AA battery-operated phone gets even better

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SPAREONE PLUS: The AA battery-operated phone has been upgraded.

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What if your mobile phone was able to hold a charge for 15 years? That's exactly what the makers of the SpareOne phone hope the handset will be able to do.

Designed to be used as an emergency phone rather than your everyday handset, the phone runs on a single AA battery.

You may remember SpareOne from its debut at CES last year. Now the handset is back with a new model, SpareOnePlus, which includes several enhancements to the original handset.

One improvement is a new location-based service that can identify the exact location of the phone.

The phone's location can be viewed through a free smartphone app. So if someone, such as a lost child, does make an emergency call with the phone, that person can be easily located by a friend or family member.

The SpareOnePlus also adds audible numeric feedback, which reads the number dialled and incoming calls aloud - a useful feature for older adults who might have trouble seeing the numbers on the phone.

Much like the original SpareOne, the SpareOnePlus has 15 years of battery life when powered off and stored, and 10 hours of talk time when in use. A flashlight on the top of the device can be used for 24 hours of continuous light.

The phone can be programmed with up to 9 emergency numbers on speed dial, however, it will require a SIM card from a GSM carrier to place those emergency calls. A dedicated 911 dial button can be used without a SIM card.

The SpareOnePlus is available in both black and silver, with the battery screen on both models done in red.

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