MWC 2012: Doro smartphone designed for seniors attract attention

This week the Ergonomidesign team behind the design of the Doro phones, were in Barcelona to partake in the Mobile World Congress 2012 (MWC). In conjunction with the congress Doro released a preview of the PhoneEasy 740, a smartphone designed in collaboration with Ergonomidesign for senior users.

The PhoneEasy 740 smartphone quickly received a lot of attention in media across the globe.

The Australian Herald Sun published an article on smartphones and training for seniors,quoting Doro CEO Jérôme Arnaud saying the senior audience is “overall becoming more tech-savvy”. The American web magazine Engadget tested the phone at MWC 2012 and highlighted the simplicity of the phone.

Swedish daily newspaper SvD Näringsliv writes about the strategy for Doro as the market leader of mobile phones for the senior segment, in an article published February 29. Now Doro is “taking the next step” with the smartphone and the cloud service Doro Experience, the newspaper writes. The Doro Experience Manager lets users’ relatives administrate the phone at a distance. They can easily update contacts, calendars and the image library, for example.

Ergonomidesign and Doro designed the phone based on the actual needs and demands of senior users, found out in user research.

“The large screen is an uplift compared to earlier models", thinks a reviewer at Mobil.se. The PhoneEasy 740 has a keypad as well as a touchscreen which makes it easy to tap in numbers and letters for users who are unaccustomed to touch screens. It also makes it easier for those who experience difficulty using hands and fingers. The smartphone interface uses large graphic elements, high contrast and large fonts for clarity and legibility.

Doro PhoneEasy 740 will be released later in the year.