NEWS – I came across this Enjoy-Unique Wireless Retro Telephone Handset recently and thought, “Wow, I have seen one of those in ages!”. If you’re looking for something nostalgic and fun, this Bluetooth retro handset fits the bill. It looks simple enough – long-press a button to put the handset in Bluetooth pairing mode, connect it to your phone in Bluetooth settings, and start using it! There are volume buttons on the side of the handset and a button that answers and ends calls (the same button that you use to place the handset in pairing mode).
The charging cable looks old-school too – like a USB mini-B that connects to the handset and a USB-A that connects to the wall charger.
The Wireless Retro Telephone Handset is available on Amazon and ranges between $20.32 to $21.89, depending on the color you choose. White and Black are more expensive than the red, blue, pink, or yellow handsets.
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We picked up a “wired” one (plugs into the speaker jack) and the bluetooth model for my older mom. She was regularly having issues with her phone “hanging up” or “losing connection” while talking. When she started using this handset, the mysterious disconnects stopped happening. (Pretty sure she was moving the phone and it would turn on the screen just enough to allow her to brush against one of the on-screen buttons and put the call on hold or hang up.)
The bluetooth model we got has a volume control built in, which would have been a nice change for the “wired” model. And of course, a longer cord would be appreciated for that wired model – because the phone is usually further away when needed. I like the Bluetooth model idea, but the standby/active times are pretty lousy on the models we saw – such that we’d be charging daily to keep them useful and that’s just one more thing to keep up with.
But I will say the usefulness for the older set with these is really high. It’s a familiar feeling, more ergonomic, and “just works”.
So those 20 ft spiral telephone handset cords might become fashionable again? Tempting to get my mom one of these handsets. She’s 90 and hard of hearing.
Well, for my mom it was a case of being familiar and getting the phone/screen away from her face and hands fidgeting with things. We’d had similar issues with cordless handsets for POTS phones where she’d regularly brush a button and flash to another line or just hang up instead of adjusting volume or just re-settling the handset a bit. So the “phone” look/feel has made a huge difference.
We’d also just appreciate having maybe a 5-6′ cord as opposed to the pretty short one that plugged in to the phone. That would allow easier “answering” without having to shift everything around in that space. (Or a bluetooth headset that goes a little longer between charges 🙂 )
I can’t speak to how good the volume is for these. That’s worth a check before investing. It may not help much. Maybe one of those “transcribe and show on the screen in big text” might be worth it?