Category: accessible Devices
for awhile now I've been looking around for a mobile phone. Thing is, I'm very picky. I want a large phone with easy-to-feel buttons and no added features. I saw that they remade the brick phone but along with good things like a longer battery life and much less fear over radiation, it's got tons of nonsense in it. Then, a friend suggested that I try the Doro Handle Easy 326GSM. Here are the basic specs. For a fuller description go to
http://www.easytousemobiles.com/shop/page/11?shop_param=
"Doro Handle Plus phone key Features:
Unlocked to work on any gsm service supplier
Slim Design
Soft touch coating
Large Buttons
4 Direct Memories
Large, easy to read display (white on a black background)
User-friendly keypad large, clear rubberized buttons
Built-in speakerphone
Headset included
15 Position combined caller ID/redial log
9 Polyphonic ring tones
Vibrating alert
Backlit keypad and display
Adjustable handset and speakerphone volume
Memory for up to 50 numbers
Keylock
Call timer
Ear hook compatible
Doro Handle Easy Specifications:
Dualband GSM 900/1800
Dimensions 135 x 58 x 16 mm
Weight 114g
Battery Li-ion 3.7V/1000mAh
Standby Time : Up To 160 Hrs
Talktime : Up to 140 Mins
Internal Antenna
Display : transflective negative LCD"
This seems to be the perfect compromise between a nice analogue phone like the Teletac and a doll-sized modern phone with a million features that eat up the battery and that I'll never use, but has anyone here ever tried it? Is it durable or will it crack/break if I drop it once? How is the battery life in actuality? sometimes, they advertise a longer one than exists. What about size and weight? I didn't really understand the measurements they gave but I know this is the biggest and the heaviest phone from that company and also the most basic. If this one isn't good can someone recommend something better? I really need to know so I can put this on my birthday list.
Be careful with a phone that does not support 850 or 1900mhz, not all providers support gsm 900/1800 only, T-Mobile Does, AT&T in most places and Verizon too, I do not know about other providers, what is the price for this phone anyway?
Battery life does not particularly impress me actually, but it is certainly not bad.
Go dig up the size and weight specifications for the Nokia n82, it is the size of a deck of cards, may be a tiny bit bigger, feels comfortably big on the hand, a tiny little bit heavy for my taste, but if the weight measurements are close that's what the phone will feel like. The N82 has a slide-out keyboard, which I have found very good, because it locks automatically when you close the phone, no accidental dialing, which is good. When I had a different phone I once dialed my friend while peeing because my phone wasin my pocket, he said we were good friends but he did not particularly want another such phone call from me.
Cheers
-B
I have TMobile so should be fine. I think ILA sells it for $168 but there might be cheaper places out there. Their newer models have better battery life but are lighter and smaller. Playing cards aren't that big. I'm imagining them in my head now and that's way too short for a phone. I got the specs just to see and they say "112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm, 90 cc". I'm ashamed to admit it but I don't know the metric system yet so am completely confused. But this one looks smaller just judging by the numbers. It's also far from basic, though it does work with the KNFB Reader, if I ever got that. I really had a huge laugh at your story. Oh my Gods that was hilarious! Not to you and your friend, of course, but still. I don't think I'd like a call like that either. I remember once I called a friend while going up the stairs in school and had no clue how I did it, since I never use phone books etc.
So I found an old phone that I had lying around. I've always loved it but thought it was analog and couldn't be used with TMobile. So I looked it up and it's 100% digital and runs on the appropriate GSM type network. it's the Omnipoint siemens g1050 Despite the reduced time in talk and standby minutes, ihe physical specs are wonderful.
Main Specifications
Technology
GSM1900
Dimensions
158 x 58 x 24 mm
(6.23 x 2.29 x 0.95 in)
Weight
198 grams (6.98 oz)
The buttons are also easy to feel and well-spaced. I'll have to check out a metric to imperial converter so I can compare it with the Doro Handle Easy 326GSM.This phone has alot of features but I can't tell what operating system it uses so am not sure if it's compatible with Talks etc. I found a full article on it at
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_Dec_8/ai_20044178/pg_2/?tag=content;col1
I really need to also warn you about freequencies. If you want a good level of service you need 800 and 1900 in the states. T-Mobile is now using both freequencies if not on there own towers then when roaming. I don't believe you will be happy with a phone that just handles 1900 MHZ.
