Pilot Study

            I conducted a small pilot study to illustrate how a variety of people use cell phone media.  Cell phone media for this study consists of camera functions predominant on high tech mobile phones (video and picture).  This study will illustrate that there is a major market of cell phone media users and that it is a technology with adaptation needs that must be designed in order to keep up with the tech savvy users who consume them. 

            The hypothesis and hope of this study is to illustrate people like to use their camera feature on their phone but see a need for design changes.  I am arguing for simplicity in design functions and more user ability in software.  This simply means that after the interviews which will be discussed in full here, I anticipate people wanting an easier camera to use and more editing options once the image or video is captured. 

            Ten people where interviewed.  I picked local individuals that I know from work and leisure who are heavy cell phone users.  All of the people have video and picture capabilities on their phone.  I wanted a group in which I could ask questions and could get solid answers because they used the medium I was asking about regularly.  A quick survey was made with simple questions and easy answers.  I wanted to simply get an idea of what people thought.  Once I knew this I could focus more on my research piece and how I wanted to argue in my favor.  Here are the questions I handed out and the responses that where handed in. 

1. Do you use your camera on your cell phone on a regular basis? A. yes-7 B. no-3
2. Do you use video or picture more frequently? A. Picture-5 B. Video-2
3. Do you feel camera features on your phone are high tech? A. yes-4. B.no-3
4. Are camera features on the phone better or worse than most technology of similar use such as digital cameras? A. Better-0. B. Worse-7  
5. Is the camera easy to use? A. yes-6 B. no-1
6. Does the phone give enough user ability functions of the media, such as editing?
   1. yes-1 B. no-6
7. Do you feel camera on cell phones will become more technological? A. yes-6 b. no-2

I left the questions at this point and began to work on a discussion.  We all talked about cell phone media and why we use it.  I took from this the sense that we all have a creative side and want to illustrate who we are through a type of medium.  This seems to be a good way for me to leave this study.  I have a better understanding of what cell phone users think about their camera functions.  This study was vague but it made the point of stating a need for change.  I was surprised that not all people in the group I picked used their camera on the phone.  Also, it was interesting that some thought the camera was friendly enough for use and needed little if any improvements. 

            This is a good stepping ground for my research piece.  I will have my five page proposal later this week.