Media housing for Android phone for the elderly

[lifeofriley]

My father is 83 and a bit of a luddite when it comes to digital electronics, he likes his kindle but he relies on me to get him going and I'm either at work or asleep when he wants to listen to his books.
I was interested in making a housing that took an old android phone and gives him analogue switches and buttons to control the phone, this doesn't need to be overly portable. Also he is hard of hearing which is fine until android decides to drop the volume to protect hearing after a timed period so if this could be disabled that would be great. I see it as having an on/off switch, buttons like a cassette player and a large volume knob. The screen should be usable so I can set him up with what he wants to hear and of course micro USB charging connection. is there anything out there or could someone come up with plans to work from.

 

[Harald Kapp]

I'm afraid building such a box is a major undertaking as the phone doesn't have 1-by-1 interfaces to tap into for the controls you wan to add. Everything is controlled via software and the touch screen .
It surely could be done with an external microcontroller and some programming, but methinks that is above your level (or mine).

I suggest you look into bluetooth speakers. Once connected to the phone you can start, stop, fast forward, fast reverse and adjust the volume. On/off is of course included, too. The standard android audio player is sufficient. If you want soemthing fancier, go ahead and select any from the play store.
This setup means two devices, but your dad has to handle the speaker only. The phone can sit anywhere as long as it is within reach of the speaker (~ 20 m or so). If your dad has a tendency to walk around within a larger area, simply tie the phone to the speaker wit some sticky tape

Also have a look at this website how to increase the max. volume of the android phone.