Quick emergency support to effortless charging: Things to look for while buying a phone for elderly

Team Udayavani, Sep 13, 2021, 1:12 PM IST

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Smartphones can be overwhelming, even intimidating at times. Now imagine how the older people with vision issues, and the small fonts and icons, who find it difficult to type on a touchscreen and use smartphones.

Some seniors these days are technically knowledgeable. Since seniors are more comfortable with innovation, doesn’t mean they should agree to muddled gadgets that add pressure to their lives. That is the reason we think picking a simple-to-use cell phone is required. MP Deepu, Co-Founder, Senior World, shares all you need to know about what makes a cell phone accessible for seniors?

Many seniors develop special needs as they age and reports have suggested seniors adopting a reclusive lifestyle due to such changes in their overall well-being. Cell phones these days have become more and more complicated with each gen of smartphones being manufactured at a war scale each year. Seniors on the other hand need simplicity, familiarity, as well as customisations to some degree to fit their needs like eyesight, hearing, trembling hands, need for emergency help in situations, hassle-free charging ports etc.

MP Deepu, Co-Founder, Senior World, shares some key features one should look for while buying a phone for parents or any elderly member in the family:

Effortless Charging:

Most seniors struggle with thin cables and small sockets and land up practising threading a needle every time they have to charge their phones. A cradle charger makes it convenient to charge the phone without any fuss.

Quick & Easy Support in case of Emergencies:

When it comes to seniors — one should always make sure the emergency response is quick and is easy to use for seniors. Selected Research Publication studies revealed that the prevalence of fall ranges from 26 percent to 37 percent across various regions, fall injuries are associated with poor vision, vertigo, imbalance, fear of falling, history of fall, presence of osteoarthritis, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and depression. This makes it all the more important to have a device with SOS features that can be easily accessible by seniors unlike other phones where the SOS button is deeply embedded in menus and hard to find.

Good Quality Audio:

With age comes difficulty in hearing and this leads to many seniors shunning technology or phone usage completely. Ideally, a phone which is selected for seniors should be compatible with hearing aids as well as assistive devices to help them hear better or have additional sound amplification to assist them in seniors’ age-related issues. Both incoming calls (Ringer) and the voice of the caller needs to be clearly audible. Good Quality speakers and mic becomes mandatory to help seniors use phones to help communicate effectively.

Big Buttons, Large Fonts & Clear Icons:

Seniors usually have thick fingers and shaky hand symptoms and most of these symptoms are degenerative in nature which means they only increase with age. With such special needs comes a requirement of special devices and phones.

Seniors would need large well-differentiated buttons that help them dial without mis-dialling. Simple Menus and Large Visible Icons are required to help keep navigation simple for Seniors. This goes without saying that Large Fonts are also a must while selecting a phone for Seniors.

Remote Assistance

Seniors many times require assistance with technology hence their phone should have the capability of getting assistance from someone they trust. Caregivers should be able to configure the phone and help with other settings remotely. It is just like having a personal helpline for troubleshooting.

After Sales Service at home

Seniors, especially the ones living by themselves, find themselves in a fix when it comes to heading out for small repairs and servicing. Large cities are too crowded and life is too fast for seniors to head out and get things done by themselves so a no-hassle after-sale service is the next big thing that seniors need not just for phones but also for their daily needs.

Following are the phones and handsets highly recommended by our research team who have tried to shortlist the best, accessible and unique offerings in the mobile Industry to keep things simple for buyers looking to buy or gift their elders some simplicity.

Available phones in the market are Easyfone Royale, iBall Aasaan 2, Easyfone Elite, Easyfone Marvel, Nokia 3310, Easyfone Udaan2.

Finding the right cell phone can be tough, especially when it comes to keeping things simple. Luckily, these features have become more advanced and are striving to make them even easier to use.

(With inputs from IANS.)

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