A user communicates, or interacts, with a handheld device via a series of interfaces. These interfaces facilitate a dialog between the person and the cell phone, PDA, or MP3 player by receiving input and responding to human action with feedback. People interact with handheld screen interfaces at a very intimate level. It is rare that someone will demonstrate to colleagues how pleasurable or intuitive their cell phone's interface works. Conversely, if there are deficiencies in an interface, users will quietly find a work-around, live with the frustration, or ignore the function altogether. In either event, broad exposure to these interfaces is not seen at the same level as Web sites promoting usability or CD-ROM programs touting innovation. With the growing complexity, functionality, and increased use of "responsive" three-dimensional products, such as cell phones, personal data assistants or PDAs, and digital cameras, designers must direct their focus to designing the "experience of interface interaction" as well as the physical form of the object. The way people use a product is as important as what that product can do, or what it looks like; thus the issue of what an object means or causes one to do with it has moved to the foreground. Reviewing and evaluating screen-based interfaces for handheld devices should be of great interest to aspiring product or visual communication designers, engineers, information architects, and interaction designers. Through these shared evaluations, students will realize the range and limitations faced when dealing with interfaces for screens in a handheld product context. Having early exposure to the concepts relevant to interface design for handheld devices will better prepare students for the unique challenges that lie ahead in this ubiquitous and dynamic application. This article describes several important concepts that students realized by examining the issues relevant to handheld communication interfaces and their design.