Thumb reach of Portuguese young adult when interacting with a touchscreen of one-handed device

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify the thumb reach envelope of Portuguese young adults for a one-handed device. The correlation between the thumb reach versus the hand length and thumb length was also analyzed. One hundred and forty-two Portuguese young adults participated in the study. The thumb reach envelope of Portuguese young adults was identified. The results of this study also found that people with a larger hand length and thumb length tend to have a larger thumb reach. However, few other factors, such as the way participants hold the mobile phone, participant’s experience with touchscreen device and possibility of misunderstood the instructions during the survey were suspected to influence the thumb reach envelope. The results of this study also showed the thumb reach area of participants is displaying elliptical shape that runs from top right to bottom left areas of the device screen.