Bringing the lifecall concept into the 21st century, the Secufone by the company of the same name offers up to date phone functionality combined with emergency location reporting for the elderly or disabled.
The Secufone is a simplistic candybar design measuring 66.0 x 139.0 x 24.9 mm and weighing a hefty 160 grams. It is dominated by a large color TFT touch screen. There is no numeric keypad, only four buttons on the front to let the user place calls out of the built-in address book. There are two address books, one with up to 60 numbers with name and picture caller ID and a secondary address book with 200 more numbers. As it lacks a keypad or camera, the address book is programed via USB connection to a PC.
Most other features of the Secufone are fairly typical these days. It offers a tri-band 900/1800/1900 GSM radio and GPRS connectivity for data. It includes a handsfree kit and supports ring tones and a vibrating alert.
However, the Secufone also includes a large red « Alarm » button on top that automatically places an emergency call to Secufone. Intended for users who may need rapid access to emergency services, it is aimed at the elderly and disabled as well as professions such as doctors, security staff, and taxi drivers. The phone also includes an always-on integrated GPS receiver so that as soon as a call is placed it can report the user’s location to the human operator on the other end. Because of the power draw of the GPS receiver, the battery is rated for only 24 hours of standby or 5 hours of talk time.
