Apps for Baby Boomers

Mobile App Developers Should Care About Boomer User Expereince

2012-01-24T12:22:00.000Z

This is an interesting observation about the concern - more accurately lack of concern - that app developers have for their customers. They seem to have even less concern about their older users.

I hope this is an extreme view and that things are not really that bad although I do recognise some of the behaviours.

In general, far more designers are age blind than see the need for universal design. Sad fact but true. Dick Stroud

Lastest data about tablet and e-reader sales

2012-01-24T11:44:00.002Z

Pew Research has just published some data about the ownership of tablets and e-readers.

Can you believe this statistic: The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period.
The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.

You can see what the most popular Xmas present was this year.

For the first time that I can remember, the sale of a new tech product to the 65+ is keeping pace with the other age groups. Clearly, e-readers are popular (rightly so) with older people.

The 50-64 year olds are also buying a lot of e-readers and tablets.

For those who haven't already appreciated it - we are a turning point for the consumption of media and the preferred technology platform used by all generations. Fascinating. Dick Stroud

Terrific new apps to help the lives of older people

2011-12-23T07:47:00.001Z

This week I had a coffee with David Sinclair of the ILC. He was telling me about the competition he was asked to judge about apps that could assist the lives of older people.

He has written a blog posting about the winners and there is also this great video explaining what the apps do. I reckon they are brilliant.

Well done Vodafone Foundation and its partners the AGE Platform Europe and the European Disability Forum (EDF). Dick Stroud

L'Oreal is to launch a proximity marketing app aimed at Boomers

2011-11-23T05:59:00.001Z

L'Oreal, which also owns Garnier and Maybelline, is targeting people born after WWII with much of its app development because it believes they are the generation that want to make the most of their leisure time.

Speaking at the Forrester Marketing and Strategy Forum the head honcho of the company's digital business, says: “If we can give them the information in their hand it simplifies their life, it saves them time. Free time is a luxury and if you can tap into that, it is great and we can do it. The big transformation in the retail market is that more and more people believe in proximity. So if you combine the power of technology with proximity you start have a powerful tool”.

I had a quick look on iTunes and there is no sign of the app - maybe it is a US only release or maybe it is still in development.

Maybe this an app looking for consumer? Dick Stroud

iPads to be used for voting

2011-11-16T06:31:00.001Z

David Weigelt's excellent Silver Tsunami eBrief covered this story that was reported in Mashable.

It would seem that Oregon is letting older and disabled citizens, in five counties, cast their votes on Apple iPads. Election workers are visiting parks, nursing homes and community centers to find voters who have trouble filling out traditional mail-in paper ballots.

Oregon is the first state to try voting via iPad. This could be the start of an interesting development. Dick Stroud

Apps for the travelling Boomer

2011-11-11T09:00:00.001Z

AARP had an article about apps that helps the travelling Boomer. The article was contributed by The Roaming Boomers. Dick Stroud

Welcome HTML5 - goodbye Flash and Silverlight browser plug-in

2011-11-11T06:23:00.001Z

HTML5 is coming on strong as a standard, accelerated by the speed of change of hardware devices.
IDC reckons that by 2013, 90% of smartphones and tablets will sport HTML5 capable browsers. Lots of detail about this in Technology Review.

So what you might be asking. This could have a radical impact on apps. How about web apps versus native apps.

iTunes is a much as anything a no brainer of a infrastructure for somebody like me who just wants to use apps and content with the minimum of hassle. In the future I can see the adoption of this open standard might make things difficult for Apple. Dick Stroud

App of sending photos to the digitally excluded

2011-11-06T06:09:00.002Z

Postagram is way of sending photos to the poor saps who are not able to receive them via their phone, tablet or computer. You know, the old folks who can only communicate via the post.

Actually, it is not a bad idea. Don't forget in the UK there are 10 million people who do not regularly use the Internet. I know that is hard to believe but it is true. Dick Stroud

Smartphone uptake keeps going up and up

2011-11-06T05:44:00.000Z

More data from Nielsen about the uptake of smartphones - this time from the US.

I wonder when the last dumbphone will be made? Dick Stroud

Yet another care based app

2011-11-03T07:40:00.001Z

This is a simple application for relieving guilt for not visiting your relative who is in care.

It is not clear to me who pays. It would appear that the families and the care providers get it for free. I can only assume it is an advertising based model.

I was surprised that the application is text based. I would have thought it would have been better to have used sound and video.

Like all of the zillions of apps aimed at health / care / oldies it all comes down to the strength of the business model. The tech side is the easy bit. Dick Stroud

New Apple iOS5 operating system enables the iPad to become 'PC Free'

2011-10-21T06:47:00.001+01:00

The greatest hurdle remaining for the adoption of iPads by older people was the need to have access to a PC/Mac to set-up and to receive updates. The PC Free functionality puts and end to all of this nonsense.

This excellent article lists all of the changes with new operating system and details about the new standalone ability of the iPad.

Well done Apple. I am not so sure about the split keyboard feature but I guess I will come to love that as well. Dick Stroud

Could Siri be a game changer technology - not just yet but soon

2011-10-05T06:30:00.001+01:00

When you go to the Apple web site it shows Siri (the personal assistant) as being a beta release. This is the software that was launched with the new iPhone. Well if it does half the things suggested by the Apple video then it could be the basis of a great product for older people.

I know there is a long way from the nice promotional ad to the real thing but give it a year or two and this voice activation technology could become a game changer for the way that older people with eyesight or dexterity problems interface with the device. Of course Apple needs to get the volume levels right otherwise it will be useless. Dick Stroud

10 of the best apps for older people

2011-09-26T18:01:00.001+01:00

I always think it is interesting to see what journalists think are important/relevant to "older people".

Well these are the apps that the Guardian reckon that no self respecting oldie can survive without.

In fairness the list does contain some sensible suggestions, however, some of them are a tad patronising - as is the photo. Dick Stroud

Your iPhone will know you will die before you do

2011-09-15T06:52:00.002+01:00

Alivecor is a very small US company that has created an iPhone app and hardware to turn the device into a ECG monitor.

The story of the the way the company used YouTube to promote the product is also worth reading about as a case study of how to promote a product using social media,

There will be lots more of these types of products created. Dick Stroud

Passive health apps – the next big thing - probably

2011-09-14T06:12:00.001+01:00

The guy who was formerlyin charge of “design and user experience” for Mozilla's Firefox,left the company last year to start Massive Health that will be launching a mobile health app later this year. Nothingstrange in that.

From the article in Technology Review it would seem that venture is going to be offeringsomething a bit special. I quote fromthe article

Health apps haveyet to reach the people who really need them. Most existing apps, such as thosethat track sleep or workouts, are what he calls "wellness" tools thatattract people who already take a close interest in optimizing their health,rather than not-so-healthy people who must manage chronic diseases.

The founder of thecompany isn't ready to detail his own company's plan but he says he is takingon the challenge of helping just that population. The idea is to make healthcare a constant in people's lives, not something that occurs only during a check-up.

This all sounds verysensible to me. Sooner or later, somebody is going to initiate amega-improvement in the interface between smart devices and health monitoring equipmentand then to provide the recipient with proactive advice on what to do – ratherthan the app just being a smart collector of information.

I think this mightbe a company to watch. Dick Stroud

Smartphones - dumb systems thinking. Is Healthcare and Care is stuck in the dark ages of IT?

2011-09-07T17:09:00.001+01:00

It was only a matter of time beforesmartphones started directly interfacing with third-party equipment.

The obvious candidate for this applicationis for medical monitors. Rather than an older person using a smartphone torecord their data it is much better if the smartphone does it itself.

Technology Review has an article describing work going on in Canada to make this a reality.

Talking about reality. We are at the cuspof a fantastic new era of technology that can improve the quality and drive down the costof healthcare and caring services of older people.

But, and there is a very bigBUT, the reality is that most of the care and healthcare industry is wadingabout in technology and systems thinking that was old in the 1990s.

