Della

Della sustained a mild stroke several years ago that affected her mobility, speech, and manual abilities.  Never a big fan of cell phones, Della admits that she uses it much more than she used to.

Della uses an electric scooter, which also serves as her desk chair at work.  Her arrival routine in the morning includes plugging both her scooter and her mobile phone into their chargers. “If it weren't for my scooter, I'd never remember to charge my phone”, she says.

Placing a phone call is a 2-handed operation for Della.  She stores as many numbers as possible in her phone, to minimize the number of buttons she needs to press. Though locking her phone is easy, she finds unlocking it is much more difficult.   Despite usability problems like this, Della appreciates the familiarity of the phone she has had for 3 years: “I didn't pick it - it came with the plan - but I'm used to it now.”

Never a big fan of cell phones, Della admits that she uses it much more than she used to.  She keeps it clipped to her scooter, so that it’s handy if she has to call when taxis don’t show up.   She also uses it when she visits friends whose homes have barriers – “I just give them a call when I get there, and they help me inside.”  But mounted on her scooter, her candybar-style phone sometimes gets turned on when it is bumped, draining the battery without her knowing it.  Though she has considered a clamshell design with the power switch inside, she maintains that she’d “need a screwdriver to get it open!”

Though she’s been a long-time satisfied customer of her current wireless provider, Della says she’d switch if she could find a phone with:

·         Reliable voice recognition

·         Convenient directory and speed-dialing

·         Long battery life

·         Effective speakerphone and microphone

·         Familiar design

·         Large buttons with good tactile feedback