Thanks for the warning. I very rarely travel but it's good to know. The Easy Handle supports both bands so that one at least will work fine. As for the other one, I'm not entirely sure but I could always look for other simpler phones with a similar form factor and see if they're compatible.
Another thing to note. The Nokia E-63 costs $199 unlocked, has 438 hours of standby and 20 somethinghours of talk time (don't hve it in front of me), so the claim and perception that new phones have lots of extras and, therefore, worse battery life is simply not true, neither are they even more expensive, not given this example.
lol What on Earth is this thing, a phone or a palmtop? Really nice size and weight, and yes, a very good battery life, but my goodness! Full qwerty keyboard? I guess you were right on the pricing, which is cool, but if I were to use all of those features, particularly the net and e-amil, TMobile would charge me an arm and a leg. I heard from a good friend that this is very similar to the 71. Certainly intriguing, if nothing else.
actually tmobile has a deal going right now where if you get an unlocked phone and put it on their network its $80 for unlimited everything with no contract. That being said you would have to be out of your current tmobile contract first. Personally i agree wtih above posters that you will get better performance from a quad band ( 850, 900 1800 and 1900 mhz) instead of a single or dual band phone. And as far as i know the KNFB mobile reader only works on a couple of nokia phones. the least expensive of which would be the n82, which if i am not mistaken is a bar phone not a slider.
Yeah, but most of those phones don't meet my requirements. I'm seriously amazed at that TMobile offer right now and need to check it out. I'm actually in a family plan, so it's not technically under my name. This is certainly something to consider. I'll also look into other carriers and see what they have going. I know the Jitterbug Dial phone used to work with AT&T but hear that's not true with the J.
Nokia N82 is a slider actually, I got one, used 2 weeks, off of Craigslist for $200. It can run K-NFB reader yes, 5mp camera and all the fancy stuff. You do not have to use the phone features if you choose not to, I keep this phone on a $39/month plan from AT&T and have no data quota, never even tried the surfing or email capabilities of the phone.
the eighty two is not a slider phone, the n95 is. this can run knfb reader, as can the eighty two, i can confidently say the 82 is not a slide, for i have one on my belt now.
We're calling TMobile today to see if the siemens g1050 will work on their network, and if so, how I can install the sim card, since mine is very small. If not, then I'll probably get the Doro Handle Easy 326GSM, unless they have something similar that I like.
Yeah the n85 n86 n95 and n96 are sliders the n82 is a bar phone
Hey guys
I'll have to take a look at them, since I probably misunderstand what a slider phone is. The n82 the screen slides out or up revealing the keyboard, so you can keep the phone locked and keypad locked while the phone is closed and you slide the screen up to unlock it. I thought that is what is meant by "slider hone", it is candy bard shaped though. So I'll go out there and get educatedd. If anyone is selling and N95 or something with Talks or MobileSpeak incidentally, definitely contact me, I am looking for a work phone that is not too expensive but is in the Nokia E or N classes.
Tiff, again you choose to get outdated and expensive technology on the sole assumption that newer is worse. It'd be fine if had any advantage, such as better battery life, easier buttons or better network support or if it were cheaper. Oddly enough the phone you want doesnone of those things, doesn't that make you wonder why you go with that technology ever?
Actually, I already have the Siemens so it's not expensive at all. The Handle Easy is pretty new and the line is still continuing almost as simple as the one I want, just with sms, longer battery life and better standby and talk time. As a matter of fact, Independent Living Aids still sells the Easy Handle 326GSM. In this case, it's the simplicity and size that I like, not so much whether it's new or old, but most new phones just aren't made like that. Another modern exception is the Clarity phone, but I didn't look too much into that and don't need a really loud volume, as my hearing, thankfully, is okay. But I might get one for Grandma.
i think you have an n85 and not an n82 dude thats sounds like what you are describing You do understand the slider form factor correctly. the n82 is just a candy bar phone. no slider no nothing just a phone with a screen and a number pad and few other usual buttons under it.
Lol, so I suppose I do have N85 after all. I bought it off Craigslist from a woman who got it new but decided IPhone was cooler, she put it on the page as an N82 so I never wondered about it, got it for $220 in original box etc. So it turns out iw as the N85, lucky eh.
One thing I don't like about the simple phones, at least Doro, if I understand it correctly, is that it is a phone made spcifically for the blind. I try to avoid such products usually unless there is no alternative, because I believe we should adapt mainstream devices so we get to enjoy the cost savings and features of them and generally they turn out more cost effective than the "made for the blind" alternatives. This is, of course, not always true, but it often is.
