Daily Granny Gram: Powertel 500 Cordless Phone Power for Grannies

The new Powertel 500 Cordless Phone is the phone I've been looking for for my Daddy. Yes, I am a granny with a Daddy (he's a proud great-grandfather of four adorable little tykes). Since my Mom passed in March 2007, it's been quite a struggle for him to "keep going" at times-- especially since parts of him-- like his hearing and eyesight-- are going.

Why is the Powertel 500 Cordless such a great idea for my Daddy and other frail elderly or vision/hearing-challenged folks?

• first off (and this might sound whack to all hi-geeks out there) the Powertel 500 is a PHONE-- it's about as hi-tech as my 80-something Dad will ever manage. He likes to keep in touch with all his "kidlets" (yes, sweet-- I'm 60 and I'm still called "kidlet") and a phone is his best friend. Even the IPad with its large onscreen keyboard requires a sort of co-ordination that he no longer has.
• This phone has HUGE dark colored numbers on a white background on its keyboard. Extremely important for my Dad who has shaky hands and poor vision (at least until he gets his cataracts removed sometime in the near future)
• Powertel 500 Cordless has standard features like caller-ID on a brightly lit screen. My Dad is still a little thrilled that he knows who is calling before he hears a voice. He has actually had a couple of rip-off artists call to try to get him to meet them over at his bank teller, so now he doesn't answer those unknown-caller calls. He really only wants to see numbers belonging to his "kidlets", old cronies, and assorted relatives.
• Powertel 500 Cordless can be amped up to 50 dB which provides good hearing, and for those with hearing-aids (not my Dad... yet), they can leave their apparatus on/in because the phone is TIA 1083 compliant.
• Wow-- 11 hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby, both important features to a somewhat absent-minded guy like my Dad (not new to his age-- he's always been preoccupied with deep thoughts). It freaks us out when he forgets to put his current phone back into the recharger overnight and we can't get him the next day because the batteries have run down.
• When this phone rings the LED lights blaze brightly with enough lumen power to alert even the bleary-vision of someone with thick cataracts that there is a call coming in
• And just in case my Dad wants to pretend that he has a cell phone like some of his more tech-savvy friends or grandkids, the Powertel 500 Cordless has 9 different ring tones available
• The Powertel 500 Cordless is made by Amplicon, a German subsidary company, that has manufactured devices for those with sensory impairments for several years
• The cost at $130 is a little steep but is well worth the pleasure, clarity, and meaningful connection my Dad and other older folks will get with this phone