I strongly believe that there is a burgeoning market for what might be called intermediate accessibility in product design. Too often, the term accessibility is related only to those with profound lack of access. When we think of people in need of accessibility, we think of the profoundly deaf or blind and those restricted wheelchairs. Disability, however pejorative that term may be, is not binary. People are not either totally ‘able’ or completely ‘disabled’. Disability involves a complex continuum of ability, so accessibility needs to be addressed along a scale as well. Designers of accessible items for the blind need to ask more than if their product works for the profoundly blind, but how well users with all levels of vision can handle their product.
Why is this relevant? With the graying of the baby boomers, demographics is giving us a huge and fairly well-off market of people with all levels of abilities and disabilities. Products need to be and are being redesigned to deal with stiff fingers, poor sight, minor forgetfulness and all the other discomforts that accompany the passing of years. There have always been products for this market, but they have not been well-designed. The market has always been small, with too few consumers and too small budgets. The current generation of retirees is the largest and wealthiest in history.
A while back, the NY Times ran an article, For the Advanced in Age, Easy-to-Use Technology, which covers examples of this shift in design. What the Times calls ease of use here, I would call more accurately intermediate accessibility. By avoiding the use of the more technical term of accessibility, the Times is only acceding to the stigmatization of accessibility. But let’s not argue semantics here.
An obvious success story is Apple; its iPod line is easy to use and stylish, and its appeal crosses generations. Apple retail stores are clean, sleek and inviting. Older people enjoy entering them because “the Apple stores make you feel smart,” Mr. Coughlin said.
I agree that the iPod line is “stylish, and its appeal crosses generations”, but I am less sure about its ease of use. I have to admit it is easier to use than every other mobile music and video device I have every seen, but that is not saying much. In terms of ease of use by the elderly, that is to say its intermediate accessibility, only the practically featureless shuffle is easy to use. The click wheel and tiny fonts of the older iPods are tough on arthritic fingers and tougher on weakening eyesight. The new generation of the iPhone and the iPod Touch have a much bigger screen. The zoom feature in Safari, the built-in web browser is great, but overall the potential for accessibility is unmet. No tactile or audio interface is available. Most of the apps, including the app store, lack adjustable font sizes and color schemes.
The Jitterbug clamshell phone (www.jitterbug.com), made by Samsung ($147, not including a service plan), does not reveal itself as a phone for older people until it is opened, displaying oversize buttons and large type on the screen. One-touch buttons enable easy dialing of 911 and other emergency numbers. The carrier markets the phone to the elderly with ads that explain that consumers can either dial numbers or ask a Jitterbug operator to do it for them. The company says 30 percent chose an operator’s help.
This is one product I need to get my hands on to review. I hear that the Jitterbug does not live up to the hype, but would love to see one to find out for myself.
In October, Clarity (www.clarityproducts.com) will sell ClarityLife C900, which can amplify voices by 20 decibels. A hearing aid can also be plugged into the phone. A single red button can be pushed to call or text up to five numbers of one’s choosing. The $270 cellphone can be used on the AT&T or T-Mobile networks.
I discussed this earlier in Gadget Note: ClarityLife C900 Amplified Mobile Phone.
The remote control can also be expanded to do some household tasks. Universal TV remotes from Logitech, Philips and Sony can also control room lighting and draw automated shades.
This, too, I would like to see firsthand. The digital home is an old concept, though still mostly vaporware. Hopefully, accessibility, intermediate and full, will be built in from the start, rather than needing to be jerry-rigged onto an uncooperative set up as is too often the case.
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