The Austrian based company which launched in the UK and Ireland in 2020 is celebrating its 30th birthday. emporia Telecom was founded by Albert Fellner on 29th April 1991 with the company located in his parents’ garage in Linz, Austria.
emporia develops, designs and manufactures easy-to-use smartphones, button cell phones and apps especially for the elderly and is successfully asserting itself as a niche player against global corporations such as Samsung and Apple. The company has sold 15 million devices across 30 countries.
Shortly after the turn of the millennium, emporia made the pioneering system change to become a developer, designer and manufacturer of mobile phones.
“Ease of use was and still is one of the outstanding features of all emporia devices”, says Eveline Pupeter, who has been the Managing Director of emporia Telecom for two decades and its sole proprietor since 2015.
“We quickly realised that commercially available cell phones were only of limited suitability for the needs of older people. We visited retirement homes and sat down with the residents and talked to them about their requirements of cell phones for senior citizens.
“The most important parameters were and remain: simple menu navigation and usability, good legibility and finely tuned loudspeakers, large buttons (or keypads), robustness and an emergency button for just in case.
“Even today, every emporia button cell phone and smartphone is equipped with the patented emergency button, because safety is and will remain an important issue in old age.”
Eveline Pupeter
The first emporia smartphone specially developed to meet the needs of the 65+ target group was launched in 2015.
“That was a quantum leap for our research and development work,” Pupeter continues; “The close cooperation with universities and research institutions such as Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the Johannes Kepler University in Linz helped us a lot.”
The fifth-generation smartphones are now on the market. The emporiaSMART.5 boasts a triple camera for stunning photos, a lightning-fast octa-core processor and an intelligent Smartcover. “Even if our phones are easy to use, they are still absolutely state-of-the-art from the technical point of view”, Pupeter explains.
In addition to manufacturing easy-to-use smartphones, apps and button cell phones, emporia has been developing special training formats for senior citizens and training smartphone trainers for several years. “We are the only company in the world that offers a comprehensive concept for the target group of older people with telephones suitable for senior citizens, training concepts and a comprehensive training manual,” says Pupeter.
emporia – the European leader in simple phones for retirees – is delighted to announce the Irish launch of its latest and most advanced smartphone in its portfolio yet; the S4. The launch coincides with its announcement of its first network partner An Post Mobile, which is retailing the device https://www.anpost.com/Shop/Products/Post-Mobile-Products/Emporia-Smart-Phone-S4
Tackling some of the common technological issues felt by the senior user in 2020, this smartphone includes key features that respond to the demands of our older citizens in a world of track and trace, security concerns and mobile involvement like never before.
Chris Millington, emporia’s UK and Ireland MD comments: “This is an exciting “first” in a new generation of mobiles to join emporia’s portfolio. I’m proud to announce the S4 as our most innovative device yet to the Irish market, working exclusively with An Post Mobile. This phone really responds to some of the more recent challenges and hurdles faced by our senior citizens in everyday life and mobile communication – especially in a modern world of social distancing and contact-free living. We have worked hard to include intuitive and completely audience-relevant features like the pre-installed QR scanner, contactless payment functionality, and improved camera for new features like a magnifier for when you have left your glasses at home.”
Partnering with leading network provider An Post
“We’re delighted to announce our first Irish network relationship with An Post Mobile. To have such a credible and respected network partner on board to help us introduce the S4 to the Irish market is key to boost our visibility in front of senior citizens. Working with An Post Mobile will enable us to reach a large proportion of seniors in Ireland and introduce them to the world of simple and easy technology and access a whole new world of communication, confidently and independently,” comments Millington.
The S4 is available contract free with An Post Mobile from €139.95, and comes with unlimited calls, texts and 4G data for just €15 per month on its new plan (see anpost.com/mobile for details and terms and conditions). With the current offer of the first month for free if customers switch their number to An Post Mobile, this S4 senior-focused smartphone will enable this generation to stay connected.
Michael Ahern, An Post Mobile Manager, comments: “2020 has shown just how important mobile communications are to the community and An Post is especially aware that many of our older citizens have gone for long periods without close contact with family, friends and neighbors. We see the introduction of the emporia S4 smartphone to the An Post Mobile phone range as another opportunity to make life just that little bit easier and safer for the older generation and their families.”
Introducing the emporia S4
This Google-certified smartphone runs on an Android 10 operating system, with an emporia interface that is tailored and adapted to the 66+ year old user.
