Do Alternate Orientations of Navigation and Content Impact the Usability of Handheld Applications?

This study explored the effect of displaying sideways navigation and content in graphical applications for handheld devices. Because these devices can be easily rotated during use, alternate orientations for screen elements may be acceptable. Participants performed tasks on prototypes emulating a wireless brokerage application presented on a Pocket PC handheld device. The prototypes differed in the orientation of the main navigation bar (top, sideways-left, sideways-right). Within each navigation condition, two prototypes displayed charts and tables in either a standard or sideways orientation. Results indicated that, as a function of navigation or chart and table orientation, there were no significant differences in task completion, time on task, number of screens navigated during tasks, or mean responses to a subjective evaluation questionnaire. These findings suggest that alternate presentations of navigation and content elements do not have a detrimental effect on the usability of handheld applications.