e-mail and simple computing for an elderly Mum

m_g_c

Hi All
I'm looking for advice. My Mum is 81 arthritic and chair bound and not very IT aware.
She is looking for a cost-effective notebook/palmtop/tablet which is simple to use can sit on her lap without being to heavy and on which she can do e-mails and burn her CD collection onto. Any ideas?
She also wants to have intermittent internet access without goint to the 'bother' of getting broadband. Can you get them with 3G/4G? Or maybe a dongle would be the best Option.

A smartphone is too small for her to be able to operate.

I'm not too clued up on this so any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks a million.

rmg1

Apart from burning CDs, a netbook mightbe an option. CDs can be done using an external CD burner but might be a bit awkward.
A laptop sounds like a good idea (bigger screen and probably easier to use than a tablet).
There are some deals if you have a look around.

3G/4G with a dongle would be good, but can be expensive depending on usage.

elektra

re dongle

This might be an option to try - I have one for my phone and working well so far.

http://ovivomobile.com/our-offer/

yoyoegg

I'd go for a refurbed iPad with 3G. You'll need to use a PC with iTunes to rip the content of CDs.

googler

How would she listen to the CDs? What playback equipment does she have for them at the moment?

Even the poorest Mini HiFi will still sound better than the microscopic speaker in an iPad or Tablet... unless she listens on headphones.

-TangleFoot-

rmg1 wrote: »

Apart from burning CDs...

Ditto for ripping them - burning a CD collection sounds a bit pointless to me.

JulyKnot

yoyoegg wrote: »

I'd go for a refurbed iPad with 3G. You'll need to use a PC with iTunes to rip the content of CDs.

I agree. It's light, she can dictate rather than type if her hands are painful and can listen to music through headphones or perhaps bluetooth wireless speakers?

Im_just_careful

How about a Google Nexus 7 tablet ?

This wouldn't meet all your requirements but it might be less work than a "proper PC".

Get a MiFi or similar for Internet.

Rip the CDs for her.