Older people remain wary of smartphones with their smaller displays, German statistics showed on February 14, the same day as the start of the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona devoted to mobile computing.
In Western Europe's most populous nation, 24 percent of the affluent, novelty-loving 25-34 age group used mobile phones in 2010 to go online, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said.
Contrast that with the group 65 and older, where just 7 percent read emails or web pages on phones. Complaints that older eyes find it hard to read writing on a smartphone were one of the drivers of last year's enthusiasm for tablet computers such as the iPad, described by many as the stretch version of the smartphone.
A rash of new-product tablets were launched on February 14 at the Congress, the world's main annual stage to introduce new developments. Analysts say tablets remain too highly priced to win big numbers of elderly buyers.
The data showed elderly Germans prefer classic computers on a desk, with a mouse, keyboard and large screen. Internet uptake by the 65-74 age group leaped in just one year from 35 to 41 percent of the population, the Wiesbaden data showed. Even among the over-75 group, internet use rose from 14 to 18 percent. The web has achieved practical saturation in the 25-34 age group, where 96 per cent of Germans now have web address and use the internet.
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