posted
An elderly relative of mine has a cell phone that she has trouble hearing in. She uses it primarily for travel. However, her travel has now dwindled to a couple of flights a year. She therefore does not need a cell phone full time, just one of those throwaway kind. But she needs one that is not complicated to use--one that she will not have to use in conjunction with a calling card with lots of code numbers to push etc etc. She needs one where she just turns it on and phones a number--that will be hard enough for her!
My questions, for anyone who may know:
Is there such a phone? If so, are all phones of this type the same, or are some cheaper? Are some too cheap to hear with at all if you are elderly? Which brand or type do you recommend, and is there a place you recommend purchasing one? Is it purely throwaway, or can you "recharge" it, like a phone card?
Thanks for the info!
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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Ever seen the commercials for Jitterbug? The phones are designed primarily for elderly with specific needs. Even though your friend may only need a phone for her trips, it's nice to have one 'just in case'. They have Nationwide calling plans as well.
sbalax Member # 2801
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Jitterbug was my thought, too. I haven't used one but I've heard good things from some of my "senior" friends. The advertise in the AARP magazine.
BTW, at my "Retired Teachers First Day of School Breakfast" today the "senior staff member" was a man who was principal of my school from 1947-1952. He just celebrated his 100th birthday!
Frank in muggy SBA
sojourner Member # 3134
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Jitterbug is a monthly cell phone service, with an expensive phone to purchase in addition; it's not what she's looking for.
She wants something cheap that she can use only when traveling (twice a year) and either throw away or add time to when the time runs out--i.e., with no monthly costs, and a low price for the phone. Is there such a thing that does not involve using a calling card with lots of complicated numbers? Or are all the disposable phones used with calling-card-like complications?
HopefulRailUser Member # 4513
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From what I observe on TV all the throw away phones are used by drug dealers and kidnappers.
Virgin has prepaid phones that cost $5 a month. Calls are charged at $.18 a minute. I think I have built up over $200 since I don't make calls. But it is a reasonable choice for low usage. You can choose from many different phones, the one I got cost $20. Phones sold at Best Buy. Service bought online.
dmwnc1959 Member # 2803
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quote:Originally posted by HopefulRailUser: From what I observe on TV all the throw away phones are used by drug dealers and kidnappers.
I about fell off the couch laughing when I read that! Funny stuff. Reminded me of the HBO series 'The Wire'.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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Is not a "pay as you go" tariff what she wants? The idea is to buy the SIM card but then only pas (in advance) for the calls you make. No monthly tariff. No calling cards or complicated dialling sequences. However, you do need to have a phone already (eBay). Popular here in the UK and the Philippines.
RussM Member # 3627
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One thing to look into before purchasing a cheap pre-pay phone for travel is the matter of roaming coverage. I took a cross country trip by car a few years ago, and found my pre-pay phone unusable in many areas, even though there was a strong cell phone signal available. The issuer of the phone did not have roaming agreements with many of the smaller carriers that operate in rural areas. Of course, with all the consolidation that has taken place, the situation may be better now, but it is something to keep in mind. These days, I am using an Apple iPhone, which is expensive, but very addictive. Another great gadget for travel is the Amazon Kindle. I will get the chance to put these devices to good use this coming weekend on the Zephyr, from Denver to Sacramento.
sojourner Member # 3134
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What is a SIM card? Is it complicated to use? Thanks
"A SIM card or Subscriber Identity Module is a portable memory chip used in some models of cellular telephones. The SIM card makes it easy to switch to a new phone by simply sliding the SIM out of the old phone and into the new one. The SIM holds personal identity information, cell phone number, phone book, text messages and other data. It can be thought of as a mini hard disk that automatically activates the phone into which it is inserted."
Gophone might be something to look into. AT$T(Gophone) offers a $100 card that is good for 1 year/100 minutes. The cards can be purchased for $90 with a little research.
AT&T has better coverage than Virgin which is why I am switching.
