A recent study found that amongst 6 - 12 year old children, tablet PC's are the 'most wanted' electronic gift in the US. Another study showed that 3.6 million tablet PC's have been sold in the UK since they became available in April 2010.
While these figures do not directly indicate the adoption of tablet PC's by children, it does show that tablet PC's are increasingly entering into the mainstream. The increasing adoption of tablet PC's is part of a wider trend. Between the ages of 8 to 18 years old, children now spend 300% more time using a computer than 10 years ago.
All of the above studies, alongside plenty of anecdotal evidence, strongly suggest that tablet PC's are entering the mainstream and will become a part of an increasing number of children's lives.
If we accept that children seem to love tablet PC's, it may be interesting to consider 'why'? Trying to answer this question is not only interesting for its own sake - it may also help us to identify how to better design for children on tablet PC's. Tablet PC's are available with following operating systems: Google android tablet PC, Windows CE tablet pc, Chrome tablet pc.
Psychology - behind tablet PC's Although no-one can say that they fully understand the psychological attraction of tablet PC's for children, there do seem to be some factors of tablet PC's ' design which accord well with children's general preferences. Amongst these are:
Control Children like to be able to feel that they are in control over their environment and experiences. Tablet PC's offer easy interaction and immediate feedback and this makes it user friendly.
Variety Children typically have rather short attention spans. A tablet P.C is a device that can offer a wealth of features, games and experiences. This diversity of content may well help keep children interested in tablet PC's.
Repetition Most parents will tell you that children love watching the same film over and over again. Or perhaps they like singing the same song over and over again. Tablet PC's are capable of offering a large degree of repetition and predictability for children.
Interactivity Most Children prefer the activity of 'play' to the more passive experience of consumption (hence their often singing along to certain cartoons and films). The tablet P.C offers children the opportunity to do both.
Touch - children love touching tablet PC's Tablet PC's fulfilling a very basic human pleasure - that associated with touch. We have observed many adults habitually touching their tablet PC's during usability testing sessions, even when they are not actually interacting with its functionality. We would suggest at least two major reasons why children love to touch tablet PC's:
Simplicity of interaction Tablet PC's have simple method of interaction. The user does not have to learn how to use any complicated devices - such as a keyboard and mouse - that require significant hand/eye coordination. All users have to do is touch the relevant part of the screen. We would suggest that this makes tablets PC's more accessible (and attractive) to many children.
It seems an obvious statement, but their use of 'touch' is a defining characteristic of tablet PC's which many children seem to find immensely attractive. As such, any consideration of the tablet PC usability for children should take this into account.
Usability tips for children and tablet PC's We would recommend that the factors which make tablet PC's attractive to children are emphasized when designing for children on tablet PC's. In our experience, this increases children's engagement and enjoyment of a tablet PC experience. Here are some factors that we would recommend designers consider when creating experiences for children on tablet PC's:
We recommend that tablet PC experiences designed for children should encourage regular touch-interactions. Tablet PC's' interaction model is their defining characteristic and seems particularly attractive to children. We also recommend that children's tablet PC experiences should offer user control over levels of difficulty and repetition. They should also offer a wide variety of experiences, in order to keep children engaged and prevent them becoming bored.
Popular Searches: Android Tablets, Android Tablet pc, 8 inch Google Android Tablet PC, 7 inch Google Android tablet PC etc.
While these figures do not directly indicate the adoption of tablet PC's by children, it does show that tablet PC's are increasingly entering into the mainstream. The increasing adoption of tablet PC's is part of a wider trend. Between the ages of 8 to 18 years old, children now spend 300% more time using a computer than 10 years ago.
All of the above studies, alongside plenty of anecdotal evidence, strongly suggest that tablet PC's are entering the mainstream and will become a part of an increasing number of children's lives.
If we accept that children seem to love tablet PC's, it may be interesting to consider 'why'? Trying to answer this question is not only interesting for its own sake - it may also help us to identify how to better design for children on tablet PC's. Tablet PC's are available with following operating systems: Google android tablet PC, Windows CE tablet pc, Chrome tablet pc.
Psychology - behind tablet PC's Although no-one can say that they fully understand the psychological attraction of tablet PC's for children, there do seem to be some factors of tablet PC's ' design which accord well with children's general preferences. Amongst these are:
Control Children like to be able to feel that they are in control over their environment and experiences. Tablet PC's offer easy interaction and immediate feedback and this makes it user friendly.
Variety Children typically have rather short attention spans. A tablet P.C is a device that can offer a wealth of features, games and experiences. This diversity of content may well help keep children interested in tablet PC's.
Repetition Most parents will tell you that children love watching the same film over and over again. Or perhaps they like singing the same song over and over again. Tablet PC's are capable of offering a large degree of repetition and predictability for children.
Interactivity Most Children prefer the activity of 'play' to the more passive experience of consumption (hence their often singing along to certain cartoons and films). The tablet P.C offers children the opportunity to do both.
Touch - children love touching tablet PC's Tablet PC's fulfilling a very basic human pleasure - that associated with touch. We have observed many adults habitually touching their tablet PC's during usability testing sessions, even when they are not actually interacting with its functionality. We would suggest at least two major reasons why children love to touch tablet PC's:
Simplicity of interaction Tablet PC's have simple method of interaction. The user does not have to learn how to use any complicated devices - such as a keyboard and mouse - that require significant hand/eye coordination. All users have to do is touch the relevant part of the screen. We would suggest that this makes tablets PC's more accessible (and attractive) to many children.
It seems an obvious statement, but their use of 'touch' is a defining characteristic of tablet PC's which many children seem to find immensely attractive. As such, any consideration of the tablet PC usability for children should take this into account.
Usability tips for children and tablet PC's We would recommend that the factors which make tablet PC's attractive to children are emphasized when designing for children on tablet PC's. In our experience, this increases children's engagement and enjoyment of a tablet PC experience. Here are some factors that we would recommend designers consider when creating experiences for children on tablet PC's:
We recommend that tablet PC experiences designed for children should encourage regular touch-interactions. Tablet PC's' interaction model is their defining characteristic and seems particularly attractive to children. We also recommend that children's tablet PC experiences should offer user control over levels of difficulty and repetition. They should also offer a wide variety of experiences, in order to keep children engaged and prevent them becoming bored.
Popular Searches: Android Tablets, Android Tablet pc, 8 inch Google Android Tablet PC, 7 inch Google Android tablet PC etc.
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