Senior Citizens Phone app
Because of its extensive experience in the Telecom sector, 1850 B.V. now also manages the 1888 Number Information service. The company operates in the customer service market (e-mail, chat, telephone) too, on behalf of third parties such as local authorities, webshops, and answering services. In essence, 1888 helps you find the number you need and then connects you directly. Both in the Netherlands and abroad!
1850 B.V. asked us to design and develop a new Senior Citizens Phone app for Android and iOS. That is to say, made for people who have difficulty using modern smartphones. Therefore they asked us to keep the app as simple as possible. This request is a challenge for our enthusiastic designers and developers, who naturally keep up-to-date with the latest gadgets. However, we managed to build a simple interface with which everyone is happy.
. .
The trick is keeping it simple!
There are already phones available for technophobes. But ironically, these ‘simple’ devices are often more expensive than the latest high-tech smartphones. So what 1850 BV wanted was a Senior Citizens phone app for iOS and Android, which makes making phone calls easier. We worked with them to design a simple app designed specifically for the elderly or technically challenged.
Called the “1888 Digitale Seniorentelefoon”, this new app:
- Connects to your contacts so that you can populate a simple phonebook with significant numbers (doctor, close family, neighbours) in just a few minutes
- Lets you drag and drop contacts for ease-of-use
- Uses icons and images for each chosen contact
- Secures the phone set up so that users can’t accidentally delete or lose numbers
- Offers quick and easy access to the 1888 number information service
The trick is keeping it simple!
There are already phones available for technophobes. But ironically, these ‘simple’ devices are often more expensive than the latest high-tech smartphones. So what 1850 BV wanted was a Senior Citizens phone app for iOS and Android, designed to make phone calls easier. We worked with them to design a simple app designed specifically for the elderly or technically challenged.
Called the “1888 Digitale Seniorentelefoon”, this new app:
- Connects to your contacts so that you can populate a simple phonebook with significant numbers (doctor, close family, neighbours) in just a few minutes
- Lets you drag and drop contacts for ease-of-use
- Uses icons and images for each chosen contact
- Secures the phone set up so that users can’t accidentally delete or lose numbers
- Offers quick and easy access to the 1888 number information service
At BSL, you have come to the right place for…
Fast, agile development - Involving the client at every step
We moved quickly on the Senior Citizens Phone app, using Agile development methods. We initially produced designs and animations demonstrating the app interface and navigation, inviting feedback from 1850 BV. We completed the app design, and after a single sprint, delivered the first Android release. The Android app underwent a series of test cycles, making new releases available at the end of each week. As the Android app neared completion, we quickly created the iOS version from the same codebase. Once we completed the test process, we prepared the Google Playstore and Apple app store pages for the first public release.
Minimum Viable Product - Early to market
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the minimum version of your app that provides value to your users. You can satisfy them and win their loyalty. Building a well-functioning MVP ensures that you can go live and do business as soon as possible. And you can start gathering feedback and learning from your users right away. Both BSL and 1850 BV see this first release of the Senior Citizens Phone app as a Minimum Viable Product. Once we’ve released the app, we’ll work with 1850 BV to design new features. No shortage of ideas!
React Native – Fast, easy cross-platform app development
We chose to develop the app with React Native. React Native is an open-source mobile application framework that makes it easy for developers to build mobile apps that can fully use native platform capabilities. And if you need to extend the capabilities of your app, you can easily add your own code, using other languages.
React Native uses a single JavaScript codebase to deploy the app on Android and iOS with minimal changes. So React Native saves us a lot of development time – and reduces costs for our clients. Supported by a global community of developers, it’s one of the most popular open-source platforms. No matter how complex your application is, React Native makes your application lightning fast. And React Native is future-proof. The standardised components and structure mean that applications are easy to maintain and extend with new features.
“For 1888, we built a relatively simple basic app that offers room to expand later with more functionality. We chose one codebase for iOS and Android app. In terms of design, it was important that it all makes sense for older, less tech-savvy users and that everything looks good at different (accessibility) zoom levels and text sizes.”
