Mobile charting with Flash Lite 2

Designing for the mobile device interface

Designing for mobile devices is very different to designing for desktops. The main factors you have to think about are limited screen real estate, limited input possibilities, and the transient nature of user interaction. But don't panic; interaction with mobile devices tends to have few concrete conventions, so it's just an opportunity to become creative.

Because mobile devices have small screens, you cannot fit much on them before they become crowded. So not only is "less is more," but "bigger is more" too. If you need to show lots of information in your application, split it over a number of screens, maybe using some animation effects to preserve context.

There's no point and click, so everything has to be done using the keypad. Not all mobile devices have the same set of buttons, so you'll have to be somewhat flexible here. Don't base the main interaction on buttons that may not be available on many devices. Try not to hard-code keypad interaction, so that it can be easily modified for different devices. Have a backup plan; if a particular button isn't available, use another.

Users don't sit in front of mobile devices for hours on end like they do with their desktop computers. Instead, they "information-snack" and want instant gratification. The important information needs to be visible on the first screen, and the main interactions need to be obvious and instantly available.

Above all, avoid feature creep. The best applications on mobile devices tend to do one or two things really well, without lots of edge-case features.

For a list of best practices as you develop Flash Lite 2 content for mobile phones, read Optimization Tips and Tricks for Flash Lite 2 by Jonathan Duran.

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