"It started with my mother-in-law," said Thijs Suijten, a developer from the Netherlands. "She's sick, and unable to get out of bed."
Suijten was frustrated by the fact that, in order to share photos of his daughter with his mother-in-law, he had to print the photos out himself or bring an iPad to the older woman's bedside. His mother-in-law didn't know how to use a computer or tablet on her own, but he still wanted her to feel a part of his family's life. "I was just looking for an easy way to share photos with her, the same way I share photos on Facebook," he said.
IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT THE DEVICE ITSELF WAS EASY AS POSSIBLE
That's how the idea for Famatic, an intentionally oversimplified tablet-slash-picture frame, was born. Formally unveiled on Kickstarter this week, the goal is to make photo-sharing with grandparents (or anyone technology averse, or who finds technology difficult to use) as easy and frictionless as possible. Using Famatic is simple: Photo creators beam photos directly from an app on their phones into the cloud, or sync Famatic with their Instagram or Facebook. Those photos automatically populate a picture frame kept in a living room for Grandma and Grandpa to enjoy. Then, they can select from a palette of pre-programmed comments to leave--no actual typing necessary--like "fun!" or "congratulations!"