On the SIGIA-L mailing list, Stephanie Berger recently asked: "My
cohorts are not sure whether to use "cell phone" or "mobile phone".
Any evidence that one is better than the other, or one is used more
often than the other?"
This is a good example of the kind of labeling questions
information architects face all the time. The answer to these labeling
questions will depend on the target audience (a better label for
whom?), on business requirements (maybe the business want to promote
one term over the other) and on the context in which the label will be
used.
I'll discuss the conversation that followed here and afterwards
point to some useful tools for if you have a labeling question
yourself.
Andres Sulleiro: "Without any empirical data I will go with
my own opinion. [...] A quick survey of the phone carriers seems to
suggest that "wireless" (as in "wireless phone", "wireless customer")
is most common among US carriers, though you see some references to
"mobile" as well. T-mobile, a European company, uses "mobile" which is
more common in Europe as well as being the name of the carrier."
Method: check what other websites call it.
Jason Cho: "I think "cell" is more widespread in the US as
Andrés noted. "Call my mobile" can sound pretentious to Yankee ears.
But I would think everyone understands the term "mobile" on a business
card."
Method: personal experience.
Peter Van Dijck (and others): "Google for "cell phone" (including quotes):
6,230,000, Google for "mobile phone": 6,360,000.
Looks like a tie, assuming your audience is similar. Just pick one and
make sure your search engine knows both terms." Christina Wodtke: "Y
ahoo for cell phone : 16,800,000, yahoo for mobile phone: 21,200,000. What does
this really tell you? you'd have to know who each engine indexes, how
much of the web, etc.. better to use a magic 8 ball. ;-)"
Method: check popularity of the terms on the web.
Peter Van Dijck: "My next step would be to find out what
people search for on your site,
or if not available, on the web (assuming that's more or less your
audience). Google
adwords can help."
Method: Find out what people (preferably your target
audience) search for.
Dave: "I like "mobile" for the reason that Christina stated
(forward compatibility); USers and non-USers will equally understand
it. Also, it is more interoperable w/ most of the vCard based
addressbook programs out there. I don't know any that are using
"cell" or "cellphone" ... I also like the clear and easy two word
approach of "mobile phone" ... I'm always wanting to say "cellphone"
where "cell phone" is really the more correct version. "cell" though
just doesn't feel like a real word b/c the "cell" doesn't fit a
meaning to me. I know what it means if I am forced to think about it,
but it really doesn't mean anything to me at all."
Method: personal experience, check what software programs
use.
You also might consider some adaptation of the freelisting
technique on a subset of your target. E.G., a write in survey: what
portable electronics do you own, then analyze for use of "cell phone"
and mobile phone".
Method: freelisting technique.
Eric Reiss: "Having worked closely with several
telecommunications companies, including Tellabs (US), Nortel (Canada),
ADVA (Germany), and NetTest (Denmark), this discussion is one I've
heard before. Europeans generally don't recognize the term "cell
phone." North Americans seem to accept both "cell" and "mobile." ATT
insists on promoting the term "wireless." In most instances, we've
agreed on the word "mobile" since it is understood by the widest
audience. Nortel, for instance, used "cell" almost exclusively until
the late 90s, but now leans toward "mobile." I think there is a trend
here."
Method: ask the subject matter experts.
Pabini Gabriel-Petit: "There's also Wordtracker.
[...]
In this vein, you might try just walking up to people, holding up your
cell/mobile phone, and asking them what they call it."
Method: Analyze what people search for.
Method: Find out what labels your users use.
Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is
better.
So, as a review, here are some of the methods used to determine
which label is better.
1. What do you think? Method: personal experience/insights.
2. What do your users think? Method: freelisting
technique. Method: Find out what labels your users use: show them the item
you're trying to label and ask them what it is. (You could build an
online tool for this). Method: Find out what people (preferably your target audience)
search for / check popularity of the terms on the web. Ove
rture's keyword tool. Google
adwords. Wordtracker. Google and Yahoo both list how often a term is
used on the web (use quotes around your terms!).
