First look at the Telstra EasyCall™ mobile – complex tech made simple
Filed under: gadgets and gizmos, innovation, lifestyle, mobile handsets, technology
If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you know I have a thing about high tech. I also have a thing about making access to high tech simple. So you can imagine how excited I was to get my hands on the Telstra EasyCall™ Pre Paid Phone.
This is the perfect phone for elderly members of your family – featuring big buttons and large screen fonts, a simple menu structure, audible keys (it says the numbers as you dial them), a speaker phone, an FM radio, a flashlight, and a dedicated key lock slider-switch.
Add to this the ability to pre-programme a favourite number and up to four SMS numbers that allow you to contact family and friends at the flick of a switch, and you have a phone that’s high tech but easy to use.
It’s really designed as a get-in-touch phone, rather than a phone that’s used every day.
And guess what? It retails for $59 including GST. – perfect for Mother’s Day.
What’s in the box?
- Telstra EasyCallTM Mobile Phone
- Pre-Paid Welcome Guide
- Telstra Pre-Paid SIM card ($10 starter kit with 30 day expiry) and new mobile phone number
- Battery
- Wrist Strap
- Head set
- AC charger
- Mobile Muster recycle bag (Reply Paid)
Set Up
I set my EasyCall™ up in a minute. The menu is clear and intuitive. If you make a change or new entry, you cannot quit without being given the option to save.
Programming the favourite number and 4 SMS contacts was a breeze. More on this feature shortly.
Adding contacts, setting the time and date, adjusting the ring tone volume and style – again straight forward.
Full credit to Telstra & ZTE for understanding the customer when designing this phone.
Appearance
When I first came across this handset, my initial thought was it looked like a calculator with the ability to make phone calls.
Having used it today, I can say without any fear of contradiction, it looks like a calculator with the ability to make phone calls.
So what? First and foremost, it’s practical.
The buttons work. The screen works. The flashlight works. The side key lock switch works. The user’s favourite number /SMS numbers alert works. The FM Radio works (without the need for a headset acting as an antenna too) and Emergency Calls (000 and 112) work.
What more could you ask?
The fast contact switch
On the back of the Telstra Easy Call is an orange switch. It’s designed to connect a customer with their friends or relatives quickly with the flick of a switch. The switch can be programmed to automatically make a phone call or send a pre-composed SMS to up to four numbers. It can even make a phone call and send four texts simultaneously.
There’s also an Alert tone that will sound (depending on your tone level settings) until the switch is returned to the off position – just in case you activate it inadvertently.
This feature will work even if the keypad is locked.
Network: GSM 900/1800 (2G)
Dimensions: 108 x 49.5 x 15.1mm
Weight: 82g
Screen: 96 x 64 pixels, 1.65” mono
Talk Time: Up to 300 minutes
Standby Time: Up to 300 hours
Network Locked: Yes
Key Features:
- Big buttons and large font for easy dialling
- Audible keytones that speak to you when you dial numbers
- Loud speaker for clearer sound
- In-built torch
- FM Radio
- Quick access switch to contact friends and family
- Keypad lock / unlock side switch
- 3.5mm Audio Headset Jack
- Calculator, Organiser, Alarm and Reminders
Availability and Price
The Telstra EasyCallTM Prepaid handset is available now $59 at Big W Stores, Leading Edge Group and WOW sight and sound outlets.
Great idea for a phone, have recommended it to all the oldies in the family… but sadly it is missing one feature… The “where did i leave my keys” feature.
Thanks Mark, the answer to that one is simple…..they are usually (but not always) in the last place you looked.
OH About bloody time A phone for people who want a phone not a bloody combination expresso coffee maker /computer / juice machine !
Telstra also range the Telstra EasyTouch Discovery NextG handset – which was developed with the senior customer in mind, to meet their needs and challenges with modern mobile technology. The EasyTouch Discovery has big, audible buttons and a bright screen with large number display – to avoid mistyping numbers; loud speaker for clear sound and comes with a easy “how to” dvd, to help customers learn how to get the value out of their mobile. This handset is blue-tick rated, providing the best coverage for customers in the country and on the road. Available in all branded channels and online: http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/phone_details.cfm?phone=EasyTouch%20Discovery%202
I want to buy 1 for my mother,but they are all locked onto Telstra.She wants to be with Optus.Is it possible to get them unlocked from telstra??
Have they made a case for this phone?
Does this phone have the ability to save draft text messages? If so , how many?
My father wants to the telstra easycall phone to Greece. Can he use a vodaphone sim card when he gets there?
