In the 1960s, baby boomers, like most young people, could not wait to leave home.
Today, those boomers are trying to figure out how to stay at home, even if they are past the age when their parents made the passage to senior living. Companies that have long profited from the transformation of the counterculture into the over-the-counter culture are creating products that they hope will help them do that.
Fortunately, technologies are appearing that can remedy some of these shortcomings, helping those in their 60s maintain their youthful self-images.
"The new market is old age," said Joseph F. Coughlin, director of the AgeLab at MIT. "Baby boomers provide a perpetually youthful market." They are, says Coughlin, himself a spry 47, "looking for technology to stay independent, engaged, well and vital."
The companies that are successfully marketing new technologies to older people are not those that have created high-tech ways for seniors to open jars. Rather, they are the ones that have learned to create products that span generations, providing style and utility to a range of age groups. Here are some current technology products created for aging consumers:
CELL PHONES
As growth in the mobile phone market slows because most people have bought one, carriers are looking to expand it by focusing on the specific needs of older consumers.
The Jitterbug clamshell phone (www.jitterbug.com), made by Samsung (7, 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.
Because the Jitterbug is sold as a phone for senior citizens, people who refuse to think of themselves as such may hesitate to use it, no matter how easy it is.
The Pantech Breeze, by AT&T, and the Coupe by Verizon, are a bit more subtle in that they look more like standard cell phones. They are simplified flip phones with somewhat large buttons, oversize type and three one-touch buttons for emergencies. The Breeze includes Bluetooth capability and a pedometer.
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.
AT HOME
IRobot (www.irobot.com), the company that made a name for itself with its Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, has created the Looj, a robotic gutter cleaner. The device saves a person the trouble of climbing a ladder repeatedly.
Later this year, iRobot will market the ConnectR, its "virtual visiting robot," which will allow people to remotely view and speak to others. With its activities managed from a Web site at a remote location, the robot can be told to travel around a house to make sure that its occupants are safe, to read a story to a child or to make sure the Roomba is busy cleaning floors.
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.
Reach, from Break Boundaries (www.breakboundaries.com), is an LCD touch screen that not only controls electronic components, but also allows users to operate a phone, raise a hospital bed, open and close doors and blinds, and call a nurse.
TAKE YOUR MEDICINE
Another problem of aging is forgetfulness. A number of automated pill dispensers that verbally alert users when to take their medication are available.
From Timex, the Daily Medication Manager (www.timexhealthcare.com) holds medication and can alert a user to take dosages up to four times a day. (NYT)
|
