In this day and age of high end specs and 4K displays, manufacturers are launching phones for the aged, trying to venture into a demographic that generally stays away from high tech gadgets. Philips Mobile and Mitashi on Monday launched phones for senior citizens featuring larger buttons, a bright screen and a convenient flashlight.
“The senior generation, while being largely technophobic, is looking at their grandkids engaging actively on the Android platform and definitely wants to get onto the bandwagon. We thought of addressing the need of a smartphone exclusively made keeping senior citizen’s needs in mind,” said Adnan Chara, Vice President of gaming, toys and telecom at Mitashi.
With 5 per cent of India’s population over the age of 65, this is a huge market to tap into, added Chara. Mitashi introduced their Android KitKat PLAY Senior Friend AP 103, priced at Rs. 4,999, meanwhile Philips Mobile introduced its first feature phone for senior citizens called the Xenium X2566, priced at Rs. 3,800.
These so called feature phones are less complicated than smartphones, as elderly citizens have trouble adapting to new technologies. In time, we will find out how beneficial these smartphones are or if its just another marketing gimmick.
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