Identifying design feature factors critical to acceptance and usage behavior of smartphones

Smartphones are increasingly used all over the world. However, the effects of smartphone design features on smartphone acceptance and usage behavior are not well known. Thus, in this study, a questionnaire was constructed to identify design feature factors that are critical to the acceptance and usage behavior of smartphones. A total of 842 participants completed the questionnaire. Acceptance was measured on the basis of perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and intention to use (IU). Results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that users' preference for smartphones consisted of the following nine factors: Interface element design, Smartphone characteristics, Physical characteristics, Touch feedback, Operation design, Display screen, Connectivity, Button, and Application. Results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that Smartphone characteristics, Touch feedback, and Display screen significantly influenced PEOU. PU was significantly related to Smartphone characteristics, Application, and PEOU. IU was significantly associated with Smartphone characteristics, PEOU, and PU. The usage behavior of smartphones was significantly related to Connectivity, Interface element design, PEOU, PU, and IU. The proposed model comprising demographic variables, design features, and acceptance-related variables could explain 76.5% of the variance in the usage behavior of smartphones.