The smartphone’s 5” screen is easy to read, with large fonts and app icons, and a soft touch coating makes it very easy to hold and use one-handed. Like all emporia devices it is also hearing-aid-compatible and is fitted with an emergency assistance button on the back for peace of mind for users.
The S4 comes complete with emporia’s unique comprehensive 135-page training book, allowing users to learn at their own pace and as a reference point. The concept of this training book extends much beyond instilling confidence and driving independence; it’s imperative to emporia’s customers and responds to how the human brain works and is the catalyst to changing smartphone value for this group.
Key features of the senior S4 smartphone in a new digital world
What makes the S4 different to other smart devices in the emporia range is its following new features that bring the senior user further into the digital world, but in a simple way:
13 megapixel main camera and 8mp selfie camera
In a world where video calls and photo sharing are the most common form of communication, our S4 has an improved camera quality so users can be involved and connected in this way and stay in touch, even if isolated, with family and friends.
QR scanner
The improved processing power on the latest S4 model sees the introduction of a QR scanner, meaning senior users are able to use the NHS track & trace / Ireland’s COVID tracker / Protect Scotland / StopCOVID NI apps, or register their check-ins, for safety and reassurance in a post-pandemic world.
Magnifying function
Most of us experience presbyopia as we age, meaning we need glasses to read and struggle with close up text or smaller fonts. Whilst emporia’s devices are already tailored to help the users to use and enjoy the phone, when users are out and about, reading everyday things like restaurant menus may not be as easy, especially when we leave our glasses at home. This key app is designed to take away that frustration and act as an aid for our customers in everyday life – a reliable companion.
App Installer
There are apps for everything out there, and this can be overwhelming when you need a key app like a track-and-trace, or WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends and family, need to share pictures, check the weather forecast or check the news. The App Installer on the S4 contains a list of the most useful 20 apps, making them all easier to download and locate so the older user gets the key apps straight away.
NFC technology
Whilst NFC or contactless payments in credit and debit cards isn’t new, the new S4 brings NFC (near field communication) technology, or more to the point contactless payments to a new audience. When social distancing and contact-free are the norm, this function can offer a whole new shopping experience for older customers who tend to use cash. With the new 16-page guide to how to set-up Google Pay and the benefits of the security this brings, the retired audience will be equipped for the new era upon us.
The older generation and trust in contactless payment technology
Millington says now is the right time to introduce NFC technology to the senior mobile phone market: “We know that mobile phone banking and contactless payments are increasingly on the rise across the UK and Ireland; even more so this year with a focus on contact-free due to Covid concerns. But this doesn’t make it automatically trusted. We want to challenge this misconception; and NFC and Google Pay in a mobile phone addresses this concern for seniors head on.”
“What we are helping our users understand in our separate training book is that contactless payments on a phone are safer than using a bank card; they’re passcode protected, unlike an ATM card which can be stolen and used by anyone – the phone cannot be used without the passcode. Similarly, it is a reassurance for if cards are mislaid, and adds a whole new level of identity protection as cards registered on Google Pay as not visible to the merchant. Couple this with the added benefit of being able to add in store reward cards to the S4, and it makes the whole shopping experience with a smartphone seamless,” adds Millington.
Irish seniors post-covid
Whilst life post-covid presents a lot of uncertainty, one result of the pandemic is that it has brought society even closer together. The technology offered by the emporia S4 will act as a key enabler in maintaining that closeness – both in terms of checking in with loved ones, and track and trace apps – to enable all of us, including our older citizens, to get on with their lives and stay connected.
emporia, the Austrian-based retiree phone brand, that launched in the UK and Ireland at the start of the year, has made its ground-breaking Training Book the focus of its latest advertising campaign. emporia has found that its Training Book is the breakthrough enabler to help older users to become confident using a smartphone and stay digitally connected.
The 135 page simple to navigate Training Book has been developed for those who have not previously used a smartphone, or for existing owners, to build their confidence and get the most out of the experience. It allows them at their own pace to understand what a smartphone is and how to use it. Topics include Wi-Fi and bluetooth and how to connect to them, through to how to make a voice, WhatsApp or video call. It also explains basics which many already familiar with technology take for granted, such as how to swipe and use a screen, download and use apps or Google maps.
The demand for the Training Book is driven by two factors; that 76% of those aged over 66 do not use a smartphone so have little experience of its capabilities. And secondly, even if a person has a smartphone, following retirement, device use drops from over three hours a day to around 15 minutes. The less people use it, the less they will use its functionality leading to forgetting how to make full use of the device or basic feature handling. The Training Book not only introduces people to how they can make the most of a smartphone, because it is paper based, but it also acts as a reference to go back to if users become unsure or forget how to do certain activities. Most importantly, they can do this independently without help.
