Ipad third party suggested software for the elderly

Depends upon what they are interested in.

It depends on each individual's specific interests.

That's an almost impossible question to answer since every person, elderly or not, will have his or her own needs, abilities and interests. If you do a web search for "ipad for elderly", you'll find web sites where the use of iPads by the elderly are discussed and thereby perhaps pick up some suggestions. You can also look to the right of this page for the "More Like This" section where you'll see other discussions here about the same topics; those might also provide some ideas.

Regards.

I would use Google to find more answers faster....

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=top+10+most+popular+ipad +apps+for+Seniors

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/30/tuaws-holiday-gift-guide-10-ipad-apps-for-seniors /

I wouldn't unless I knew what the "Senior" was interested in. Do they like games? Action game? Board games? Do they like to read? Are they artistic and like to draw? Into sports? Like racing? Embroider?

Too many variables involved and I don't believe that http://www.appshopper.com lists apps by age, but you could check the site.

Don't know that I quite qualify as a "senior" yet, but I am getting pretty grey in the beard. The idea that you can lump everyone of a certain age or older into a single group for something like this is not only rediculous, its insulting.

FWIW, I agree. I know 70+ year olds who are interested in running. Others are interested in specific hobbies. Each is an individual with specific likes, dislikes, and interests.

If you are setting it up for him do not attempt to buy apps for him, or gift them, get him an iTunes gift card instead and set up an Apple ID and password for him. And download iBooks.

I would also recommend installing the free Kindle app.

There are many board games, Monopoly is good, Scrabble is better and definitely get Words with Friends.

Since you will have iBooks download the iPad manual from the iBookStore. Then set him up on ASC (here) where he can learn a lot and ask questions. Does he play bridge? There is an app for that and if he is into poker there are many. I'd suggest using appshopper to find them and read reviews in the app store.

I would also get him Angry Birds HD (he will either thank you or hate you...or both), and Paper Toss is great for just passing the time. I also have the new Sports Illustrated subscription on the iPad, it is great.

I tried just to ask questions and be subtle in pointing out that even as we get older we all still have different interests and tastes. Hope I did not offend and I think it is a great thing you are doing. If you also have an iPad get Bismarck and you can spend the day blowing up each others battleships. Or try Air Hockey.

dbaps wrote:

All I was trying to do was to get some ideas for setting up an Ipad for my Dad for Father's Day. It's getting so you can't even ask a question w/o someone blasting you.

I appreciate the links that people provided. For the record, this was not meant to insult anyone. If I go to CNet.com I can get the top 10 downloads. So magazines will last best apps, etc...I did not mean to insult anyone. I apologize if anyone took my question the wrong way.

To narrow this down, my father loves to read, loves card games, board games. I'm also interested in something that will expand his education on how to use the Ipad.

Thanks,

Paul

I just think folks found it such a broad, open ended question it is difficult to really say specifically.

For reading, depending on what your Dad likes to read, you have lots of options. Many newspapers, magazines and news sites have specific apps for thier content, so you can search for ones that you know he reads. You can install the iBook app, the Nook app both of which have their own stores to purchase from, but both also support non-DRM ePub formats like those from project Gutenberg, so you may be able to pre-load them with some free books he may like (or give him a Barnes&Noble or iTunes gift card to buy his first books). There is a Kindle app too, if you do not mind being tied to the Kindle store only.

There are also some excellent crosswords apps if he likes those and I like the board games from Optime software (chess and checkers) but there are also apps for SmartGo, Mancala, Backgammon - just browse the section in the app store to see what catches your eye.

Hi Michael,

I think you are doing a great thing for your Dad. I guess you could say I am "elderly" at 73, but I am a complete computer nerd and gamer from way way back to the days of Doom.

These are some of the apps I have on my iPad 2 which your Dad might enjoy. Some are free, some are not, but the cost isn't much and the pleasure generated is worth the .99 imho.

For reading: iBooks and the Kindle app. I also use Overdrive to d/l library books.

For weather: AccuWeather (there are a lot of other weather apps, I just happen to like this one the best).

For news: Flipboard, CNN, USA Today, Zite, and The Daily (which I love even though there is a charge for it)

For non-action games: BigCity NY HD is a stunning find the hidden item game, Words with Friends HD, Heartwild is a gorgeously graphical solitaire type game, Bejeweled 2, GarageBand, lots of different Solitaire type games and Smurfs.

General info: Tour Wrist is amazing, TuneIn Radio ... and for amazing backgrounds have him get WallpapersHD.

For a free browser that works a whole lot better than Safari, have him get Terra.

An incredible book is available. It is called Our Choice. He will spend hours with it.

There are literally thousands of apps available. He can spend a lot of time just shopping the App store 🙂

I hope this helps you.

I believe the original author might have been asking more about apps that make the iPad more useable for the elderly, not what games his dad might like to play. But maybe I think that because that's what I'm looking everywhere for.

My Grandpa is 92 and has macular degeneration and is loosing his hearing as well. His great joy is reading the news, which is getting more and more difficult. What he uses now is a distorting magnifying glass and has to read about one word at a time, and I can't help but believe that there is some technology out there that could help him.

I've been looking at all ereaders, but I keep coming back to the iPad because of the intuitive controls. Kindle has nice fonts (and nicer price) but the navigation buttons are tiny and not user friendly for someone that's never had a computer.

I'm looking for advice for third party apps or updated iPad controls that enhance ALL fonts (possibly even app icons) in the iPad that would make it extremely friendly for first time users (by that I mean first time computer users). Ideally, he could have a menu page for books, the NYTimes, possibly other newpapers, and a way to download more, all in fonts he could read: however, what's more important is being able to see the app and read the paper/book, my uncle can help him download new books. Is there anything like this out there? I find it hard to believe that there is nothing like this since there appears to be a market for it, possibly a whole new customer demographic.

P.S. the largest font settings on the ipad are not large enough for him to read and I don't believe the audio options would work well for him.

My Grandpa is 92 and has macular degeneration and is loosing his hearing as well. His great joy is reading the news, which is getting more and more difficult. What he uses now is a distorting magnifying glass and has to read about one word at a time, and I can't help but believe that there is some technology out there that could help him.

You can zoom the entire screen on the iPad.

Three finger double tap drag up to zoom in, drag down to zoom out.

Three finger tap and drag to move screen around.

See this -> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4064

My father is in an identical situation. We take the iOS navigation for granted, but then watching an 89 year old try it with all the misfires, etc., reminds us just how much youthful dexterity it requires. So I too am hunting for a simple welcome screen with a few big shortcut buttons to his favorite things.