The Alcatel 2008G is a simple and user-friendly feature phone designed for people with little technological abilities or that do not desire to deal with smartphones. This device is suitable for people with low vision, hearing disabilities and limited comprehension skills. We have been able to review this handset thanks to a loan by TCL Spain.

This phone measures 117x61.5x12.5 mm and weighs 90 grams. It has a 2.4 inches display with 320 x 240 pixels resolution. The icons and the font are large enough to be viewed and interact with comfortably.

The includes hands free feature, Jack 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter, a camera that shoots photos and video, calendar, and voice recorder among others. It also supports SMS and MMS. Alcaltel has included a single SOS button at the back of the device to allow users to call for help in the event of an emergency. However, its design can actually lead to confusion. The button has been placed right below the camera lens and the SOS icon can barely be seen. Users may have a hard time telling between the two during a time of distress, which may cause unnecessary delay in getting help.

Accessibility Review

The 2008G does not include an accessibility menu that would allow users set the device to their needs and preferences. However, it complies with several accessibility requirements which are explained below.

Vision

The 2008G has a very user-friendly design that includes a physical keypad with large, bold, and tactilely discernible keys fitted with a voice-on-touch feature that announces aloud the keys being pressed. This can be useful to users with vision disabilities.

Also, the icons and fonts are large enough to be viewed comfortably. Users with low vision can also set the screen brightness to their needs.

However, because it lacks a screen reader blind users will be unable to carry out a few tasks on their own, such as navigating the display or writing and reading text messages, among others.

Hearing

The Alcatel 2008G has a hearing aid compatibility rating M3/T4. It means hearing aid and cochlear implant users can set their devices to the T setting when handling phone calls. The phone also supports text messages. However, making videocalls or downloading instant messaging app such as WhatsApp is not possible in this device.

Dexterity

Although this phone is lightweight, easy to grip and to handle, it has three barriers that prevent us from recommending it to users with dexterity disabilities. On one hand, it lacks a predictive text feature. Instead, it comes with an autocomplete feature that forces users to press the keys more than once. While this may seem easy to people without dexterity issues, for some it can be a frustrating and even a painful experience.

Another barrier is that this phone does not include a personal assistant or a voice recognition feature that would enable users to control it with their voices. It is also not possible to use it with mouth sticks or head wands. The volume and camera keys are on the right side of the phone and cannot be controlled from the display.

Comprehension

The Alcatel 2008G is suitable for people with cognitive, learning or print disabilities. Icons are easy to identify. Also, menus are intuitive and easy to navigate.

For more information about the accessibility features in this device, please consult the full accessibility report.