Emporia Talk Active T4221 4G Talking Mobile Phone
By Fraser Fleming
The Talk Active Mobile Phone is a refreshing change to the ever-evolving Smartphones that can do everything you need and more stuff that you do not. If you are looking for a mobile phone to surf the internet, to email a thousand of your friends, to watch the latest hit YouTube videos, then quite frankly this is not the phone that you are looking for. This phone is to put is simply, simply elegant in it lack of complexity. The Talk Actie phone does not need an internet connection to work, however if you connect it to a 4g sim card you can use it as a mobile hotspot for your tablet and computer. The phone is designed to do a few things extremely well. It will make a call, send a text message, as well as manage your contacts and take basic photo. That it nothing more here. However, the phone has the added advantage of a highly visible 2 inch screen for low vision users and speech enabled support for everything. It will speak to you when someone is calling, when you get a text message, when you are navigating the menu or adding contacts and it will speak when you are inputting numbers and characters. This phone is designed for those who do not want or need the complexity of learning how to use a smart phone.
The phone itself is a flip phone, that when open has the screen on the top section and the numpad on the bottom. I like the fact that it has a physical keyboard. On the left hand at the top of the keyboard you have the green answer button then in the middle you have the navigation buttons that will also take you into the menu or contacts when on the home screen. On the top right you have the hang up button. Underneath these main buttons you then have three white buttons. The one on the right side is you speed dial one, you can assign a specific contact so that when you press this button it will dial them without having to into you contacts and finding them. Then the middle button is the camera button. Pressing this will open the camera. Then on the right side is the second speed dial button. You can assign a different contact to this one. Then under these buttons is the numpad. Last you have the power button located directly underneath the 0 button. On the left side of the device you have the volume up and down buttons. Pressing one of these when the phone is closed will get the phone to tell you the time and the battery percentage. The phone costs £150 and can be purchased directly from the RNIB SHOP online store.
For me the thing that stands out with this phone is the simplicity of it. It reminds me of the old phones I used to have back in the start of the millennium. It is quite easy to understand how to work and everything about using it is uncomplicated. I feel this phone would be especially useful for an elderly person who need a talking phone but does not want or need the complexity of modern smartphones. This phone is designed to make calls and messages and that is it. No complications here, no need to create an account or ID to set the phone up, no need to add your bank details onto it to use. Simply get it out the box pop a sim card into it and you ready to go. For me as a techy person this is a very refreshing change to the type of phone I use regularly and I love it. The fact that it has a tactile keyboard that you can feel and easy navigation around the menus and contacts is even better. Its not an iPhone but it is not supposed to be. I would give this device 4 TopTechTicks out of 4.
if you would like to find out more about devices for people with a visual impairment contact us at.
Triple Tap Tech
The Renfield Centre
260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP
07494 706190
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