An easy-to-use laptop aimed at the elderly
Dora is a Swedish company best known for its range of mobile phones aimed at the elderly. It’s therefore no surprise to see the company launch the EasyPC, a laptop designed for older novices who are somewhat intimidated by computers.
While Dorn’s basic, no-frills phones have been reliably good, the company’s Android-based smartphones have so far been virtually unusable. We were therefore pleasantly surprised by the overall high quality EasyPC, but it still has its fair share of flaws.
No windows
What sets the EasyPC apart from all other laptops is its heavily customised user interface. Similar to the interface on Dora’s Android phones, it displays large icons and text, which are designed for those whose eyesight isn’t what it was. The heavily simplified home screen is divided into four hard-to-miss tabs (Start, World, Leisure and More), which give you access to all your programs and tools.
It’s a breeze to grasp especially because - unlike Windows or Mac OS X - there are no overlapping windows or menus, while toolbars contain a small number of essential, large, and clearly labelled buttons. You can’t run multiple programs simultaneously, which will deter moderately advanced users, but will appeal to first-timers who are less confident.
The processes involved in carrying out fairly common tasks have been simplified (and often lengthened) for the sake of clarity. To copy files to or from a USB stick, for example, you have to use a wizard-style interface to ‘export’ or ‘import’ files. Open the email program and instead of immediately seeing the contents of your inbox, you’ll see big icons for ‘read’ and ‘write’.
This design philosophy also extends to pre-installed apps, such as the heavily modified versions of Firefox and OpenOfhce, which have been stripped down, but work well enough for novices. The word processor based on OpenOffice Writer, for example, has more in common with WordPad than Word, but is all you need if you want to write letters. The bare-bones video and music players can play DVDs and CDs, along with MP4 and MP3 files.
There are some design choices that left us scratching our heads, such as the spreadsheet program. Aside from the basic option to calculate the values of your selected cells, the only other feature is the complicated Function Wizard, which only veteran Excel users will be comfortable using. A handful of extra apps, mostly simple games, are available to download for free from the Doro Selection app store.
If you’re buying the EasyPC for a relative or friend, then you’ll appreciate the handy remote-assistance feature, which is based on the Team Viewer program. This lets you control the laptop remotely and help fix a problem or demonstrate how to do something.All the user has to do is send you an invitation via email.
Despite these useful features, the EasyPC doesn’t have its own distinct operating system. The entire interface is a program that runs on top of Windows (you’ll even fleetingly see the Windows Desktop when turning the laptop on). For the interface to work well, Windows will need to run smoothly. And that means ensuring Windows updates are installed and that an antivirus program is in place and kept up to date. This added complexity is fine if you’re buying the EasyPC for someone else and can manage such things, but not ideal if you’re a novice buying the laptop for yourself.
A bigger problem is the version of Firefox built into the EasyPC’s interface. At the time of writing this is version 26, which came out in December 2013 and has long since been superseded by newer versions that contain important security fixes (number 35 is the latest). Version 26 is especially problematic because it contains an outdated built-in version of Adobe Flash Player, which is riddled with security holes.
According to Doro, updates to fix such problems will be automatically downloaded and installed whenever the EasyPC is shut down - similar to the way Windows Updates work. We’ve yet to see one in action though, and preinstalling such out-of-date software on a new laptop is worryingly bad practice.
Toshiba inside
While Doro makes the heavily customised user interface, the hardware is actually a Toshiba Satellite L50t laptop. This partnership also extends to support. Technical support over the phone is provided by Toshiba staff apparently trained by Doro.
As touch typists, we weren’t fond of the keyboard, which lacks both feedback and travel, and has narrow, hard-to-hit number-pad keys. The keyboard is good enough for hunt-and-peck typists though. One useful feature is the Doro-designed rubber keyboard overlay (see image above), which sits on the Toshiba keyboard, and is paired with a customised Windows keyboard profile. Dedicated keys for common functions - such as Copy, Paste and Zoom - are welcome, as is the large, high-contrast lettering. The lack of function and modifier keys means there’s little chance of accidentally triggering a keyboard shortcut - a common and confusing occurrence for PC novices.
The EasyPC is a hefty laptop weighing 2.3kg, rising to 2.6kg with its charger. This is due, in part, to its large 15in screen and its built-in DVD writer. This bulk isn’t a significant drawback because the laptop is aimed at those who are more likely to use it at home than when travelling. If you need to use it on the go, battery life is certainly up to it - it lasted just under nine hours in our light-usage test.
The 15.6in screen has a modest resolution of 1366x768 pixels, so there’s not much in the way of working space. Colour accuracy and contrast are average, so the EasyPC shouldn’t be used for photo-editing. The screen is touch sensitive so it can be used as an alternative to the touchpad, which can be fiddly to use if you have limited dexterity in your fingers.
The EasyPC’s Intel Celeron N2840 processor is one of the slowest available. It’s fast enough to cope with Doro’s interface and its range of basic built-in apps, but it will struggle with Windows and other, more demanding programs should you ever want to advance beyond the confines of Doro’s interface.
Conclusion
The few previous attempts at making a laptop specifically for the elderly have sunk without a trace. We do hope Doro’s EasyPC won’t suffer the same fate. After all, it has some nice touches, such as the keyboard overlay. But it’s far from perfect. Its software has some rough edges, especially in terms of security. Its distinct interface means you’ll have to start from scratch if you ever want to graduate from the EasyPC to a fully fledged Windows or Mac OS X computer.
These quirks and flaws would be easier to swallow if the EasyPC wasn’t so overpriced. At £650, it costs around £300 more than a similarly specified Windows 8.1 version of the same Toshiba laptop. Even if you’re willing to pay this much for a computer that’s user-friendly for the elderly, we’d carefully consider other pared-down, easy-to-use computers, such as a Chromebook, before plumping for the EasyPC.
VERDICT
Many rough edges, including a lax approach to security and a daunting price make this only fair value.
SPECIFICATIONS
2.16GHz Intel Celeron N2840 dual-core processor • 4GB memory • 500GB hard drive • 15.6in 1366x768-pixel touchscreen • Intel integrated graphics chip • Windows 8.1 • 2.3kg (2.6kg with charger) • 25x380x260mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty