evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Raku-Raku Phone/Smartphone — Fujitsu's User-Researched Handset Series for Older Adults

Japan · Tokyo · See the Japan profile · See the Tokyo profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 24% 92/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Fujitsu's Raku-Raku ('easy-easy') handset line, sold via NTT DOCOMO in Japan since 2001, is redesigned each generation from long-term user research with older adults — large tactile buttons, age-adjusted audio, simplified menus — and has sold over 20 million units.

>20 million
Cumulative units sold (by Feb 2013)
~600
Interface changes in second generation from user feedback

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Fujitsu Limited (with NTT DOCOMO)
Period
2001–present
Keywords
consumer electronics, mobile telecommunications, elderly-friendly design

Context

Since 2001, Fujitsu and NTT DOCOMO have jointly developed the Raku-Raku ('easy-easy') phone and, from 2012, smartphone line for older, often first-time, mobile users, built on long-term market research with elderly users.

Activities

Design features include large tactile buttons, age-adjusted audio frequency correction that slows perceived speech without altering pitch, simplified vertical-only menu navigation, and a moderated peer-support community platform.

Results

Fujitsu reported cumulative sales exceeding 20 million units by February 2013, with the second-generation Raku-Raku Smartphone incorporating roughly 600 interface changes made in direct response to first-generation user feedback.

Conclusions

The line has remained overwhelmingly Japan-domestic: a 2013 partnership to bring a senior-friendly Fujitsu smartphone to Europe via Orange did not lead to a lasting international Raku-Raku line.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Fujitsu Limited, NTT DOCOMO

Conditions for success

  • long-term market research with elderly users feeding each design generation

Common failure modes

  • remained overwhelmingly a Japan-domestic product; international expansion attempt did not last

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Similar practices you may find useful