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9:11 am
Hello All,
My handicapped friend has Bell Canada land line service and she very rarely uses the phone.
She wants to cancel the land line and go with SpeakOut and save some money. But the Cell Phones have very small keys and she can not dial with these small keys.
I like to know if there is a GSM compatible Cell Phone with very big keys available in the market.
Thanking you in advance for all the feedback.
locotri
10:41 am
I cannot recall seeing any here in Canada, but in my travels in Asia, I have seen some cell phones that are adapted for home use. i.e. they have wall mounts, power adapters, etc, but they use cell network to make and receive calls.
Strange as it seems, but in some countries and areas in Asia the POTS network is so bad that more people have cell phones than POTS and the cell service there is cheaper than the POTS and much cheaper than cell services here in Canada.
Anyway, if she can speak clearly, maybe she can use voice dialing? Some cell phones have this feature.
2:13 pm
There are cellphones made for seniors, i.e. simple to use, large keys, hearing aid compatible, etc. Perhaps the largest provider is Jitterbug in the US. I have no idea if their phones are GSM let alone unlocked. (I suspect not because they make money from phone plans.)
Some suggestions:
1. Call Rogers and ask them what phones they offer for disabled customers. They probably don't have anything specifically designed for them but they may be able to suggest a regular phone that has particularly large keys, etc. Although Rogers phones are locked they will work on the SpeakOut network. Of course you would then need to by a SO SIM along with the phone. Or you may want to consider a Rogers or Fido PAYG plan.
2. There is a GSM phone designed for seniors that's available in Europe, EmporiaLife. Note that the article says it comes in a 850/1900MHz model (that would work in Canada.) The manufacturer is in Austria but I found one dealer in the UK. The phone isn't cheap at £125 (~CA$250.)
3. You may want to Google around for "cellphones for seniors" or "cellphones for disabled" etc. to see if there's anything else out there.
4. If you are prepared to consider a non-SO solution then contact Bell and Telus to ask what they have to offer.
2:18 pm
A couple more Emporia phone links.
1. Manufacturer website (in English.)
http://www2.emporia.at/en/home/
2. Brochure (PDF, also in English.)
http://www.emporia.at/shop/gb/.....nPhone.pdf
