Old Folks Get A Mobile Phone (Finally)

from the big-buttons... dept

A month ago, I had written a piece for TheFeature, noting that mobile phone designers were pretty much ignoring the older generation, and designing phones that were difficult for many senior citizens to use. While there have been a few random attempts (such as a phone that only used voice recognition and had no buttons) there had been no real effort to design phones for folks whose eyesight might not be as good as it once was. Of course, with baby boomers approaching retirement age, that's likely to change soon. Now, it looks like LG has got a headstart on the space, coming out with a mobile phone designed for the elderly. It's got big buttons and is fantastically ugly, but it's a start.
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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jul 2004 @ 9:54am

    Whena Phone is used for phoning people only

    This REALLY is so nice to see !
    I forwarded on the link about the phone ( Thank you Mike ) to my parents. Although they are skilled cell phone users, they have been looking for a SIMPLE cell phone that my GrandFather can use. My GrandFather is certainly no idiot, but @ 90 years old the only thing he REALLY wants or needs a cell phone for is to make a call. Most models have teenie buttons that he can't see. Furthermore, the phones are loaded with many features that he doesn't want nor need.

    I think as our Baby boomer parents get older we are going to see industries catering much more to the elderly then they currently do.

    Hell, I just like the fact that the phone IS a phone & not a combo product.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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