization (REUC), a technique that lets end users adapt the layout of Web pages by removing, resizing and moving page elements. REUC records the user's customizations and automatically reapplies them on subsequent visits to the same page or to other, similar pages, on the same Web site. We present PageTailor, a REUC prototype based on the Minimo Web browser that runs on Windows Mobile PDAs. We show that users can utilize PageTailor to adapt sophisticated Web sites, such as Amazon, BBC and MSN, for browsing on a PDA. Moreover, the customizations remain effective for up to a year, even as the content of pages is updated, and can be reused across similar pages, limiting the customization effort required to browse a site.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.4 Hypertext/Hypermedia
          Subjects: User issues

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers
          Subjects: Portable devices (e.g., laptops, personal digital assistants)

  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Information browsers

General Terms:
Algorithms, Experimentation, Human Factors, Performance

Keywords:
customization, end-user, mobile web, small screen