Undo for mobile phones: does your mobile phone need an undo key? do you?

ABSTRACT

The undo function is not accessory, but still it has not been introduced to mobile devices in an appropriate way. Undo is still shaped to fit text editing, and it has changed a little only for graphical editing so far. In this paper, we report the results of a survey with which we investigated why and how to add this functionality to regular mobile phones -- not only to smartphones or high-end handheld devices. Our respondents suggested an undo model that is linear, sequential, with variable granularity (according to the context of use) and requiring confirmation before execution (both to improve awareness and avoid additional mistakes).

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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)
          Subjects: User-centered design

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
mobile phones, survey, undo, usability