The video is a great way of explainingthis. Just imagine how it would be if booking a flight used the same systems thinking that isprevalent in the healthcare industry.

Terrifying but true. Dick Stroud

An interesting factlet about tablets, e-readers and paper

2011-08-24T08:01:00.000+01:00

A new survey from RISI, a trade organization representing the forest products industry, predicts that total demand for paper for magazines and newspapers will drop 12-21% by 2015, because of the rise of tablet-style computers and e-readers, and 40%-50% by 2030.

While this is obviously bad news for print advertising, it also contains a ray of hope for publishers who have moved swiftly over the last couple years to get digital versions of their products on to tablets.

A blog post for those that still need convincing about the important of tablets

2011-08-24T07:37:00.000+01:00

PepsiCo's global head of digital said: "Every single organisation that is dedicated to digital should be spending the majority of their time, effort and resource optimising for smartphones and various tablets."

He went on to say that the longer term trend (towards tablets) is undermining "traditional PC form factors," even if this process may prove somewhat slower than the most bullish forecasts predict.

Interesting comments, from somebody with so much marketing muscle.

This article from WARC doesn’t add anything new to our knowledge about the rise and rise of smart devices and apps but it provides some useful quotes, should you need to convince any doubters about the way the technology scene has changed.

As my previous blogs posting have said – tablets/smartphones are particularly important for older people. Dick Stroud

If only it were so simple

2011-08-23T14:35:00.000+01:00

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley MP yesterday issued a call for health professionals and mobile phone ‘app’ designers to suggest new software which could help people improve their health. Apps could deliver improved monitoring of health or help nudge or support people towards healthy lifestyles.

I am quoting from an excellent blog posting by David Sinclair who explains in a much more logical and reasoned way than I would why it is a tad more complicated than the Health Secretary appreciates.

David and I don’t need any persuading about the importance of apps – if I did I wouldn’t have started a dedicated blog on the subject.

But----creating the app is the easy bit. It is so easy that zillions of people have created all sorts of apps for health related issues. The hard bit is making them work within a lethargic and cumbersome institution like the NHS.

Last year I had the misfortune to spend a lot of time in and out of a large, brand spanking new hospital, with an older relative. I was appalled by the primate nature of the IT.

It was impossible for the doctors to access the discharge details about a patient that were issued by the hospital the previous day. I was forced to scan all of the documents onto my iPhone so I could at least show the doctors what they colleagues had just written.

I think sorting out that mess would be a much better use of Mr Lansley’s time than musing about the wonder of apps. Dick Stroud

40 - 60 years old wealthy Americans are driving iPad sales

2011-08-19T19:14:00.000+01:00

Older US consumers, especially the wealthy type, are getting the tablet (for that read iPad) habit - certainly if you believe this research.

I don’t think you should quote these numbers as representing the universe of older Americans - the research company admits that the sample was "skewed toward a significant higher average income".

What I think is a trend that you can take as being universal is that: "83% of people questioned said they could not do without a computer at present, and only 11% could foresee a time in the future then they were unlikely to require one."

This means that tablets, and in the case of this sample almost all iPads, are purchased in addition to the existing notebook/PC. Certainly, that is the case with me and my friends.

The final quote from the research: "Across the entire panel, 94% of consumers suggested tablets would primarily be used for personal purposes." Why has it taken the technology pundits so long to understand that the iPad - at least for now - is a fun device.

Being one of a diminishing bunch of people who worked for IBM when it ruled the world but would not accept that the Mini and the PC were going to become the next generation of computing, I see a lot of similarities with MS who seems to have put its head firmly in the sand and hoped the tablet/app world would go away. Sorry guys it is still around and growing stronger by the day. Dick Stroud

Demographics of Americans who scan QR codes with their smartphones

2011-08-16T06:30:00.002+01:00

comScore has published the first research , I have seen, about the demographics of people who scan QR codes.

As I have previously mentioned, I initially thought that QR (“Quick Response”) codes were a technology looking for an application but have become convinced of their value

The study found that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S. (6.2% of the total mobile audience) scanned a QR code on their mobile device.

As you can see from the table the age profile of scanners is about what you would expect. Of course this profile depends totally on the marketing applications of the codes. You have the danger of a self-fulfilling prophecy that the codes are only used for 'yougn' applications that will reinforce the low use by older people.

I am sure in the short term the over 50s can live without knowing about the codes. That might well change in the near future. Dick Stroud

Perception of older people and technology

2011-08-10T11:56:00.001+01:00

Interesting how other perceive older people and technology. Dick Stroud

Expect to see more mobile sites for older people

2011-08-10T11:02:00.000+01:00

Castle Cover, is an insurance company that provides financial services for the over-50s and has just launched a mobile site having seen a "sharp increase" in smartphone traffic to its Web site.

Castle Cover said: “We have seen a sharp increase of over-50s traffic opting to search for home insurance via a smart phone device over the last year. Though it may be surprising to some, we understand that many of our over-50s audience are technology savvy and make up a vast majority of earlier adopters due to having more free time to play with ‘gizmos’ and the disposable income to invest in them.

Certainly there is a big improvement to how the Castle site now appears on an iPhone to how it did before (a simulation).

This has made me think that I had better get myself a mobile site created. Good grief, this online stuff is getting even more complicated. Dick Stroud

Google Goggles – how amazing

2011-08-09T09:36:00.000+01:00

I guess I have been living away from the tech world for too long but I have only just discovered the power of Google Goggles for the iPhone. How amazing.

I had no idea that Google had developed the power of image and audio search to such a degree.

My first thoughts were how this technology might be used for older people.

Not sure I have the answers but you can see that the combination of this type of technology, micro miniature mechanical devices and the gesture recognition, from the games world, produce a powerful combination of tools to create some fascinating applications. And we have only just begun.

Roll forward 5 years. More computational and network power, reducing costs and new technologies. Fantastic. Dick Stroud

Care Innovations Connect - a GE Intel production

2011-07-31T07:37:00.000+01:00

This development is the first tangible output I have seen from the Intel-GE Care Innovations venture.

I am sure there have been others but they must have passed me by.

Excuse the management speak but this is what the organisation says about itself.

Staying social and maintaining friendships is essential to health and longevity. Optimizing the physical, cognitive and emotional well being of seniors is central to maintaining an independent, healthy lifestyle. Intel-GE Care Innovations™ is your technology partner to help community members stay connected at the touch of a finger. Discover Care Innovations™ Connect -- an easy-to-use digital experience that functions as a wellness communications device and social networking hub all-in-one.

Rather than explain what this system does it is easy for you view the videos.

I have to be honest, but this all looks a tad to ‘corporate’. I am sure the systems are first rate but I would think that the user interface could do with touch of human design.

From what I can see of the system it is great for the person who is looking after a group of older people to keep tabs on what they are doing but I wonder if is going to knock the socks of the user?

Whatever, the GE-Intel should be congratulated for trying to tackle the serious problem of isolation that affects so many older people. Dick Stroud

Pew data about smartphone use in the US

2011-07-17T07:25:00.000+01:00

We all know that eventually there phones = smartphones. It is just a matter of how long will it take for the migration to occur.

This is the latest data from Pew about the ownership characteristics in the US. Nothing very shocking. Dick Stroud

Now I can see how to use QR codes for competitive advantage

2011-07-17T06:58:00.002+01:00

Recently I wrote about the unfulfilled potential of QR codes.

This application by Tesco (in Korea) is a brilliant demonstration of the power of the technology. Now I get it. How long before we see this in the UK.

A terrific demonstration of the power of smartphones and how they link to the physical world. This has got me thinking about the applications of QR codes for the 50-plus. Dick Stroud

iPads and iPhones are good for people with disabilities - including ageing

2011-07-10T07:21:00.002+01:00

It really gets up my nose when organisations lump together ageing and disability as being the same 'problem'. A while back the telecoms regulator OFCOM had an advisory group for “ageing and disability”. Like a lot of things I think this is now history, as a result of the ‘cuts’.

