Designing For The Small Screen

The long argument of what screen size to design for has run into another challenge: the small screen. Wireless device usage has jumped, color screens are no longer a luxury, and bandwidth is improving.

With numbers like the following, companies believe it’s worth the investment to pay attention to designing for the small screen. CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) reports there are 171.2 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. as of November 2004 with 21.7 million being new subscribers. Revenues passed the USD$100 billion mark for the first time in 2004.

The statistics on PDAs are conflicting. Gartner reports PDA worldwide shipments grew seven percent while revenues went up 17 percent in 2004. However, according to IDC, PDA shipments slid by 13 percent in 2004. The big picture says wireless device use is growing.

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