Tablet for complete technophobe parent!

cormie

So I gave this to my mam just yesterday and first impressions unfortunately weren't good... I explained that I got the xoom because I believed it could be made easier and because my brother wasn't supporting the ipad like agreed, I had borrowed the iPad myself for a look and had them both there at the same time. Put them both on the table together and straight away, before either were switched on she said she preferred the iPad and was asking what's the difference. I believe this was solely down to the iPad being in a much nicer leather case than the plastic case the xoom was in. There was also a red case I got with the xoom which she said was horrible, I took them both out of their cases and she didn't mention this anymore.

Because I'd been heavily using the xoom, my finger prints were smudged all over and were easily visible on the unlit screen, the ipad was much cleaner which she noticed straight away (why wasn't I using the ipad as much to give it a good test? Because there's not much at all you can do with it to customise it and I found that out pretty quick). Not looking good so far. She turned the ipad on and couldn't unlock it and was trying to spin it in the right direction while it was flat on the table but was still looking at it sideways trying this and swiping her hand all over the screen. Yes we're talking a complete technophobe here who has difficulty getting past the "slide to unlock" screen She also said she liked the stock flower photo on the iPad background!

So... I showed her how to turn on the Xoom and how to unlock it, then the home screen appeared and her attitude totally changed. She straight away saw the photo icon of my two nieces and started saying how lovely they looked and what a beautiful photo it was and then saw next to this a photo of her favourite music artists, this was all noticed in the first 3-4 seconds and straight away she touched the photo of my nieces and more photos opened up and straight away she was into another album! So within the first 15 seconds, she's looking at photos of the family all by herself.

As I said, it wasn't really about which she preferred more as she had very little experience of the iPad, but about which she'd actually be able to achieve something as simple (to us) as actually being able to see a photo. She didn't feel comfortable turning the iPad on and being presented with a home screen of confusing names and irrelevant icons but seemed to take to the Xoom straight away. I again need to emphasise just how important the homescreen is for somebody like her. I initially thought I'd be having just a handful of standard sized icons or mayyybe a widget if it suited on the Xoom. Desktop Visualiser made things much clearer and easier and just having this photo of the nieces makes all the difference. She loves looking at photos and seeing a beautiful photo of them from the get go makes this so much more obvious and attractive.

I showed her how the buttons worked, back and home, ignored the rest for now. They were easy enough for her to pick up and being the technophobe she is, pressed with her thumb the way you may press the button for an elevator lightly, closer to the bottom of the knuckle than the tip of the nail, so might require a second push if she misses the first time So back to the home screen she went and again, straight into music herself after clicking the photo of her beloved Joan Baez and starts scrolling through the artists very excited about all the music she loves and new music she's not familiar with. It's not long before there's a track playing and I show her how she can just press home and then go back into photos and browse while the music is playing, then I showed her how she can pause or skip playback from the homescreen itself. All of this was followed pretty easily and I didn't really need to intervene much at all, other than showing her things like pinching to zoom, swiping to change photo, and changing the volume at the side.

Within a few minutes, she was asking how much the iPad would sell for :P

I had to go upstairs for a few minutes and when I came back down she was still sitting in front of it looking at things by herself, where with other such things before, she may have got up to do other things in the house until I came back down. I showed her the unobtrusive but obvious email widget and how she'd know if a new mail arrived and a few other things that we'll explore a bit more once she gets used to the more basic functions. But for now, I'm very pleased with how she took to it and it's going to be easier to explain things and much easier for me to keep it new and exciting for her by popping on new music, photos etc.

bandit197

^^Great post, very descriptive review of someone's first impressions. Good to hear that the outcome was good.

mickoneill30

That's a great post Cormie. I'll be bookmarking it for when I see the typical response of
"Get the iPad because it's easier" that you see sooooo often when somebody is asking about a tablet.
If somebody with no experience at all can be playing away with it by herself after a few minutes that's great.
Of course you'll probably get some replies saying it's only easier because you set it up. That's true. But earlier in this thread people were posting that an Android device could never be made as simple as an iPad.

I think an important point to make to her would be "don't worry about it". If the data is backed up then there's nothing she can do software wise to damage the device. She might shag it up but with her IT dept (you) behind her she should feel confident about pressing all the buttons and exploring. That's why kids have no problems. They just press everything to see what it does. Older people (and I'm heading there myself) can be afraid to experiment with software in case they break it.

bd250110

I think there is a large amount of what would be called "experimental bias" in this scenario.

1) You showed her how to use the Xoom, but not the iPad.
2) You customised the Xoom, but not the iPad (stock photos Vs personalised photos)
3) You modified the Xoom extensively to show her things you thought would be relevant to her, you left the iPad stock.

