Nope. At least not according to a recently released British study. This despite the widespread reporting of the study in the blogosphere under headlines such as ‘Consumers “Too Dumb” To Use Mobile Phones.’

This kind of reporting in the blogosphere really irks me. I found 4 posts on this issue, and not one linked back to the original release from the research authors. Rooting out the original release, put out by Wacom, took me all of 5 minutes, and yet these bloggers were content to link to each other and propagate a complete bastardization of some interesting research.

As to what the research actually said:

While Christmas 2003 has seen record sales of advanced mobile phones, accessing their functions is too complicated for 85% of users. 95% of consumers admitted to being frustrated when trying to use the new data-centric applications like pictures, calendar and email that are now available on the majority of new phones.

I won’t go into a rant on ‘blaming the user,’ but I think this research is indicative of the problem. People perceive their inability to engage with devices as their shortcoming - as though they ought to be able to figure it out, and being unable reflects badly on their own skills and intelligence. (See the Interface Hall of Shame for some examples of how designers; idiocy and not users’ is really to blame.) The important point to take from this research isn’t that users are ‘too stupid,’ but rather that they feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with complex new devices.

I have recently confronted this feeling in experimenting with Nokia’s new 7610, a phone with an incredible array of functionality and an stupidly complex and counterintuitive interface. It’s hard not to feel stupid when you can’t remember how to make a simple phone call because it requires 5 separate steps.

I think we’ll face the problem of mismatches bewteen developers and people more and more, especially as converged devices become more common. The lesson should be that blaming the user is counterproductive. The central problem that companies like Nokia have to face, if they want people to invest in new technology and integrate it into their daily lives, is how to design interfaces that mesh comfortably with users skills. For the average person, I suspect the motivation for learning new skills simply to use a snazzy new mobile phone will be lacking.