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Phone....for old people?

Fbh

Fbh

Member
Hi Gaf.

I'm looking for a good phone to gift my grandma for Christmas,
She is 80 and has Parkinson's and I want to gift her a phone that's basically made for calling the 3-4 people she actually calls regularly (my grandpa, my dad, me and my cousin).

What are some good brands and models ?
I really want it to be as simple as possible. Between her illness and some other issues she has a problem dealing with more modern phones and I want to get her something that's made to cal the few people she regularly wants to talk to (and emergency services, in case she ever needs them) .

I work in retail and I often see people buying those Emporia phones but having interacted with some over the year (for customers) they don't really seem that easy to use. It might sound weird but I feel like they are made to be easy for a regular phone user but not for someone who has never really been into phones.

Any experience with this here? Any brands or models you'd suggest ?
 
H

Horsemama1956

Member
Ask a sales person. Do you mean a flip phone? No touch screen? There may be phones for handicap people or she could just get something and use her voice but I'm not sure if that's too futuristic for her.

Try googling phone for the handicapped.
 
R

Reverse Giraffe

Banned
I'm sure your grandma could figure out how to use an iPhone. That's kind of been Apple's thing ever since the Apple II is that anyone can use it.
 
Manus

Manus

Member
I say go get the Jitterbug Flip. Anyone can use this thing.

flip-5star-button.jpg
 
mashoutposse

mashoutposse

Ante Up
iPhone Plus model (any generation) with the icon and font sizes set to maximum, all non-essential apps removed, and properly configured phone favorites.
 
N

notBald

Member
Reverse Giraffe said:
I'm sure your grandma could figure out how to use an iPhone. That's kind of been Apple's thing ever since the Apple II is that anyone can use it.
Click to expand...

We tried a variety of phones for my grandpa, including the iPhone. Ended up with a basic feature phone.

A windows phone was almost ideal (thanks to very large buttons), except for the capacitance buttons on the bottom, he kept brushing over them by mistake. The iPhone was sort of usable, but he had a hard time navigating phone numbers. Perhaps one of the newer, bigger, iPhone would have worked out, but it isn't entirely easy for old people with shaky hands to scroll through lists and press on the right names.

We also tried a variety of Doro phones, which are made for old people, but they were all worse than the iPhone. The UI on those things are crud.

The feature phone is not ideal either, it could be simpler, but doesn't have the problem of him triggering some function by slightly hitting the wrong era of the screen.
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
Not sure what the need is to get old people an iphone. What complete overkill.

They just need a phone to call Jimmy and Sue once in a while, and with a loud speaker.

Flip phones are the easiest, and it is harder to fuck up calling someone.

OP: get that huge phone someone posted up there. Your grandma will thank you.
 
H

Herne

Member
Reverse Giraffe said:
I'm sure your grandma could figure out how to use an iPhone. That's kind of been Apple's thing ever since the Apple II is that anyone can use it.
Click to expand...

The Apple II had Integer Basic to begin with, it was initially not very user friendly.

Erm... on-topic... I can't say anything that hasn't already.
 
E

Eye for an Eye

Member
Do they still make those phones for kids that have it limited to call like 4 numbers?

I went with the ATT home phone service. Its a box that receives a cell signal, and then routes it through a tradition phone. I did it for my grandmother. She never touched my aunt's cell phone, but she'd answer the regular house phone. The equipment was free and the line was only like $10 extra on my bill. Familiarity is pretty key at this stage of aging. Being able to use things they've used all their life is much easier than trying to learn something new. Ohh and the box goes anywhere there's an outlet. My aunt and grandmother were at a rehab facility and I was able to put the phone in their room to call them directly. And they'd be able to receive calls from anyone that didn't know they weren't home.
 
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