Just look at Audible, because they found a way to market audio books to the masses all of a sudden you have thousands of titles available on a web site at a pretty fair price, reasonable audio quality (not great), read by, in most cases, very capable readers and books are available same day as they are published in print.
That's a pretty big step forward from the past. Thus either blind specific devices that are aimed at a bigger market or solutions that adapt things like PDAs or phones for us are always preferred by me. Just look at the BrailleNote, I am not sure how much itis but it is somewhere in the 3 to 5000 dollar range, yet has fewer capabilities than a $300 netbook. The braille display part is neat and integral to the device and we don't really have an optionif we want braille but to buy one and, yes, they would be beteen $1200 and $2200, but they have to offer me something pretty special to think the clunky BrailleNote is better for me than an Ipod Touch or some other PDA and a Bluetooth Braille display.
Yeah, but this phone is being sold at a very reasonable price and has all the extras stripped out of it. Where are you gonna find a mainstream phone like that, unless you get a retro model. Speaking of which, has anyone ever used a Nokia 50 10? Someone suggested it to me so I figured I'd run it by you guys. I'm gonna do a search for it now to check the specs.
Just because the features are there doesn't mean you ever need to use them.
How is $200 for a phone with no features except large buttons a reasonable price? The Nokia E63 has a camera and all this fancy extra stuff, longer battery life, better band support etc for slightly less.
Very basic phones sell for around $40 to $50, most phones are free with subscription. Unless the phone you mention comes with free built in text-to-speech I can't see one ounceof reasonableness about the price (but may be I misudnerstood andit does come with speech, which is fair enough I guess, makesit more reasonable).
Like stated previously, you can use a phone like the Nokia N85 without ever knowing it has a camera, bluetooth, mp3 player, internet and email, you need to go into amenu to open those things and if you leave the menu button alone you won't even know the features are there.
I've never seen them so can't coment on physical specs etc. As for the Handle Easy, it's got features that are good for people with low vision, though for me, yeah. You're probably right. It wouldn't make much sense. Then again, I could just get an older phone that's basic and large, and of course, very cheap. But then I've gotta make sure it's dual or quad band and gsm and that the card fits and all of that. Jurry's still out on the Siemens but we should know by tomorrow. I tried looking up the Nokia 1050 and couldn't find any info on it. I guess if the features are there, I might as well get it to work with a software package or something. Some of the basic $40 and free phones are nice. The one I have now is a freeby but it's acting stupid as far as the battery.
well you did mention wanting to use talks and or knfb reader. for that you would need a particular nokia phone, which also as i mentioned in another post would give you some camcorderlike functionality as well. the n82 is probably a good one since it has easy to feel number pad and buttons and works with all the things you would want idealy and you don't have to use anything you don't want. If you want to go really old school with a big "brick" phone that has large numbers there is the e90 communicator. Beint that you aren't too far from nyc if you can I'd take a trip into the city and visit the nokia store and atleast get your hands on some of the nokia's and see what they are like I at one point had an n82 on display with knfb reader so you may still be able to try that out. And if the price at the store is too much you can always find one online or the usual used markets for less.
Ooh, e90 communicator. I must check that out. Big thanks. Someone also mentioned a Nokia 3310, so now I've got three phone suggestions. Awesome!
Hi.
Another option which you might find interesting is the Owasys 22C mobile phone.
It has got speetch out of the box and you can do indippendently text messaging and managing your contacts.
I don't know in the states how much this phone costs but in England it is a bit expensive for the features it has to offer.
In England it costs 300 pounds from the RNIB and with this money you can buy a much better nokia phone and talks so i think the price is a bit extrim.
But for you that you want only basic functions this might be the phone for you.
I never saw this mobile but the buttons are bigg and it hasn't got a screen by the way.
Have a look at http://www.screenlessphone.com/
for more detales.
I personally use the n95 but you wouldn't like that because it has got a lot of features. But i personally like it because it has got 8 gb internal memory and i can save a lot of music on it and take it with me. And having a song as a ringtone for me sounds better than the poliphonic or monophonic ringtones.
