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Japan makes phone for golden years

Features for those with impaired eyesight, hearing

Mike Yamamoto Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Mike Yamamoto is an executive editor for CNET News.com.
Mike Yamamoto
NTT DoCoMo

It's karma: As the ravages of age befall us, products for the elderly that we used to mock suddenly don't seem so funny anymore. (It starts with bifocals.)

Nowhere is that truer than in Japan, where the aging population has become a source of national concern. So it's appropriate that NTT DoCoMo has developed the "Raku-Raku," a mobile phone designed specifically for people with impaired eyesight and hearing. The phone can slow down the words of an incoming call, read text and numbers aloud, and adjust ringtones and volume according to external noise, according to Textually.org.

It even has a pedometer to keep track of our mall walks. We're now officially depressed.