Mobile Web Browsing with Aural Flows: An Exploratory Study

Existing web applications force users focus their visual attention on mobile devices while browsing content and services while on the go. To support eyes-free, mobile experiences, designers can minimize interaction with a device by leveraging the auditory channel. Whereas acoustic interfaces have proven to be effective in reducing visual attention, a perplexing challenge is designing aural information architectures for the web. To address this problem, techniques to remodel existing information architectures as linear, aural flows were introduced and evaluated. Mobile web browsing with aural flows is exemplified in ANFORA News, a semiaural mobile site designed to browse large collections of news stories. An exploratory study involving frequent news readers (n = 20) investigated the usability and navigation experience with ANFORA News in a mobile setting. Initial evidence suggests that aural flows are a promising paradigm to support eyes-free mobile navigation while on the go, but users still require assistance and additional learning to fully master the aural mechanics of the flows while on the go. Future work will improve on the mechanisms to customize content and control the aural navigation.

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