3. What do the experts think? Method: ask the subject matter experts. Method: check what other websites/software call it.
Gotcha's: be careful when using these techniques. You are
looking for a label that works for your audience and your business
requirements. Most of these techniques use audiences that may be very
different from yours, and most are indicative only (ie: they're not
hard science). Use your judgement.
Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is better: "Cell Phone" or "Mobile Phone"?
Grok Headline matches for Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is better: "Cell Phone" or "Mobile Phone"?
Pride Communication Services, #1 Reseller of Krusell Leather Cell Phone Cases, to Begin Selling Identity-Theft Conscious Horizontic Plus Cell Phone Case in April
Mobile Phone is a Day to Day Need for Everyone to Stay Connected with Their Loved One's. Mobile Phone Chargers from BB-shopping Helps to Connect More to Them
Mobile High Speed 3G expands cell phone support12/19/2004 03:11 PM German developer Nova Media on Thursday released Mobile High Speed 3G
4.10, a new version of the utility that automatically configures Mac
OS X to connect to the Internet through a cell phone or PC Data card
using the UMTS, GPRS, EDGE, HSCSD or GSM protocols. This update adds
support for over 18 devices, including Nokia 6630, 6220, 6260 and
9500, Motorola V3, V180, V547, V550, V980, A1000 and E1000 and Sony
Ericsson v800, s700, s700i, P910 and P910i. In addition, Novatel
Merlin U630 and Sierra Wireless AC750 and AC775 PC Data cards are now
supported too. This is a free update for existing users; the full
software is €75 (US$99.26).
FreeHeadset.org launches program to promote wireless phone safety by giving away free cell phone headsets.
Amazing Mobile Mate Solves The Problem of Using A Cell Phone While Driving.
Amazing Mobile Mate Solves The Problem of Using A Cell Phone While Driving.07/14/2004 03:35 AM The amazing Mobile Mate hands free solution is the answer for all
those that want to use a cell phone while driving. Listen to your
calls over your vehicles' radio. No installation required. Move from
vehicle to vehicle. Fits virtually every cell phone made. Get one
today so you don't get a fine tomorrow. [PRWEB Jul 14, 2004]
consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/cell_sex.html track this
site | 3 links
Mobile Multiplayer Tournament Texas Hold'em Goes Live On Your Cell Phone at MauiTexasHoldem.com
Mobile Multiplayer Tournament Texas Hold'em Goes Live On Your Cell Phone at MauiTexasHoldem.com04/19/2005 06:06 AM Capitalizing on the popularity of online tournament Texas Hold'em
poker, Mobile Pioneer, Inc. today announced the first release of its
mobile multiplayer tournament poker portal. Powered by the Maui Texas
Hold'em mobile client, the mobile portal offers free-play limit and
no-limit Texas Hold'em poker tournaments on cell phones. [PRWEB Apr
19, 2005]
Mobile Media Sprints Ahead, Wireless Giant Launches Cell Phone-Based TV
The Chinese mobile phone industry's shipment volume rose 64.2% year on year to reach approximately 65.2 million units as the PAS mobile phone shipment broke a record high
"The worldwide market for cell phones is outstripping even the most
enthusiastic predictions from the beginning of the year, as consumers
continue to snap up handsets at a dizzying rate, according to research
released Monday by Gartner.
Handset vendors sold 132.8 million units in the
third quarter of this year, up 22 percent from last year's
third-quarter shipments of 108.8 million units, says Ben Wood, an
analyst with Gartner based in London. Gartner calculated the figures
using the number of units sold to end users, rather than units shipped
into the channel.
'The total market is on fire,' he says. 'We had
predicted about 470 million units for the year, but it's going to be
about 500 million this year.'
