As the American population ages and grandparents become more tech-savvy, a growing number of manufacturers are designing souped-up -- or stripped-down -- gadgets for the senior set. The devices boast larger fonts, brighter lights, bigger knobs and louder sound.

The generation that grew up before the arrival of TV, the dawn of cellphones and the advent of the Internet may prove to be the healthiest segment of the tech market yet. From talking pill bottles to bathroom scales that record information for physicians, these gadgets are part of what some have dubbed ''nana'' technology.

''In a market that has stayed essentially flat, this makes good business sense,'' says Robin Raskin, New York-based tech consultant who has advised such companies as Sony, Intel and Nickelodeon. ``You're going to see a whole bunch of designers doing a whole lot of focus groups and testing to try out their products.

``Actually, they already are.''

Wearing special suits or equipment to simulate the effects of advancing age, researchers and designers use ''empathy sessions'' to develop devices. The AgeLab at MIT, for instance, recently released AGNES 2.0, which consists of pads and elastic wraps that hamper movement in order to imitate the effect of arthritis and spinal deterioration. The Macklin Intergenerational Institute in Ohio asks trainees to wear vision-impairing glasses before trying to read maps. And at GE's industrial headquarters, some employees shove cotton balls in their ears to simulate hearing loss.

Seniors tend to adopt technology for specific reasons: safety, health, independence or social engagement. They also want easy-to-use gadgets that compensate for diminishing vision and hearing.

The perfect example is the Jitterbug phone, with its ear cushion that reduces background noise and a speaker that makes the sound loud and clear. It also has bigger, backlit buttons and bright text.

''Our research shows that they're anxious to participate,'' says Sara Czaja, co-director of the Center on Research and Education for Aging and Technology Enhancement at the University of Miami. ``But they're looking for specific things -- usefulness and not too complicated features.''

SILVERS SUMMIT

What's more, unlike those bulky senior-friendly products of yore, the new generation of gadgets comes in attractive sizes and shapes -- and for a dizzying variety of purposes. The appeal, and the need, is such that the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas hosted its first all-day Silvers Summit Conference on devices and technologies this past January.

Among the senior-friendly devices are navigation systems that find comfortable routes, simplified TV remotes, bathroom scales that asks how you're feeling and records answers for your physician, and washing machines with large knobs that also make a louder noise when they're set -- for customers with arthritis or impaired vision or hearing.

Marketing studies show that America's seniors are very receptive to technology and are using lots of it already -- under the right conditions. Seventy-eight percent of 50- to 54-year-olds are online, as are 45 percent of 70- to 75-year-olds, according to a study conducted for the Consumer Electronics Association. More than seven million boomers own gaming systems and 29 million own digital video recorders. Another survey found that DVD players, digital still cameras, broadband and cellphones were the most popular gadgets for the 60-and-over set.

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