Click for more details!
Consider the following quote from PC Magazine, and what implications it has for senior citizens:
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes touch screens so cool. Maybe it’s that swiping your finger across a display is just a lot more fun than hitting an actual button to get where you’re going. Or it could be that the constantly shifting image on an LCD can display any type of button, and that it can change from screen to screen, creating limitless possibilities in a cleanly designed product with few, if any, physical controls. The Touch-Screen Top 10 – Reviews by PC Magazine.
I believe that 2010 is going to be the year of the touch screen device. PC Magazine reviews 10 of them at the above link. You may find it worthwhile to take a look.
I have acknowledged on numerous occasions that humans have a natural distaste for change. Senior citizens are especially vulnerable to fear of change because we are seriously about the business of reducing the number of issues we have to deal with. In that sense, the ever-changing nature of technology can be a source of anxiety and avoidance for us. Even though I tend to be a champion of new technology for seniors, it is not because I want to make their lives more complicated. On the contrary, when I advocate new technology it is always because I believe it can make our lives simpler and more enjoyable.
It is not my intention to endorse any products in this article. I will mention a couple as examples of touchscreen technology that I think can benefit senior citizens. I am aware that, in each case, there may be alternatives to these products that are a better fit for your life or your budget. I simply urge you to be open-minded as you think about your future and how you might make it better through the use of technology, especially touchscreen technology.
I, myself, have an Apple iPhone. In some ways, calling this little device a “phone” is misleading. It is in every way a small, powerful computer with a telephone built in. This device has no keys whatsoever. It has one recessed button that turns it on. It receives all of its commands through its touch screen and through voice recognition. If I want to call my wife, I speak to the phone: “Call Marcia.” If my contact list, which is stored on my phone, indicates that Marcia has a home phone number, a cell phone number and fax number, it will respond by asking me which of them I want to call. I tell it and it dials the phone number. If I am out and about, and want to go to a certain location, I verbally tell the phone the address, and the built in phone GPS gives me the directions on a map that it displays, based on my current location. I don’t need to tell it where I am because it always knows where I am! If I already have the address in my contact list I can just verbally tell it the name of the person or place I need to visit.
If I do actually need to enter text into the device it displays a virtual keypad. I just lightly tap the keys to type in whatever I want. These virtual keys are much larger than the keys you find on most phones, because when they are not needed they disappear and don’t take up any valuable space on the small device. As one who is experiencing decreased visual acuity and finger dexterity I find this much easier to use than the tiny buttons on other telephones. The phone gets most of its information, including my contacts, their phone numbers and addresses, and my calendar, from my computer, where I have been maintaining them for some time. When I am at home I can connect the phone to the computer and it will automatically synchronize with the iPhone. This means that any changes I make in either device will be transferred to the other one. In fact, much of this information is transferred continuously, over the air. It also gets my e-mail and other information wirelessly and continuously.
Consider the Amazon.com Kindle. This little electronic reader is about the same height and width of an average paperback book, but much thinner and lighter. According to Amazon.com, over 400,000 books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs are available for the Kindle, any of which can be downloaded directly to the device wirelessly in under 60 seconds. Books, including the latest bestsellers, generally cost about $10 each. They contain exactly the same content as the corresponding book in print, including the covers. You can insert bookmarks, notes and highlights in the books. Each Kindle can about 1,500 books, but can find each of them easily and quickly. These devices can be carried in a purse, or a large jacket pocket. The screen is very bright and easy to read.
For those of you who like to read in bed, or for those who have no other choice, the Kindle is much easier and less cumbersome to handle than a print book, and never closes up when you don’t want it to. If you turn it off, it starts back up in the same place. If you go to sleep reading and drop it on the floor, it won’t break and will still start back up in the same place. These books don’t take up any space. If you are inclined to downsize, the Kindle is for you. I know a number of people who own and use Kindles and I see them everywhere I go, including the doctor’s waiting room just a few days ago. Again, according to Amazon.com, they sold more electronic books than print books last Christmas season. This is not a fad.
These are just a couple of examples of recent touch screen technology that have positive implications for older folks. As I said, I am not endorsing any products here, I simply want to encourage you to have an open mind about the wonderful opportunities these devices offer to us. If you would like to learn more about the Kindle, you can click on the image at the top of this article. That click will take you to the Amazon.com website, where you can learn all the details. There will be no obligation for looking. No one will call you. However, in the interests of full disclosure, I need to tell you that if you make a purchase from Amazon.com through a link from this website, I will receive a small commission. That is not my intention, nor does it influence my mention of these products.
Let me know what you think about touchscreen technologies! If you have any questions, please send them to me by means of the comment form below.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b2d0e3bf-f581-4b1d-a423-4dc5d401196f)