Having said all of this, let's be honest, there is a big cross-over between the two things. Business Week has an article about the way that i-things have features that are intrinsically good for people with sensory problems

The iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 come with VoiceOver, a screen reader for those who can’t read print, as well as FaceTime, video-calling software for people who communicate using sign language.

Apple has said that iOS 5—due later this year—will contain improvements to VoiceOver and LED flash and custom vibration settings to let users see and feel when someone is calling.

Two interesting quotes

"Boomers will demand products, services, and workplaces that adapt to their needs and desires," says the chief investment officer at WingSail Capital. Crossover technology such as the iPad, which works well both for people with disabilities and the broader consumer market, are the "holy grail" of business and disability efforts and will drive growth in disability-related capital spending.

Companies such as Apple are motivated, at least in part, to create products that work for people with disabilities because the population is aging, says the marketing director of accessible technology at Lighthouse International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting vision loss.

My research with Kim Walker goes one step further than saying that Apple’s products are ‘good’ for oldies. Most things that Apple does, across all of the customer touchpoints, are age-friendly.

It is no good having terrific disability-friendly devices if all of the other aspects of the organisation, work or public environment are a disability assault course. Dick Stroud

A must read if you are thinking of having a mobile app created.

2011-07-10T07:19:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you read a blog and it answers one of those questions that has been at the back of your mind for ages but you have never got around to answering.

I am a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal web site. I have been since it was first launched and have willingly paid my annual subscriptions since I think it is a great newspaper.

When the app was launched I was faintly miffed that I had to pay again for access. I wrote to the customer service people to ask why and never got a response. More important things flooded in and it has stuck in my mind as something to get sorted.

It would seem that I am not the only person with this issue. Nielsen shows how, because of the terrible interface of the app, the WSJ has annoyed many more people than me. Many thousands more.

In fact the app access to the content is free for existing subscribers but the designers have successfully hidden this fact and in the process annoyed a lot of loyal readers.

There is a big lesson to learn. If you use apps make sure they don’t detract, and worse still, damage the reputation of your other digital channels. Dick Stroud

Cloud+Apps = better healthcare

2011-06-27T10:46:00.002+01:00

The examples of where apps and cloud are creating new ways of doing things are coming fast and furious.

The Open mHealth project, provides a set of tools for building cell-phone apps that collect health-related information. You can read about it in Technology Review.

The data can include information entered by users and also such things as smart-phone GPS- and accelerometer-tracking information. One pilot project is studying the diet, stress, movement, and exercise patterns of overweight new mothers. Users have control over what data is captured and get to choose with whom it is shared.

Hospitals, health-care providers, and startup companies could design additional apps to draw on the data.

It is a no-brainer that we will have medical records that are accessible from our smart devices. At the moment when you go to a NHS hospital you enter a data free zone. Even though you may have only just been discharged it takes days for your data to catch-up with you.

I guess that it will be private medicine and care services that will be the first to start using these applications. Sometime in the future the cumbersome public care system will get hold of the technology.

Once we get an accepted data structure (I know that is a big ask) then the apps will follow. Dick Stroud

Fitness apps from a Boomer start-up company

2011-06-16T14:54:00.000+01:00

This is an interesting story about a couple of ex-HP guys who saw the potential of developing apps, formed a business, produced the product and seem to be doing well.

There are zillions of fitness apps out there but these guys seem to be holding their own.

Their company, Abvio, is a nice story of how older guys can still cut it in start-up tech companies.

I would think their apps will certainly be designed with the needs of Boomers in mind. Dick Stroud

QR codes - a technology looking for an application

2011-06-13T10:56:00.000+01:00

Because anybody who reads this blog is technically literate you will not need me to tell you that the black and white boxes that seem to be festooning ads are called QR (quick response) codes.

You'll find them in the corner of newspaper and magazine ads, in department store aisles, on product displays and price tags.

The one in this blog posting is of my web address. If you possess a smartphone with the appropriate app you just point it at the code and like magic it will decode it to reveal www.20plus30.com.

According to this article, the number of QR scans recorded by the industry's leading code maker has soared to 2 million a month, nearly double the rate last year, and up from 80,000 a month in 2009.

An analyst, of something or another, said: "They love QRs because they're cheap and easy to deploy, and you can put them anywhere from print ads to the back of stadium seats."

Well the industry might like them but consumer awareness still lags behind. Only 5% of total smartphone owners in the U.S. have scanned a QR, according to Forrester Research. But it's on a sharp curve upward. About 25% of Android phone owners and 7% of iPhone users tried out a QR in the second quarter of 2010, and that number is expected to rise this year, Forrester said.

Like so many technologies there is a tendency of marketers to use it just because they can not because they have a good reason.

Don’t get me wrong, I can see loads of applications for the codes, especially for providing easy to read information for older people and feel reasonably certain that they will be widely used. But right now I get the feeling that it is a technology in search of an application. Dick Stroud

Smartphone use

2011-06-10T10:02:00.000+01:00

This has nothing to do with the 50-plus, other than a lot of them use Smartphones. Google's research gives an excellent insight into how the devices are being used. Well worth downloading if you are using mobile as part of your digital strategy. if you aren't you should be. Dick Stroud

IPad / tablet usability - a free report

2011-06-02T08:28:00.000+01:00

I am a great fan of Jakob Nielsen. He always talks a great deal of sense about usability and has been around long enough to witness all of the cycles of fashion in design in user interfaces.He very kindly is making available, for zilch, a really detailed report about iPad usability.

I thought this was an interesting comment from the report.

Even though this report is free, it is still copyrighted information, so we encourage you to not distribute it on the Internet—or otherwise—but instead link to its home on our website where other readers can download it if they are interested. Please do not link directly to the PDF file, but rather follow the guideline to reduce “PDF shock” by linking to the gateway page that summarizes the report within the format of a simple Web page: http://www.nngroup.com/reports/mobile/ipad/

I have to say it is the first time that I have ever thought about “PDF shock” but I can see what he means since the document is 10 Mb+.

If getting the most out your iPad (and iPhone) applications is important then download. Dick Stroud

Over-80s using an iPad

2011-06-02T06:59:00.000+01:00

I read about this video on Ageing in Place Technology blog. It is delightful.

The video is embedded on the new Elder Gadget web site. Wow it looks really good. Well done to the people at Elder Gadget. Dick Stroud

Dick Stroud rambling on about all things apps and iPad

2011-05-07T13:57:00.000+01:00

When I was in Dublin I had a TV interview about all of this ‘i’ stuff and why it is such an important development for older people.

Having watched it again I think it covers most of the points, however, I must stop repeating myself. Put it down to age. Dick Stroud

Understanding the iPad: Insights and opportunities

2011-05-02T12:20:00.003+01:00

What more is there to write about the iPad other than why people really buy them and how they really use them?

There is a lot of personal views but very little hard research on the subject. A report from McKinsey has been on my desk since Feb and I have only just got around to reading it.

The bottom line is that for lots of people the device is a home product that they use instead of their laptop, other than when they need to do some serious keyboard stuff. That makes sense to me.

If you need some stats, from an impeccable source, then I suggest you download the report.

Interestingly, but not really as surprise, lots of the things people didn’t like about the product have been sorted with the iPad2.

I liked the final sentence.

Predicting the future is a good way to be proved wrong. What is certain, though, is that tablets’ journey has only just begun

You cannot argue with that. Dick Stroud

Apps for hearing

2011-03-23T12:53:00.001Z

I have recently been having a look at what is available for the iPhone to assist people with hearing problems.

First things first – do you have a hearing problem?

The Royal National Institue for the Deaf (RNID) has an excellent free app that is quick, simple and completely confidential.

Audiometry is another app that will give you a good idea how well your hearing has stood up to too much loud music of your teens.

Siemens has a free iPad app that may be brilliant but all that it tells you is that you are fine or you need assistance and helps you find the nearest place that sells Siemens product. Very disappointing.

