Android Smartphone for the elderly

Fujitsu said it negotiated directly with Google to use Android without requiring the creation of a Google account, which it said could be confusing for older users. The company designed a user interface that is meant to be inviting and easy to use, with large text and buttons and only simple, vertical scrolling.

“We developed a phone that will let customers step up from traditional feature phones,” said Nobuo Otani, a Fujitsu executive who spoke to reporters at a press event in Tokyo.

As smartphones continue to standardize, manufacturers like Fujitsu are trying to differentiate their Android-based handsets with unique user interfaces. Last month, Sharp said it had designed a new “Feel UX” user interface, and rivals such as Sony and Samsung also offer their own interfaces that sit atop Android.

Fujitsu’s new phone also features a touch screen designed for first-time users that aren’t comfortable with technology, after testing by the company showed many elderly users had trouble adapting from the physical keys of feature phones.

The screen gives way slightly when pressed, to recreate the feeling of a physical button. Tapping icons and links on the phone only highlights them, and a stronger press is required to actually select something. The phone’s software is designed to ignore “false touches,” such as when fingers used to hold the phone are accidentally moved over the screen.

In Japan, Fujitsu has retained a 55-year-old actress, Shinobu Otake, to promote the phone to older customers.

The phone will go on sale in Japan from early August under NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest operator.

Source: computerworld.com