Purchasing Cell Phones for Senior Citizens

| Tuesday, October 4, 2011
By Matt Jones


Purchasing a cell phone for a senior in our lives is something that's important to ensure their safety as well as give us some piece of mind that they have an outlet if they need it. When you've made the decision and are ready to move forward you should take some of the following considerations into mind before you finalize your purchase. For the most part senior citizens are technophobic so you should make sure that when you're purchasing a phone that you keep that in mind and pick out a phone that fits the profile of a senior citizen and what they need. That means something without all of the bells and the whistles that you see form the phones of today.

Large Keypad

Another thing that needs to be considered is that you look for a phone with raised and large buttons. This will allow the senior to feel the button under their finger and make sure that they can press and see the button they are pressing individually as they are working to dial the phone.

Speakerphone

The senior that is hard of hearing needs to have a phone that has a good speakerphone as they are likely to utilize that. Another consideration with the speakerphone is that if the senior has a hearing aid you should look for cell phones that have the right rating. You need to have a good rating of T3 or M3 or a great rating if you can find a phone with a T4 or M4 rating, that's an excellent rating.

Large Screen

When it comes to the cell phone screen the senior needs a screen that is larger so they'll be able to read what's on the screen with as little trouble as possible. So you should make due consideration of possible diminishment in eye capacity for the senior you're purchasing the cell phone for.

Flip Phone

One helpful feature, although it's not a necessary one is a cell phone that has a flip open design. This makes it easier for the senior to handle without having to press any buttons for answering or hanging up. You can program the phone so that it will answer immediately upon pickup. The closing is a feature that automatically hangs up with any flip phone. The other nice prevention with the flip designed phone is the potential of accidental dialing.

Keeping It Simple

Some of the best advice is saved here for last. Keep it simple. Picking out a cell phone for a senior citizen is something that most of us will do at one point or another in our lifetime. One thing to keep in mind that if the senior you're purchasing for is extremely technophobic and your purpose is your peace of mind look into the phones that are going to be the most plain and simple.

Additional Information

Regardless of the phone that you end up purchasing for the senior you're looking to purchase you should be sure that you look to preprogram the numbers so things are as easy as possible for them to use. The senior citizen of today isn't of this tech generation so you need to exercise patience when dealing with them and teaching them how to use it. Remember that not all of us have the same capacity and since they didn't grow up with this technology they are really far behind. You can also look to find some cell phones from a reputable dealer on eBay. These would be most likely refurbished phones but if you're purchasing from a reputable dealer that won't be a problem. Just check out their information and the customer reviews. Now that you have some good information to go on you can find the right phone and the right service for the senior citizen that's in your life.




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