Cell Phone Suggestions for 70 y\o Mother

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,250
My Mom wants to get a cell phone. She had one before, didn't like it. I don't know what happened to it. Now, she wants one to call me in case her car breaks down. I think its a good idea, but don't know anything about them. I'm thinking of a tracfone (sp?) because she probably will only use a few minutes a month, literally. I can get her a phone and 60 days (only sixty minutes) worth of time for 20 bucks and understand that she generally has to buy new minutes every couple of months just so the service stays active.

I have Verizon for me and my wife, and I just put my son on my plan for an extra 10 bucks a month, but that is literally all I know about cell phones.

My Mom is on a very fixed budget. She won't mind me buying her the phone as a gift, but she won't want me to be paying for her monthly service

Thanks.
 
The pre-paid phones would be a good idea. Not the greatest quality phones and the per-minute rates can be sky-high. But the phones are inexpensive and there's no monthly bill.

-Bob
 
If you are looking for 911 only with no fee then any workable cell phone can dial 911 w/o any service charge or activation. It's 911 only but that can be good for some. Other than that, I'd go with a pre-paid phone or at worse add the 10 dollar charge per month to your account for Mom's Christmas or just for being Mom

Good Luck :D
 
A year or so ago I had the same problem phonewise for my 69 yr old mom.
I ended up adding her to our plan (Verizon) for the 10 a month and I pay it. Takes all of the hassle out of it for her. We programed all of our numbers into it and she was good to go. If you can afford the 10 a month it makes a great way to take care of her with no hassle on her end.
 
I got Cingular pre-paid for my 80 yo mom. $100.00 for one yr. @ .25 per min. The real problem was with the bloody small numbers. Got lg. sticky # for 1,2 & 3 speed dial.I also printed on the back of the phone instructions in case she had to give it to someone to make the call.
1. ME 2. BROTHER 3. FRIEND
 
Put her on your Verizon Family Plan for 10 bucks a month. They'll give you a phone at the promo price of free or nearly free, so she can't feel bad about you picking up the 10 buck per month charge - and the minutes you use talking to her won't count either. Heck, if she likes to rock out you can get her a phone with MP3 and camera, like the new Chocolate phone, for $99 with a new 2 year contract...

Happy holidays to you and your mom. She is fortunate to have people who care about her.
 
JEFFREY said:
I got Cingular pre-paid for my 80 yo mom. $100.00 for one yr. @ .25 per min. The real problem was with the bloody small numbers. Got lg. sticky # for 1,2 & 3 speed dial.I also printed on the back of the phone instructions in case she had to give it to someone to make the call.
1. ME 2. BROTHER 3. FRIEND
Click to expand...

I did the same thing with Cingular for my "US" cellphone (my "Canadian" cell phone is on a regular 3-year plan) A lot easier than remembering to "top up" every 30 or 60 days (I believe ALL "prepaid" air-time expires within a certain time if you don't use it.)

If there's a choice, get the phone with the largest buttons. Failing eyesight and arthritic fingers don't do well with tiny plastic buttons.

And help promote "ICE" - many EMS people in Canada and the US have now been trained to look for the ICE number in the "Contacts" db of a person who is unconscious so they can quickly reach a family member.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4674331.stm
 
While I am not sure about the plans available, I would look at the phone first. My mother is in her 80's and while she doesn't use a cell phone, she does use a cordless for aroung the house and outside.

For her the big issue is simplicity. Older people often like phones that are not complicated, and use larger buttons with basic features. Also my mom is totally deaf in one ear and the other ear has only 20% hearing left. Because of this she uses phones that are clear and loud, and compatible with hearing aids,that is something else to concider. She has been reasonably happy with the GE cordless. She will be even happier when she gets the new Sanyo 5.8Gz.
 
I use a pay as you go myself, a Virgin Mobile Kyocera K-9. Their flip phone, the Snapper, is $14.97 at Wal-Mart right now. They are pretty much the most affordable pre-pay wireless around, you can keep your phone topped up for $90 to $100 per year (depending on what the exact deal is right now). 25 cents a minute, (10c/min after 10 min in any given day). 5 cents each to send or recieve text messages. Coverage is good, folls the Sprint network map.
 
Start with a suitable and cheap plan and the phone will follow.


http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

I hardly use my cell so I went with Virgin--$20 every three months and no extra surprise fees like an every month charge. Got one for my mom which replaced her rarely used $30+/month regular cell.

If your usage is greater than mine then maybe net10 is better?

Check the url for guidance.

edit: that $20 is when buying a topup card at a store..give them a credit card and it's $15 for 90 days.
 
Got my 93 year old mother a Tracfone. She has no problem seeing the numbers as they do light up. Get a one year plan, that way she keeps the same number without having to worry about the 60 day expiration. Usually get about 300 minutes with the one year deal.

Tracfones are usually Cingular service, so be sure it works in her area and throughout her home.

Cheap peace of mind...
 
If the buttons issue is going to be an issue, Verizon sells a 4 button phone for kids, that can be preloaded with a few number and uses a call list to make calls, cheap and easy, neighbors gave one to her mom, 86 years old in a nursing home
 
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