Phones specially designed for those senior moments
European handset maker Doro has launched a range of mobiles that cater for the ‘Boomer generation’ whose priorities have been ignored by the mobile industry’s obsession with youth and excessive consumption. Its three new Doro 4G feature phones, the Doro 5860, Doro 6820 and Doro 6880, haven been developed to address the evolving demands of senior users, it said in a release.
Doro has recognised that some consumers will find Hearing Aid Compatibility, big clear fonts and simple menus are far more useful communications tools than a screen full of icons leading to overpriced content rabbit holes that they have no idea how to switch off. For the more adventurous ‘senior subscribers’ there are convenient shortcut keys to both camera and messages. According to Doro’s research, 88% of seniors favour well developed, easy-to-use technology.
The phones are available in the UK and on sale via the Doro Store Doro 5860, Doro 6820, Doro 6880. They will soon be coming to major networks and additional retailers, it says. Each handset has a signature Doro Assistance button on the back to a summon pre-selected sources of help in an emergency. Perhaps the best news for seniors is that the cheapest handset is only £70!
However, in a blind test of the UK’s EE stores, Doro has never been suggested as an option, despite the buyer’s explanation that they were looking for a basic handset that a person with neuropathic hands, had bad eye sight and an aversion to the business practices of handset makers who use slave labour to assemble their phones in countries with appalling human rights records.
The Doro 6820 and Doro 6880 are described as easy-to-use clamshell feature phones. The Doro 5860 is described as a sleek, ‘candy bar’ device, despite the fact that nobody born before 1970 would be seen dead using a phrase like ‘candy bar’. The phones seem to be aimed at those of us who experience ‘senior moments’, where we find ourselves in places with no idea why we actually went there. Disappointingly, however, there is no app that caters for this situation. A follow up review and interview on the positioning and channelling of Doro handsets will follow.
Doro said it eschews the built in obsolescence model used by modern handset makers, which seem to progress from Launch to Landfill in the time it takes to move the subscriber onto their next contract. It claims its handsets are future proofed, easy-to-use system that offer 4G connectivity and consumer continuity.
In a pre-prepared statement Peter Marsden, Doros MD for the UK and Ireland, said these 4G feature phones will offer a heightened user experience and are perfect for those that prefer an intuitive, easy-to-use device. “Older users value functions that are specifically tailored to their needs. Whether this is HD voice technology, adjustable font sizes or well-separated keys, by combining these flagship Doro features in a 4G enabled feature phone, the handsets provide our users across the globe with the connectivity they require,” said Marsden.