Then are a couple of apps to help with hearing problems that I have already discussed. App 1 App2.

The iPhone is a perfect device for hearing related applications. I am sure there will be a lot more apps in the future. Dick Stroud

It's much harder to understand complicated information when you're reading through a peephole

2011-03-20T17:38:00.000Z

As usual, the useit.com newsletter has some fascinating commentary.

This one is about the problems of accessing the web via a mobile device – tell me about it.

I quote.

When reading from an iPhone-sized screen, comprehension scores for complex Web content were 48% of desktop monitor scores.

It's more painful to use the Web on mobile phones than on desktop computers for many reasons:
• Slower downloads
• No physical keyboard for data entry
• No mouse for selection; no mouse buttons to issue commands and access contextual menus
• Small screen (often with tiny text)
• Websites designed for desktop access instead of following the usability guidelines for mobile
• Whacky app UIs that lack consistency

And so on…

Heavens knows what the situation would be if you overlaid the problems of physiological ageing.

Jakob Nielsen's comments are always worth reading. Dick Stroud

New hearing app - nice interface

2011-02-27T16:38:00.000Z

EARs, is an app that turns an iPhone or iPod touch into a hearing aid, something that I will undoubtedly need.

It is a neat device that takes full advantage of the iPhone. The user can manipulate the tone of the sounds around them by dragging a single dot around the screen.

EARs picks up sounds in real time using the iPhone’s built-in microphone and the sound is then processed according to where the user places the dot – the signal is then sent to the earphones. EARs can also help if the user has different hearing in their two ears by providing separate controls for the right and left ears.

For the princely sum of a couple of quid it is a bargain. Dick Stroud

Good to see that the world agrees about boomers and apps

2011-02-27T15:33:00.000Z

This is something of a hotchpotch and simplistic article of quotes and examples of how the oldies are getting the hang of this technology stuff. A bit patronizing and not that well constructed but it has some interesting quotes.

I was particularly taken by this section from Mary Furlong – one of the originals in the US boomer marketing industry.

Apple's iPad is a good example of a mainstream product with huge potential for seniors - "The iPad is the top product for all people 50-plus" - "The user interface is so easy. And for anyone with vision issues, the text size can be changed quite easily."

Older consumers are finding the iPad much easier to use than a personal computer” – “The iPad's touch-screen display and big icons beat using a computer mouse and having to find and click or double-click PC programs. Plus, a tablet can sit on your lap”

"What's so magical about the iPad is that you can be 90 and find nine applications to use, or be a child and find a bunch of applications."

“Baby boomers are comfortable using technology because they've used it in the workplace” I couldn’t agree more.

I like the photos. I like it that Mary agrees with my analysis.

Don't forget that I have another blog that focuses on smart devices and apps. Dick Stroud

Lots of speculation about all things 'i'

2011-02-12T15:39:00.000Z

Any bets on the price of the entry level iPhone and iPad in 24 months time?

I can be 100% certain that it will be a lot cheaper than it is today. Lots.

The media is full of speculation that Apple is developing a cheaper iPhone to compete with the glut of low priced Android powered devices. Some reckon that Apple is looking to sell new SIM-free models for around ($200) £125 which will not require users to sign a contract on purchase, according to Bloomberg.

The new models will be around one-third smaller than the most recent iPhone model and will use technology that makes it easier to use the phone on multiple wireless networks.

Of course this could all be pure nonsense as could the thinking that we will soon see iPad2 and iPad3.

Who knows? All we do know is that smart devices are fast becoming the norm. Look at poor old Nokia floundering around having to string together a deal with Microsoft in an attempt to stop the hemorrhage of market share.

I do hope that vendors realise the opportunities that these devices give them with older consumers. Dick Stroud

The iPad only The Daily is launched

2011-02-09T10:03:00.002Z

Thanks to Chuck for reminding me about the launch of News Corp’s The Daily for the iPad.

Unfortunately, I cannot access the publication in the UK which is a bit weird for a global publication.

From looking at the video it does appear to be a radically new way of delivering content.

This guy reckons he has found a way to read the application by logging into a US iTunes account. I think I will wait until it is available on iTunes UK.

Like all things iPad, it will be interesting to see the demographics of the readership. Considering that the 50-plus are huge consumers of news I would expect them to be a significant group of customers. Dick Stroud

A bit more insight into iPad sales

2011-02-08T09:33:00.002Z

As usual, Pew Internet has produced a very useful research report about how the use of electronics devices (a better word than gadgets) changes across the generations.

A couple of the charts that most interested me are reproduced above.

I thought the chart and this commentary about iPad like devices was illuminating.

As of September 2010, 4% of American adults own a tablet computer such as an iPad. Though education and household income are high predictors for owning a tablet computer, as with e-book readers, they are also more popular with adults age 56 and under (who are significantly more likely to own a tablet computer than adults age 66 and older).

I cannot wait until we get 24 months of data to analyse to see what is really happening with the sale of iPads. Dick Stroud

Smart devices, apps, voice driven, movement sensitive makes interfaces easier to use

2011-01-15T16:55:00.000Z

The Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas appears to have had a lot of products that should be useful for the older consumer.

The guy who runs Eldergadget.com reckons that as electronic devices get touchscreens, simpler interfaces and other upgrades they become easier to use for people of all ages - "Walking around, it dawned on me how amazing this is for seniors," he says.

Here are a couple of the products that particularly caught his eye.

Fitness related. Panasonic and NordiTrac have teamed up with iFit to create a treadmill, powered by Google maps, that enables you to walk about anywhere in the world where Google has been doing its street photography. Neat - see the video.

Converging user interfaces. Some of the products on show at the exhibition illustrate how it might be possible to share a common interface for all of your household electronic products rather than have countless controllers, all of them with their own interfaces. Common controls for an iPhone, iPad, TV and computer are nearly there. All of the interfaces being touch, motion and voice driven. Cannot be more than a year or two away.

This is a good article. Well worth a read. Dick Stroud

Free iPhone App Helps Educate and Entertain Consumers About Vision

2011-01-11T10:49:00.000Z

Bausch + Lomb, the global eye health company is offering a free iPhone application, called Crystalens® iClear.

The aim is to educate and entertain consumers about vision, cataracts and of course to sell the company's products.

The app is not bad. It attempts to entertain and educate and doesn’t make a bad attempt of doing so.

From the press release it is clear that the app is aimed at the older person. It will be interesting to see how it does. Dick Stroud

Digital exclusion is so 2010 - 2011 will be all about mobile exclusion

2010-12-14T14:05:00.000Z

This year has seen a lot of focus on the plight of the UK’s digitally excluded – most of whom are 60+.

Just as the media has got its head around this subject the game has moved on to the plight of the mobile digitally excluded.
As this article explains, the new game in town is all about using marketing to incentivise smartphone users. Where this leaves your aged aunt who has just about worked out how to turn on a mobile phone is anybody’s guess.

Well it is not really a guess, I think we know the answer. The world is moving to smartphones and that is where new consumer marketing campaigns will be pitched. Sure it is not going to change overnight but all of the arguments of why not having Internet access become even stronger when we introduce the mobility factor. Dick Stroud

Interview with technology guru Tim O'Reilly

2010-11-16T09:14:00.000Z

Chuck Nyren sent me the link to a interview with Tim O'Reilly, the Web guru, the person who first coined the term Web 2.0. Currently he is running the Web 2 Summit conference - wish I was there.

He was asked about the technical developments that will have the most impact in the coming years. His answer was “sensor driven applications” (i.e. ultra small devices that can communicate real time data). I see a great many of these being health related, used by older people and a lot of them working with smart devices.

The other comment that I thought was interesting was his thought that if the American Fed, for that read the Bank of England, had been able to process data as well and as fast as Google we would never have had the melt down of the financial markets. I often think that if the UK's ONS included data about the economy from Tesco’s daily analysis of sales we would give a much better view of what is really happening in the UK.

