Help me, information

Most mobile phones seem like futuristic toys for hyperactive children and most landline phones seem like relics of a past age. Ray Bellisario finds two new models that buck both trends

EMPORIA MOBILE

Here’s a phone for people who don’t like the ever-smaller, facility-packed mobiles that manufacturers think we need all need. It’s the Emporia, and it doesn’t have all the new-fangled add-ons that serve no useful purpose for older and disabled folk who may not be so adept at coping with confusing gadgetry.

I’m colour blind, have poor sight and weak, arthritic hands, and get the trembling, involuntary shakes of Parkinson’s, so the top of the range mobiles that I usually use are wasted on me.

The Emporia is slightly larger than most compact phones on the market yet still slips easily into the pocket and it’s not any heavier. The extra overall size cleverly serves the most important purpose of any phone – usability.

It provides two main functions – telephoning and texting. Against a bright, plain orange screen, large black figures and letters stand out vividly for easy reading. Numbers on the time display are nearly a centimetre high. Absent are all the obscure icons that usually clutter up the screen. Absent also is the range of options minutely displayed on most menus.

In fact, the menu has completely disappeared, which eliminates all the fumbling you get when searching for a feature. Instead, you access the functions from a few clearly-marked buttons on the side.

For the hard of hearing, there’s an extra-loud loudspeaker, compatible with hearing aids, that reduces whistle and extraneous feedback.

Most impressive is the size of the keys: amazingly, six keys of my current mobile fit into the space of one Emporia key. It’s purpose made for an often overlooked sector of the market.

BT CONVERSE 2200

This is a landline phone with basic home facilities. It can sit on a table or be fitted to a wall, and comes in grey or white. Laid out spaciously, it has easily identifiable buttons and keys, making it easy to use.

It comes with all the features of other good phones: redial, a very effective volume control and amplifier, hands-free, secrecy and ten one-touch memory buttons for speedy dialling.

Audio clarity is superb and makes it an excellent replacement when the time comes to throw out an old or broken phone.

INFORMATION

The Emporia TALK-premium costs £104.99 inc. £5 airtime from TalkMobile www.talk
mobile.com or tel. 0844 854 0838). BT Converse costs around £35 from usual retailers. Info: 0870 240 5029.