"I Love My iPhone ... But There Are Certain Things That 'Niggle' Me"

Touchscreen technology is gaining sophistication, and the freedom offered by finger-based interaction has heralded a new phase in mobile phone evolution. The list of touchscreen mobiles is ever increasing as the appeal of `touch' moves beyond the realms of the early adopter or fanboy, into the imagination of the general consumer. However, despite this increasing popularity, touchscreen cannot be considered a panacea. It is important to look beyond the promise of a more direct and intuitive interface, towards the day-to-day reality. Based on our independent research, this paper explores aspects of the touchscreen user experience, offering iPhone insights as examples, before presenting key best practice guidelines to help design and evaluate finger-activated touchscreen solutions for small screen devices.