It's great that she is getting on with the Xoom, you can support it, etc (although I think you are being a bit belligerent and dismissive of the iPad, just because you personally prefer Android, it's an easy device to "support"). Personally I think you underestimate your parents, sure they may be that bit older but that does not make them technophobes, just uneducated. Im sure they manage newfangled technology like SaorView / Sky just fine. I would politely suggest that you are, in fact, the technophobe, you have written-off an entire eco-system, just because it is not for you based on trendy buzz words such as "iTunes PoS", "crapple" and so on. There is nothing out there like iTunes (although DoubleTwist does come close) in terms of functionality. As much as i love my Galaxy Nexus syncing data is a complete pain compared to my iPad, which I set up once and it looks after everything else, removing TV shoes when they have been watched on any device, adding new ones, etc. Drag and drop on Android is great, but is a poor substitute for a proper media sync, unless you get all your media from Google play, but I dont.

Please don't advertise this scenario as definitive. The only thing "proven" is that a system modified to suit the users needs combined with some training is easier to use than one that is not.

cormie

Yeah Mick, I think if there's somebody who can set up an android for the person themselves, complete simple customisation like I've done, on a device that is of a quality build and will rarely give errors or crash, then android can indeed be a much better option.

If however, there is nobody to set the device up then the iPad would probably be the better option. I don't see a huge difference in user friendliness between the two devices basic features myself to be honest so wouldn't believe the iPad to be too much easier to use off the shelf than an android would be, but if so many people are saying it is, then it probably is? Also, there's so many people with iPads and iPhones already that a lot more people would be familiar with how to get it working so would be easier to ask a friend/neighbour in that situation.

I believe in a case such as this, where a close family member/friend is offering to customise and keep the device (which they themselves are much more comfortable with) up to date, then it's definitely the best option.

cormie

QUOTE=bd250110;78253804:
I think there is a large amount of what would be called "experimental bias" in this scenario.

1) You showed her how to use the Xoom, but not the iPad.
Remember, from the moment the homescreen came up, she did everything herself and was looking at photos within 15 seconds. I didn't intervene at all for her to do this. When she first saw the homescreen of the ipad she was confused and didn't know what to do. I showed her what buttons did etc after this initial introduction. Her first impression is extremely important, it will either scare her away from wanting to use it or not. The results speak for themselves.
2) You customised the Xoom, but not the iPad (stock photos Vs personalised photos)
From the examples of customisation shown in this thread, which I'm grateful for the efforts of the posters of course, I just don't think it's enough of a customisation to have the same effect the customisation I was capable of doing with the Xoom had.
3) You modified the Xoom extensively to show her things you thought would be relevant to her, you left the iPad stock.
Again, what else could I have done with the iPad? I'm not familiar with it and was asking for advice. I see I can change icons, remove icons from the homescreen, change the names of them etc. This was a step forward but again nothing compared to what can be done with the Xoom homescreen. The importance of the homescreen is significant.

It's great that she is getting on with the Xoom, you can support it, etc (although I think you are being a bit belligerent and dismissive of the iPad, just because you personally prefer Android, it's an easy device to "support"). Personally I think you underestimate your parents, sure they may be that bit older but that does not make them technophobes, just uneducated. Im sure they manage newfangled technology like SaorView / Sky just fine.
The intended user is the very definition of technophobe. I took the following photo once I stopped laughing after my mam asked me was the ipad charged:



When we got a desktop years ago and she thought it would run out of ink if you typed enough and then, a few years later, when I got my own laptop she asked can you print things off them and where do you put the paper.

I would politely suggest that you are, in fact, the technophobe, you have written-off an entire eco-system, just because it is not for you based on trendy buzz words such as "iTunes PoS", "crapple" and so on. There is nothing out there like iTunes (although DoubleTwist does come close) in terms of functionality. As much as i love my Galaxy Nexus syncing data is a complete pain compared to my iPad, which I set up once and it looks after everything else, removing TV shoes when they have been watched on any device, adding new ones, etc. Drag and drop on Android is great, but is a poor substitute for a proper media sync, unless you get all your media from Google play, but I dont.

I'm sorry but I'd disagree. I'm very aware of iTunes and what it is capable of. I've been a heavy user of MP3 technology for years. Have had many devices from Soul MP3 Discman, to the Rio PMP300, to iRiver H140, to H340. My current MP3 player is a 240gb ipod running rockbox. All the best devices of their time. I imported and sold MP3 players and all my music is managed in a way that can only be described as OCD. Watching my brother put the initial files on the iPad was painful to watch, even himself, who changed from PC to mac was getting frustrated with it's inabilities. Drag and drop is, for me, the best way any device can be managed. Synching may make things less hassle but is not without its flaws and these flaws I'm not prepared to put up with when drag and drop is available.