Mature cell phone markets such as western Europe
and the U.S. are going through a replacement cycle, as consumers with
older black-and-white phones are trading them in for new models with
color screens and cameras
, Wood says.
'We're getting to a point where a mobile phone is
as much about fashion as anything,' he says." [PCWorld.com]
It won't be much longer before purchasing a
mobile phone will be as much about utility (staying connected to the
internet) as anything.
Take a quick test to determine if you're a strong project manager
Their is a new service that is going to launch in April that will
help those of you that want to Blog via your cell phone. Come on text
message is bad enough when you have to send several lines now they
want to make it easy for me to post via my cell phone.
"The ability to download complete tracks directly over cell-phone
networks to mobile phones is becoming a reality in Europe. O2 Music,
the music arm of U.K.-based international telecom operator mmO2, has
started offering songs for download in Germany and the United
Kingdom....
Since Aug. 1, U.K. owners of the new SX1 phones subscribing to O2
Music's Active Music Download service can buy songs from a repertoire
of 100,000 titles. They can search, sample free 30-second clips, store
and play paid-for full tracks downloaded over O2's network straight to
the handset. The songs are protected and securely transmitted over the
O2 network with digital-rights management technology from Basel-based
Secure Digital Container in Switzerland.
The price of tracks ranges between $1 and $3. The handset, which
can store up to 120 tracks of music, costs 80 pounds in the United
Kingdom and 150 euros ($183.50) in Germany. SX1 users are charged for
their downloads on their monthly mobile-phone bills....
By year's end, Bornhausser expects that Europe will have up to 12
different mobile phones -- from Siemens, Sony-Ericsson and Samsung --
that include pre-installed digital players and SDC's DRM software.
The high-speed 3G networks will also make wireless downloading
easier. In Western Europe, Vodafone, 3, TIM and T-Mobile will be
operating 3G services by the end of this year. As the United Kingdom's
first 3G network, 3 began selling downloadable music videos July 30
from BMG U.K. & Ireland for 1.50 pounds each to compatible
handsets." [Wired
News]
Wow, I can't wait for this to hit the U.S., although I'm sure our
implementation will be screwed up with DRM and we won't be able
to use those songs on any other device. Still, the implications for
mobile entertainment through the cell phone in an always-on,
ubiquitous high-speed internet environment has implications for
libraries.
In a couple of years when Kailee and Brent get cell phones, they
will most likely have this functionality. What do you think they will
expect to be able to download from their library? What do you think
the library will be able to offer? Do you think the library is even
thinking about this kind of service for the future?
My colleague Kate isn't at work today, but she just instant
messaged me with a great story. Her daughter Clare is a college
freshman who just started her first statistics class. On the first
day, the professor announced they would be taking a basic math test,
just to see where everyone was at, but that they could use their
calculators.
Apparently every student whipped out a cell phone - not a
calculator in sight....
Cell phone lockdown.12/06/2003 05:34 PM CNet: Cell
phone lockdown. Now that number portability is in effect, locked
phones are even more evil. Two reforms that I would suggest are
forcing carriers to unlock phones when contracts expire and allowing
customers to take their phone rebate in cash when signing the
contract.
Did ya know I named my cell phone?
Did ya know I named my cell phone?03/13/2003 10:26 AM Why, yes I did. I'm so unbelievably tired. See, the thing is, I do NOT
want to fall asleep right...
Your $600 Cell Phone Bill
Your $600 Cell Phone Bill06/01/2004 12:02 PM Family cell phone plans have a lot of hang-ups, especially when a
teen's on the line.
Cell Phone Viruses
Cell Phone Viruses07/15/2004 08:28 PM
When mobile phones attackget attacked. Articles
posted on T
he Guardian and
Reuters today are reporting that mobile
phones running on the Symbian OS in
Moscow are being targeted by a non-malicious virus/worm named Cabir.
