User Expectations from Dictation on Mobile Devices

Mobile phones, with their increasing processing power and memory, are enabling a diversity of tasks. The traditional text entry method using keypad is falling short in numerous ways. Some solutions to this problem include: QWERTY keypads on phone, external keypads, virtual keypads on table tops (Seimens at CeBIT ‘05) and last but not the least, automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Speech recognition allows for dictation which facilitates text input via voice. Despite the progress, ASR systems still do not perform satisfactorily in mobile environments. This is mainly due to the complexity of capturing large vocabulary spoken by diverse speakers in various acoustic conditions. Therefore, dictation has its advantages but also comes with its own set of usability problems. The objective of this research is to uncover the various uses and benefits of using dictation on a mobile phone. This study focused on the users’ needs, expectations, and their concerns regarding the new input medium. Focus groups were conducted to investigate and discuss current data entry methods, potential use and usefulness of dictation feature, users’ reaction to errors from ASR during dictation, and possible error correction methods. Our findings indicate a strong requirement for dictation. All participants perceived dictation to be very useful, as long as it is easily accessible and usable. Potential applications for dictation were found in two distinct areas namely communication and personal use.