Please don't advertise this scenario as definitive. The only thing "proven" is that a system modified to suit the users needs combined with some training is easier to use than one that is not.

Yes, a system modified to suit ones needs is easier to use and I believe Android can be modified in away that allows it to be far easier

srsly78

You can't really customise the ipad/iphone anyway, this is why they are supposed to be "simple" :pac:

bd250110

Like I say, you have made modifications to the tablet, thats fine. I wonder if you put the same time and effort into working with, rather than against, the iPad what the result would have been. When I say bais, I don't mean it in the lay term, I mean in a statistical sense. It is like giving someone with arthritis custom made cutlery and having an occupational therapist helping them to use it, of course it works better than standard cutlery designed for the majority.

srsly78

And again: you cannot customise the ipad. The user must adapt themselves to apple.

cormie

But working with the iPad in what way? There's only so much that can be done with an iPad in terms of customisation. What would you suggest be done that could make it better suited to this particular user?

I'm sure the posters who presented screenshots of iPads above know far more about it than I do and if that's the extent of customisation, then it's simply not enough. I'm not prepared to adapt to Apple at off chance it may be possible to get a good result, there was enough evidence provided here that made it clear it's simply not possible to do the extent of customisations as it is with Android. Add that to the fact that I'm going to be the one keeping this device fresh and it also needs to flow with the way I work. Apple's system would interfere with the way I manage my computer and as I said, I already witnessed first hand irritating problems when my brother first transferred files to the iPad that left me thinking I could never have such a program anywhere near my system.

For somebody happy with what iTunes and apple provide, maybe an iPad would be better but in this case with myself and the user the tablet is intended for requiring that much more, I believe the best decision has been made.

LeinsterDub

cormie wrote: »

But working with the iPad in what way? There's only so much that can be done with an iPad in terms of customisation. What would you suggest be done that could make it better suited to this particular user?

I'm sure the posters who presented screenshots of iPads above know far more about it than I do and if that's the extent of customisation, then it's simply not enough. I'm not prepared to adapt to Apple at off chance it may be possible to get a good result, there was enough evidence provided here that made it clear it's simply not possible to do the extent of customisations as it is with Android. Add that to the fact that I'm going to be the one keeping this device fresh and it also needs to flow with the way I work. Apple's system would interfere with the way I manage my computer and as I said, I already witnessed first hand irritating problems when my brother first transferred files to the iPad that left me thinking I could never have such a program anywhere near my system.

For somebody happy with what iTunes and apple provide, maybe an iPad would be better but in this case with myself and the user the tablet is intended for requiring that much more, I believe the best decision has been made.

Off the top of my head turn off the lock screen so they only have to press the power button to turn on the iPad

cormie

bandit197 wrote: »

Its a little messy but it should work from micro HDMI to Scart using this method.

I don't know anything about the UPC tv boxes so cant help you there.

I can confirm that it works very well when connected to a HDMI port on the tv.

Just looking back at this, VGA doesn't support audio, right? But scart does? So Would I be leaving one of them cables unplugged from the scart and putting a 3.5 jack to RCA cable in it instead to get the sound from the xoom to the tv?

Found this also, looks like the best value one available to Ireland: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Micro-HDMI-D-Type-Input-VGA-Output-Port-Projector-Adapter-Cable-Chipset-/230781221031?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item35bba1f8a7

cormie

Got a phone call off my mam...

Her: That iPad (she means the xoom, but now every tablet to her is an iPad) is addictive, I was up till 2am looking up a b and c
Me: On youtube?
Her: On Google

That's excellent to me, I didn't really give any time to show her how to Google things, wanted her to just get used to it with music and photos first, but I guess she figured it out

osnola ibax

If she got used to a Xoom, then surely to god with a little bit of training, she would have managed an iPad.

I love Android phones, but I think the Android tablet situation is a bit of a minefield. The iPad is still the winner.

cormie

Another phone call off me ma saying how she was singing an old song to herself the other day and that she didn't know who sang it or anything but was able to find it on Google and listen to it on youtube. This is exactly why I wanted the tablet, before she would have been ringing me asking me what's that song, can I get it on cd for her etc etc. I think it's proven now that android CAN be a solution for a technophobe and one doesn't have to resort to Apple, especially one who doesn't want itunes etc going near their computer or any extra software or hassle.