Only 49 phones have been infected so far by the worm which propagates
via Bluetooth. The creators are 29A
labs, a "group of virus writers from the Czech Republic and
Slovakia who pride themselves in creating "proof of concept
malicious viruses,"
Countdown to impending doom in..5..4..3..
Get first aid instructions in your cell phone06/24/2005 10:03 PM Finnish Red Cross has made a Java cell phone program
("midlet" for the technically inclined) which contains the
most basic first aid instructions in an easy-to-follow format with
pictures. The instructions are in Finnish only, but you can get yours
by texting "LATAA7 SPR ENSIAPU7" to number 17116. You need
to have WAP settings in place to make the download. I took a quick
look at it and it certainly seems like something I'm going to keep on
my phone for a long time.
(Though, be warned, the midlet costs 7€! Something that which
Helsingin Sanomat completely forgets to mention (boo hiss, this is
stupid), but that is declared on Red Cross's page...)
We've all been there. You upgrade from one cellular service plan to
another
and your carrier says "Sorry... your old phone won't work with your
new
plan... you need a new phone." At CellForCash.com, our mission
is to help
consumers and businesses capture the value of their unused cell
phones. Your
old cell phone may be useless to you but of great use in a different
market or
even in a different country. We want to be the missing link in a
broken supply
chain.
Cell phone users and sex04/11/2005 11:25 AM David Pescovitz:
According to a new global survey, fourteen percent of cell phone users
stop screwing to answer their cell phones. Just like Paris Hilton.
From Consumer Affairs.com report on a subscription-only Ad Age
article:
The highest incidence of cellular interruptus was found in
Germany and Spain, where 22 percent of users interrupted sex to answer
their cell phones; the lowest was in Italy, where only 7 percent
reported doing so. In the U.S., the figure was 15 percent, the
magazine said, citing a study conducted by BBDO Worldwide and
Proximity Worldwide.
Though heavier than normal phones, the lethal ones look
nearly identical. The hollowed-out devices, made in Croatia, are fired
by punching buttons on the keypad and can shoot four .22-cal. bullets
in rapid succession.
The days of searching in vain for someone's cell phone
number are almost over. Starting early next year, you'll be able to
call directory assistance to get a mobile number.
However, some people object:
"These devices are considered much more personal than landline
(phones)," says Chris Hoofnagle of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center. "People tend to carry them everywhere and answer them when
they ring."
What's more, cell phone subscribers pay for incoming calls, even
unwanted ones.
Such concerns prompted Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 wireless
company, to keep its 40 million subscribers out of the directory.
Isn't it interesting how cell phones have made phone numbers
personal? A phone number used to be associated with a family ot a
business — a group of people. But now, everyone in my family
can have a cell phone, and therefore a phone number associated with
them personally.
Your Cell Phone Is Tracking You12/21/2003 03:43 AM PollGuy writes "I had never heard until this article in the New York
Times (sacrifice of first born required) about services that let
regular people track the ...
Wi-Fi Hot, TV Not for Cell Phone Users04/12/2005 02:45 PM Cell phone users think Wi-Fi access is important, but scoff at
features such as the capability to watch TV on their phones, according
to a study on future cell phone features by research firm InStat.
InStat found that Wi-Fi, mapping features and traffic alerts, and
voice activated text input scored highest with users.
Another day, another artist complaining about the lack of
respect/personal interaction from those pesky cell phone users. At
least Nick Rodrigues bothered to wear a suit as he showed off his
personal cell phone booth, designed to illustrate how disrespectful
people are when they dare call their friends and family in public.
Remember the good ol' days, when people would go into Conversation
Booths before speaking, preserving the sanctity of the commons'
silence? No, I really don't either.
Grok Description matches for Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is better: "Cell Phone" or "Mobile Phone"? GrokA matches for Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is better: "Cell Phone" or "Mobile Phone"?
Quick-'n-Dirty methods to determine which competing label is better: "Cell Phone" or "Mobile Phone"?
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