Dialtone
This is too good an idea not to share. Sorry if everyone already knows this, because apparently it was reviewed by CNET in 2006, but Samsung’s phone for the elderly called the Jitterbug actually plays a dialtone when the clamshell phone is opened.
Open the phone and you’ll notice the first thing that makes this phone so great for seniors: An actual dial tone. With this simple innovation, you immediately know that the phone is active and ready to go, similar to a landline phone.
It’s a really elegant solution to what I can only imagine is a big usability issue.