Well worth the 2-3 mins to listen to the podcast. Dick Stroud

A couple of articles about apps for boomers

2010-11-14T16:34:00.000Z

It must be a standard request for journalists to bash out 500 words about apps "that are good the 50-plus".

There are a lot more of these articles in the US than the UK, where we still hae a daft idea that smartphones and apps are limited to the young.

Boomers and Mobile Tech: The Good, the Bad, and the Apps is not a good advert for this genre of article. Lots of patronising and simplistic arguments.

A much better example is to be found in US News - The 10 Must-Have iPad Apps for seniors. Sensible suggestions. Nothing startling but all are OK.

It is a pity that none of these articles digs beneath the surface to ask why smart-device technology and apps are so well suited for older people. I have an article, soon to be published, that explains these reasons in detail. As soon as it is I will comment about it in this blog. Dick Stroud

Flash games – an amazing statistic

2010-10-27T07:35:00.001+01:00

This is very little to do with the 50-plus, other than they are significant part of the gaming community.

In his blog, Richard Donkin, a well known UK writer and journalist talks about his son’s venture as a Flash Game developer. You can go to this site a play a game for free.

So how does he make a living – advertising. The stat that amazed me is his most popular game to date has had more than 10 million plays. That figure is twice the audience for British television's most watched programme in the second week of September (the latest figures available at the time of this blog). Who Do You Think You Are? that pulled in audience of 4.6 million.

That’s astonishing.

Now just think about the potential of transfering these games to apps. Dick Stroud

The iPad has only just started

2010-10-27T07:14:00.000+01:00

Having fallen in love with the iPad - well not exactly in love but certainly a lasting infatuation - my mind has turned to the question: “what comes next.”

Business insider provides its view of what it thinks iPad 2 might look like and what it might do.

As you might expect, the iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4 development is taken as the basis for constructing the forecasts.

The two things I am sure will come about will be the upgrading to include a "retina" display, with four times the pixel density of the current iPad and the use of FaceTime video chat service.

This same publication reports one estimate for iPad sales in 2011 at an astonishing 45 million units – that equates to about $30 billion of revenue. Whether on not that is a "finger in the air" forecast we will have to wait and see.

For a difference source (MIT Technology Review) there is the report of the way that touchscreens are likely to develop so that they incorporate ‘texture’ (Electrovibration). This would enable apps to change the texture of parts of the touchscreen, greatly increasing the tactile feedback.

Nobody knows if these improvements to tablet type devices will occur in 2011 or 2012 but occur they will. Remember the combination of apps and tablet technology is at the infancy section of the technology curve – the thing I am using to write this blog is approaching the maturity domain.

All of this means that a technology combination, that is inherently good for older users, is going to get better and better. Can't be bad, Dick Stroud

Tech and the Baby Boomer

2010-10-26T19:26:00.000+01:00

I have just discovered Esther Surden’s blog that is all about here adventures and experience of coming to terms with devices like the iPhone, e-book readers and social networking sites.

It is well written, amusing and contains lots of good advice. Well worth visiting. Dick Stroud

Fat fingers are no barrier to using the iPhone

2010-10-26T19:14:00.000+01:00

The first video is from the Ellen DeGeneres show. It is an amusing parody of the Apple's iPhone 4 ad. I have to say I think it contains a smidgen of truth.

The next video is Apple's response.

I think the mighty Apple could see the funny side - maybe not. Whatever, it shows that the company is conscious and concerned that older people might think the iPhone is a product they cannot use. That can only be a good thing. Dick Stroud

No computer - no iTunes - no iPad

2010-09-08T10:13:00.002+01:00

For months I have been going on about the wonder of apps and the iPad.

The product’s single biggest weakness, as a device that radically changes the way older people use the Internet, is the limitation that it must connect to iTunes. Both the product's activation and software updates require iTunes connection.

This is not a problem for me and zillions of other older people but it makes it impossible to pitch the iPad as standalone devices. Right now, no computer, no iPad.

As long as this situation continues it will be a brilliant/magical adjunct not but not a replacement.

The Appleblog has a great article about this point. Apparently in Apple’s third quarter results conference call the point was raised by analysts as a limitation of the device.

I am sure if Apple’s brainpower was focused on this ‘problem’ they could find an answer. If they don’t they will be missing out on a good slug of the older market. Dick Stroud

So little hard information about the customers of the iPad

2010-09-06T17:57:00.000+01:00

eMarketer has one of its short notes about the iPad. It references some interesting research from Ball State University that conducted a focus group on how people use their iPad – interestingly nobody over the age of 45 included! So much for that then.

They also referenced research from a small UK PR agency that is not even mentioned on the company’s web site.

Come on Apple give us a few clues to the customer base of the product. Dick Stroud

Smartphone penetration soars

2010-08-28T08:27:00.000+01:00

Nielsen sees nothing but joy for the smartphone.

Whilst Android phone sales soars, the iPhone is still the most desired smartphone to own.

I will not be long and we will saying: "Do you remember those funny phones that couldn't run apps? "

This rapid growth in penetration must be driven by an uptake spanning all of the generations. Dick Stroud

Good common sense stuff about issues to consider when developing an App

2010-08-24T08:08:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Erin for sending me a link to this article about the experiences of a US law firm that developed an app for their business. Good common sense stuff.

Considering the importance of the subject it is amazing how little has been written about Apps Marketing. There appears to be a couple of books on Amazon and that’s that.

Looks to me like a vacuum waiting to be filled. Methinks there are hoards of people at this moment trying to fill it. Needless to say there is zilch about using Apps to market to older audiences. Watch this space. Dick Stroud

Great new iPad ad

2010-08-23T14:23:00.001+01:00

Yep, I know that I think that Apple and its i-things can do no wrong. But I have to say I really like the new iPad ad. Totally age neutral, full of excitement – works for me. Dick Stroud

Apps versus the Web - Wired magazine contributes to the debate

2010-08-19T17:51:00.000+01:00

This is certainly not a 50-plus specific blog post but it applies to them as much (if not more so) than other age groups. The title of the article in Wired and the graphic says it all.

If you want more explanation then this excerpt from the article makes it absolutely clear.

Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semi-closed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen). The fact that it’s easier for companies to make money on these platforms only cements the trend. Producers and consumers agree: The Web is not the culmination of the digital revolution.

We live in interesting times.

However, there is a different take on what is happening. This article from WARC,contributed by Comscore, suggests caution:

"What we're seeing is a disconnect between the hype around apps and the number of people who are actually using them. Brands need to think outside of the app space if they really want to engage with a mass-market audience. Apps are by no means the dominant channel, although it would be unwise to abandon them altogether."

I think both views are right. Sure the Web is vital and will be for ages but the balance of power is shifting. Not as fast some think (including me) but the direction and the end position is clear. Dick Stroud

The iPad a success with the older Japanese?

2010-08-11T07:43:00.000+01:00

Bloomberg has article about the popularity of the iPad with older Japanese folk.

It is something of a fact free article but if, like me, you are convinced of the iPad’s appeal to the older market, worth reading.

As usual there is a comment from an Apple spokesperson saying: “We don’t disclose sales by country or demographics.” Dick Stroud

Apps for healthcare

2010-08-08T13:37:00.000+01:00

I have just discovered a brilliant new blog that is about iPad/iPhone & Android medical apps for health care professionals.

The iMedicalApps Team consists of a group of physicians and medical students who provide commentary and reviews of mobile medical technology and applications based on their own experiences in the hospital and clinic setting.

I had no idea there was so much apps related things going on in the healthcare and medical training area. Like for instance, Stanford School of Medicine is giving the iPad to all incoming medical students. Dick Stroud

The use of apps in the Healthcare Industry

2010-08-08T11:16:00.000+01:00

The Diamond Digital IQ study found that only 3% of healthcare companies were focused on innovation as their primary strategic emphasis. That is terrible.

The author of the blog posting (John Sviokla) goes on to suggest how the iPad and other new mobile technology could be used in the Healthcare sector.

Since older people are the greatest recipients of healthcare then his thoughts are particularly relevant to this group.

