Last but not least: A cell phone reduced to the maximum
The Ownfone is the first cell phone on the market that can only be used to call permanently assigned contacts. An ingenious concept for the very young and very old.
The idea of producing simple, low-function cell phones against the general trend towards upgrades is nothing new: niche providers have been supplying the market with cell phones for senior citizens and construction workers for years. However, Ownfone, which was launched in the UK, pulls out all the stops when it comes to user-friendliness and a lack of functions: the device is configured online before purchase and designed. You can choose between two, four, eight or twelve buttons. Each is assigned a number and each is given a name. The option of labeling buttons with photos is being planned.
Only these numbers can be dialed; there is no numeric keypad at all. Numbers can only be changed retrospectively with the help of customer service. If you want to add a new contact, you have to purchase a new front.
This uncompromising reduction should make sense to anyone who has ever tried to explain a Nokia cell phone, however simple and outdated it may be, to an elderly person. And it probably makes sense to parents who want to give their young child an emergency phone to take to kindergarten and still don't want to buy an iPhone.
