Jitterbug and Clarity Pal phones, PureTalk USA

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My 91-year-old mother is hard of hearing and has difficulty using a land line phone. She hears best with her cellphone and hearing aid together. Her carrier is Verizon and she doesn’t have a contract. She doesn’t text and needs the phone only for phone calls.</p>

<p>The Clarity Pal [Clarity</a> Products - Clarity Pal](<a href=“http://shop.clarityproducts.com/products/clarity/clarity-pal/?cat=mobile-phones-and-accessories]Clarity”>http://shop.clarityproducts.com/products/clarity/clarity-pal/?cat=mobile-phones-and-accessories) is specifically made for people with hearing difficulty but it’s not compatible with Verizon’s network. It works with AT&T and T-Mobile, but she’d rather not sign on with a new carrier that will require a contract if she can avoid it. The Clarity Pal can also be used with PureTalkUSA, which has a no-contract unlimited talk and text plan for $37.95 a month.</p>

<p>The Jitterbug phone [Jitterbug</a> - Simple Cell Phones with No Contracts](<a href=“http://www.greatcall.com/jitterbug/]Jitterbug”>Jitterbug Flip2 | Easy, Big Button Flip Phone for Seniors | Lively) is also made for seniors, with large buttons and help from operators who will help you to place a call, program a phone number, or make changes to your account. But I’ve read horrible reviews about them - not so much about the phone itself but about the customer service from Greatcall, the company that acts as the carrier. </p>

<p>I’d love to hear from anyone on CC who has experience with either of these phones or with Greatcall or PureTalk USA before I make any changes to Mom’s account. I don’t know how much credence to give to the bad reviews I’ve read online but I trust you guys implicitly! Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>We bought my 80 yr. old father a Jitterbug almost 2 years ago. We programmed it for him. He really seems to like it and hasn’t mentioned any problems. It’s his first and only cell phone, though. We pay the bills. I like it because minutes carry over if he doesn’t use them all.</p>

3

<p>How much does she use the phone?</p>

<p>For low usage, there are some low cost prepaid plans like T-Mobile Pay As You Go and Spot Mobile which work with GSM phones like the Clarity one.</p>

<p>Here are some more prepaid plans:
[Prepaid</a> Compare](<a href=“http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm]Prepaid”>Prepaid Compare)</p>

<p>Here are some more “phones for seniors”:
[Phones</a> for Seniors](<a href=“http://www.cellguru.net/seniors.htm]Phones”>Phones for Seniors)</p>

4

<p>She’s relying on the cellphone more and more now and hardly ever uses the land line. She’ll probably use between 1000-1200 minutes per month. Last month she went over her 900 minute plan by about 150 extra minutes (at 40 cents apiece!) so she had a pretty big bill. </p>

<p>That unlimited talk plan at PureTalk USA for $38.75 sounds almost too good to be true but I think it’s worth trying out for a couple of months to see.</p>