Mobile touch interfaces for the elderly

Elderly people are not averse to buying and using electronic gadgets. However regarding certain devices there is a persistent complaint about the "buttons being too small". Therefore the arrival of mobile touch devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch should be able to circumvent that problem because the button size and arrangement is under software control. However these devices have some accessibility issues which are identified. The accessibility issues stem from the one-size-fits-all concept. A solution is proposed which involves having a range of interface styles. A new user gesture called the shake is proposed to switch between interface styles. A separate investigation is made into the different possibilities for free-text entry.