During the past few months I have spent far too long sitting in doctor surgeries and visiting hospitals and observing how they operate.It is terrifying!

I totally concur with all of the author’s suggestions. My big concern is the lack of data management infrastructure to support the iPad and other delivery devices. The iPad is perfect for integrating video, graphics and data at the point of need, but only if the data processing infrastructure is up to the job. Unfortunately, in the UK it isn’t.

I can see that the use of these new technologies will widen the gap between the standards of private and public healthcare provision. Dick Stroud

How the iPad is Like the Tesla Roadster

2010-08-08T09:17:00.000+01:00

I thought this was an excellent analogy and a well written article - from the HBR blog. It really captures the game changing nature of the iPad. Dick Stroud

Nielsen looks at who is using the iPad and iPhone

2010-08-05T17:49:00.000+01:00

Nielsenwire blog contains the result of a survey of 64,000 mobile subscribers who were contacted during the period April through June 2010.

This survey concluded that 15% of iPad users are more than 56 years old compared to 33% of all mobile subscribers. What a strange age range – not 50 years old – not 55 years old but older than 56 years.

It looks like the affluent 25 to 36 year olds have the greatest propensity to buy Apple products. As income grows the willingness and ability to pay for more sophisticated devices increases, too. About 20% of wireless subscribers report earning more than $100,000, but almost 40% of iPad owners fall into that category.

Nielsen believes that: “over time, we believe those over 56 age segment could represent a significant growth opportunity for Apple. While these baby boomers are not known as early adopters, they do adopt, and we should not underestimate the appeal of Apple’s products as easily and intuitively usable devices for consuming content and Internet data.”

I couldn’t agree more. Dick Stroud

What are the behaviours that drive our fascination with mobile?

2010-07-31T10:27:00.000+01:00

This article in Business Week makes a stab at identifying the human behaviours that make using mobiles - especially the ones that are stuffed full of apps – so appealing.

The reasons seem sensible and whilst you could say they are common sense they do provide a foundation for thinking about your mobile strategy. As far as I can see these reasons are pretty much age neutral.

We are in love with instant gratification. Mobiles enable us to exercise this desire 24X7.
We like filling time vs. killing time. We create mobile experiences in four- to 10-minute increments. Give us a few minutes and we want progress, info, answers, and closure.
We crave superhero powers. Our mobile phones allow us to interact in multiple places at the same time. A smartphone packed with apps makes us feel powerful.
Our instincts are to modify, adapt, hack, and create. Give people a tool, especially a technology or digital tool or channel, and they use it to achieve their goals in ways you never imagined. Who would think you could create 200,000 + apps for the iPhone.
We think of our mobile device as our "No. 1 recovery tool," and we never leave home without it. Why? It is a lifeline. Our phones are the first thing we reach for when we're away from home or the office and a problem comes up.

Find ways of satisfying these desires and you are in the money. Dick Stroud

What a great idea to stimulate creative thinking and produce new apps.

2010-07-26T18:39:00.000+01:00

This is an excellent example of real consumer engagement and a good model for future apps development
The Apps for Healthy Kids competition is a part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. Apps for Healthy Kids challenges software developers, game designers, students, and other innovators to develop fun and engaging software tools and games that drive children, especially “tweens” (ages 9-12) – directly or through their parents – to eat better and be more physically active.

The tools and games must be built using the nutrition dataset recently made available to the public through the Open Government Initiative. The dataset provides information on total calories, calories from “extras” (solid fats and added sugars), and MyPyramid food groups for over 1,000 commonly eaten foods.
So the building blocks are free then it is over to the creativity of the public to produce great apps and win some of the $60,000 prize money.

Surely this model has applications to other age groups - like the 50-plus.

In the UK we have an expensive campaign running call Change4Life.com. I would think that it could learn some lessons from this US initiative. Dick Stroud

No more keying into your iPhone

2010-07-26T17:41:00.000+01:00

Dragon has launched a fantastic app for the iPhone and iPad that lets you dictate e-mail and texts. What’s more it works. The first two sentences I dictated it produced perfectly. No learning phase - just an immediate 100% word to text conversion.

What is also good is that it is free.
I would have thought it must be a must have app for any older iPhone or iPad user. Dick Stroud

eBook reading is just so easy

2010-07-25T12:41:00.000+01:00

Today's Telegraph has an article about eBooks that compares the main vendors. Not surprisingly it comes down in favour of the iPad.

There is a quote in the article that 70% of Kindle purchasers are 40+. I thought it was high but not as high as that. The source of the figure seems to be this blog.

Who am I to argue. Dick Stroud

Tech goodies that we can look forward to in the near future

2010-07-24T18:11:00.000+01:00

Marketing Charts has some interesting commentary about the technological advances that we can expect to see on the smartphone and tablet computer in the near future.

These all sound good to me.

Smartphones will increasingly be equipped with HD video recording capabilities.
High-end smartphone devices are expected to have dual core processors by the end of 2010 and by 2012; most smartphones will have this processing power
New form factors are expected to emerge particularly as smartphone devices become smaller, typically to the size of a standard handset.
Handsets will be equipped with projectors to get over the problem of limited screen “real estate” inherent in the smartphone device.
3-D technologies for video and still photos are being developed by several handset manufacturers. This is achieved by mounting two cameras on the device to replicate the distance between the eyes

As I keep on saying. We are at day one of the smartphone/app world. Just think of the new applications this equipment will be capable of handling in the next 5 years. Dick Stroud

The triumph of the app

2010-07-24T18:00:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Simon Roberts for telling me about this article from Prospect Magazine that elegantly sums up why apps are so important and in my view especially important for older people. A short quote:

“Personal computing” is a phrase that has been with us for decades; but perhaps
Apple’s greatest triumph is to have created devices that make these words feel more real than ever. It’s a strategy that leaves even Google looking a little sluggish; and it has got the traditional paid-for media industries, from publishing to music and television, licking their lips. The walled garden may prove a fool’s paradise, as it has done before. But Apple’s vision of the app is here to stay, and with it the resurgence of a battle over the principles of access and ownership that many had thought ended. If you control something people value sufficiently, it seems they are still willing to pay you for the privilege of less freedom.

That sums up the genius of Apple. Dick Stroud

Video gets more attention on mobile devices than on the desktop

2010-07-24T17:48:00.000+01:00

Web video viewers stick around longer on mobile devices than they do on the desktop, according to this article on the Forbes blog.

The habits of 125,000 unique mobile visitors were analysed and it was found that, iPad users look at videos for 5 minutes, Symbian users for 4.1 minutes, Android users for 3 minutes, and iPhone for last 2.4 minutes.

While those numbers sound rather small, in the world of web video, they are significant. The iPad is clearly a favourite as a viewing device.

Advertisers and publishers take note and make sure they have content is available for iPad users, many of whom will be older and wealthy. Dick Stroud

An ideal way of depressing yourself

2010-07-24T17:44:00.000+01:00

Just in case you are feeling a tad too happy and want to suppress these feelings with a dose of reality then there is an app just for you.
Benpal have launched an app that enables you to look at the value of your pension from your iPhone 24X7. I can think of nothing worse.

Seriously, it looks like a good sales tool for selling financial services so the company should be congratulated for being ahead of the curve and developing a very smart looking customer service tool.

This is an interesting article about the use of “hand held” devices and their role in the delivery of financial information for consumers. The author seems to share many of my own views. Dick Stroud

EBooks overtake paper on Amazon

2010-07-20T13:15:00.002+01:00

The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 630,000 books. Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle.

This press release from Amazon (US) tells that over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books. Amazing.

Over the past month, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 180 Kindle books. This is across Amazon.com's entire U.S. book business and includes sales of hardcover books where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.

Another interesting fact - Amazon sold more than three times as many Kindle books in the first half of 2010 as in the first half of 2009.

Don’t forget that the Kindle is very popular with the 50-plus.

