Berlin - The less-is-more rule applies when it comes to the mobile phone market for older people, but not all the products advertised as suitable for seniors are in fact simple to operate.
To start with, seniors complain that the buttons on the keypad are too small and the menus are too complicated. This is no help for older people who place importance on user-friendliness. Bells and whistles are not what they are looking for.
“Most of them have a mobile phone in order to summon help in an emergency,” said researcher Nicola Bilstein of the Catholic University in Eichstaett, Germany. “Only a few want to be constantly reachable. To them an SMS message is too impersonal.”
Bilstein does research into the technical needs of elderly people as part of a project sponsored by the German education ministry. To gather data the researchers interviewed 70 seniors and experts and asked 450 older people to answer questionnaires. One thing the researchers wanted to find out is what makes a phone special to a senior citizen.
“The keypad on a mobile phone should be large and the display screen should be easy to read,” said Bilstein. “On the other hand it shouldn't look like it's for a senior person and have giant keys.”
It must be a mix of functionality and design. There have been a number of developments in the products aimed at seniors, said mobile phone expert Markus Eckstein of the magazine connect. They are visually more discreet than the models that came out a couple of years ago, for example. The first ones resembled hospital equipment. But those clunky things are no longer made or are seldom found in the market, Eckstein said.
Beyond the look of the phone, its sound quality must be good.
“It's important that the user can understand people who call,” said Bilstein. People who don't hear well should ensure that the ringer and loudspeaker are loud enough and people who wear hearing aids must make sure the phone is compatible with their devices. They might also want to consider a phone that lights up when a call comes in. Opinions differ when it comes to other things.
“One user would like to have an emergency call function - or their grandchild would like them to have it. Another says he or she doesn't want it at all,” said Eckstein. Many mobile phones made for seniors have an emergency button. When pressed, the mobile phone dials several numbers, one after the other until someone takes the call. It also switches the senior's phone to speaker mode. Some phones have a function that also sends an SMS.
Consumers shouldn't let themselves be blinded by large keys on the keypad. The menus are the sticking point. Buyers should beware that there are mobile phones on the market that are labeled as made for seniors, but actually are not. “They simply have large keys on the keypad, but are not especially easy to use. Not every manufacturer has developed easy menu structures.”
This is where having a mobile for a trial run is more important than studying the device's technical specs. Take the thing into your hand, then you notice quickly what works and what doesn't, say the experts.
Eckstein said simple mobile phones without menu structures are an option for seniors.
“With a bit of practice older people can get on with a stripped down mobile phone,” said Eckstein. Generally, clam shell phones are recommended for older people because it is easier to make them with larger screens and keypads, he added. Robust mobiles that are relatively durable and waterproof are also worth considering.
“In interviews with users it often came out that seniors fear destroying the technical parts of the phone,” said Bilstein. There's no one-size-fits-all mobile phone. “People are different when it comes to their technical affinity,” she added.
Therefore, seniors interested in getting a phone shouldn't let themselves be scared away from smartphones with internet access and touchscreens.
The variety of functions might be confusing at first glance, but many of the devices have a display that provides a lot of oversight, according to Germany's senior league, adding that some popular devices are easy to use despite their multiple functions.
Eckstein is also convinced that touchscreens for older people make sense and will prevail in the market when the first manufacturers come out with operating systems that are suitable for seniors.
“I can set up the user interface as I wish and have a large display,” said Eckstein. But many seniors can't cope with the established mobile operating systems. They are too active, show too much information and ask the user to respond to too many questions about things like networks or GPS access, Eckstein said. “People who are not technology-savvy quickly become discouraged.” - Sapa-dpa