product analyzed

Family

Family

Family Logo
Overall rating:
5/5
Technology:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Technology.

Needs:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Needs.

Related reviews:
Image gallery: skip gallery

Below is the video of the review.

What does it consist of:

Famileo is a solution to keep seniors connected with their family and loved ones. This application allows you to create a family magazine so that older people can have access to the information that the rest of the family members usually share today through other channels, and that they, by not handling it, get lost.

Through the Famileo application, available for both mobile devices and computers, the different members of the family can upload publications, which are made up of photographs accompanied by a short text. Subsequently, these publications are printed in a paper magazine and sent to the address of the elderly person in question by post. These shipments are made with a periodicity that depends on the plan that we have contracted.

Forms of acquisition:

The Famileo application is available for both mobile devices with an Android operating system and for those with an iOS operating system.

You can download the application for iOS through the following link:

You can download the application for Android through the following link:

To access the web version of Famileo, just click on the following link:

https://www.famileo.com/famileo/es-ES/

 

Technical assessment:

Author: Alberto Vidal Rodríguez

July 2021

As mentioned above, thanks to Famileo, families can share their experiences with their elderly loved ones, through messages and photographs in a simple way. With a certain periodicity, these messages and publications are laid out and printed in a paper magazine that is sent by post to the elderly person's home, so that they can read and enjoy it comfortably and in an accessible format for the elderly.

The periodicity of sending the magazine depends on the plan to which the family has subscribed. Currently, there are three different plans, as can be seen in the image below. The first one allows you to send a magazine per month, at a price of € 5,90 per month; With the second plan, a magazine is sent every two weeks, at a price of € 9,90 per month; The last plan allows one magazine to be sent per week, at a price of € 17,90 per month.

Prices of the different monthly subscriptions to Famileo

The way to contract the plan that best suits the needs of the family is through the Famileo website, which can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.famileo.com/famileo/es-ES/

Once we have selected the plan we want to contract, the Famileo team will send an email to the person who made the subscription, informing them of the conditions and briefly explaining how Famileo works.

In addition, a Box that includes different content, including the code that will be necessary to use in www.famileo.es to activate the Famileo subscription so that the family magazine can begin.

Box with the different contents included in the subscription to Famileo   Box with the different contents included in the subscription to Famileo

Box with the different contents included in the subscription to Famileo

This Box includes:

  • A 6-month subscription to Famileo.
  • An example of a magazine.
  • A magazine rack.
  • A detailed instruction manual, which indicates all the steps to follow to activate the account in Famileo.

To activate the Famileo account, simply enter the code mentioned above in the section Activation of a gift pack of the web page, in the box enabled for this that will be displayed, as can be seen in the following image.

Activation of a Famileo gift pack through a code

Once this subscription has been activated, invitations can be sent so that the rest of the family who want to collaborate in the creation of the family magazine can join.

The format of the website is very simple, intuitive and, in general, very easy to use. In the following image you can see what the upper part of the section looks like Home of Famileo.

Main screen of the Famileo application

As can be seen, from the upper right we can access our profile and invite family members to join in the creation of the magazine for the elderly. This invitation is made by sending an email. Users can also join the family through the family code, which can be viewed at the top left of the page by clicking on See the family code. In the upper central part we find the Family wall, in which new publications can be added and previous publications can be consulted in the current magazine or in previous magazines.

From the left side you can access the different sections that make up Famileo. Within these sections we find:

- Start.

- My family.

- Photos.

- Journals.

– Family boat.

– Manage subscription.

- Invitations.

– Message for the family.

- Medium.

For its part, the interface for the mobile application is also very intuitive and easy to use. It is in general lines very similar to that of the web page for computers and has the same sections, which can be accessed by clicking on the three horizontal white stripes in the upper left part of the screen, as can be seen in the images below.

Screenshot of the Famileo mobile app   Screenshot of the Famileo mobile app

During the entire period that goes from when one magazine is printed until the next one is closed, the different members of the family can add publications, up to a maximum of 30 per magazine. These publications consist of an image accompanied by a text of up to 940 characters, although they can also be an image or a text only.

Only one photo per publication can be added to these publications. Although this limits to a certain extent the number of photographs that the elderly will be able to see in the magazine, it is a good option since in this way the quality of the images is greater as well as their size, so that they can be seen well although the user has lost some vision over the years.

Posts can be added as visible or not visible to the rest of the family. If a publication is made as visible, a notification will arrive to the app of the rest of the family members. This notification also appears if we edit a post and change it from not visible to visible.

One last aspect to mention is that three days before the magazine is closed and it is printed to be sent, the application sends a notification to family members indicating that there are only three days left to add publications. If an email associated with our account has been added, this reminder will also be sent to us through the aforementioned email.

The final result of the magazine once it has been laid out and printed is similar to that of the magazine that can be seen in the following image.

Final result of a Famileo magazine once printed

Apart from this version for families in which the magazine is sent to the home of the elderly person or people, Famileo has another service for those who are in nursing homes. This version could not be tested for the development of this review, however what it consists of will be briefly mentioned.

For this option, Famileo is attached to a series of residences throughout Spain that offer this service. The operation is very similar to that described above: the families produce publications through the mobile application or the web version for the computer and these are directly printed at the residence itself and distributed among the residents. Thanks to these magazines, residents have the feeling of feeling more accompanied by their relatives.

