Smartphone applications （apps） are becoming in- creasingly popular all over the world, particularly in the Chi- nese Generation Y population; however, surprisingly, only a small number of studies on app factors valued by this im- portant group have been conducted. Because the competition among app developers is increasing, app factors that attract users＇ attention are worth studying for sales promotion. This paper examines these factors through two separate studies. In the first study, i.e., Experiment 1, which consists of a survey, perceptual rating and verbal protocol methods are employed, and 90 randomly selected app websites are rated by 169 expe- rienced smartphone users according to app attraction. Twelve of the most rated apps （six highest rated and six lowest rated） are selected for further investigation, and 11 influential fac- tors that Generation Y members value are listed. A second study, i.e., Experiment 2, is conducted using the most and least rated app websites from Experiment 1, and eye tracking and verbal protocol methods are used. The eye movements of 45 participants are tracked while browsing these websites, providing evidence about what attracts these users＇ attention and the order in which the app components are viewed. The results of these two studies suggest that Chinese Generation Y is a content-centric group when they browse the smart- phone app marketplace. Icon, screenshot, price, rating, and name are the dominant and indispensable factors that influ- ence purchase intentions, among which icon and screenshot should be meticulously designed. Price is another key fac- tor that drives Chinese Generation Y＇s attention. The recom- mended apps are the least dominant element. Design sugges- tions for app websites are also proposed. This research has important implications.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, users are provided with various interface styles with different designed icons. Icon, as an important competent of user interface, is regarded to be more efficient and pleasurable. However, compared with desktop computers, fewer design principles on smartphone icon were proposed. This paper investigated the effects of icon background shape and the figure/background area ratio on visual search performance and user preference. Icon figures combined with six different geometric background shapes and five different figure/ background area ratios were studied on three different screens in experiments with 40 subjects. The results of an analysis of variance （ANOVA） showed that these two inde- pendent variables （background shape and figure/background area ratio） significantly affected the visual search performance and user preference. On 3.5-in （1 in=0.025 4 m） and 4.0-in displays, unified backgroundwould be optimal, shapes such as square, circle and transitions between them （e.g., rounded square, squircle, etc.） are recommended because backgrounds in these shapes yield a better search time performance and subjective satisfaction for ease of use, search and visual preference. A 60% figure/background area ratio is the most appropriate for smartphone icon design on the 3.5-in screen, while a 50% area ratio could be a suggestion for both relatively optimized search performance and user preference on 4.0-in. In terms of the 4.7-in, icon figure is used di- rectly for its better performance and preference compared with icons with background.
