Menu Sonification in a Mobile Phone - a Prototype Study

We have studied the effect and acceptance of a sonified menu structure in a mobile phone. In this experiment, mobile phones with a special software were given to test users for a period of three weeks. Sonification design was done using earcons, and it covered the whole menu structure, except the Services and Phonebook applications (the structures of which are dynamic, not predefined). Test users were able to adjust sonification parameters – depth of sonification in the menu, and loudness of the sounds. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews before, during and after the test period, and some laboratory experiments were performed after the test period. The main focus of the study was in the subjective reactions of the users, but we also tried to collect some objective data. We will report the findings in this paper.