AT&T is now offering the Pantech Breeze, a simplified mobile phone designed to be accessible to first-time mobile phone users and folks who may not need all the bells and whistles of today’s overly complicated (and frequently incompatible) high-powered handsets. The Breeze is an uncomplicated phone building on AT&T’s Universal Design principles, designed to et products be useful to as many customers as possible. As such, the Breeze offers simplified menus, an oversized display, a large keypad, and quick-call keys to simplify reaching commonly-called numbers.
“Universal Design helps define important design criteria to meet the wants and needs of as many of our customers as possible,” said AT&T’s VP Carlton Hill, in a statement. “The Pantech Breeze is a result of our efforts to meet these criteria and offer a great-looking phone that’s a breeze to use for everyone—from tweens to great-grandparents.”
The breeze features three Quick Call keys below the screen so users can call pre-selected contacts with just one button. The menu screens use a large font, display the date and time of an SMS message at the beginning rather than the end, and offers oversized, easy-to-use buttons that respond with a tactile click. The phone also features a dedicated hard key for its integrated video-capable camera (no resolution unspecified), along with Bluetooth 2.0 wireless connectivity.
The Pantech Breeze is available now through AT&T stores for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement and accounting for a $30 mail-in rebate; the phone is also available for $124.99 (after rebate) for Pick Your Plan and Pay As You Go prepaid customers.