"Live your life and forget your age.

"
Norman Vincent Peale

ABSTRACT
"Getting old is not for sissies." No matter who we are man,
woman, rich or poor we all grow old. But the pace and precise way it
happens varies from person to person, depending on genetic and
environmental factors.
Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological
age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person. UN
agreed cutoff is 60+ years to refer to the older population.

ELDERLY PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY

Seniors have historically been late adopters to the world of technology

compared to their younger compatriots. In the world today two different
groups of Elderly people contribute. The first group which leans toward
younger, more highly educated, or more affluent seniors has relatively
substantial technology assets, and also has a positive view toward the
benefits of Technological platforms. The other which tends to be very old
and less affluent and not educated and is largely disconnected from the
world of digital tools and services, both physically and psychologically.

ELDERLY PEOPLE AND MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY

The reasons why technology companies aren't marketing cell phones to older
adults range from physical issues such as failing eyesight, hearing and other
age related health problems to cultural barriers. While companies view baby
boomers as tech-savvy consumers, the oldest members of the baby boomer
generation and people born during the previous generation may not be as
comfortable with modern gadgets. They may think of such devices as intimidating or too complicated to use.
But a gadget like a cell phone could be a
great benefit to an elderly person. It can help that person maintain his or her
independence. At the same time, it may even reduce their sense of isolation.
For some senior citizens, a cell phone may allow them to continue to live on
their own.

One of the great aspects of modern technology is how so much of it allows us to

stay in touch with one another. Social networking sites like Facebook let us keep
tabs on what's going on in the lives of our friends and family. Services like Twitter
let us send a message to an entire collection of friends and make plans on the fly.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
But there's one demographic that manufacturers traditionally have a hard time
reaching: the elderly. And because manufacturers have a tough time getting a
hold in that market, it's not easy for the rest of us to stay in touch with our older
friends and relatives. The technology we rely on to keep us in the loop are the
same gadgets and applications that older people seem to avoid.

In the world today a significant ma-

SENIOR CITIZENS vs ADULTS IN TECH ADOPTION

jority of older adults say they need

assistance when it comes to using
new digital devices. Just 18% (more
highly educated and more affluent
seniors) would feel comfortable
Seniors vs. all American and asian adults 18+

learning to use a new technology

device such as a smartphone or

91

Cellphone

(which tends to less affluent and

86

Internet
59

not educated) indicate they would

need someone to help walk them
through the process.

65+

77

tablet on their own, while 77%

All adults

70
Broadband

47

*Pew Research Centers Internet project July

18-September 30, 2013 traching servey

How I think and I feel like an old man

Come down...Come down.... yelled my Grandfather. But I was busy watching a movie in
my room. I ignored him yet kept on calling. So I rushed down. When i came down to him
he showed his phone and asked me call his younger son ie my uncle. I got irritated and
told him that I had already taught him how to call someone from his phone a week ago
But his answer was that ITS TOO CONFUSING. I could sense the fustration and weakness in his eyes.
As days went by and I put myself in his shoes to know how an old man
feels like. All his life he worked hard for his family. By the age of 70 a typical individual
would have made enough money for himself and his family so that he could lead his remaing years happily. The reason for this thought process in this manner was the time I
spent with old people in a old age care facility when I was in Australia. This was my
part-time job. Relating my prior experience in Australia and the love for my grandfather, I
thought to myself about how a phone can be like a companion, a life saver and helpfull
device. Then I started observing old people around me wherever I went, things they do and
the conversations they like to have. From the richest to the poorest, the common denominator I felt was that they felt helpless while doing certain tasks and their need to comunicate with people. But the most important thing I observed was that they want to
achieve simplicity in their way of life.
So, i got an idea of designing a phone for the elderly where each and every senior citizen
can live a comfortable and hassle free life. So, I present to you the GRAND PALM

NAME AND LOGO

Form of an eye

Form of a hand

GRAND PALM
GRAND PALM
MEANING BEHIND THE LOGO AND NAME
GRAND means awe-inspiring, monumental, majestic. These are the things that we see in
a wise old man. And of course thats why we call them Grand Parents.
PALM means hand and the idea is to feel things or feel the world through an old mans
hand.
When you say this name you might also hear it as Grand Paa

LONELINESS - A sense of being leftout or no

one to exchange thoughts.

