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Stay in touch - A guide to telephones and services for older and disabled people 2004 (view report contents)

Types of Telephones

On the following sections, we look at the different types of phone equipment in the shops. Then, we look in detail at features which can make using the phone easier if you have a disability.

Click on the list below to see details of the type of phone equipment you are interested in:

Corded phones
Cordless phones
Mobile phones
Answering machines
Fax machines
Computer equipment
Special equipment

Corded phones

Binatone avon 110


The corded Binatone Avon 110

If you have a telephone socket, you can buy any phone and simply plug it in. (If you still have an old-style, permanently wired-in phone, BT will fit a socket for you, free of charge if you have a disability.) A basic corded phone can be very cheap to buy - from around £6. But even if you have extension sockets fitted in different parts of your home, you’re still limited to using the phone near one of them.

Cordless phones

These use a handset and base unit linked by radio waves instead of a cord. The handset has a battery which recharges when on the base unit. The base unit plugs into a phone socket and a nearby mains socket. You can carry the handset with you around your home or garden to take or make calls. Some models come with extra handsets – they share the same line but each needs its own stand and mains socket. Cordless phones have the dialling keys on the handset, which you may find inconvenient - if, for example, you have to press keys to access the right department of a call centre.

Cordless phones come in two basic types:

Analogue cordless phones are quite cheap (from about £15), and some have an inductive coupler for use with a hearing aid’s ‘T’ setting – see section on features if your hearing is poor for more details. There’s less choice of analogue models in shops nowadays.

BT big button Freestyle 60
The BT big-button Freestyle 60 analogue cordless

 

Digital cordless phones are smaller, lighter and can give clearer sound. You can have up to six handsets around the house, which can also ring each other. Though prices have fallen, they still cost more than analogue (from £35) and can cause interference with hearing aids. Being small, buttons can be fiddly to operate.

photo of digital cordless phone

Digital cordless Philips Xalio 300 duo with one extra handset

You shouldn’t rely on a cordless model as your only phone, as you may not be able to use it if there is a power cut.

Mobile phones

two people using mobiles
The convenience of using a mobile

Mobiles are small, convenient and fashionable, and can be used at home (rather like a cordless phone), as well as out and about. As well as making voice calls, many mobile owners text - using the keypad and display to send or receive short messages (see section on useful features if your hearing is poor). Most mobiles can be used in much of Europe as well as the UK, and ‘tri band’ types can be used in the USA as well.

For many people though, mobiles have some drawbacks. Calls often cost more than on a fixed-line phone (see section on companies and deals). More important, mobiles are so small and so packed with features that they can be difficult if you have poor sight or limited use of your fingers. They can also cause interference with hearing aids (see section on features if your hearing is poor for more information). But if you choose carefully, you should be able to find one to suit you.

 

Sony Ericcson T630
The Sony Ericcson T630 with colour screen and GPRS for faster downloading

Mobile technology is developing very fast. Many mobiles now have colour screens, built-in digital cameras and let you send or receive pictures with text, sometimes called multimedia messaging or MMS. Many let you pick up your emails, play complex games or access music or short video clips. 3G or ‘third generation’ mobiles offer very fast downloading and real-time face-to-face video calls. But 3G is still new; by mid 2004 only one network – Three – was offering 3G mobiles and while the other networks are likely to follow, it’s too early to say how useful people will find 3G services.

The world of phones and computers is overlapping more and more. A ‘smartphone’ may now incorporate many of the features of a computer, such as its own Windows or other software, while handheld computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) now often include a phone. Such products can be useful if you find using a voice telephone difficult.

 

Report Contents

Introduction

Telephones

Other equipment

Buying a phone & phone services

Useful contacts

 

Fixed line Operators

Mobile Operators

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