20 July 2007
Mobile phone retailers are refusing to stock a mobile phone with a large screen and user friendly buttons aimed at the elderly as it "fails to fit their customer target" it has been revealed.
As well as the extra large features, the Life Phone, produced by Austrian-based company Emporia, also has an integrated panic button on the back, and an orange screen to help people with poor eyesight.
Sold at around 170, the phone's special design is in a bid to attract a greater number of senior citizens to the mobile phone market.
Stewart Smith, managing director of the phone's UK distributor Communic8 explained that he was in talks with a number of retailers although many found it "hard to see where this kind of device fits within their brand".
"Currently they're very much driven by the youth market or the business sector because that's where they make their revenue. It's difficult to see where a product like this would fit within their portfolio," he said.
The snub by some of the industry's main players including O2 has generated criticism from the charity Age Concern who branded their opinions as ageist.
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern told the BBC: "The fact that high street stores aren't interested in stocking a phone product specifically targeting older people, shows an ageist approach to their potential customers.
"These stores are missing out on a big, and growing, market if they don't cater to older people."
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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