Gearfuse

Senile senior citizens cannot be trusted. As much as I love to laugh at the frequently falling and hip-breaking demographic, I also know a life with seniors is no picnic. As senility wins over their feeble tissue masses which used to be called active and functioning brains, they start reverting back to simple childhood curiosities.

The difference is, that seniors actually have the means to drink the chemicals under the sink, provided they don’t break a bone while scurrying over to the kitchen. The Health Guard concept designed for Nokia uses RFID technology to monitor what the golden oldie consumes. Whether it be expired food, medicine, or possible allergens, they are bound to get into something they shouldn’t be getting into. The two-way Health Guard keeps tabs on their absent-minded consumption. If they’re really such a burden you could always take a blind eye, though that could be grounds for murder charges, and you aren’t a murderer, are you? (more…)

A new report conducted by Nielsen//NetRatings shows that a staggering 36.5% of adults own a gaming console, including 15.9% owning portable consoles. The same report shows that 71% of these adults are married, and 66% have at least one child living in the house. You know what this means? The geeks are finally taking over!

As gaming consoles become more and more sophisticated, they have become more or a centralized addition to a families entertainment center. Making gaming an international phenomenon. We’ve reported in the past about senior citizens playing the Wii, but many of you might have thought these were rare occurrences. This report proves otherwise. — Andrew Dobrow

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This new NTT DoCoMo product straight from the Japanese grapevine is specially made for the needs of senior citizens, while still looking pretty cool. Other models have been released in the aim for seniors, and although successful and useful, have been rather dull. The Raku-Raku Phone basic, designed by Kenya Hara brings modern style with modern tech illiteracy.

One of the coolest features that the Raku Raku will have is a “Slow Voice” feature, which surprisingly enough, slows down the communicated voice for easier listening. Also, there is the “Clear Voice” noise detection, which adjusts earpiece and ringtone volume depending on the surrounding noise levels. An automated voice is available to read on-screen text and names of incoming callers, along with the slightly odd edition of a pedometer.

Though there is no camera, the Raku Raku has a staggering standby time of 560 hours (in case of a spat of senile misplacement). The phone will be available in April for around ¥20,000. — Andrew Dobrow

Product Page [NTT DoCoMo, via Digital World Tokyo]