Is it possible to extend the ringing time, older usesers are not able to get to it quickly when answering a call
Hi Clive. I’ve asked on your behalf and assuming you have a ‘No Reply’ diversion set, the ringing duration can be set from 10 seconds to a maximum 30 seconds. This is a network feature which can be requested by you by ringing up the helpdesk on 1800 303 302. I hope this helps and I’m here should you need to ask more.
Is it possible to extend the ringing time, older users are not able to get to it quickly when answering a call
Is it possible to have this done without using all the credit that comes with the phone when dialling the 1800 number? I swapped from another prepaid to an easycall 2 & don’t have access to a landline. I’m sure the previous phone rang for 30 seconds, which I arranged at my expence but it seems to have reverted to 15 seconds.
Hi, I just bought one of these for my father-in-law. Seems good, but not much choice of ringtones- his old phone croaked like a frog which he will miss- is it possible to get more ringtones for this phone?
Hi Chris. I understand you can download a whole range of ringtones from Bigpond Music.
Not sure if there is the croaking frog sound, but at a quick glance there was certainly a lot there.
please let me know how you get on.
Thanks for that info Michael, will check it out.
Tried buying a new ringtone and does not seem to have worked, but $’s taken off credit. Maybe this phone cannot accept new ringtones?
Hi all,
Just wondering if you can put a plan sim card in this phone??
Cheers.
Have been waiting for a phone like this – no bells or whistles! You don’t have to be an elderly person to want something basic!
I wish Telco’s would now address mobile phone charges, especially for minimal users! There is nothing available for those who only want a mobile phone for use in an emergency.
Even spending $60 for 12 months prepaid on the longlife offer is too expensive if minimal or no calls are made. Unused amounts should not be forfeited.
Everything I have read above indicated this phone is exactly what is required for my elderly family members – problem is you can’t purchase it – teslta don’t sell it and Big W don’t have any in stock and are indicating they can’t get any more from Telstra.
Can anyone tell mewhere I can get one (ie who has them in stock).
Cheers.
Hi,
Look at TPG.com.au for mobile plans.
They have a new $1.00 a month SIM card.
Have been using TPG for over a year, BEST bang for you buck!!!
Cheers
Mark
Telstra makes a fortune out of elderly people on expensive phone plans, sneaky prepaid obstacles and tricky internet plans.
They should be honouring elderly people who have been loyal and paid their way for so many years with a genuinely simple, generous and understandable plan.
Hi Phil. Would you like me to have someone call you to advise you or a member of your family on a mobile plan that would best suit your needs? I’d be happy to do so. Brendan
I agree. Our credit should not expire. If you have pre paid credit and you use it slowly please don’t let it expire.
If you recharge before the expiry date the unused credit rolls over. Also when my brother set up my mother’s phone he chose a 12 month expiry.
I saw one in officeworks today
I have this phone and have a question – how do you attach the wriststrap?!
You take the back off and there is a hook for the included lanyard. Once the back is placed back on the lanyard loop comes out through a tiny hole on the side.
Bought this for my elderly dad for Christmas. Looked simple enough to set up but it would not accept the pin supplied and advised us to ring telstra to activate it. Through their utter incompetence and language difficulties the operator kept insisting we had to buy a prepaid deal, such as $30 for 6months, even though the phone was supposed to have a $10 starter kit. It took 2 days of ringing and talking to them (on our house phone) before they assured us the phone was activated with the $10. After having difficulties making a call my dad took it to the telstra shop and they told him it had no credit and made him buy credit to the value of $30. All this fuss has turned him off it and it was supposed to make life easy!
Where can I get an easycall mobile phone ???
Hi Opa. Have a look at Big W
I bought a Telstra Easycall 2 for my mother for Christmas. I got it from Dick Smith’s for $79. Big W were out of stock. We had trouble with the included $10 credit. It disappeared very quickly without explanation. I phoned Telstra and they replaced it. It happened again. I phoned again and they said they would reinstate it again but they did not. I have been trying to find a cover for it but I can’t find one specifically made for it.
Big W don’t have any in stock. We were also told to try Crazy John’s but our local store doesn’t have any either.
Have had a look at the Telstra Discovery series but a flip/clamshell handset is not practicable for anyone with weak hands such as my father-in-law. Is there anything similar to the Easycall or the Oricom ezy100 that will work with a 3g sim card at all?
Hi Kaye. You can also try Retravision , WoW sight & sound. A new and improved version will be available in May 2011.
Hi Kaye
Try OfficeWorks, I saw one there not that long ago and thought it would be great for my dad.
