Wireless devices need to be one-handed

Andrew Seybold's Commentary takes of the subject of Smartphone usability. Two critical points for him:

• One-handed operation
  

I am at an airport, changing planes and have to walk from one gate to another. I am pulling my carry-on luggage and briefcase with one hand so I only have one hand free during this walk.

I can easily use a standard clamshell or candy bar phone to place and receive phone calls with a single hand. I can also use my BlackBerry to make calls, look at my inbox and click on and read messages. I can even send a quick email reply using one hand, which is the optimum situation. Being able to place phone calls and read email as I walk is a must for me.

• Push email -- your email comes to you without having to explicitly request it each time

Seybold often is very white-collar oriented, but I think his comments in this article are applicable to any mobile user or application. One more dead-on quote:

And don't put a notebook computer into the form factor of a handheld. Give me the features, functions and capabilities that will permit me to leave my notebook home more often.

Exactly right.