What else should you look for in a phone for the elderly? Firstly, the handset needs to be easy to use.
That's not such a straightforward matter when some phones are a handful even to experienced reviewers. Large buttons, an easy grip and an understand-at-a-glance layout are the watchwords here.
A clear and simple display is also a good idea bearing in mind the vast number of obscure icons that can populate the screens of some mobiles.
Then there is the question of special features such as a one-press emergency call button, or the ability to detect if the owner may have become incapacitated. Again, these features need to be simple enough to use even in moments of crisis. Equally, they may not be appropriate depending on the age and health of the person you're buying the handset for.
You should look out for handsets with a good battery life to ensure they don't spend more time on the charge than at your relatives' disposal. A desktop charging stand or cradle may save the user from having to bend down to retrieve the cable coming out of the AC adaptor.
A seriously loud ringer is good for the hard of hearing - and as an audible alert that will bring help if the emergency button is pressed. ®
Next Amplicom M5010
Thanks to Matobmobile for the loan of the Amplicom, Binatone and Beafon handsets
Granny Phones Group Test
Granny friendly phones
COMMENTS
Phones for the rest of us you mean?
At last some reviews of actual proper phones that can be used out doors and have proper phone functionaility.
Real phones for those of us that wont delude ourselves that we need to spend a fortune on quasi PC/phone gear that doesnt really work well as one or the other and costs a small fortune each month for the ability to have a poor web experience.
You know...folks with common sense.
Loud ringer for the hard of hearing
"A seriously loud ringer is good for the hard of hearing"
Given an entire generation seems intent on setting themselves up for hearing loss and/or tinitus judging by the level they set their headphones (which I suppose is, for everybody else, still prefererable to those children who feel the need to play their music on public transport out loud), these people are, it appears, going to piss off everybody into their old age through their necessarily loud ringtone as a direct result of pissing everybody off with their unnecessarily loud mp3 players.
Anonymous...so the Daily Mail don't start marketing at me as a potential punter.
Oh do keep up...
Yes, and you also read the register, which probably means that the uber-dumbphone angle of this review isn't aimed at you. This would be aimed at the likes of my Gran, who I can assure you doesn't surf the net, snowboard etc. So, don't be offended by what is a very valid angle - most of the people reading the reg will regularly get asked by relatives about all things related to technology.
Oi!
"For those of us under 40".
What an ignorant statement - but one that is understandable, perhaps, coming from the inexperienced mind of a thirty-something year old!
I have a perfect app for you
It works out the price of cat food in old and new pence.
