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Gadgety grandparents embrace tech products

Seniors have embraced technology, and companies are increasingly targeting them.

By Madhusmita Bora, Times Staff Writer
Published February 25, 2008

Dixie and Frank Zacherl of Tampa talk via Skype with their 2-year-old granddaughter, Amelie Heying, who lives in Fullerton, Calif. "That's really the nice thing: Not only do you get to see them, they remember you," Dixie, 70, says of talking with their grandchildren.
	[Chris Zuppa | Times]

Frank Zacherl is a Windows XP guru. He loves to rip music, post videos on YouTube and Skype his grandchildren. Zacherl is 65. His wife, Dixie, an iPod fanatic and fellow Skype user, is 70.

The Tampa couple represent a growing number of tech-savvy grandparents who dispel widespread myths about technophobic seniors.

They love their gadgets, and wouldn't shy away from splurging on flash drives, DVRs or the latest cell phones. And tech companies and innovators are loving them.

Companies are pumping resources into and launching phones such as the Jitterbug and Coupe specifically targeting the fast-growing boomer retiree market. Academicians are creating lifestyle tools such as the GPS-equipped super walker that turns into a cane or a purse.

"One of the biggest myths is that seniors don't use electronics," said Jim Barry, spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association. "They do and they are getting younger every time."

Cobra introduced a new GPS with the senior consumer in mind. The Wii, once the dream toy for teens, is now increasingly touted as a must-have for seniors. So is the hallowed iPhone.

"Boomers want to feel young and they want to be hip," said Susan Ayers Walker, a leading-edge boomer from Silicon Valley with more than 35 years' experience in emerging technologies.

"We love our digital cameras, the ones that are small and slip into your pocket, and grabbing our iPod and going out for a run or a fast walk is very popular."

Ara Rogers, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of South Florida, said the proportion of "I don't want to deal with technology" seniors will continue to decline over time. The membership organization of older adults who join together to form a community of learners is growing each year. Many of the learners are registering online and using Web tools.

"There will be a greater number of them who will be comfortable and familiar with tech inventions, games and gadgets," Rogers said.

Their numbers are growing each year, and they have money to splurge, so merchants and manufacturers are noticing.

The U.S. Census Bureau in 2004 projected that the 45- to 54- and 55- to 64-year-old population in the United States will grow by nearly 44.2-million 17 percent and 35-million (39 percent) in the next 10 years.

Today, 91 percent of the net assets are in the hands of the 40-plus population, said Mary Furlong, CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates, a California strategy, business development, marketing and public relations firm that specializes in the baby boomer and senior markets.

"There's more purchasing power in this audience than any other," Furlong said.

The baby boomer generation's oldest members turned 60 in 2006. That signaled the first edge of "an unprecedented tidal wave that will swell the ranks of senior technology users," said a 2007 Forrester Research Report.

The report found that DVD players, digital still cameras, broadband and cell phones were the gadgets most popular among 60-, 70- and 80-year-olds.

"I believe we are needing to become more (tech) savvy because if we don't, we will be left behind," said Harold Hill, 73, a Tampa resident and former construction superintendent.

Technology and the Internet binds Hill to his children and his grandchildren when they discuss their latest discovery on Google or the hottest new software.

For some it goes beyond just a conversation topic.

Many seniors today want to continue working beyond retirement, said Frances West, director of the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center. Some are wanted by government agencies and the corporate world because of their expertise. An AARP survey shows that nearly seven in 10 seniors plan on working in their retirement years.

At IBM, a team of researchers and software professionals are working on programs that would help seniors handle age-related disabilities while operating computers.

Bigger font sizes are in. So are voice browsers and screen readers that read aloud the text on Web pages for people who are visually impaired.

So, step aside, teens. Your grandparents are the hottest demographic.

"Companies are recognizing that the population shift is here to stay," said Sara Czaja, co-director of the Center on Research and Education for Aging and Technology Enhancement at the University of Miami.

"So, they are not just eyeing them as consumers, but as contributors to society."

Madhusmita Bora can be reached at mbora@sptimes.com or (813) 225-3112.

For the older set

Some high-tech products geared for the fast-growing baby boomer retiree market:

JITTERBUG

Companies: GreatCall, Samsung

Features: A soft ear cushion and powerful speakers, bright screens with large text, simple yes and no buttons instead of confusing icons.

Price: $147

COUPE

Company: Verizon

Features: Easy menu with large fonts, dedicated 911 key, three programmable emergency keys, hearing aid compatibility.

Price: $39.99 two-year contract price

SKYPE

Company: Skype

Features: Skype is software, which when downloaded allows users to voice chat and video chat over the Internet.

Price: Free for Skype to Skype calls; cell phones and land lines from 0.021 cents per minute

WII

Company: Nintendo

Features: The video game's easy-to-use wireless controller, which translates a player's motions onto the screen, has been a hit with seniors.

Price: $249.99

STROLL N' STYLE

Company: Prof. Juan Hinestroza and Cornell students

Features: The super walker is equipped with an emergency GPS button, and turns into a chair, a cane or a "stylish" bag

Price: To be determined

[Last modified February 22, 2008, 21:23:03]