No doubt about – digital media is on a roll. Dick Stroud

Build an app before you drink your first coffee

2010-07-15T09:21:00.002+01:00

Google's new App Inventor is a tool for creating mobile apps for Android devices that doesn’t assume you know anything about programming or the technology of smartphones. That means it is something I and a zillion other people could use.

This is the face of application development. Take a good look and enjoy.

If you want a more detailed explanation about what is going on have a look at this video.

What I find so exciting is the way that tools like this will spur new app creation for niche markets. I can just see a lot of Boomers out there using it to create oldies' specific applications. Now what we need is an equivalent for the iPhone. Dick Stroud

Good article about smartphones, apps and older people

2010-07-12T07:58:00.001+01:00

Great to see my chums at BeGrand publishing an article about the smartphones and apps the grandparents cannot live without. Not sure that I agree with the choice of apps but it is a good start. Dick Stroud

The iPad‘s applications for the corporate sector

2010-07-10T07:47:00.000+01:00

This is not specific to the 50-plus but illustrates the scope of applications that are made possible by apps.

Businessweek is featuring the iPad’s applications for corporate computing.

The leader article explains how Wells Fargo, SAP, Tellabs, Daimler and Cisco are or are in the process of creating apps to make the iPad more useable to companies.

Some of the applications that are described are obvious (being a display device for presentations and sales collateral). Some are less obvious – like being used in warehouses.

I would have my doubts about using my iPad in anything other than a protected environment. Maybe Apple will be launching a ruggedised version? Dick Stroud

Reader’s Digest UK reappears as an iPad App

2010-07-09T19:26:00.000+01:00

Would you believe it? No sooner than the good old Readers Digest disappeared from print than it has re-emerged as an iPad app.

I have to say that it is not bad, but the new owners are setting themselves a really challenging task. The need to attract the types of people who want to read the content and style of the RD and who also have an iPad.

I appreciate the cost of distribution is far less but I am not convinced that the sums will stack-up. Still, if you are iPad users it is worth looking at this month’s edition – it’s Free. Dick Stroud

E-readers v Tablets - I know where I will place my money

2010-07-08T13:50:00.000+01:00

A marketing professor at Wharton reckoned that if he was given control of Kindle marketing his first move would be to differentiate the device from the iPad.

This is a nice way of expressing it: "Amazon has to get to the point where the iPad and Kindle don't show up in the same sentence." He went to say, "at this point I'd almost prefer to give it away as part of some Amazon premium reader program. It's only there to get people to buy stuff from Amazon.”

The article from Wharton came down strongly on the side that E-Readers don’t stand a chance if they go head-to-head with tablets.

As I have already written, there is not much to choose between the readability of using an e-reader and a tablet. The big difference is the multiple other applications under the cover of a tablet.

I don’t think I will be investing in a Kindle. Dick Stroud

iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds

2010-07-06T05:12:00.000+01:00

Jakob Nielsen has been researching the reading speed and user experience for the Kindle and iPad. Both products that are proving surprising popular with the older demographic.

I don’t have a Kindle but have the Kindle2 software on my iPad and have tried reading books using both iBooks and the Kindle emulator. To be honest I didn’t think there was that much difference. This is what Mr Nielsen had to say.

People reading books on tablet devices have higher reading speeds than in the past, but they're still slower than reading print.

The iPad measured at 6.2% lower reading speed than the printed book, whereas the Kindle measured at 10.7% slower than print. However, the difference between the two devices was not statistically significant because of the data's fairly high variability.

Thus, the only fair conclusion is that we can't say for sure which device offers the fastest reading speed. In any case, the difference would be so small that it wouldn't be a reason to buy one over the other.

The iPad, Kindle, and the printed book all scored fairly high at 5.8, 5.7, and 5.6, respectively. The PC, however, scored an abysmal 3.6.

Most of the respondents disliked the weight of the iPad (I have to agree with that) and that the Kindle featured less-crisp gray-on-gray letters. People also disliked the lack of true pagination and preferred the way that iBooks indicated the amount of text left in a chapter.

Since the iPad and Kindle are in their first phase of development I reckon the response of the readers was very positive. Just think what it will be like when the devices are half the weight and have twice the screen resolution and when electronic books are 10% the price of the printed version. The tablet will be a no-brainer. It is not a matter of if but when the printed book becomes a luxury purchase. Dick Stroud

Smartphone and healthcare – a perfect match?

2010-07-05T08:02:00.002+01:00

The company behind the Blackberry and India's Vodafone Essar announced the launch of a mobile health device meant to help medical professionals in detecting heart attacks.

The device will record cardiograms taken by paramedics and store them on a server that also contacts doctors' Blackberries on the Vodafone Essar wireless network. Doctors will also be able to use the server to access and assess patient information.

The “senior-friendly” Jitterbug phone is marketing similar health services to baby boomers in the U.S with its new LiveNurse service.

Portable computing + mobility + declining costs of devices and networks + an obvious set of healthcare applications should be perfect match. Dick Stroud

What AARP thought about the iPad

2010-07-05T06:56:00.002+01:00

This is a list of the ten things you need to know about iPad.

Not sure I agree with them all but it is not a bad list. The video is worth watching. A bit like spying into an open focus group.

I was struck by the techno literacy of the older people. A long way away from the stereotypes conjured up by the young lads in my other blog post about the iPad.

It will be fascinating to see the iPad’s sales demographics. I am still certain that the uptake by the older age group will surprise a lot of tech-pundits. Dick Stroud

Five reasons why your mom wants an iPad – Version 2

2010-07-04T06:54:00.002+01:00

I wrote about this article when it was first published. I agreed with the conclusion but thought the rationale was somewhat banal and patronising.

I found this short video clip far more amusing as three hot shot tech sons give their views about the suitability of the iPad for their mums/moms.

I would love to hear their moms/mums views about their pride and joy’s views. Dick Stroud

App developers talk about apps

2010-06-24T06:49:00.002+01:00

The enthusiasm of these guys just oozes out of the screen. Clearly they just love app technology and what it enables them to do. So do I .

An interesting announcement that Conde Nast that its closed magazine (Gourmet)is
being revived as a digital-only brand, Gourmet Live, optimized for the iPad. This is all about long tail marketing. The marriage between the apps and niche markets is made in heaven. Dick Stroud

Is Apple in trouble because of age neutral strategy - not so says its customers

2010-06-24T06:08:00.001+01:00

I just love this snippet, from Power Lunch, where finance commentators meet a tech commentator, from CNET. Not much mutual understanding. What amuses me is the worry that Apple might be trouble because it is appealing to an older demographic. Well done Apple I say. Dick Stroud

iPad users demographics

2010-06-22T09:21:00.000+01:00

This analysis is very selective in that it is indexes the users of iPads who access Yahoo. Even so, it comes up with an interesting observation that Yahoo consumers, ages 35-44, are overrepresented, by 36% on the iPad, while the under-30s are vastly underrepresented.

The 45- 54 age group is also over indexing.

None of this comes as any great shock. It will be great when we get some user demographics from a wider respondent base. Dick Stroud

5 Reasons Why Your Mom Wants an iPad

2010-06-17T15:36:00.000+01:00

I certainly don’t agree with the entire article and find it somewhat patronising, however, I do agree with the overall conclusion.

Apple and Android up - the rest down

2010-06-14T06:53:00.000+01:00

This research from Nielsen show the onward march of the big two and the slow demise of the others.

Click on the image to see a readable version.

Not much more you can say is there? Dick Stroud

Steve Ballmer - the iPad is really a PC – I am not sure about that

2010-06-06T08:20:00.001+01:00

How fascinating to hear both Jobs and Ballmer talk about the future of “personal computing”.

If you strip away they sarcasm and ‘friendly’ rivalry, what is the thing that separates their vision of the future?

From these two short videos there is one thing above all that shouts out at me.

