Mobiles The handsets retail overwhelmingly through specialist online retailer - but some high street stores are waking up to the demand as well.
A popular model is the Doro Phone Easy 410. This phone features big fonts and buttons and a large display. Handset prices tend to be around £100-110, but the Carphone Warehouse is offering the handset free with a monthly airtime contract.
The Beafon S20 meanwhile is a great emergency phone and ideal for those who want to keep things simple. It is a big button handset with a very readable screen, and features an SOS button to call a pre-configured number. It can send and receive texts and has a built-in torch and even a hearing aid facility.
The Emporia Life Plus is large by today’s standards and another pared-down handset. Its sheer size accommodates a large screen and buttons. It is worth checking whether the user can cope with the slider opening and the weight. It retails at £169 without a SIM.
Another Doro handset, the Phone Easy 409, is lightweight and has a sharp, bright display and massive buttons. Features are very limited – the phone is designed for calling and texting only. But it does boast an easily accessible emergency button which can be pre-programmed to contact five numbers. The 409 typically retails at around £90.
The Binatone BB200 features big numbers, talking buttons and an extra large backlit display. It also has an emergency button which can be pre-programmed with several numbers, and a loud ring. It is described as suitable for all ages and abilities and is an easy-to-use basic phone with a minimum of features. Typical retail price is around £60.
The above represent a sample from a large range of available handsets. Many other phones and brands are available, which are well worth investigating.
A number of websites specialise in phones for older people. They include:
www.easytousemobiles.com
www.elderlymobile.co.uk
www.matobshop.co.uk
www.silverphone.co.uk
It pays to check online retailers’ websites thoroughly before buying. It is also worth checking adverts in newspapers and magazines for special offers.
Large screen mobiles are meanwhile not exclusively an accessibility product. Mainstream manufacturers are producing numerous touchscreen handsets which tend to have bigger screens. If you want a multi-featured cutting-edge phone with a bigger screen you could take a look at a few handsets in a high street store.
* In December 2010 regulator Ofcom reported 91% of the population as owning a mobile phone.
Written by Andrew Stucken, this article was first published on February 2, 2011. Andrew's opinions are his own and for general information only. Always seek independent, professional, financial advice.