In episode 8 of the Emporia Telecom video series, we get down to business with Ian Hosking, Senior Research Associate at the Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge.
I asked Ian to outline the reasoning behind accessible devices. Why can’t we just given every old person and anyone with a slight impairment an Apple iPhone and be done with it? Surely Apple’s iPhone is really easy to use, right?
Not quite. In fact there’s a whole raft of reasons as to why this is a rather limited viewpoint, not least the fact that using an iPhone can be really difficult for those with limited motor function.
[I was just picking on Apple iPhone as an example — the same applies to any modern smartphone.]
Have a watch of Ian’s video on this topic and see what you think. I have to say I’m a particular fan of those fancy glasses and those special gloves!
Here’s the video:
If you missed the other episodes, here they are:
- Episode 1: An introduction to Emporia Telecom
- Episode 2: Emporia’s Handset Philosophy
- Episode 3: An introduction to Inclusive Design
- Episode 4: The problems with rapidly evolving user interfaces
- Episode 5: Working with the University of Cambridge
- Episode 6: An introduction to the Elegance handset
- Episode 7: The handset’s emergency button