7 Essential Features of Seniors Mobile Phones

7 Essential Features of Seniors Mobile Phone

As people grow older, they tend to change their lifestyle completely, and this also includes their association with technology. When it comes to their use of mobile phones, they need the simple phones for seniors, specially designed to facilitate easier use. A phone that is purposely built for a senior.

However, not so many phones in the market can support seamless use by seniors. Most of the fancy phones, even though have some settings to make fonts appear larger, or speakers louder, they still lack a whole lot more when it comes to suitability to seniors. Hence buying such a phone or recommending it for a senior isn’t the best solution.

So, basically, what features should a senior mobile phone have to make them suitable for senior’s use?  There are so many, but these 5 features are fundamental. Check them out.

Large and clearly labeled dial pad

As people get older, their vision and finger coordination tend to degrade. As such, a big button mobile phone will make it much easier for them to press on to a specific button without the need for a pen or a stylus. As for the clear labels on the buttons, they will facilitate easier identification of the number to be dialed. A phone that lacks these two important features for its dial pad will make the life of a senior more complicated and difficult to connect with their loved ones.

A large and clear display – a 2.4 inch screen is a standard size for use by a senior. Such a screen will make fonts appear larger and clearer so they don’t have to strain their eyes to view text messages or see a dialed number. Additionally, it would be much better if the screen is colored to make it more appealing.

Intelligent speech support – this will call out the pressed buttons so a senior with vision impairment can know the pressed buttons with ease. Moreover this functionality also reads texts, menus, options among other voice communication support for easier usage.

An audible loud speaker – with the fancy phones used by youths, their maximum volume will barely be heard a 3 feet away or when inside a pocket by most seniors. This is because a senior’s hearing capacity doesn’t measure up to that of a youth. Therefore, an audible loud speaker will ensure that the phone’s ringtones are easily heard whenever a phone call or a notification arrives. Moreover, the vibration functionality of the phone ought to be stronger so that a senior with a total hearing problem will sense the vibration when a notification or a call arrives.

High earpiece volume – a senior doesn’t have to strain or turn on their loud speaker so as to listen to a caller on the other end. The phone’s earpiece ought to be loud enough so that a person can hear sound even from an inch away from the ear.

SOS button – Most seniors are likely to suffer from a health issue that may need a quick emergency response. A phone with an SOS button makes it easier for them to call for help whenever they face any difficulty.

Long battery life – the phone’s battery has to support a standby mode for up to 120 hours or at least 4 hours of talk time. This way, seniors won’t have to charge their phones every other hour to stay connected.

Bonus features – apart from the fundamental features, there are other additional features that if included, would make the senior mobile phone the most suitable for use by any senior. These include the personal operator features such as Calendar, Calculator, Alarm clock, Converters, Sound Recorder and LED torch light. Other features that the phone may have include FM Radio support, Music Player, Camera, Video Player and Micro SD slot.

There are perhaps so many other features that you can look into, but if a phone you are considering to purchase has the above mentioned features, it’s definitely a good deal to go with.

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• Seniors Phone