In the Ballmer world there are personal portable devices and PCs. Both of these will come in increasingly different configurations, but there are only two types of devices. In the world of Mr Jobs there will be devices we use when working with computers, for tasks that require a high level of interface (currently we are talking about keyboard and mouse); devices we use in our pocket and devices we use for other parts of our life – like sitting on the sofa reading a book, sharing photos with friends etc – like sitting on the sofa, absorbing what we currently call TV. All of these devices stuck together by wireless glue. Maybe I am reading a bit too much into his comments but I think that is what he means.

Ballmer sees the world through the functionality of the devices. Jobs sees the world through the mindset we are in when we use the devices. It will be interesting to see who is right. I bet you can guess where my money is bet. Dick Stroud

Steve Jobs talking about the origins of the iPad

2010-06-04T09:46:00.000+01:00

The fact that the thinking for the iPad came before the iPhone is interesting. What is much, much, much more interesting is what Mr Jobs says towards the end of this interview about the where goeth the PC. “PCs will be like trucks”. I think he is right. What do you think?

Why am I talking about this subject in this blog? Because I think the category of products, heralded by the iPad, could make a massive difference to the online audiences of older people who find the PC all too much of a hassle. Dick Stroud

Apple’s great iPhone multi-generational ad

2010-06-02T16:50:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the Boomer Project for talking about the article by Anne Mai Bertelsen who wrote a first rate blog about the new Apple ad.

To the best of my knowledge this ad has not hit the UK TV networks.

I think the ad is a great example of age-neutral advertising. So natural, so benefit orientated – just so good – just like the product. As the writer says...

There is an absence of “senior" copy: The scripts never allude to age; there are no direct references to "now that we're of a certain age," common in so many advertisements targeting Boomers. Instead, Apple focuses on communicating the rational benefits of owning and using its products -- albeit highlighting Boomers' desire for technology that helps simplify and mange their lives. For example, a Mac is virus-free and easy to use, right out of the box. An iPhone lets you connect easily with what's important in your life -- your family.

I don’t know if these stats are correct but Ms Bertelsen says that Boomers represent a third of iPhone users, half of Mac users and the leading group that pays $99/year for one-on-one training in Apple's 284 store locations.

Seems to me that the 50-plus are a pretty important group of consumers for the guys at Apple. Dick Stroud

Knowing how people will use the iPad enables you design the right apps

2010-06-02T08:29:00.001+01:00

This is first detailed look at the usability of using apps – in this case on the iPad not the iPhone.

Jakob Nielsen has many detailed criticisms of the initial releases of apps but his overall comments seem to me to be bang on. I quote.

For or more than a decade, when we ask users for their first impression of (desktop) websites, the most frequently-used word has been "busy." In contrast, the first impression of many iPad apps is "beautiful."

The change to a more soothing user experience is certainly welcome, especially for a device that may turn out to be more of a leisure computer than a business computer.

One big question will remain unanswered for a year or so until we see how daily use of the iPad evolves: Will people use the iPad mainly for more immersive experiences than the desktop and mobile Webs? In other words, will people primarily settle on a few sources and dig into them intensively, rather than move rapidly between many sources and give each cursory attention?

Maybe people will begin to use the desktop Web for more goal-driven activities, such as researching new issues or performing directed tasks like shopping and managing their investments. And they might use the iPad for more leisurely activities, such as keeping up with the news (whether "real" news or social network updates) and consuming entertainment-oriented content. We don't know yet. The answer to this question will determine how far iPad UIs have to move from their current wacky style.

This distinction between goal-driven and ‘leisure’ activities goes to the heart of what the iPad is all about. My money is firmly on ‘leisure’. This is why I think so much of the commentary by the tech journalists is worthless – the iPad is not a laptop replacement – it has a completely new role in our lives. Dick Stroud

Mayo clinic symptom checker

2010-05-19T11:36:00.000+01:00

If you think of medical excellence you think of the Mayo Clinic. Now, the Mayo Clinic has launched its own app that provides basic symptom checking.

You have to be careful using it otherwise you can worry yourself into a terrible state. In all honesty it is pretty basic but it illustrates how apps can be used for medical related issues. This is a much better example. Dick Stroud

Which smartphone will be the king of the ring?

2010-05-19T10:40:00.000+01:00

The Times had an article with the above title.

It concluded, sort of, that in the longer term Android would be the dominant operating system but was in no doubt that the smartphone format was how the world was going.

I would have thought that any young person who wanted to be anybody would have junked their primitive old menu driven phones and moved to a smartphone. I wonder why this is not happening?

Clearly the brighter young things are using smartphones but I wonder if the added complexity of being able to use a PC/Apple and the small amount of complexity involved in apps download and their use is not too much for a great swathe of the younger age cohort who, after mastering texting, are bouncing against the upper level of their digital literacy?

Maybe the pundits who have earned a living, bleating on about Generation iPod and the innate ability of young people to multitask, will have to eat their words. Maybe. Maybe not? Dick Stroud

P&G launches a web site for boomers

2010-05-13T15:12:00.000+01:00

P&G’s new web site for boomers has a section devoted to technology. Not surprisingly it has an article about apps for adults.

Always nice to see that your hunches are coming true. This article from the West Coast supports my theory about the success the iPad will have with older people. Dick Stroud

The game and gaming 50-plus woman

2010-05-09T10:24:00.002+01:00

According to this blog that reported on some research done by YouGov (of which I can find no trace)

39% of women over 55+ have downloaded one or more app on their smart-phone. This trend is similar in the US. Facebook’s own statistics show that there are almost twice as many women over 55 on Facebook as there are men of the same age. Perhaps most surprising of all, there are now more women over 55 on Facebook than there are teenagers. (Source: Inside Facebook Feb 2009)

The report containing this information was created by Lady Geek that ran an online survey a sample of 16,810 smart-phone owners in Feb 2010.

For some reason Lady Geek’s web site doesn’t like my browser. Maybe it will like yours. Dick Stroud

DizzyFIX, a therapeutic iPhone application

2010-05-08T13:45:00.000+01:00

I thought this was an amazing use of the iPhone as a tool to help doctors to diagnose and treat Vertigo caused by BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) - a condition present in 1 out of 10 people over the age of 60.

BPPV sounds horrible and is caused by the migration of calcium crystals to other parts of the ear. In turn, this causes abnormal fluid displacement, eventually resulting in the sensation of vertigo. The prevalence of BPPV is an increasing significantly illness.

This device was developed to accurately diagnose and treat patients with dizziness directly in their offices, versus treatment by way of a referral to specialists or by prescribing unnecessary medications. I am sure there must be lots of other conditions that could be dealt with in this way. Dick Stroud

An example showing why the iPhone and iPad are such good platforms

2010-05-03T06:27:00.000+01:00

The video says it all. Dick Stroud

Marketers are such a conservative bunch

2010-05-01T07:38:00.001+01:00

The 2010 Social Media Marketing industry report is all about how marketers are using social media to grow their business and is definitely worth downloading.

The result that amazed me was how conservative and very ‘2008’ most marketers are regarding using mobile apps. What is a matter with today’s marketers?

As the report says

Surprisingly, most marketers indicated they were using mobile networking apps (like Facebook on an iPhone) to interact with their fans. However, most are not involved with creating custom mobile apps, mobile advertising or even optimizing their websites for mobile smartphones.

To me it is as obvious as the nose on your face that smartphones will dominate the mobile market – they will become the only mobile device. How much longer can the dumb phones continue – 2 – maybe 3 years? There will never be an opportunity like now to gain the prime real estate on consumer’s mobile phones. And to do it so cheaply. It is an absolute no brainer. This applies to the older and younger market and all groups in between. Dick Stroud

Looks like iPhone apps will dominate for some time yet

2010-04-09T08:14:00.000+01:00

Android looks like it will be following in iPhone’s footsteps for sometime. Dick Stroud

20plus30 goes Android

2010-04-09T07:33:00.001+01:00

Thanks again to the guys at Motherapp for their great app creation service..

For all of you mobile phone users, with Google’s Android operating system (I think software stack is the more accurate term), you can now download a version that will work on your phone – the iPhone version has been available for the past 3 months. Dick Stroud