Doro PhoneEasy

I was watching the CBC news channel this morning and an ad comes on for this cel package with Canadian provider Rogers:

http://www.rogers.com/web/content/SeniorsPlans

Interesting. The phone comes from a Swedish company (of course) named Doro. Here’s their site with the phone:

http://www.dorocanada.com/Our-Products/Cell-phones-and-accessories/410GSM-CA/

They sell it based on its ease of use, extra visibility, keypad with clear seperation between keys and a button on the back that will immediately dial a preprogrammed number (such as family in an emergency).

Anyone else seen this in the US or Europe?

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there is an austrian company doing pretty much the same thing,
have seen a few of them around, though i think they still can be a lot better, the menu navigation is horrible.

they have several different ones, even some for outdoor use. i thin the design is better then some new smartphones.

That last phone is pretty sweet. I remover reading that some seniors are having positive experiences with smart phones because you directly touch the interface and that seems easier to comprehend instead of having to navigate menses with d-pads or track balls. An interesting effect of going to on screen. It would be interesting if someone developed an android skin or completely new smartphone OS for seniors that was all about being clear and logical. On a related note, my mother got an iPhone last year and immediately she started texting pictures and emailing from it and found it easier to use than the old school flip phone it replaced.

The contrary for my 67 year old mother. 75% of the phone messages I get from her, are her arguing with my dad in the background about how she can’t figure out how to make calls with her iPhone.

I’d love to see a simplified UI just for her. Of course, the iPhone is about as intuitive as it gets so that would take some doing. I’m certain she’d love on of those Doro phones, or even the emporia.

this one is manufactured by iBall for people in India with name Assaan (english translation is Easy)
Key features are : large number buttons , Big screen , 250hrs stand by and 210min continuous use , Language supported English and Hindi.
SOS button* on the back - is very use full feature by pressing, it will automatically send SMS up to 5 people and after that it will automatically start calling them one by one.
b_GD100009879.jpg

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2009; old thread … same phone. A “phone” phone?

Looks like few changes after three years. What’s up with that!? I thought changing physical form every seven months was a legal requirement for cellphone manufacturers.

Maybe it’s a case of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” when applied to phones that are doing well.

Anyone else seen this in the US or Europe?

Doro USA > http://www.dorousa.us/Our-products/Cell-phones-and-accessories/330GSM-US/

Isn’t that counterproductive to have a phone with large controls but such a small screen??

I can’t find the article but I read something recently about “Grandpa” phones being despised by the elderly as the assumption is they are idiots, and not interested in picture messaging, facebook, internet etc.

like this:

While the geeks here at Gizmodo live and breathe smartphones, sometimes it’s important to step back and remember that old people need mobile phones too. So let’s take a look at the Doro PhoneEasy 410s, a clamshell phone specifically designed to meet the needs of your nanna…There’s no 3G, no apps, and no advanced features. But it is cheap and easy to use, which is exactly what your nanna will love. Hopefully.

(disclaimer: I work for Telstra) but this is a better approach:
http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2011/12/14/new-seniors-phone-launches-just-in-time-for-christmas/

It provides a simplified, new colour coded menu with a help file that explains how to perform basic tasks.
A descriptor line has been added to each menu item to highlight its functions together with simplified icons.
This “nanna/pop” phone is sympathetic to deteriorating hearing loss and provides superb incoming and outgoing audio."

…and that their preference aesthetic is medical equipment. Why not draw inspiration from old furniture, old luxury car interiors, tailored suits etc. Redwood, oak, polished stone etc…

+1. this is very interesting

What about “John´s phone” (almost bought it myself, as a cool spare phone)?

Some years ago I wrote an article about the design of a mobile phone for technology-averse people:

http://www.nordiskergonomi.org/nes2007/CD_NES_2007/papers/A5_Pelzer.pdf

The main problem faced by technology-averse people is the understanding of the underlying concept of devices, together with their accessibility. It is interesting to see how phone manufacturers approach this problem. All too often it is just a matter of making bigger keys (and font labelling) and keeping functions to a minimum. My point however is that although bigger keys might make it easier for people to hit the right key, it does not help in understanding how mobile phone features are structured and accessed. I think that it has something to do with the way the (software) interaction is in a way sealed off from the outside world. With older technologies, like for example a typewriter, you can see the direct (mechanical) link between action and result. And if something goes wrong, you can see it (a letter getting stuck or so) and fix it easily.

On top of that I don´t believe that keeping phone features to a minimum is necessarily the right way to go. If easy access could be provided, I bet they might just want to also use for example a camera or radio as well.

Ideally the entire interaction model should be built-up from the ground up, both hardware and software. Ironically, a smart phone like the iPhone with its ease of use might just be the solution, or at least pretty close. Also, it´s not one big market where one solution fits all. And I will not start to talk about how stigmatizing most of these types of phones look…


Cheers,
Tom

I think this idea of a typewriter would be a fantastic jumping off point for a project. Not understanding how the device works is what can instill that initial panic in older people that leads them to not want to use a new phone. The iPhone is successful in that aspect because it is so friendly but I think, in this scenario, there’s more then one way to skin the cat. Taking the idea of a visible, physical, quantifiable action and reaction as a jumping off point would yield some cool designs.

We tried a few of these “elderly” phones with my dad. He by far prefers his iPhone! because its all screen, he can set the font to the maximum size and its easier for him to see.
All the other phone he tried, like the example above, have great buttons, but tiny screens that are difficult to read.

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@AnthT When my mom got an iPhone years back I thought it was going to be an issue with me having to be her IT person, but it turned out I’ve had to help her less since she moved to an iPhone and swapped her laptop for an iPad…

Anyone else have a similar experience with a parent?

My parents used to have a windows PC, which was always a pain in the arse!
I bought them an imac and my life changed :laughing: tech support just ended!
One time, I came back from a long trip away to find that they had bought a new imac. the old one had a disk faliure, so they went to the local apple store, bought an imac, took it home and restored it from an icloud backup.
Did it all themselves, I was so proud :laughing:

As for the old imac with the dead disk, I put a new disk in and it now lives in our kitchen.

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There are a whole bunch of phones like this for the ELDERLY and VISION IMPAIRED.

They find Androids and iPhones difficult to use.