Jitterbug

The Jitterbug phone (and plan) is designed for and marketed to older consumers. Their website says:

Jitterbug may not play games, go online or give you the weather, but it's the perfect phone for those who don't want all those confusing extra features.

I think the idea of confusing extra features is a real key. Most tech companies (including cellphone manufacturers) just do not understand that simplicity itself can be a major feature. Apple, of course, tries to include the features but make them easier to use. But even easier is not including the features at all.

How to Design a Toolbox

Apple released the iPhone Software Developer Kit (SDK) today, or some of it at least. I'm no coder, but I downloaded the free version anyway just to see it. They're using a lot of the existing MacOS X tools (XCode and the like), and I'm told they're good. The interesting thing to me is that the SDK is supported by both traditional documentation and video presentations. I watched the first, in which John Geleynse introduces the tools.

I don't know a lot of demographics about the market for the SDK, but I do know quite a few people with the right skills. The video presentation approach seems pretty well targeted. Good design in a pretty broad sense, finding the kinds of things they think will reach their audience.