laptop or tablet for 85 year old

zaax

A friend 85 years old would like to talk to his friends in far off places.
No broadband (can be put on).

What would be best, tablet with broadband; tablet on 3g; or laptop with broadband.

wiogs

If they do not have access to broadband and wish to chat then they will need a table/laptop with a SIM.

A tablet would do the trick just need to have a look at a few to see what OS they prefer.

Cisco001

I lead to Laptop with mifi
I have heard some elderly might have problem with touch screen. And tablet screen could be small for elderly.
But it down to individual.

tyllwyd

What would his friends be using to talk to him? Are they planning to use Skype?

cookie365

If by 'can be put on' you mean it's possible for your friend to get his house connected to broadband, then definitely go for that.

If the friends use Skype then a cheap Windows 8.1 laptop. Plenty of choice for around £300 or less, e.g. Asus X551CA-SX130H and you can go even cheaper if you shop around.

If the friends use Google Hangouts then any Chromebook will do, e.g. Acer C720

Skype isn't (currently) available on Chromebooks, though sooner or later someone will no doubt hack the Android version to make it work.

JJ_Egan

Elderly should find touch screen easier and most i know prefer touch screen .

HBoateng

Don't go for any of them, get a tablet with 4g

beetledriver

I had this exact same issue with my father in law. He tried an android based tablet because it was cheaper but he kept getting confused with all the settings. I switched him to an iPad and this made things easier for both him and I. It was more expensive but he only needed the base model 7inch tablet.
They are so easy to use and now he has got used to it he has just started to use my old iphone as well.
He is 72

Just what worked for me hope this helps.

P.S it was on wifi that we set up via the cable provider. Smallest package at about £20 per month but you can probably find cheaper if you already have a BT line installed. He had a cable line so we stayed with that.

[Deleted User]

If he just wants to talk with friends overseas, Lebara and Lycamobile have special tariffs for call abroad eg. 1p a minute), if the receiver has another Lebara or Lycamobile SIM card.

He might end up spending less than 3G or 4G.

Fightsback

A couple of semaphore flags and a very tall set of ladders.

I_have_spoken

The problem with Skype etc. is old folks aren't able to understand how network congestion can cause drop-outs etc. and they immediately assume it's 'broken'.