Microsoft has released a document that tells developers how touch should work for Metro UI apps on Windows 8 systems.
While a lot of what’s in the four-page PDF document is common sense, there’s also some interesting research contained in the document. For example, the document highlights the best areas on a tablet screen for interaction and reading:
It also looks at the four most common ways that users hold a tablet:
There’s also extensive research been done into how the on-screen target size affects error rate. the document recommends a 7×7mm target size because this reduces the error rate down to around 1 in 100:
There’s one part of the document that bothers me though (and it’s something that bothers me about Android and iOS apps too. This is that it reminds developers that ‘most people are right handed’ and that this should be taken into account when developing apps. Now, I’m not a south paw, but given that some 1 in 10 people are, I’m surprised that Microsoft isn’t suggesting that apps be developed for ambidextrous usage (or a toggle that allows the UI to be flipped from left to right handed).
(via istartedsomething)