In addition, this version of Famileo serves as a contact link between the residence and the families since it allows the residences to show in the app, in the "establishment wall" section, photos of the activities, the weekly program, or any related information with the residence. In this way, relatives can be informed and know the day-to-day of their elders despite the distance.

All this allows to increase the well-being of the residents, who can enjoy images and texts of their families in an accessible format for them such as a paper magazine, as well as improve the ties between family members and staff.

Tests performed

ACCESSIBILITY TESTS

In this section, different criteria have been applied to assess whether the application can be used regardless of the capabilities of the user.

-Cognitive accessibility: The application is, in general, easy to use. Although the process to create the account can be somewhat more difficult, in general the application is easy to use for a large number of users.

-Accessibility for people with reduced or no vision: In this section, two types of users must be distinguished. On the one hand, the family members who are going to add the publications and, on the other, the elderly who are going to receive the magazines. As for the former, the application is well designed so that it can be used for people with a vision problem.

In general, the contrast between the app's font color and the background is adequate, combining dark colors for the font and light colors for the backgrounds, which makes the texts easier to read. The texts are generally quite large, which allows them to be read without major problems. Furthermore, with the different functionalities currently available on mobile phones, such as zooming or magnifying glass, the size of these texts can be enlarged to facilitate their readability.

To complete this section, some tests have been carried out with the screen reader systems available on Android and iOS devices. These tests have focused on checking the correct labeling of the icons and buttons available in the Famileo application for mobile devices. In the tests carried out, it has been verified that the buttons and the different screens that make up the app are well labeled.

For its part, the solution is well designed so that the elderly who receive the magazine can enjoy it. The format of the magazine is in A4 size, with a maximum of two publications for each side. This makes photos, which take up most of a post, large in size. However, the texts are sometimes somewhat small.

This could in part be solved by allowing the font size to be enlarged for texts with few words, in order to optimize the available space, because sometimes there is a lot of white space if the text is short and in that case the size could be increased. of the letter to facilitate its reading.

-Accessibility for the hearing impaired: People with hearing difficulties can use the application without any problem, as there is no content in the form of video or audio.

Conclusions

Famileo is a very interesting solution so that older people can feel connected with their families through the experiences they share through a digital magazine that is printed and sent to the home of the older person in question.

This is a really good option to reduce the unwanted loneliness that sometimes affects some people in this group, especially those who live alone. In addition, it should be noted that all those elderly people who have been asked and who currently enjoy Famileo are really happy and satisfied with being able to receive a paper magazine at their home with the experiences of their closest relatives.

Also, thanks to the option Family boat, the payment of the subscription to Famileo can be divided between different members of the family. This option allows all enrolled family members to easily participate in the subscription payment. The maximum limit of the jackpot is fixed in one year of subscription.

The paper magazine has a good finish and, although the quality of the images is not very high, it is good enough that it can be enjoyed. In general, the result of the printed magazine is more than satisfactory. A drawback that has been seen is that if the mailbox in which it is deposited is very small, the magazine can be excessively bent or suffer some damage.

A highlight of this application is the simplicity and ease of use of its interface. In general, it is very easy to use the Famileo application, both through the computer and from the mobile phone application. This, together with the good accessibility features that have been specified in the corresponding section of this review, means that all members can easily add publications to the family magazine.

Perhaps the greatest point of improvement in the entire process of creating the magazine and subsequent delivery affects this last point, since, in the months in which Famileo has been tested, this magazine usually takes more days than expected to arrive. This is not a great inconvenience, but it is an aspect to take into account. This may be because the magazines are edited and printed in France, Famileo's country of origin, and subsequently sent to the destination. Therefore, although they are sent by express mail, it may happen that there are certain delays in delivery.

Despite this, and taking into account everything mentioned in this review, it has been found that the functioning of Famileo is very good and is considered a very good option for older people to be connected with their families and can be greatly reduced the feeling of loneliness of some people in this group.

Highlights

  • It allows older people to access content that sometimes they cannot enjoy through an accessible format such as a paper magazine.
  • In general, it has good accessibility characteristics, which allows it to be used by different members of the family, regardless of their abilities.
  • The option of Family boat allows payment to be shared between different family members, making subscription payment more affordable.

 

Improvement points

  • Sometimes there is a certain delay in the delivery date of the magazine.

 

Technical evaluation scores.

Design and manufacturing:
5/5
This section refers to the physical aspects and details of the manufacturing of the technological product
Technical benefits:
4/5
Description of the quality of the technical specifications of the technological solution
User experience:
5/5
This criterion is linked to the user's assessment when relating to the technical product or application.
Accessibility:
5/5
It is the degree to which people can use or access a product, technological solution or service, regardless of their technical, cognitive or physical abilities

Social valuation:

Social valuation scores.

Impact and utility:
This item has not been rated/5
Describes to what extent the functionalities of the product are useful and impact on improving the life of the user
Design and Ergonomics:
This item has not been rated/5
Assessment of how the design of the technological solution adapts to the person to achieve greater comfort and efficiency when using it
Usability and accessibility:
This item has not been rated/5
Possibility of the device to be used, understood and taken advantage of under equal conditions for anyone
Ease of acquisition:
This item has not been rated/5
It refers to the possibilities of accessing and acquiring a technological solution by the user.

Are you interested in us doing a more in-depth analysis of this product?

You can send us your request by entering an email and clicking Request analysis.

Go to content