App suite designed to aid elderly smartphone users

Singapore-based Silverline hopes to increase the number of elderly smartphone users with a range of apps that make the devices easier to use.

Threedom has already provided a solution to provide those with impaired dexterity a way to easily use a smartphone, and now Singapore-based Silverline hopes to do the same for the older generation. It’s true that smartphones haven’t seen a mass uptake among the elderly, but considering the benefits that smartphones have brought to the lives of those that use them and the infrastructure that is being built around them, senior members of society could be missing out. In order to make access to smartphones more viable for older people, Silverline apps make vital functions easier to use – for example, the Connect app is a more visual contacts list, making photographs of each contact prominent, while the Discover app is a simple point and shoot camera with options to create a caption. Other apps include Well Being, which reminds users when to take any medication they might have, and Emergency, which features simple icons to call an ambulance or the police. Silverline also runs a program in conjunction with telecommunications companies in Singapore which encourages young people with outdated smartphones to donate them, rather than hoard or throw them away. The video below shows Silverline in use: Encouraging elderly people to use smartphones could be important to help them keep in touch with society at large, while also bringing benefits to their lives. How else can we ensure seniors aren’t left behind when it comes to technology? Spotted by: Satya K