The Usability of Sony Remote Control
Remote controls are known for being complicated to use, and this remote control by Sony is not an exception either. When the user first looks at the remote control, they may notice that it has two green power buttons, one slightly bigger than the other. Although it does indicate that the smaller power button is for TV, if the user glances at the remote control to quickly turn on the TV or DVD player, it could be unclear and confusing. Additionally, the red, green, yellow, and blue buttons do not indicate anything; it is difficult to figure out their functions. The user may also notice that there are multiple buttons with arrays near the bottom of the device for controlling the speed. There are “PREV”, “REPLAY”, “ADVANCE”, “NEXT”, and below these four, there are two more buttons with arrows that sandwich the “PLAY” button. In addition to the first four, what do these two buttons even do? There is no text near them that explain their functions. These power buttons, the colored buttons, and the two arrow buttons are not the best features on the remote control in terms of learnability and memorability. The user could test and figure out what they do while watching a TV or DVD, but even if they do find out, they could easily forget again — especially since there is no clear text or icon on the device that are indicative of their functions. Another thing about this remote control is that the volume buttons are fairly small and are located near the top. Considering the fact that most users reach for the volume buttons quite frequently and the user grips the middle part when they hold the device, the location and the size of the volume buttons are not the best. The placement of these buttons do have a slightly awkward, inconvenient feel to them. This, of course, does not make a great impression on the user.
Despite all these flaws, why did Sony choose this design? Recall that most remote controllers come with TVs and DVD players. For Sony, TVs and DVD players are the products they need to put a lot of effort into to compete with other companies in the market for electronic products. The user who is buying a TV or a DVD player usually has no control over what type of remote control comes with the product. Since Sony’s main focus is the TV and DVD player, they most likely do not have time — and are not willing — to redesign and improve the user interface of the remote control. As long as the remote control has buttons to perform necessary tasks, the company does not put too much thought into the arrangement of the buttons.
In order to improve this device’s user interface,, I would suggest the rearrangement of the buttons. The volume buttons should be made bigger as they are used frequently, and should be placed in the middle since the user naturally grabs the middle part of the device. It may also be helpful to have some kind of texts below the two arrow buttons mentioned above so that the user can at least make some guess as to what they do that are different from the four arrow buttons above them. As for the red, green, yellow, and blue buttons, since there is enough space at the bottom of the device, the designer could potentially have very brief descriptions as to what they do. Having a brief explanation is much better than none.