Having access to a reliable mobile phone has pretty much become a requirement of modern life. Even for those who stick mostly to texts or messaging apps, a phone remains a cornerstone of communication.
Unfortunately, many seniors today find it difficult to use the kinds of phones that are most popular with others. Buying a snapfon instead can make life much simpler.
Features That Make It Easier for Seniors to Use Mobile Phones
Just about every person of a certain age will struggle with certain things that once were easy. Phones like the snapfon provide important support through usability enhancing features like:
Large buttons. Simply dialing a number on a modern smartphone’s touchscreen can be challenging for many seniors. Mobile phones that include large, physical buttons with similarly sized legends end up being a lot more comfortable to use.
Audible feedback. Almost everyone will have made plenty of mistakes when dialing numbers and sending texts, but such issues are probably most common among seniors. Dial pads that provide audible feedback for each button press, preferably in the form of a comprehensible voice cue, can make problems easier to recognize and correct.
Hearing aid compatibility. Some phones are especially difficult to use with the hearing aids upon which so many seniors depend so intensely. Phones that include interfaces for such devices can make it possible to place and conduct a call that would otherwise be entirely impossible.
Bright, legible screens. Above all else, what many seniors find most disconcerting about the average modern smartphone is how detailed and confusing the screen can be. Mobile phones that put the most important information on clear, simple display do away with a whole class of associated problems.
Phones That Help Seniors Stay Independent and Connected
By offering features like these and similar ones, phone manufacturers can help older people stay in touch and remain self-sufficient. While certain of these characteristics would be wasted on many younger phone users, they can just as easily be of great value to older ones. Manufacturers who take care to select and offer them in appropriate packages can thereby enable seniors to achieve things that might otherwise be impossible even to contemplate.