Outlook for gadgets for elderly

Talk of the latest gadgets tends to be about sleek, shiny gizmos with little buttons and copious functions.

But the big growth area for consumer electronics may lie with something less flashy than the latest music player from Apple or mobile from Motorola.

Instead, the future may lie in devices that care for an aging population, used to living on their own and with money to spend.

Remote care: There are at least 20 million people in the US who could benefit from remote monitoring over the phone, internet or TV. Right now there are maybe 10,000 using products such as Health Hero Network.

Easy to use: Often the needs of an older population are at odds with the design of new gadgets. "One of the major challenges with designers is to get them to take into account the abilities of your end user."

"Older people are always trying to figure out something that is invented for young people and they are always going to have trouble," said Gregg Vanderheiden, professor of industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"With older people, you have to start from where they are, make things easy to use. Then expose them to these and you will see a far larger uptake."

If you need assistance with high technology and Internet usage let the technological handypeople assist you with selection, set-up and support. Helpdesk4Seniors is only non-profit focused on providing seniors with a free helpdesk service.

Excerpt from BBC News Technology