If guessing a display name, what kind of confirmation is needed?

Question

In an iPhone app of mine, the user needs a display name, that appears for other users.

I found out that I can guess a user's display name. In the mockup below I have guessed that it should be "Sanna". This is possibly the first name of the user. But it can also be totally wrong, and in that case the user will probably want to change it.

The idea is only to avoid unnecessary setup steps. If the name guess is mostly right, then why ask every user for it? But the guess might be embarrassingly wrong in a few cases. I tried to find a more accurate way, but so far I am simply using the Device Name to extract the Display Name. Here is an SO question about it. Basically, if the Device Name is "Sanna's iPhone", it will extract "Sanna".

I do not want to force the user to pick a contact, log in to facebook or such things, just to get a name. I just want to have a name real quickly, and continue with the game.

Below I mocked four different ways to handle this:

1. Enter from scratch - not using the guessed name at all. This is how most apps I encountered do it.
2. Suggest - Use the guessed name as prefilled text in a text box.
3. Preset - Let the user see the name that is set, and be offered to change it before proceeding.
4. Don't ask - use the name directly. You can change it later anyway.

EDIT: At this moment, I am using #4. Most users (95%) never mention it, which I think means it is working as intended. But I have received complaints about bad guesses, from users not liking the name I picked for them. They seem to be annoyed that they have to change it, even though that task is as easy as it would be confirming it in advance. So perhaps it is just seeing the bad guess that is annoying. If using a confirmation, like #2 or #3, perhaps the bad guess would be equally annoying. /EDIT

Is it a good idea to use a guess for a display name, or will it confuse the user? And if using a guess, then what kind of confirmation is needed?

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}

Answer 1

I like the idea of guessing a name because if you guess right, the user doesn't have to enter any text. If you pick a name for the user, you are left with two possible scenarios here:

1. The user likes the name you chose for them
2. The user doesn't like the name you chose for them

Option #2 minimizes friction for both cases and is a very clean design with a single edit box and single button.

If they like the name, they just click "Connect" and move on. If they don't like the name, they just click on the edit box and change it.

The real flaw with #4 is that the user may not notice that you've chosen a name that they don't like.

Answer 2

To have a quick display name you could also pick a name from the pool, which has the sence in your game world. For example, pick one randomly from the pool [Dragon, Knight, Golden Sword, ...].

As the name is given anyway (either by guessing or by picking), then options for choosing display name could be moved to edit profile screen, so you make connection more faster. The proposed state diagram is:

Now optional Edit profile is available on Connection screen, as shown in your sketch.

EDIT
It is important note of 95% users, which are satisfied with option #4. So you could try to combine #2 and #4 in a way, when name is displayed in input field:

• the guessed name is visible enough for user to take his attention

• it is clear that the name is editable

• a user can change it easily if he dislikes it

Answer 3

Option #2 is my preferred choice among them. But do you require the username to be unique?

If not, go for Option 2.

Else, a list of unique name generated with option 2 name.

E.g.

Sanna20130719 Sanna123