Geia sou re. I have a C22 and it was great, but it got fucked up and there's no way we're gonna pay to fix it. It's about $500, maybe more now, in America, and for what it has, it's definitely not worth it. I checked out the E90, and though I didn't get to convert the metric to imperial measurements, it looked really impressive. It's got features, but the form factor is incredible and it's a series 60 Symbian, so I won't have to waste said features and can actually use them if I wish. The thing that really caught my eye was the gps. But I saw the price and almost fell out of my chair. The lowest that I could find was $400. Ouch! Then again, this thing really is more of a computer and if I had to spend $500 on the 22C or $400 on this one, I'd choose the E90 in a heartbeat. Now I just need a rich relative to give me the money. lol But I seem to have lost him/her. Anyway, mp3 as a ring tone! Guess who'd take some nice rebetika? haha
yeah forgot the e90 was kindof costly .. but the n82 should be about $100 less or more and i think would be a good fit, not as big but still in my opinion clearly defined buttons, and gives you the most flexibility. Like i said take a trip to the nokia store atleast to get your handson the nokia phones mentioned.
That's still $300 or so, far too much for a phone. But I'll check them out cause I'm curious. I'm not sure if we have a Nokia store near us but we do have a TMobile one.
There is a nokia store in NYC probably going in another week or so get a hold of me if you want to tag along.
Now I've got my eye on two newer models, the 338 and the 328. Both allow you to receive (not send) sms, but my friends etc know not to text me, so I won't get charged for those. Both use Dualband GSM and have a 50 memory phone book and 15 caller id. Of course, I can't use those, since it won't talk, but that's fine by me. The 338 had three programmable buttons for speed dial while the 328, like the 326, has four. The 338 also has a panic button, which which I'd disable, since I don't want to accidentally call four people and scare them for no reason. lol Great idea though for people who need it or if I was in a really dangerous area. I would, however, use the keypad lock option, which will save me alot of hastle. The real differences in these two phones is their standby and talk time, both of which are better than the 326, and their size, which is still nice and large. Btw, I did the imperial measurements, since the site only had the metric ones.
338
Standby Time : up to 280 Hrs
Talk Time : up to 180 Min
Size : 125 x 58 x 16 mm
4.92 by 2.28 by 0.63
Weight : 99g
3.49 oz.
Standby Time : up to 200 Hrs
Talk Time : up to 140 Min
Size : 135 x 58 x 16 mm
5.31 by 2.28 by 0.63
Weight : 111g
3.92 oz. The only problem here is that they're in the UK and don't appear to ship to America, only to a handful of other European countries. The other sites that sell them all appear to be the same company, just under a different domain. I could be wrong, and hopefully, I am. In any case, I e-mailed Independent Living to ask them if it was possible for me to buy either the 338 or 328 from them, since they already sell the 326, and they said it looks like these won't be released in America. I really want one of these better models but just might have to get the older one. It's funny. The one time I want the latest thing and can't get it.
So now my phone really is broken and I have to get another one. Mom said I could get the Doro HandleEasy 326, but the high price combined with the bad standby and talk time made me decide to look for something better. Today, I found one that looks really promising. Granted, it doesn't appear to be as large, as thick or as heavy as what I was originally seeking and it probably doesn't have an external entenna which I always thought was cool, but the standby and talk time is excellent, I hear the quality is good and it uses GSM, so will work with TMobile. My only concern is about the keypad, whether or not it can easily be felt or not. I must compare this with the Nokia 5110 and the Nokia E51, both of which I'm also considering. If anyone here has used these phones or the one described below, please let me know what you thought of them. Also, if you have a better recommendation, keeping in mind that my goals are few if any features, large keys, rugged design and good battery life, post it here.
