Skip to content
Technology & Innovation —

Fujitsu’s Senior-Friendly Smartphone Is Heading For Europe

The Stylistic S01 will become available to users of France’s Orange network starting in June. Writer David Meyer suggests that more manufacturers should be paying attention to this kind of accessibility.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

What’s the Latest Development?

For several years now, Fujitsu has offered a range of phones under the Raku-Raku label to elderly citizens in its native Japan. This June, it will take this technology beyond the country’s borders for the first time when it offers the Stylistic S01 to users of France’s Orange network. The S01, which runs a customized version of Android, doesn’t just contain larger icons: Its screen requires users to press those icons harder so that they don’t accidentally start up the wrong apps. It also includes a personal security alarm and audio features designed to accommodate older ears.

What’s the Big Idea?

Writer David Meyer notes that Fujitsu isn’t the only manufacturer to design phones specifically for senior citizens: Swedish company Doro makes special handsets, and it and other companies, including Sprint, offer application packs that allow modifications to Android tablets. However, Meyer says that there’s an important market to be tapped: “[W]ith an ageing population in much of the developed world…it’s actually quite surprising how few players are focusing on the accessibility angle today.”

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Read it at GigaOM

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
Related
A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt speaks with a microphone clipped to his collar in front of a purple background with white dots.
The Well
How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
▸
13 min
—
with
Rainn Wilson
Up Next