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Microsoft Research at work: SmartPhlow - application of ZoneZoom technique in a program for Microsoft Smartphone June 07, 2004 [MS Smartphone] | By Edward J. R. Microsoft has billions of dollars of loose money, so it is nice to hear that some of this money goes to research related to Microsoft Smartphone. Particularly traversing big chunks of information on the small (compared to PC computers) dispay of Microsoft Smartphone may be challenging. 
SmartPhlow program seems to solve this problem with use of ZoneZoom technique: SmartPhlow accesses information from the Washington State Dept. of Transportation. The application downloads a relatively small file, usually on the order of 230 bytes, and expands it to populate a Seattle area traffic map on a Microsoft powered smartphone (such as the Motorola Mpx200) This program uses ZoneZoom technique. Here is a short overview of this technique: ZoneZoom is an input technique that lets users traverse large information spaces on smartphones. Our technique ZoneZoom, segments a given view of an information space into nine sub-segments, each of which is mapped to a key on the number keypad of the smartphone. This segmentation can be hand-crafted by the information space author or dynamically created at run-time. ZoneZoom supports “spring-loaded” view shifting which allows users to easily “glance” at nearby areas and then quickly return to their current view. Our ZoneZoom technique lets users gain an overview and compare information from different parts of a dataset. SmartPhlow is an optimized application for browsing a map of local-area road traffic conditions. spaces, such as maps, spreadsheets, and web pages, easily overwhelm the screens of small devices. When a user is zoomed in far enough to see relevant detail, it becomes tedious to navigate across large distances using the d-pad of the smartphone. It is also difficult, when zoomed in, for the user to retain a sense of context and maintain a mental model of the information space. This paper details a combination of techniques, called ZoneZoom which adapt Zoomable user interfaces for map viewing on smartphones. To read more about this program (it is not available for download) or about techniques used, click here.  Post your comment (free registration is required to post, but if you register you can edit your posts later) [ 1 Comment ]
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