ADDRESS BOOK

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Illustration

Almost all mobile devices implement an address book. Why not use these addresses for route planning as well?

Context

…you want to provide versatile and easy to use functions to support users in entering DEPARTURE AND DESTINATION as well as INTERSTATIONS.

Almost all mobile devices provide an address book with the users most important contacts. These contacts should be made available for route planning as well.

Problem statement

How can users communicate a location to the system without cumbersomely entering address information or selecting locations on a map?

Problem description with forces

Entering address data using text entry is very difficult on mobile devices as most of them only provide poor input means. Selecting a location on a map in most cases is inappropriate as well, as users often do not know where the exact location is in the map. So other input means are needed to support a user in entering address information.

As almost all mobile devices feature an address book anyway, it should be obvious to use these pre-entered addresses for fast route planning.

Examples

Many navigation systems provide access to the devices address book to make route planning as easy as possible. Destinator 2.0 [1] for example allows users to choose destinations out of a contact list which is imported from the PocketPC's address book.

Users can select contacts from the list and after that choose an address. The system checks if this address is located in the current map and after that includes the address into route planning.

Wayfinder [2], an offboard navigation system for mobile phones also provides access to the phones address book.

Using the contacts users can choose an address out of the mobile phones address book and use this address for route planning.

Solution

Therefore:

Let users select locations like departure, destination and interstations from their contacts stored in the devices address book.

An address book is a main function of mobile devices, so why not use it for route planning as well?

Just import all contacts or addresses to your navigation system but make sure that they are presented in a similar way to those stored in the device because users are used to this presentation.

Diagram

References

This is a basic pattern and has no further references in this pattern language.

Literature and Links

1. Destinator Version 2.0.06Fx; http://www.destinator.de
2. Wayfinder Systems; http://www.wayfinder.biz