In the last few years we have seen a rapid proliferation of ubiquitous, pervasive, and mobile systems and services. Evaluating such systems and services is challenging. Whereas some aspects of the user experience can be evaluated properly with traditional methods and tools such as lab experiments and interviews, various other aspects, such as subjective experiences and real-life use, are harder to reproduce in a lab or to recollect during interviews.

This one-day workshop focuses on how technology can be exploited in methods and tools to study user behavior and user experience in the context of use.  

Internet access on mobile devices changes the way the Internet is used. In addition to accessing existing Internet content with personal mobile devices, mobilizing the Internet creates totally new kinds of Internet content and services. This workshop will discuss the mobile Internet from the end user perspective, identifying factors and solutions that would make Internet usage on a mobile device an enjoyable experience.

By 'mobile Internet', we mean both Internet services specifically designed for mobile use and mobile access to full Web sites, Internet based communication systems (e.g. email, instant messaging, VoIP), feeds and widgets. We are also interested in mobile services that complement ordinary Web sites

In this workshop we would like to work on identifying the specific challenges
for designing interaction with mobile information technology for emergencies
in its broadest sense, on the understanding of what constitutes good designs,
on how to achieve them and on how such designs can be evaluated.

Besides traditional research presentations, we would like to engage the workshop participants in hands-on activities to experience emergency situations, design for those situations and evaluate the designs using dedicated techniques.

The goal of this workshop is the promotion of spatial sound with mobile devices to enhance user interaction with such devices. It will bring together experts and practitioners from diverse and related fields, exchanging ideas, interests, research studies, exposing participants to different views and perspectives in the field of mobile human interaction with spatial sound.

Topics of interest explored within this one-day workshop will primarily focus on spatial sound and development of small screen interfaces. Topics include, but are not limited to - Spatial sound as an interaction element in minimal attention interfaces, Spatial sound in mobile HCI,  Auditory displays in mobile & ubiquitous user interaction, Spatial sound for mobile users with visual disabilities , Sound in social navigation , Sound in mobile games ,Mobile, ubiquitous and tangible HCI in music performance ,Mobile HCI and music composition  ,Spontaneous music, mobility, and audio sharing, Mobile collaborative and distributed composition, Mobile digital technology in music education, Multimodal integration (visual, auditory, and haptic).

*This workshop will be combined with the workshop "Mobile Interaction with the Real World", please see the web-pages of the workshop no. 6 & 7 for more details.

The need to consider the HCI implications of mobile guides, i.e. systems designed to guide a user who is moving in a physical environment by giving directions and supplying relevant information and access to services via some form of mobile device, is clear.

Specific research in this area is required in order to ensure that the usability of mobile guides does not get overlooked in favour of the exciting technological advances in this area, e.g. the current marketing of mobile phones with built in GPS and other sensor technologies and integrated high-speed wireless networking capabilities.

Indeed, the huge gap between technical feasibility and visions, on the one hand, and useful and usable applications on the other hand needs to be bridged by empirical research in a human-centred way. This workshop shall be a forum for this research.

*This workshop will be combined with the workshop "HCI in Mobile Guides", please see the web-pages of the workshop no. 6 & 7 for more details.

The main goal of this workshop is to discuss approaches that extend the interaction between users and mobile devices to the interaction with people, places and things from the real world. This kind of interaction benefits from the dissemination of technologies for the augmentation of everyday things with additional information and the evolution of mobile devices that provide the technology to capture, process and use this information.

Relevant topics include – but are not limited to new techniques, technologies and scenarios for physical mobile interaction, distribution of mobile interfaces between mobile devices and real world objects, security and privacy issues, using different sensors for mobile interaction, multimodality or authoring support. The workshop combines technical presentations with the presentation of prototypes and focussed discussions to drive interaction between participants.

MobiMundi: Exploring the Impact of Current and Emerging Mobile Technologies and Services on Society

Mobile information and communication technologies are increasingly impacting the lives of individuals and are a major factor in helping re-shape our cultures and societies. Ubiquitous computing and mixed-reality computing scenarios are becoming commonplace and have a huge influence in the way in which individuals relate with others and their surroundings. This workshop will provide the environment for researchers and developers to explore the impact of existing and emerging mobile information and communications technologies and services on society.

Traditionally, voice-based applications have been accessed using unintelligent telephone devices through Voice Browsers that reside on the server. The proliferation of pervasive devices and the increase in their processing capabilities, client-side speech processing is emerging as a viable alternative. As in SiMPE 2006, we will further explore the various possibilities and issues that arise while enabling speech processing on resource-constrained, possibly mobile devices.

In particular, this year's theme will be SiMPE for developing regions. There are three compelling reasons for this: The penetration of mobile phone in emerging economies, The importance of speech for semi-literate and illiterate users, and, The completely novel HCI issues that arise when the target population is not tech savvy..