Good smartphone for older person?

ticktack_2

Save_Dosh wrote: »

just to add to this, i consider myself a somewhat oldie, 51, i have an htc wildfire and its brilliant, i love it 'cause of its size, it not some big tablet thing and they are very cheap, i would not be without it and the free sat nav, that comes with it, has really helped us when on car journeys. I was given an upgrade, but have chosen to still use this, as its really easy. Ticktack what is the london bus app you have, i would love that - gonna check them out, but in case there are more than 1, what do you use

Hi Save Dosh. I'm afraid I'm out of touch with the Android apps since I stopped using the Galaxy. The bus apps I use now are for Apple devices. I use them on my Ipod Touch. They may also be available for Android. My favourite is just called "Bus", which can be used offline once the maps have been downloaded. It has all kinds of facilities. You can put in a route number, and it will load a map with little animated pushpins zooming across the map to show the route of the bus. Or you can put in an area, such as Camden, and it will show you a bus map of buses in that area. I used to use this in conjunction with Google maps on the Galaxy, to watch my bus travelling along the route shown on the Ipod Touch. Well, little things amuse us geriatrics!

Another useful one is called NextBus London, which connects with the live transport information to tell you how many minutes before the next bus is due.

Another really great bus information thing I've recently learned about -- on each bus stop there's a number which you can text to TfL and get back when your next bus is due. So you know that if you've just missed a bus and there's not one for another 25 mins you might as well start walking. But be warned. I thought this would be free, on my free-text allowance, but it turns out it's a premium number so you do get charged -- 5p I think. Well worth it when you need to know and there's no information sign on the bus stop.

Just found out there's another one called London Bus Checker, for both Apple and Android, which I am going to try out today. :-)

mjdh1957

Newly_retired wrote: »

Sorry to cash in on your thread but I too have an old Nokia which I would like to upgrade .
This Samsung Galaxy sounds good. Can you tell me if it is compatible with Bluetooth as my new car is fitted with this but my old phone is not compatible. Sorry to show my total ignorance.

The Galaxy Ace does have Bluetooth, though I've never used it.

datostar

ticktack wrote: »

I can use my ipod touch for this in hotspots, but hotspots are few and far between. What's it like making calls on the iphone? I'm wondering if that would solve my problems, or maybe all touchscreen phones would cause me problems. How can I find out, before investing so much cash? Or can anyone recommend a cheaper phone that's easy to use? I realize I may be the only person who encounters this problem. I probably have overactive earlobes or something.

If you're already used to your iPod Touch you'd find an iPhone very easy to convert to and iTunes will put anything you've bought for the Touch straight on to the phone. I've never had a problem making calls with one. Appreciate that the newer iPhones are v. expensive but there's good deals around on the 3GS which is perfectly adequate and will run the latest iOS 5.1

ticktack_2

datostar wrote: »

If you're already used to your iPod Touch you'd find an iPhone very easy to convert to and iTunes will put anything you've bought for the Touch straight on to the phone. I've never had a problem making calls with one. Appreciate that the newer iPhones are v. expensive but there's good deals around on the 3GS which is perfectly adequate and will run the latest iOS 5.1

But, sadly, the 3GS doesn't have the beautiful retina screen.

I haven't ruled out getting an iphone, in spite of the expense. I love my Ipod Touch.

redglass_2

This isn't exactly on topic but I thought it might be of interest to some people. Age UK do a very simple pre-programmed Easy Phone, a mobile with very limited functionality. My elderly mother can't cope with even the most basic mobile so I've recently been looking for something even simpler and the best I've seen so far is the Easy Phone. It has to be specially configured for the user. Have a look on the Age UK site.

ticktack_2

redglass wrote: »

This isn't exactly on topic but I thought it might be of interest to some people. Age UK do a very simple pre-programmed Easy Phone, a mobile with very limited functionality. My elderly mother can't cope with even the most basic mobile so I've recently been looking for something even simpler and the best I've seen so far is the Easy Phone. It has to be specially configured for the user. Have a look on the Age UK site.

£45 for the phone, monthly plans for £7.50 a month (50 mins), £10 (100 mins), or £15 (500 mins). Extra mins 15p per minute. Locked to Vodafone.



There's a similar phone, the HandleEasy 334 by DORO, which is more expensive to buy, but unlocked.



Or for an older person who can cope with using numbers without name labels for the speed-dialling, a much cheaper alternative would be the "Binatone Big Button Speakeasy 200 Mobile Sim Free Phone with Talking Numbers and Panic Button".



This phone may have an issue with reception, from some reviews at amazon.