C
It is a frustrating experience trying to get one of these phones for my elderly parents. Telstra shops do not sell them, the Big W stores that advertise low stock have no stock, WOW does not have them. Apparently they have been a well received phone, so why would Telstra deliberately let them run down and make them hard to obtain. they should delete the page that comes up when a search is made for telstra easycall. thanks
Hi Phil
Try officeworks, they have them
C
Hi Phill
I got one at Big W on Friday but had to travel as local store did not stock but was able to locate one on the big W websight. also Try ebay if you do a search on big button phones on ebay sever simular models com up.
good luck
Hi, just wanting to purchase one of the Telstra Easycall mobiles, prepaid. Big W said they can not get any in. How do i get one asap please???
Hi Dianne. You can also try Retravision , WoW sight & sound. A new and improved version will be available in May 2011.
Nice one! Where can I find it now???
what an unbelievable phone! not just for seniors and people who require simplicity… i find it an amazing secondary phone to accompany my iphone 4. all calls diverted from the business phone to this one when i dont want to be disturbed (tempted :p) by other things, i can throw the phone around and not worry about it getting wet, sand in it or just dirty and it has convinient access to radio and a torch! i can not believe it was 60 buxx. some people might laugh at me, but this is really technology at its finest. good work.
I propose an exciting new television show where the big boss of Telstra is put in a room with 12 elderly people and adults with disability – set the challenge of opening, activating, operating a range of mobile phones that Telstra say are suitable for elderly people. I predict in a very short time he will be lining up the designers and giving them a very stern talking too.
Maybe throw in the challenge of actually finding a Telstra product they promote as their answer to the frustration felt by older people at a store when they don’t allow Telstra stores to have it. We finally found an Telstra Easycall.
After giving a number of tutorials and observations it seems obvious they did not trial the phone on the range of elderly people they should have. If they would observe a range of people using a mobile there would be at least 10 significant improvements that should be made.
Telstra is cheeky charging $60 and the ridiculously expensive per minute rates for a phone that uses such old technology and does not use many of the expensive “improvements” they make their customers pay for. Telstra makes a fortune out of old people with expensive phones and internet plans – they really should be honouring elderly people and giving back to them.
I got two for my grands.
how do I unlocked them?
Please where can I purchase one of these easy call mobile phones????
I have tried Big W, Telstra shops, Harvey Norman, JB HI FI, Dick Smith, All Phones.
Where in Tasmania can I get one?
Cheers
you say i can buy this phone for seniors at big w ,well you cant could you please tell me where i can get one?.
Hi Helen. There is a new version of Telstra EasyCall™ and it will be in stores mid May. Brendan.
Hello. What new features are available on the new phone? I was hoping it would have Bluetooth so I can configure it in my Mums car.
From What I’ve seen and read so far, the only new feature is a $40.00 price hike
I have one – great phone but does anyone know how to disable the “getting up” alarm feature in “alarms/reminders”?
I can edit it and add to it but I can’t stop it, so once a day (at whatever time it’s set for) it goes off whether I want it to or not. Any ideas? I’ve tried everything I can think of.
Dear Telstra, Why has the price on the MKII version jumped from $59.00 to $99.00??? What a rip-off……must be around a 40% price increase!! From what I can tell the new version doesn’t have any more features than the old one so how can you justify a $40.00 price hike? Just in time for mothers day too. And they reckon the oil companies and banks are ripping us off…pffft…even THEY don’t have the nerve to increase their prices THAT much in one hit.
Got one at Dick Smith. $99 with $10 credit. Cant credit me2u so far when I wanted to send a friend some credit.
We tried many, many times to Creditme4u from my sister’s phone. We couldn’t get it to work either. Very annoying.
I bought one of these phones brand new in its box with
plastic wrapper for 30 dollars from ebay. No problems so far.
The phone is old tec and not really worth more than 30 dollars more like $15 to be realistic in this day and age. My
mother is happy with it though.
Is there a car charger available for this phone. Will be travelling a lot where there is no electricity and will need to charge it up?
Can anyone tell me how to change the time from 24 hour clock to 12 hour clock on this phone?
Section 5.12 on page 25 of my (Mk 1) manual states that time can set on 24 hr clock only.
Could anyone tell me how to turn the speaker on during a phone call?
Hi,
I just got a second hand one of these for my son who has an intellectual disability. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the manual?
thanks!
Hi Sam, Have a look here.
I have been looking for this phone for weeks. How can I purchase it.
The phone has just what I want and the plan sounds good as well.
Hi Clarence, you can purchase it here: http://www.telstra.com.au/shop/Consumer/NGTSOProductDetailsView?catalogId=10101&storeId=10001&productId=105700&langId=-1&categoryId=16105&parent_category_rn=16105&top_category=&ti=TR:TR:Sep11:tcomprepaidmobiles:spot12&SMIDENTITY=NO
Enjoy!
Danielle