This post first appeared in late 2010 prior to CES -- with CES coming up next week, given the last year of launches, again let's remind new product and service vendors of what they need to do to launch properly.
So you want to launch a boomer/senior, home health tech, etc product or service. It's getting to be that time of year for launches and the press that accompanies them. This year, as always there are many vendors that have or will have new products and services or enhanced capabilities -- and want to get attention, prowling the vast aisles of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in search of possible channel partners, media attention and a list of who is in their space. In conjunction with that event, perhaps they will 'officially' launch. Or perhaps an existing company will officially launch a new product or service. Here is a checklist as derived from recent encounters and discussions:
The basic technologies that have changed the user experience for everyone are well-known in the consumer electronics world. They are GPS/cellular tracking, touch screens, voice activation, battery technology, cameras, accelerometers, and sensors. But these are migrating slowly if at all into the market of offerings to enable older adults to live well for longer, aging at home if they wish. This could be because of a soft economy, a risk-averse senior housing community, a tech-averse home care industry, or other factors. But it is a truism of vendor-hood that switching to new technologies involves a cannibalization of existing markets – one must pick the right time. Looking through the aging-in-place technology lens into 2012, there many points of light that will shape the year:
It’s a few months before CES 2012 and a flurry of new product announcements will soon flutter out leading up to and including the Silvers Summit and Digital Health events in Las Vegas. Ahead of those to-be-determined announcements, other companies (and one core technology) have announced offerings worth noting that can help seniors and/or caregivers of seniors and deserve a heads-up to learn more via the links below. Information here is quoted from the press or vendor announcement:
Today GreatCall introduced two new products, the 5Star Responder and 5Star Urgent Response iPhone app. The Responder is a first-of-its-kind wireless, mobile device that is an easy, convenient, and affordable way to gain immediate assistance through our 5Star service center when individuals find themselves in vulnerable situations, at home or on the go. The first Responders were purchased this morning via our direct response sales center and on-line at our website. Beginning October 23rd, the device will also be available nationwide at Walmart and Sears.
Charlotte, NC, – ARCI Enterprises will soon be releasing a new generation Mobile Personal Emergency Response System (MPERS), an Android™ Mobile Application named Mobile HERO 24-7.
Another week, this time a look at the future of healthy aging. Yesterday kicked off the first of a two-year Think Tank initiative sponsored by Philips through its Center for Health and Well-Being. The purpose of this Think Tank is to consider and flesh out ideas about what it means globally to age successfully -- with implications about future requirements for policy, health systems, and technology use.
BOCA RATON, FL - Over the past thirty years, traditional medical alert systems have enabled seniors and other individuals to live independently, with the ability to notify emergency personnel of problems with a pendant, watch or other electronic device. The limiting factor to this technology, however, has been the requirement of users to remain within close proximity to a receiver or base unit, inhibiting the ability to travel outside of a few hundred feet from their home.
