My 78 year old mother wants a smartphone, and we think it’s a good idea. She currently has a flip phone that is next to worthless. Are there any phones that are easy for a technology-averse older person to master? She wants to take pictures, text, and use the GPS occasionally. She sometimes travels alone, so we’re all on board with the new phone!
Maybe you can start with a prepaid phone to give it a try. This has enough features to get someone new to a smartphone started. She can always add minutes or when she was done with them she can discontinue the service. There are no monthly bills once you make the initial purchase.
http://www.hsn.com/products/samsung-galaxy-core-prime-tracfone-w1200-minutes/8064467
The iPhone6 might be a good choice in light of its larger size (those little keyboards can be difficult) and the ability to dictate texts.
My parent, 85 and 86, really want smartphones, but I am not excited about it. My deal was if they got one, it had to be an iPhone because I will get called several times a day to be asked, how do I do X? My dad plays with my phone some, but with his Parkinson’s, I don’t think he will use the phone like he thinks. My mother, who has had an iPad for 2 years, still calls me and asks the same question over and over again! She just wants it to have pictures of the grandkids and great grand child to show her girlfriends when out; for that she could have an iPod.
My mom is in her mid 70s and can’t live w/o her smartphone.
I prefer Android but gave her an iPhone because she in an avid iPad user, and I thought it would be easier for her to use a similar operating system.
I love how enthusiastically she uploads her photos on FB. Now she even has a Line acct for networking w her senior center dance class friends.
We have the windows based Nokia lumia 520’s- prepaid. They sync with our PC’s.
The larger iPhone, especially if she’s used an iPad.
I currently have (don’t ask) 3 phones…an iPhone 6s Plus, Samsung Note 5, and Samsung S7 Edge. While there are differently things I love about each one, the iPhone 6s Plus is the easiest to use.
Apple products are fairly intuitive. The iPhone would get my vote.
My dad likes his iPhone. Mom refuses to touch hers. Dad only uses a small fraction of the features but is happy enough with it. It was a huge waste for mom. Mom pretty much hates all cell phones and refuses to have anything to do with them. She does answer their landline phone.
The ability to set the phone up for voice commands would seem to be very beneficial for anyone who has trouble with shaky hands.
I already have my phone set up for largest font.
I wish I knew back in the day that you could set up a double click on the computer for older slower adults to use. Is would have greatly helped my dad.
Even though i’m an android fan, i would recommend a Window phone or iPhone. Nokia lumia (WP): great camera, long battery life, but not much apps. If you wanna save your time for researching, just buy an iPhone.
IPhones are so intuitive I’d just use that.
Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions. I hadn’t even thought about an iPhone (3 out of the 4 of us are Android users) but will look into that. She definitely needs something intuitive, where if she ends up with a weird screen, she won’t freak out, but will know how to get back to whatever she was doing.
I’m going to get rid of my landline and pay-as-you go flip phone, and buy a cell phone. My son suggests an iPhone 5S as it costs less than the iPhone6. He thinks Straight Talk would work if we shared a plan.
My S just bought a 5s from straight talk’s website. $150 or so and works great for him.
Vote for iPhone was well. Smart phones can be intimidating, especially the more complicated Androids, but the best way to figure out how to use them is really just diving in there and messing around. If someone needs something more comprehensive, many Apple stores offer classes that teach you how to use their products.