It was way back in 2007 when I blogged a bit about smartphones vs. simple cell phones, listing “The Good” and “The Bad”:
The real issue:
Marketers assuming that if you're over fifty you're automatically a member of one and only one age demographic - all with the same needs and wants.
It’s not a question of dumbing down technology for Baby Boomers (we invented and were the first users of most of this stuff) – but more a question of universal design, easy-to-handle knobs and controls, bigger fonts and correct color contrasts…
A few experts on this subject:
Smartphones & Usability
Jakob Nielsen:
How do you design mobile applications for older people? With great care.
Tech & Baby Boomers: Universal Design vs. Universally Dull
Dr. Joseph Coughlin
The convergence of technology and global ageing is driving new business opportunities, innovations in service delivery and the promise of a better life tomorrow for older adults …Fat fingers are no barrier to using the iPhone
By Dick Stroud
The first video is from the Ellen DeGeneres show. It is an amusing parody of the Apple's iPhone 4 ad. I have to say I think it contains a smidgen of truth.
So four years later it’s nice to find another expert with a practical list of smartphone features he uses regularly:
Smartphone Features for Baby Boomers
by Robert Fowler
… I found my smartphone easy to use and now understand it’s features and how it will help me in my daily life. I think Boomers will continue to discover the benefits of smartphones and find them useful like I did. As we get older using technology will make life easier and more manageable.
For all smartphone designers to remember: an easy-to-grip handle on a utensil is not ‘dumbing down’.