Look for a unlocked phone, which means it can be used with different providers with out much problems.
sojourner Member # 3134
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I guess I didn't explain clearly. I know zilch about throwaway phones (I thought a SIM card was a calling card!), and the elderly relative who wants one knows even less. She will not want to spend $100. She wants to spend, like, $10-20, get the phone, use it to phone a taxi or friend when she arrives at an airport, use it again a few months later for another flight . . . something like that. She just needs to have it with her in case she needs to make phone calls on departure or arrival while traveling--she cannot deal with pay phones. She also cannot deal with anything complicated, like putting in a card, or dialing a series of numbers beyond a phone call--she has arthritis and is very old.
Is there such a thing? A cheap phone that will work at major metropolitan airports.
I too have seen criminals use them in movies, so that is why I thought there was such a thing!
Thanks!
City of Miami Member # 2922
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Whistler - How do you know when a phone is 'locked?' My friend in Seattle just gave me her old Sanyo phone (she graduated to iPhone). It was bought through Qwest and actually says Qwest on it, but there is no Qwest in TX. Can I use it with AT&T?
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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Once you get the phone and put the SIM card in, you can forget it's there. By the sound of it she won't be swapping SIMs or phones. So once it's set up she can turn it off, put it in a drawer, then take it out 6 months later, turn it on, and make a call just by dialling the number, then turn it back off and put the phone away again. Make sure that the provider of the SIM doesn't cancel the sim after X months of disuse - or make a quick call every so often to keep it "alive".
Eventually she'll need to top-up - ie put credit on the account associated with the SIM card. That really depends on the operator, but the easiest and safest is probably to visit the operator's store.
In terms of price, a quick browse suggests AT&T offer a phone, $25 of credit, and no activation fee for under $60. That's very good - well, at least compared to the UK - especially as it includes a phone. As others have said, check the coverage though.
The only way I know to tell if a phone is locked is to put the SIM card in and the phone will tell you itself. If you know it's been used on a particular operator which has a tendency to lock (or not) then you can guess with reasonable probability whether it is or not. My iPhone is locked, and I know that all iPhones in the UK are locked - hackers excepted - as they're supplied by just one operator, O2, which locks all iPhones. Numerous places will offer to unlock most phones (not all) but beware that there is a small risk in doing so, of either damaging the phone, or the operator cutting you off.
Small tip for anybody travelling abroad: buy a local pre-pay sim if the price is right. It can save you a lot of money if you use your phone abroad!
whistler Member # 2620
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quote:Originally posted by City of Miami: Whistler - How do you know when a phone is 'locked?' My friend in Seattle just gave me her old Sanyo phone (she graduated to iPhone). It was bought through Qwest and actually says Qwest on it, but there is no Qwest in TX. Can I use it with AT&T?
Not to get to complicated, because I would make a hash of it if I tried. There are two different standards GSM and CDMA. GSM phones, AT&T and others, are easier to transfer between different providers and phones, ie. through a SIM card. While CDMA, Verizon/Virgin and others, phones like the one you have from QWest, and I maybe mistaken, uses CDMA method of identifying the phone/user/phone number.
But, you might take the phone to a Verizon store and see. Since QWest is now using Verizon as there provider.
HillsideStation Member # 6386
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The bride had a cell phone with a "government" rate. Basic service relatively inexpensive and calls very expensive. But she used it for "emergencies" only. I purchased a Tracfone a number of years ago. Inexpesive to purchase. Service relatively cheap less than $10/mo and air time quite resonable at 5 cents a minute. Last year got tired of paying the monthly rate on the brides phone and called to terminate. Verizon, the carrier offered the same time type arrangement as with Tracfone.... a little more expensive. Dropped Verizon, bought the bride a Tracfone, a years worth of service and more air time then she'll use for less than $80. Tracfone service, especially if I have a problem is a problem, but they've improved over the last couple of years so that I haven't had to contact them except to purchase additional airtime and it is now much simpler than going through lebentytwelve numbers to update. Best regards, Rodger Tracfone is JUST one of number of similar providers.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Thank you all so much for the info. Does Geoff's info sound right to everyone in the US? If so, I'm going to give the info to her (I just want to make sure there's not some wacky difference here & in the UK). I will mention the possibility of roaming fees or bad coverage in some areas. Thanks again!
