Is Easierphone easy to use?
The main purpose of Easierphone is to make the use of smartphones as easy as possible. It will help to connect quickly with beloved ones, also in emergency situations, as well as get to the most used and favourite apps and functionalities of the phone. Internos, as the Easierphone Consortium Partner, had a chance to present the app to Mrs. Kratz from Dordrecht (The Netherlands) who was one of the first test users.
Internos provides home care to older persons in the city of Dordrecht in The Netherlands. Easierphone is considered as an application to make smartphone use acceptable and easier for Internos’ clients. That is the main reason to participate in this project and see if in future Internos can suggest installing Easierphone on clients’ smartphones to help them to live independently as long as possible and get in touch more easily with Internos staff.
The video of how Easierphone was introduced to Mrs. Kratz is available now on our YouTube channel:
Easierphone can be used by Seniors' associations and/or organizations to provide them independence in using their smartphones, communicate easily with their beloved ones and their carers. One of the most important features, providing safety in the first place, is the emergency call which can be chosen by one click on the user interface. It can connect the user directly with the institution or person dedicated to contact in emergency situations.
If you would like to test Easierphone in your organization and share your feedback with us, please contact us via e-mail: robert@pappy.ch
Easierphone tested by users in Poland!
November 2021 was a very busy period for Easierphone Team as the app was tested in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland. The purpose of the studies was to evaluate the functionality of the Easierphone application which is intended for older people (60+ years) and designed to facilitate the use of the phone by changing the interface (size and arrangement of icons, enlarging the font). These changes speed up the communication process (making a telephone and emergency call, sending a text message) and personalize the device (adding an application).
The biggest advantages of the app according to Polish respondents' opinions are summarised below:
- large font and icons allow quicker recognition of the interface, as well as perform actions requiring the use of text e.g. sending a text message. The app icons and font were cherished as readable and understandable comparing to the typical phone interface;
- easy and quick to contact, especially with be-loved ones. One of the users described the app as follows: "Overall positive feelings, very readable, easy to make a call";
- translation to different languages makes the app even easier to manage;
- interface supporting quick getting used to the application, the respondents indicated that they would need some time to get familiar with the application and then they would use it no worse than with the existing mobile interface. Some respondents even claimed that using the Easierphone app was easier than using their existing mobile phone: "Great, easier compared to the basic interface”.
For the purposes of the study in Poland, conducted in ASM Neurolab facility, a triangulation method was used in the form of an eyetracker and an in-depth interview (IDI). Eyetracking is a measurement technique based on tracking eye fixation points (pupils) with the use of specially designed optical devices, the so-called eyetrackers. These devices nowadays consist of specially designed cameras that emit infrared radiation and record their reflection from the bottom of the eye. Then, with the use of appropriately selected algorithms, very precise points of fixation of the eyes on the tested object are established in a given time of the experiment. The research verifies how people perceive the object in front of them, e.g. a website, advertisement or packaging. Thanks to this it is possible to verify, among other things, where the tested person looks, on which elements he or she focuses their attention, and which elements are completely ignored. This is to check whether the recipient, looking at a particular graphic design, sees those elements which the researcher cares about the most.
The conducted research is a basis to improve the app according to users’ needs. The second testing phase of Easierphone will take place in August 2022 and the final one which also includes another round of Eye-tracking in July 2023 . Stay tuned with all our news!
Easierphone kick-off meeting in Rotterdam
Recently the Easierphone app was presented and installed with several social workers of Internos in Rotterdam. The first clients who will test the app will be recruited by these social workers.
The Easierphone is an app that makes smartphone navigation easier for older people but not only. They can access the commonly used apps on their phones faster. The Easierphone home screen is used over the current home screen. This way it prevents them from getting lost in the jungle of apps that a cell phone has installed already.
We managed to install Easierphone with 6 out of 12 persons. It was an active meeting with a lot of discussions - says Jan Michiel Meeuwsen, moderator of the meeting.
Seniors who downloaded Esierphone for testing, use their device for simple actions like calling, receiving calls, actively taking a part in conversations with friends and family via communication apps and downloading and/or taking pictures of family members. All of these activities should be easily accessed by users thanks to a friendly interface tailored to their needs. That is a goal Easierphone want to approach during the next two years of development.
By using Easierphone, care workers/home counsellors and informal caregivers will be relieved. Taking part in the project both care workers and care homes' residents contribute to the development and testing of innovative solutions to better support and guide vulnerable clients.