Seniors handset maker Doro is rolling out a new cloud-based service that will make it possible for senior citizens to take part in the smartphone apps revolution as well as enjoy easy-to-use cloud computing experiences on their PCs.
The Swedish handset maker will be bringing out a new Windows PC and Android tablet-based product called the Doro Experience Manager that will allow seniors to enjoy sophisticated computing without complexity.
Doro UK and Ireland managing director Chris Millington told Siliconrepublic.com that the new software product sits on PCs and Android tablets and simplifies activities like sending photos, accessing address books and using apps.
The Doro Experience Manager will be launched in April and will cost around €59 and the Swedish handset maker is expecting to forge partnerships with computer retailers in the UK and Ireland.
The service acts like a dashboard that sits on a PC or tablet and makes it easier for seniors to access and share content and use apps like Facebook without struggling with menus or complicated file systems.
It makes it easier for them to do things like access the weather reports, listen to the radio, add and share pictures, bookmark their favourite websites, manage their contacts, their calendar, etc.
Millington demonstrated a simple drag and drop function that allowed seniors to share their favourite photos to the cloud for family and friends by dropping a photo into one folder on a PC and it emerging immediately on an alternative folder on a Samsung tablet computer.
Apps for seniors
He explained that the new Doro Experience Manager will also feature a service called Doro Selection that provides users with access to carefully selected and tailored apps for seniors.
For example, Doro has worked closely with Facebook to create a version of the app called Doro Friends for tablets and PCs that seniors can easily engage with. The over 50s are the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook today.
“The whole reason we do what we do is to make devices like phones and now computers easy to use and intuitive.”
He explained that seniors want to enjoy all the technologies they hear about, be they Facebook or Skype, but often feel they are missing out.
Forthcoming new smartphones from Doro such as the PhoneEasy 740 will be preloaded with the Doro Experience Manager and Doro Selection.
“This also means there’s an opportunity for your parents to be able to enjoy digital content and do things that are relevant to their lives and secured by the cloud,” Millington added.
At Mobile World Congress 2012, Doro’s CEO Jerome Arnaud unveiled a range of applications that will be optimised for the Doro Experience Manager, including Euronews, which contains breaking news and headlines, as well as apps in France, such as Le Figaro and a Swedish-developed app called Medication for Private People.