DeeCT Member # 3241
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Sojourner, I have had Tracfone for several years.
Originally purchased when my former car began showing it's age and I was concerned about becoming stranded.
I have used it on my cross country trips with no problems - save Chicago's Union Station (no signal.)
Since last winter, when my sense of balance became a problem, I now slip the phone into my pocket when ever I go out doors as a precaution. I would be a tad irritated to have to make an "I've fallen and I can't get up" call, however I can if I need to.
Once a year I pay the annual fee and they down load the minutes automatically. (Unused minutes roll over as long a you renew before annual due date).
There are other companies with similar phones and plans. Pay a visit to your local Walmart or Kmart.
Dee
notelvis Member # 3071
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quote:Originally posted by sbalax: Jitterbug was my thought, too. I haven't used one but I've heard good things from some of my "senior" friends. The advertise in the AARP magazine.
BTW, at my "Retired Teachers First Day of School Breakfast" today the "senior staff member" was a man who was principal of my school from 1947-1952. He just celebrated his 100th birthday!
Frank in muggy SBA
You know, I'm so frazzled right now from the first month back at work that I'm not sure I would want to even attend the retired teachers first day of school breakfast when I get to that point.
To be fair, my biggest frustration has been how the dark side of testing has changed my profession in the last ten years. The decisions made above me are driven primarily by how it's going to affect the test scores and not what may be in the better interest of the student.
It's harder and harder every year to pair a particularly needy student up with a particularly nurturing teacher because the teacher usually has to worry about how this (usually) weak student is going to affect his/her class performance on the standardized test which is always just around the corner.
I think I'll just go for a train ride.......maybe into the CSX black hole again.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
posted
This is an interesting off-rails topic to address. Somehow, I think the median age of this group is considerably higher than other groups about the internet, because "we" are older, 'we' did not grow up with this chronic "earache" all too many of these youngsters have - after all, their usually right hand covering their right ear must suggest they have an earache.
For myself, who first had a mobile phone during 1984 (and the same mobile # and carrier, or successor, ever since), since retirement I seem to use use it only when I need it. It can go several months without any use, yet I pay Verizon $13 some per month "just to have it". I have no plan, so when I use it, it is "a la carte". For example, I'm sure a ten minute phone call with my Sister from the Nantucket Airport (even if she was only three miles away) will run $7.50.
What all this illustrates is that for those of us who are not wed to the thing, are going to pay through the nose whenever there is a need for one. Pay phones quite simply are an endangered species, and it is becoming a case that if you leave your home or let's say "comfort zone" for any reason, a cell phone is virtually a requirement.
Suffice to say, I have "done the math", and since likely 75% of my airtime occurs when I am out of town (roaming) and that I can go months without using it at all (do carry it in the auto for emergencies), I'm really not "bucks ahead" for considering any such plan (I'm not into the mindless 'hi it's me" kind of calls I can't help but overhear when about commercial transportation facilities).
The biggest drawback to any kind of prepaid or disposable phone is that no one can call you. Further, I would have to think of environmental issues - how many people take theirs to a designated recycling facility? (I was astounded when at a Verizon retail outlet in Stamford CT, I saw my most recent "dearly departed' simply go into the trash).
City of Miami Member # 2922
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That's a very cogent contribution, Mr. Norman, particularly the last paragraph. I had not realized the one-way feature of prepaids.
