Ease of Use: Clarity D714 Cordless Phone

  

The Arthritis Foundation’s Ease-of-Use Commendation recognizes products proven to make life easier for people who have arthritis and other physical limitations. These products are independently tested by experts and evaluated by people with arthritis. I have been asked to review a number of Ease-of-Use products during May, Arthritis Awareness Month in the US. My mother, who has osteoarthritis in her hands, is helping by testing some of these products, as well. 

The Clarity D714 Amplified Cordless Phone seems to have a nickname. On the box, it says in large, clear letters Loud & Simple. And it certainly seems to live up its billing.

The D714 is an amplified cordless phone with large buttons and is designed specifically for people with hearing loss, low vision and mobility issues. It amplifies incoming sounds 20 times louder than standard home phones. The base includes an answering machine.

We were not able to fully test this phone. It needed to be plugged into an outlet close to the floor and my mother couldn't reach it. Waiting for the day her home care worker comes word make me miss the deadline, so we did a pretend phone call. However, as neither my mother nor I have hearing or vision problems (beyond me being blind as a bat without my glasses), we wouldn't have been able to give a decent review of those aspects.

However, we have opinions about the number pad. Good opinions. As I mentioned in a previous review, my mother has both osteoarthritis in her hands and fingers, as well as the beginning of neuropathy which effects the sensation in her fingertips. For years now, she has been looking for cordless phone that had large buttons with clear separation between the buttons, which would make it easier for her to dial a number, without making mistakes. It has been difficult to find one such poem, since the trend in cordless phone design is to make them smaller and sleeker and not usually affects the number pad, scrunching the buttons closer together, making it seem more and more like one field with very little difference between each number.

The Clarity D714 Cordless Phone to the rescue! This number pad is exactly what we've been looking for! The buttons are large, nicely separated and very well defined. The phone lights up when you press buttons, which makes it even easier to see what you're doing (and, I could imagine, the combination of the large buttons with large numbers and the light would be of great benefit to people with low vision).

The phone itself is also well thought out. It's very light to hold, which was a nice change from the phone my mother already have. It's also very comfortable in the hand and has a nice grip. So many other new, smaller and sleeker phones are really slippery and not always comfortable to hold. This one won't easily slide out of your grip and would be comfortable to hold for a nice long chat.

This is a definite keeper. I love how universal the design is - it solves several common problems for people who are getting older, while not sacrificing looks. 

Other bloggers involved in reviewing Ease-of-Use products are Felicia Fibro, Peachy Pains and Dog in the Dorm: Life with Holden.