Taken from
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_motofone_f3-1794.php
Motorola MOTOFONE F3 - Full phone specifications
"GENERAL
2G Network
GSM 900 / 1800
GSM 850 / 1900 - US version
Announced
2006, June
Status
Discontinued
SIZE
Dimensions
114 x 47 x 9 mm, 48 cc
Weight
70 g
DISPLAY
Type
Alphanumeric
Size
2 x 6 chars, 2.2 inches, 34 x 43 mm
- Extra large character font size
SOUND
Alert types
Vibration; Polyphonic(8) ringtones
Speakerphone
No
MEMORY
Phonebook
SIM only
Call records
20 dialed, received, missed calls
Card slot
No
DATA
GPRS
No
EDGE
No
3G
No
WLAN
No
Bluetooth
No
Infrared port
No
USB
No
CAMERA
No
FEATURES
Messaging
SMS
Browser
No
Radio
No
Games
No
Colors
Black, Blue, Red
GPS
No
Java
No
- Clock
- Speakerphone
BATTERY
Standard battery, Li-Ion 800 mAh
Stand-by
Up to 300 h
Talk time
Up to 4 h 30 min"
lol too bad I can't simply rename this thread "Looking for a Cell Phone" since we've discussing all sorts of brands here. Anyway, I read up more on the Motofone F3. So first the good and then the bad. Apparently, this phone also has voice-activated prompts and a key lock, both of which are really neat features to have. It could also be thrown from a three-storey building and driven over by a car on gravel and not get damaged. lol I don't think I could break this thing if I tried, not even with my sweaty hands. The screen is great, since it's not made of glass and won't crack easily. Here's the wikipedia info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE_F3
I found it brand new on EBay for $25, including shipping. I just saw some demos on youtube and it actually speaks the menus. It can also tell me where I amm so that if I did get into a menu by mistake, I could get out of it. The only major problem that I have with it is that the key panel is flat, separated only by rubber lines. They say that they're large keys but not having that tactile sensation or being able to truly distinguish the keys might be a serious issue for me. this wasn't mentioned on wikipedia but in another rewview of it. Another problem, though far less significant, is that it's only about as thick as a pencil. That certainly doesn't feel like a regular phone to me and it explains the keys being flatt.
The Nokia E51 seems to be far more complicated than I'd like, though the size and weight are there. The Nokia 5110 (known as 5190 and/or 5125 in North America) still seems promising even though it has e-mail and fax.
I went to
http://cellphones.about.com/od/buyersguides/qt/best_cell_phone.htm
and took their celular phone buying test and it was extremely interesting. They recommended the following based on my likes, but I'm not sure how much these really meet my standards, so I'm putting them here incase anyone has experience with them. I'll also be researching them this weekend. Btw, I've selected only the TMobile ones but they also included the Samsung Messager from Metro PCS and I'm considering switching over to them.
Nokia 1208, samsung_propel_pro_review, Samsung Propel Pro, Samsung T339, Samsung T109, Samsung Gravity and Motorola w490.
I'm adding Phillips SAVY, Nokia 3410, 3310 and 3330 to the list of phones that I might consider, since I just heard about them today. Anyway, will these older and larger phones work with today's small cards from TMobile. The ones from that test at the bottom of the last post are all modern, so they're not a concern. But I don't want to find the perfect phone, have it work on the right frequencies, buy it and then discover that it only excepts large sim cards with no way around this. what are the main differences between the Nokias mentioned in this post and how do they compare with the 5110? Any help would be sincerely appreciated.
the older the phone is the more trouble you will have with it. Especially the so called blind friendly ones they are useless. I wouldn't even go there. I have an e71 and if i left it purely on standby it would last almost a week. Seriously keeping with old phones is a bad bad idea. Especially with the introduction of 3g. Certainly in the uk they are slowly replacing the old gsm networks with 3g so sooner or later anybody who has a pure gsm phone is going to come very unstuck. In my local area there are places where 3g only can be used. So really have a rethink about this. Looking at the prices you have shown, i'm not really that impressed with the feature sets at all. Whether you use them or not doesn't matter. Subsiquently, i'm writing this response to you on my phone now which is connected using my wireless network.
Well, the older phones sell mostly for under $50, so they're certainly cheaper than the blind ones. I've pretty much given up on those because of the high price tag. If I can get an older phone with the same or a similar form factor, few features and a longer battery life overall, why should I pay so much for a phone with less? I know that TMobile still uses GSM and I haven't heard anything about them phasing it out any time soon. I suppose, when that time comes, I'll have to find a solution. But for now, I'm safe. That Motofone is pretty modern (2007 I think), very cheap and very rugged but the keypad worries me and it's really thin. i don't want to buy something and then be unsatisfied with it. But I know as a fact that it works with TMobile.
Ah, so now I heard that some of the older phones might not be able to work beacuse of the size of their sim card slots. How can I tell if a phone has a given sized slot? I mean, the phone could be large but might still work. Has TMobile changed the size of their sim cards or do I not have to worry about that with this company?
you know that last question would be a good question to ask someone at tmobile and i would varify that the moto phone you mentioned works on tmobile, just cuz it gsm may not garantee anything it has to be the right gsm frequency for the carrier.
It definitely works on TMobile cause I saw that mentioned on several sites. But thanks for the heads-up.
Well, I ordered the Motorola Motofone F3 for a litle under $30 tonight, so we'll see how it works. I've heard so many good things about this phone that it's ridiculous! Hopefully, they'll all be true. I'll keep you guys posted.