Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
If you’ve received a new smartphone for Christmas, or take a lot of photos on your camera you’ll know that the smudge factor is real when it comes to the camera lens. I hate it when I take what I think is the perfect photo, only to find that when I view it, there is that misty blur on all the photos because the lens isn’t clean. It’s the price we pay for handling our phones all day, but there are ways of reducing the smudges.
LensPen Smarty Cleaner for Smartphones is a tiny yet useful gadget for cleaning your camera lens on smartphones. Suitable for all makes of camera phone, the pen is only 4cms long and can fit in your pocket, or in the bottom of your handbag without even noticing it’s there! The cap screws loose to reveal the head of the pen which is a carbon cleaner. There’s no detergent or alcohol involved, just a pad which is small enough to fit through any camera phone casing and erases away all the grime.
I tried this on my iPhone, especially as I frequently get blurry smudges and I can’t clean them away easily with just a tissue or corner of my shirt. The LensPen is small enough to fit, comfortable to use and with minimal effort, it dissolved away the greasy fingerprint on my camera lens. To prove it works, I used it on the front of my camera phone on the touchscreen. The pen does indeed eradicate fingerprints anywhere!
Disclaimer – We received this item for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Say Hello to the swipe-free emporia SUPEReasy
emporia Telecom, a leading brand in the design and development of simplified smartphones for seniors, has revealed the World’s easiest smartphone – the emporia SUPEReasy.
This simplified device removes the need to swipe to operate – combining two screens, one to make calls and the second to scroll through for apps, with two physical keys for easy operation.
The SUPEReasy is built on Android 10 and provides a full, content rich and limitless smartphone experience. It is not stripped-down in any way, just simplified to offer the easiest operation and includes useful apps like a QR code reader, magnifier function and NFC for mobile payments.
It has a 13MP camera, a 5” touch screen with three quick dial icons and two large built-in physical keys for ‘answer/send’ and ‘end’ functions.
These physical keys are located directly below the screen for intuitive use. The device comes with a flat charging cradle, interchangeable back cover and emporia’s signature tangle-free headphones – making it a beautifully simple device for the user, regardless of age.
Included:
Two battery covers (one with an emergency button and one without it)
Desktop Charger
Display: Large screen with text that is easy to read & Touchscreen
Features: HAC: compatible with M4/T4 hearing aids and IP54 splash resistance
VoLTE: 4G mobile data connectivity
NFC: for contactless and cashless payments
System: Android 10
Making a phone call with a smartphone has never been easier. With real buttons for accepting and ending a call. Green to accept, Red to hang up – no need to swipe. And of course the tools to surf the web or snap a few nice photos. Everything made simply, SE = everything super easy.
Chris Millington, UK Managing Director at emporia Telecom explains the market opportunity behind this portfolio launch: “This is the first smartphone designed with a specific focus on making and receiving voice calls. Mainstream smartphones are based on the concept of ‘swipe to answer’ – this is often physically challenging for seniors due to age-related changes to circulation and moisture loss in the fingertips. The niche audience for this product is huge. Ofcom’s figures show that only 36% of people aged over 65yrs in the UK own a smartphone – so there are clearly critical barriers for the industry to address that have not really changed in the last 10 years.”
emporia invests heavily in senior insights including an ongoing research collaboration with Cambridge University. As such the business has amassed a deep understanding of the growing ageing population – specifically within the +65yr senior segment. Research shows rising demand and appetite for smart technology, but with an increasingly tactile experience. Studies show that physical buttons and responsive operation are key especially for those users who experience circulation or dexterity issues, meaning a traditional smartphone may be harder to navigate.
Chris concludes: “The pandemic has made our reliance on smart technology far greater – for daily functions including banking, parking and purchases, plus venue check-ins, health management, prescriptions and ticketing. Yet, smartphone penetration within the senior market segment remains relatively low. Our research shows that one of the biggest barriers to adoption is that seniors like physical buttons to answer and end voice calls. We have acted upon this insight with this device, which is not just ‘easy’ – it has revolutionised the design of smartphones. It combines powerful functionality with simplicity. That’s why, with a ‘what you touch is what you get’ design, we are able to offer a unique user experience for this important group.”
Ben Branson, CEO of Fonehouse added: “We are delighted to offer the new SUPEReasy across our retail stores and online. Our success with emporia smartphones over the last year has shown us how to address the needs of this growing customer segment. We find that older users are now often moving away from featurephones, this is a revolutionary step to help make the transition much easier.”