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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CoM, probably the reason you didn't realise is quite simply because it was a broad generalisation that in the most part is untrue. Whilst it is a good idea to ask the question before buying, a prepaid phone would not usually have such a restriction - otherwise vast numbers of people around the world would never be able to call one another.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Possibly, and in view of Mr. Mayo's immediate as well as a cell phone, save the 20 some nights a year I am away from home, simply being "out of sight out of mind" with me, I should clarify what I thought a prepaid plan comprised. I thought this was a card that had an account code good for so many minutes that could be used with a phone that was not connected to any carrier.
It has been understanding that an inactive phone, so long as it has battery, can reach Emergency Services (9-1-1 in US), it would follow that this card could somehow be used from such a phone or any cell phone. Therefore such card could not be tied to a particular ### for incoming calls.
Now if various carriers offer prepaid plans whereby the subscriber is assigned a phone ### and the subscriber either chooses, or has no other choice available, to prepay for phone usage, then so be it. Again as noted, my life does not revolve around a cellular communication device (I guess the phone with things like an I-Phone is simply an integral part of such).
The fault is mine, Mr. Miami, if I caused a misunderstanding.
DeeCT Member # 3241
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GBN I can assure you that Tracfone and many other prepaid phone plans do have assigned numbers. You can both make and receive calls.
(Mine also has games to play on it --- I read the instructions but have seen no reason to do so). In other words they come in many forms from basic call and recieve phones to ones that store information, allow for text messages, and take pictures etc. As in all cases, bells and whistles up the price of the phone itself but not the per minute price of basic calls.
Most of these companies have also done away with "roaming" charges. It is a question you need to ask when buying.
Dee
ehbowen Member # 4317
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I have been using a prepaid cell phone (T-Mobile to go) for over three years now and I love it. The phone itself cost me about 24.95 at Target. Every year I purchase 1000 minutes of talk time for $100. With a 1000 minute purchase T-Mobile will keep your number active for a full year, and if you renew by purchasing another 1000 minutes before the old ones expire they will roll the minutes over. I have never used all 1000 minutes in a year; I last renewed in April '09 and my current balance is 1348 minutes. I have had no problem with roaming; I have taken trips to LA/Anaheim, Orlando, Key West, New Orleans and never had the slightest difficulty receiving service. There is no monthly bill and no contract, just the $100 per year to buy minutes and keep the number active. And, yes, people can call in; it is a working telephone number and in fact I use it in the home-based travel agency business I am working on (more later). If I ever do decide to go to a monthly plan I can take my number with me as long as I don't let it expire.
ehbowen Member # 4317
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A bit more info:
T-Mobile offers two types of prepaid plans: Pay As You Go and Pay By The Day. I have only used pay as you go. With that plan, you purchase a phone (Target and other discount stores sell them), and then buy the minutes as you need them. I buy $100 worth at a time; that keeps my number active for a full year or until the minutes run out. However, you can spend as little as $10 for a 30 minute refill, which will keep your number active for up to 90 days. So she could purchase a phone for a one-time expense of $29 or so, and then purchase a $10 or $25 refill card just before she takes a trip. The downside of that is that she wouldn't keep the same number; they would issue her a new number each time she refills (unless you refill while the old number is still active).
For purchasing a refill after the account has expired (if it's still active, all you need is the phone number) you would need to have the phone's serial number and the SIM card number. You could write that information down for your relative so that it is handy when she needs it. However, once the refill has been processed, there is no more fumbling around with numbers. Just use the phone like any other phone.
Again, there is also a "pay by the day" plan that I haven't used. With that plan you keep the same number and just pay a charge of $1 for every day that the phone is actually used, plus 10 cents a minute for domestic calls (calls to other T-Mobile numbers or calls between 7 pm and 7 am are free). If your relative travels and uses her phone infrequently, she might find that option more attractive.
Joe Urda Member # 8938
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Check out Consumer Cellular.
I have used it for some time now along with many co-workers and it's great.
Go through Allstate and you get a further discount.
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