Clarify C900 cell phone for Ludditical codgers (god bless 'em!)
The Clarity C900 is a cell phone aimed at seniors. That concept itself seems smug at first, but there's more to it than just marketing to the perceived Ludditical befuddlement of those dottering old pension codgers: in truth, it is easy to forget how complicated even an iPhone can seem to someone who hasn't spent years immersed in the taken-for-granted metaphors of the computer UI. * Factor in fading vision and hearing and arthritis, and what you have is a technology that should be as ubiquitous among seniors as Medic Alert bracelets, but isn't.
The Clarity C900 tries to get around all that with four big, simple buttons, a ring twice as loud as your normal cell phone, a flashing screen and a big red "panic" button depressed on the back that when pressed for three seconds will automatically text an emergency message to five contacts of your choosing while also cycling through them until someone picks up. Better yet, it's sold for $270 without a contract.
I suspect the only real problem with the design here is the lack of numeric buttons. I understand why they aren't there, but it's almost definitely true that your average elderly person will be more comfortable typing in numbers on a pad than scrolling through the digits with arrows. It seems like this phone is really meant to be entirely set-up by a younger relative, and given to a grandparent in case of emergencies.
Clarity C900 [Clarity via Crunchgear]
* - Or to put it another way: imagine going to Japan, drinking two bottles of Vodka, smashing your hands with hammers and then trying to operate the average Japanese teenage girl's Byzantine cell phone.
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doh !- it has a perfectly adequate slide out keyboard. Just get some more photos to show it - its been on sale in Europe for 3 years...
Here's a picture of it with its number pad extended:
http://www.mobifrance.com/img/news2008/clarity-mobile-telephone-1_320_small.jpg
#1 is right - http://www.zonagadget.com/2008/04/06/clarity-claritylife-c900-movil-para-personas-con-problemas-auditivos-y-visuales/
Here's the Samsung take on this idea:
http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones/
Looks like a toilet seat.
See, I'm the 35 year old guy who wants that phone.
It's JUST a phone, and that is all I want in a mobile phone.
I don't want a button that takes pictures of my pocket, I don't want a qwerty keyboard, I don't want bluetooth, I don't want the internet on a 2 inch screen, nor do I want a tiny tiny phone.
I want something that rings, remembers my phone numbers for me, and doesn't get lost in my pocket.
@5, I mostly agree, and I'm 22... The only places where we differ are that I do want a tiny tiny phone, and I appreciate bluetooth for easily getting my contacts off of my computer... The idea of a phone this simple is exciting, though..
Most importantly, this phone also has a built-in flashlight.
include a fold-out blade or two, a bottle opener, and i will trade in my iphone.
OK. I know this. I have been waiting nearly a year to actually see it. The chief test engineer of one of the big mobie companies told me about this when I was hosting a civic reception here.
The trick with the phone is actually only a little about the phone itself, which is by the way inspired and should become a classic. The main cleverness is the contract you can set up to go with it.
As you say, the red button gets you an emergency responder of your choice set up for you. The green button goes only to your subscription answering service. 24/7 the person who answers your call on the green button is someone of your gender and approximate racial voice/accent type and most importantly is an OLD person who understand that you are not a young nerd. The service has all your family and friends numbers, doctors etc etc. So when they answer they say "Hullo Mrs X who do you want to speak to?" and when you say that you want your son, they know who that is and all his numbers to get him. Neither you nor the phone needs to remember anything.
I wish I could get this mobie and the subscription here in the UK, so if anyone knows if anyone is offering it here, let me know, as i think the only place may be the USA.