UNIVERSITETET I OSLO INF5261 Opera Mini

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UNIVERSITETET I OSLO INF5261 Opera Mini UNIVERSITETET I OSLO Institutt for informatikk INF5261 Opera Mini Irit Kristoffersen - [email protected] Rizwan B. Ahmed - [email protected] Tor Grønsund - [email protected] Tor Anders Dybing [email protected] 9. May 2007 - 1 - Index Index................................................................................................................................................2 1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................3 1.1 Abstract ...............................................................................................................................3 1.2 Problem description.............................................................................................................3 1.3 Nature of problem description.............................................................................................3 2 Background................................................................................................................................5 2.1 Opera Mini ..........................................................................................................................5 2.2 Pakistan ...............................................................................................................................6 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................10 3.1 Data collection...................................................................................................................10 3.2 Literature review ...............................................................................................................10 3.3 Techniques ........................................................................................................................12 4 Analysis ....................................................................................................................................19 4.1 Personas.............................................................................................................................19 4.2 Task descriptions...............................................................................................................22 4.3 Heuristic Evaluation..........................................................................................................23 4.4 Usability test......................................................................................................................28 5 Suggestions for improvement.................................................................................................30 6 Discussion and conclusion ......................................................................................................32 6.1 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................32 6.2 Further work......................................................................................................................33 7 References ................................................................................................................................35 8 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................37 8.1 Telecom providers.............................................................................................................37 8.2 Quick facts - Pakistan........................................................................................................38 8.3 Scenarios ...........................................................................................................................40 8.4 Use case.............................................................................................................................48 8.5 Work and Communication ................................................................................................49 - 2 - 1 Introduction 1.1 Abstract This is a project for the course “INF5261 - Development of mobile information systems” at the University of Oslo – Department of Informatics, spring 2007. Introductorily, the nature of problem space and the challenges to be met has been discussed. Secondarily, the general background of the report is introduced. Furthermore, the paper discusses the literature and concepts that the work is based on, followed by analysis using relevant methods. Finally, a conclusion is made with suggestions to further work. We would like to thank Opera Software that initiated this project, and especially Yenny Othero for all valuable help. 1.2 Problem description The main subject of this report is to, with regard to usability; analyze the role that Opera Mini may have in shaping the Internet experience in developing countries. 1.3 Nature of problem description Fundamentals such as economics, culture, infrastructure, politics and human needs are of significant difference between developing countries and developed/industrialized countries. Consequently, this affects the digital evolution which in turn will affect the fundamentals creating a vicious circle. “The digital divide” is the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. “The term digital divide refers to those who can benefit from it, and those who don't, as opposed to just talking about who has direct access to technology, and those who don't” [1]. Furthermore, the term is also more precisely used to refer to the gap between people who have access to the internet and those that do not [1]. Today's - 3 - society, jobs and education are often directly related to the Internet. In countries where the Internet and other technologies are not accessible, education is suffering, and uneducated people cannot compete in our global economy. The importance of Internet access could be widely supported for. However, the situation of the digital gap will alone push forward the needs and commercial opportunities for both the developing countries and participants such as Opera Software. While dealing with the lack of Internet infrastructure in contradiction to the need for access to the World Wide Web, the penetration is higher regarding to mobile networks and technologies. Since the penetration rate of mobile phone usage is more then double then of the Internet broadband there are emerging opportunities and challenges to provide access for these users to the World Wide Web. By using the Opera Mini browser, developing countries now have the chance of accessing the World Wide Web through their mobile phone. However, today, the discussion is moving from the technology itself towards challenges to skills and literacy. Training people in computer skills entails teaching them to read and write first and then how to search and use information effectively. Regular practice and the access to practice will still be a limiting factor. These challenges put the project in context - improved usability will oblige this limiting factor increasing the use of Opera Mini. This study will try to elaborate on the opportunities and challenges that emerge with the “digital divide”. Extensively, it will focus on the situation, the gap, where people in developing countries often have access to mobile telephony but not Internet broadband. - 4 - 2 Background In this section we will describe background information that will be relevant for the project. First we will shortly introduce some technical specifications of Opera Mini, and then we give a brief introduction to, a developing country, Pakistan as a subject for this study. 2.1 Opera Mini 2.1.1 Description and Technical specification of Opera Mini Opera Mini is a JavaME web browser for mobile devices. It has to be downloaded to a cell phone that supports Java Midlets. A Midlet is a Java program for embedded devices, more specifically the Java virtual machine. The Midlets are usually games and applications that run on a cell phone. Opera Mini fetches for all content through a proxy server that runs the layout engine of the Opera desktop browser. The Small Screen Rendering engine on the proxy server reformats the webpage into a width that is suitable for small screens. Furthermore, the content is compressed, and then delivered to the phone in a markup language called Opera Binary Markup Language (BML). When the content reaches the phone it has been reduced in size by typically 70-90%. 2.1.2 Market development and competitive situation In popular terms Opera is participating in the so-called”browser war”. There are several commercially known participants with higher market shares, such as Microsoft and Mozilla. By offering Opera Mini, Opera has extensively been strengthening their competitive situation by focusing on competing in the field of the mobile market. However, its competitive advantage in technology and market position is getting threatened. Both established actors and company start- ups are beginning to see the potential of leveraging mobile browsing functionality. - 5 - For an example, by 2005 Nokia did announce the release of a proprietary “mobile browser” resulting in increased competition and a customer-loss to Opera. Although the new browser rather is directly competing with Opera Mobile for smart phones, it illustrates an increased competitive situation in the market space. Nokia’s new browser aims at browsing full Web pages on a smart phone. Another competitor
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