Feedback from consumers since the launch in January has been incredible, including a 94 year old lady who has never owned a smartphone before and used the Training Book to get herself connected and happily using the device daily.
Drawing on its 29 years experience in the sector, emporia hired an expert trainer to develop and write the Training Book. Over a two year period, hundreds of interviews and group feedback sessions took place to ensure the content, layout and exercises cover all the areas a first-time smartphone user may need help with.
Chris Millington
Chris Millington, managing director of emporia UK and Ireland said: “At emporia our philosophy is ‘simple is the new smart’ and we apply that approach to everything we do. We are passionate about the retiree market and we know that this Training Book will transform the way phone users in this audience segment will connect digitally. Our customers want to independently build their knowledge and boost confidence around using a smartphone and our Training Book ticks all those boxes.
“The online campaign has been developed to generate significant traffic to emporia’s growing range of retail partners, including several key, new retail relationships which will be announced soon.
“The COVID situation reinforces the ongoing challenges faced with getting the older generation digitally connected. To help with isolation, we saw relatives giving a parent or grandparent an old smartphone or even a new one to Facetime or WhatsApp, but they did not continue using them because they are complex for this audience and rely on someone to teach and remind them how to use it. The combination of an emporia simple-to-use smartphone and the Training Book addresses these issues and ensures that retirees independently master the technology and remain digitally connected to their friends, family and the wider world.”
Emporia is a company that makes mobile phones for the senior generation which is quite large here in the UK and Ireland and offer several devices which some are smart, smart they are they are made with an easy to use UI and not a convoluted mess with lengthy menus and submenus.
Recently we tested out the smart 3 mini which is a touch screen smart phone but this one today is a flip phone which is making a comeback and again simple to use with no complex menus and a reminder of how phones looked like before..
The design and build quality is nice and feels nice in the hand and can be opened with one hand,you have an external 1.77 inch mini display that shows time,date and notification icons at a glance,the buttons are a key part of the design here and are really nice to use but for those who text you are brought back to the old way of texting using the numbers to get through you text as you once did before but you get use to it quickly.
You have a torch,emergency care button and two very visible coloured keys on the front to answer and hang up, you have bluetooth and a basic 2mp camera that can shoot video too but it is not anything to write home about there but they are there just in case and can take photos you can make out, again this is a phone that could be great for a detox,in fact I was out recently for the first time since the lockdown from a meal and two of my friends have gone back to the old nokia 105 phones to get away from the world of social media and this phone can do just the same with no option to add apps.
If you want something easy to use and get away from it all this is seniors device but anyone can use it plus it stands out in the colour it comes in too,check out the device below in the video as we walk through the options and what it has to offer.
Call for care emergency button
Clamshell design with 2.4” main LCD colour screen & 1.77” external display. 2MP camera. Dimensions 104.3 x 51.5 x 18.6 mm
Bluetooth and Micro USB connectivity with MicroSD card slot
Space for 300 contacts
Extras include calendar, torch, wallpapers and additional battery cover (without emergency button)
Emporia mobile sent us this to review and had no influence on my findings and no compensation was paid,they are seeing the review the same time as you.
Technology doesn’t age discriminate. Its usefulness and practicality is undeterred by your life experience or the color of your hair — whether it’s full of color or beginning to gray. In recent years, record numbers of seniors have opted to live more digitally connected lives.
About 42% of seniors (65 and older) own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center, and that number has more than quadrupled over the last several years. Additionally, the vast majority of seniors — 67% — use the internet.
Still, that doesn’t mean that the days of asking grandchildren for a little help with setting up a new tablet or downloading an app have disappeared. Almost 75% of seniors say they need at least some help setting up new electronic devices.
If you’re the owner of a new smartphone or tablet or you’ve had a device for some time and want to learn more about how it can make life easier or more meaningful, here’s a guide to the best apps for staying connected with friends and family, remembering to take medications, exercising the mind and so much more. Wikibuy have sent us this inforgraphic to share check it out.
Typically we have mid range to high end phones in here but this time around we are taking a different turn and taking a look a two phones which would be aimed at seniors or perhaps even younger kids/teens. We are going to take the Doro 7060 and the more advanced 8035 out for a test run and see what they have on offer and how they differ from the norm that we see today.
These devices offer a more simplistic approach to the modern phone and look interesting and it will be interesting to see how they perform and what in total they can offer their targeted market.
