Broadening the Reading Experience on Mobile Devices using Tilt-based Input : An Explorative Design Study

Abstract: This thesis is an explorative study aimed at the possibility of integrating tilt-based input to improve the reading experience on smartphones. Previous works from the early 2000s have been skeptical towards tilt-based navigation, deeming it unruly and imprecise. To investigate if today’s technology has unlocked new possibilities; two experimental reading methods were designed, created and tested iteratively on 20, respectively 18 participants. The first method is a reassessment of tilt-based auto-scrolling and the second is a novel approach comparable to tilt-based paging. Data from the reading sessions were collected quantitatively in tandem with qualitative data from post-session interviews. The results indicate good potential and a reading performance similar to the standard navigation method. The importance of accommodating people with different reading behaviours was also discussed.