POOR EYE SIGHT - Hard to see things or

read.
HEARING LOSS - Hard to hear or difficult
to make a conversetion.

NERVOUS WEAKNESS - Difficult to move

and hold. Loss of
sense of touch.
ARTHRITIS - Painful to move around. Hard
to move body parts..

AN ELDERLY FACING AGE RELATED PROBLEMS

AGING AND DISEASES

Nonetheless, dealing with the aging process is a challenge, and when it begins,
the impact is felt throughout the body in the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous,
musculoskeletal, and immune systems. And while an individual can age and
remain healthy, some ailments are directly linked to age-related change. Aging
also effects psycologically like depression and mainly loneliness.
Some of the common conditions which effect our daily life :
1. Vision changes/cataracts
2. Hearing loss
3. Arthritis
4. Nervous weakness

NESSESARY FEATURES
Aging and diseases were kept in mind while designing and the nessesary features
were considered
DEDICATED KEYS - Buttons and its functions are usually confusing in most of the
phones. Frequently used functions has dedicated buttons (Functions used by a elderly person)
1. TORCH LIGHT - This helps the elderly because of their poor visibilty.
2. BIG SCREEN DISPLAY - Bigger screen means less strain for the eyes. And
helps for poor eye sight.

3. BIG BUTTONS - Easy visibility, easy to access, easy to differentiate from

other buttons.
4. HARD CASING (PHONE BODY) - Hard rigid casing helps in grip and it
can withstand the shock when falls on a hard surface.
5. RIGID BUTTONS - A sense of Touch or Press is felt when pressed.
Elderly usually lack the sence of touch.
6. WIDE EAR PIECE / MIC - This helps the elderly because of their poor
hearing.

7. PANIC BUTTON WITH FLASH - This can be used in-case of emergency

or when to gain attention from others. When pressed it makes a loud
beeping noise supporting with flashing LED.
8. HIGH CONTRAST SCREEN - This helps in easy visibility and can
diffentiate between background and foreground.

9. LANGUAGE SELECTION - English being default other regional

languges for non-english speaking persons.
10. BIG TIME DISPLAY - Most of the elderly doesnt wear a wrist watch.
Time is displayed when the phone is not in use.

11. ID CARD BACK PANEL - Individual identity details listed on

the back panel like name, address, age, diseases and emergency
contact number.
12. WATER RESISTANT - Most of the elderly become negligible when
it comes to precautions. Phone is resistant to water incase of a
water spill.
13. RADIO - Dedicated keys for radio and changing chanels.
14. PHONEBOOK - Dedicated button for contacts list.

PHONE INTERNAL PARTS MAP

AND
KEY FUCNTIONS

SAVING CONTACTS TO THE PHONE

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANT

An elderly would have made many friends along with his/her age.
Talking and meeting friends and relatives will be the only peacfull joy and time killer
at that age. One can store their numbers and call him/her any time in single press of a
button. For this reason there is no numeric keys.

Phone should be connected to the computer in other to save the contacts. Maximum 300 contacts can be saved on the phone.

OBJECTIVES WANTED TO ACHIEVE IN THIS PROJECT

1. Unique target audience (chosen by personal experience).
2. Thought process of design and phone features.
3. Design made through manufacturer perspective also.

THE BIG QUESTION

WHY NO NUMERIC KEY PAD ?
Assumption - when we are old we would have enough friends and relatives to
talk to. We can talk to them by simply going to contacts by a single click of
button. My thought was when there is less number of keys on a device it is easy
to operate and avoids confusion. In other words this phone can be used even by
dummy.