<p>My parents miss their only grandchild terribly (my freshman son) because they had almost as much of a hand in raising him as I did (widowed when he was 3). </p>
<p>Neither my Dad (79) or my Mom (81, extreme hearing loss, health failing fast) are tech savvy in the least (no PC, no internet connection and terrified of smart phones). My Mom has the most basic cell phone I could find and won’t even consider texting. And, my Dad won’t even try to use it (Mom dials the number and hands him the phone).</p>
<p>I’d thought about a tablet through our cell provider (Verizon) with Sykpe or Google+ loaded but I think that too would be over the top for them. I also thought about a video land line phone but then my son would need a land line on his end, right?</p>
<p>So, what other options do I have that I can buy them that will allow very simple face to face conversations with the ‘love of their lives’? Surely there is some scaled down gizmo on the market for seniors.</p>
<p>Both of my parents (mid eighties) LOVE their IPADS. You can chat online via skype and they are fantastic for failing eyes. My parents are both avid readers and the bright big letters have brought the joy of reading back. My mom refused to use a computer, but was IPAD savy after a few lessons at the Apple store. Mom now watches her favorite PBS shows online with the PBSTV app. It also makes her feel extraordinarily "with-it."The IPAD is not the least expensive option, but they will be able to use it for so much more than online chat.</p>
<p>Not all 80 year olds find the same satisfaction in the new technology or have a wireless connection available. At that age, many folks still highly value an old-fashioned letter. They can hold it, re-read it, and receiving letters is considered a compliment and social nicety. He can buy a stack of postcards, pre-address them and send one each week. And, phonecall them once in a while, too.</p>
<p>I taught my late grandmother’s best friend (who is now practically my grandmother!) how to use an iPad and she absolutely LOVES it, even though she was expecting to hate it and was pretty terrified of computers altogether.</p>
<p>Could your son teach them how to use a tablet or an iPad? She seemed to really get a kick out of me teaching her how to use it–plus we got to spend some time together :)</p>
<p>Her favorite things to do on it, in order, are: 1) listen to German radio stations 2) browse through pictures of her granddaughter and late husband 3) check email. She has an iPad2 with a data plan and it works really well. </p>
<p>I recently showed her how to use the iPad’s camera to take a picture of an old photo so she could have her fabulous vintage photos with her on iPad also. She really likes that!</p>
<p>iPad’s Skype app is really easy to use and free. It’s nice to have the camera already connected to the device (only one device to use), as I’m sure you’ve realized. An iPad2 with just a few apps–Skype, a newspaper, a radio, photos, and a game–might work better than you expect! (Caveat: I have definitely become her iPad helpline, so if you get them one, you might need one for yourself too so you can walk them through what to tap to fix a small glitch )</p>
<p>I also LOVE lookingforward’s suggestion of post cards and phone calls!</p>
<p>I thought my 84 yr old might like ipad, but he seemed clumsy with tablets etc. In the stores, he was much more comfortable with a keyboard. We got him a laptop, and that does have a learning curve (including use of the mouse)… but he likes it.</p>
<p>what about just a plain old video phone for them? Find one that your son can use his laptop or smart phone camera to contact them, and they can have a less intimidating phone to see him. Google video phone, and they come up…</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the input but I’m still having no success even though I’m a techie.</p>
<p>I would love to have a Wi-Fi tablet such as an iPad but it would terrify my parents. For example, I got my Mom a new basic cell phone (designed for hearing impaired) and it still took me over an hour to explain the button. Days later, I had to show her some stuff again. I even have to program their remotes and VCRs (won’t consider a DVR or recordable DVD).</p>
<p>So I searched for POTS video phones (landline phone with speaker and camera) which are abundant. However on my son’s end, I have yet to find a software program that will allow an internet video call to a video landline. Programs such as Skype, Google Video, SightSpeed, ooVoo, etc. will allow the internet users to make ‘voice only’ calls to landlines but no video.</p>
<p>I guess no such program exists due to the small market demand for landlines these days.</p>
<p>The only options I can find are to either get my son a landline at college plus a video phone for each OR to switch my parents over to VoIP for their home phone service so they have an internet connection (which will then allow conference calls). They have Time Warner cable service so maybe they can bundle that will the telephone service they offer (which I assume is VoIP).</p>
)</p>