Simple pen interaction performance of young and older adults using handheld computers

Several experiments have documented how older adults have greater difficulty using input devices than young adults. None of these experiments, however, have provided information on the challenges faced by older adults when using pens to interact with handheld computers. To address this need, we conducted a study comparing the performance of twenty 18–22 year olds, twenty 50–64 year olds, and twenty 65–84 year olds conducting selection and steering tasks. We found that for the most part, older adults were able to complete tasks accurately and efficiently. An exception occurred with the low accuracy rates achieved by 65–84 year old participants when tapping on targets of the same size as the standard radio buttons on the PocketPC. An alternative selection technique we refer to as “touch” enabled 65–84 year olds to select targets significantly more accurately. If tapping to select, making standard-sized targets 50% larger provided 65–84 year olds with similar advantages to switching to “touch” interactions.