Dumb
phone, smart use.
If
we told you that, for the past week, we've been enthusiastically
using a phone that cannot access the internet, doesn't run off
Android or iOS, and features a low-res camera, you'd think we'd
either forgotten what good is, or had travelled back in time to 2002.
Neither is the case, however, as in fact we've been playing around
with a phone that has been made intentionally non-smart. We review
the Amplicomms PowerTel M7510-3G.
The small flip phone has been designed for older people and those who might have sight, hearing, and mobility issues. Think about a modern smartphone and you might not realise just how fiddly they can actually be, with touchscreens being almost completely useless to someone who can't keep their hands steady for whatever reason. To that end, the Amplicomms PowerTel M7510-3G features a traditional number pad, one with large chunky buttons and clear bright characters on them.
With
this phone you can call, text... and have a nice day. It might seem
strange to make a phone like that in 2016, but to those who genuinely
couldn't care less about social media, watching YouTube videos, or
taking HD pictures, it is just what they'll need. And hey, it has an eight day battery life! Remember that? Wow... Uniquely, it also boasts two SIM card slots, which older phones like this never did. We've also never heard of a phone designed for people with impairments having two SIM slots, so we were fairly impressed there.
For
the hard of hearing the Amplicomms PowerTel M7510-3G features an
extra loud ringer. The volume of every alert can be altered in the
settings, to bring it back down to normal levels should you prefer,
but the highest setting is louder than any phone we've ever heard at
90dB! You will definitely not miss a call.
For
the visually impaired, the keypad lights up extra bright,
illuminating those numbers and letters very clearly. You can also
programme it to vocally announce the names of up to ten callers, so
you know exactly who is ringing. After those ten slots are taken, the
phone will still announce each and every number that contacts you,
calling out the country or area code. On the back of the device you
will also find an SOS button, which can be programmed to
automatically dial a chosen number (or numbers – up to five)
whenever pressed.
The
camera, set just above the front LCD screen, captures photos at 300p.
There is nothing remarkable about it at all, but for snapping a shot
of someone's face to attach to a contact, it's fine. Remember this is
not a multi-media smartphone, so the fact that there is any kind of
camera surprised us. As did the presence of Bluetooth (designed to
connect to external headphones or speakers, again more for
communication than entertainment), and the ability to send MMS. So
you could text the photos you capture on the Amplicomms PowerTel
M7510-3G's camera, should you wish.
Oh,
and it also features a fairly useful charging dock, into which you
simply drop the phone to charge it. This is great for people who
might find plugging a USB wire into a small port tricky, so good
thinking once more Amplicomms.
Sure,
you might not be dashing off to buy this as your next phone, but for
older relatives, disabled people, and people who hate modern
smartphones, this is great... and a pretty good price to boot.
£99