BigScreenLive is a web browser for those who prefer simple to complex. The developers are billing it as a browser for ‘families’ (i.e. old people) but I reckon it has value as something that a lot of computer intimidated folk would like to use in place of the disparate tools we currently have for accessing digital content.
The front screen interface is clear and uncluttered and offers access to the most common ‘family’ tasks like photos, , shopping and games which is much more inviting than having to click on a Start button hidden at the bottom of a screen (or a hidden dock bar!)
The email is spam protected and comes with a no-brainer attachment handler, the photo storage feature also provides slideshow functionality and the news and browsing area is about as simple as it gets. I’m not that impressed with the use of icons without labels on the inner page navigation sidebar (we tech types tend to forget that new users don’t understand conventional computer icons easily), but that apart, it’s all very nice looking and functional.
The shopping button takes you to a very simplified tabbed experience, which actually could work for a lot of people. It features Amazon.com, which is a great way to cover a huge range of products with one interface, which again makes it easy for people to understand.
All in all this is a nice product with a clearly defined constituency which should do well. The downsides are the monthly subscription ‘starting’ at $9.95 a month (I’m not a fan of services which refuse to divulge pricing until after the free trial, what are they afraid of?), and the fact that the company reserves the right to feed you adverts or the sites they want, rather than deliver genuine organic search results.
If they’re already making money from the Amazon affiliation, which seems likely, why do they need to make more from all the rest of the shenanigans plus a monthly fee? Seems a little excessive, especially when all we’re really talking about here is a simplified front end on a generic web browser.
Anyhoo, it’s a nice effort all the same, and silver surfers and their families will no doubt be delighted to emerge blinking from their AOL accounts into the daylight of an alternate online universe.
In the course of the last months, the team has developed the product based on direct customer input and piloted the software with residents of a large prominent Independent Living Community. BigScreenLive received rave reviews from both experienced and first time users and their families. Every resident who used the system said it was easy to use, fun, and would recommend it to their friends – in fact many of them did. Our passion is to understand the needs of our customers and build the best customer experience on the planet for them. We will continue to develop the most compelling and fun technology solutions.
