Mobile technology: still too complicated

UK: Top of many Christmas lists this year will be a new mobile phone, but a smartphone may well prove to be an unused present. According to 20 percent of 4,500 consumers in nine countries, smartphones are extremely frustrating simply because onscreen keyboards are too small for fingers.

This research supports the most recent OFCOM study which shows 95 percent of the over 65 age group do not use a smartphone. In the 55-64 age group, the use of smartphones remains low at 17 percent. The research, by SSI, cited poor battery life as a further frustration by 37 percent of respondents.

The research once again demonstrated that more functionality and complexity within smaller devices is not what people want from new technology with consistent comments such as - “I have no use for this functionality” and “I do the same with another device.”

“To fully integrate into people’s lives, technology has to be easy to use,” said Albert Fellner, the founder of emporia Telecom. “This latest research demonstrates again a real opportunity to address this anxiety and create something that is both stylish and easy to use for anyone who finds mobile technology unnecessarily complicated.”

According to OFCOM, 39 percent of over 65s do not use any of the functionality of a mobile beyond making voice calls: no uploading of pictures; playing music; gaming; or social networking. Only 19 percent use the camera. SSI identifies the clock as the most used feature on phones, 43 percent use it all the time and a further 40 percent very often.