Hey mom! You have to see this

Here is a review we did recently on Digital Trends: http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review4446.html

Personally I think it’s a great idea, and I think if they spent a little money on marketing, these phones would take off like crazy.

Ian: “..and I think if they spent a little money on marketing,”

They do–I’ve seen commercials buried between random infomercials @ 2-3am on the Military Channel.

I know old people get up early, but they don’t get up THAT early.

QVC might be the way to go.

Businesses are mistaking “handicap” with boomer/older age. Frankly, I would NOT use a symbol that screams…I’m tech challenged, hearing impaired and blind. Boomers and older adults want to be viewed as breaking new ground, up to all the latest challenges..which is why your dad wants an IPhone. We want super efficiency, ease of use and discrete advantages that look no different than anyone else’s equipement.

J-son,

Good point. Maybe they are not spending their money as wisely as they could be for sure. 2-3am does not sound productive at all.

I just checked out the site and the pricing is too high. I would like to get this for 2 people but there is no way the service is worth that much. 10 bucks a month for an SOS plan? Thats crazy and I’m pretty sure all cell phones can still call 911 for free even without service. The other plan is 40 bucks a month, thats what I’m paying for my Sprint service with unlimited data and tons of minutes.

This entire company would be wiped out by any major carrier releasing a simple 3-4 button phone. The idea is sound, the pricing is the problem. These people need one time fees and given lifetime usability for x amount of minutes per month. I don’t see this one gaining any legs.

I don’t think this is in any way targeted for boomers today or for retirees who haven’t really retired. This is for people who are having a hard time with aging, are not tech savvy and really do need a little more help. It was hard to get my Dad to start carrying a cell phone and he’s still not real good about understanding how to check voicemail or much less text messages. I hope it can be covered by Medicare for the often poor and very isolated older Americans who get forgotten by our go “faster, smaller, more” younger generation.

That’s the big problem, you don’t want to create a device that stigmatizes people. The phones do look pretty slick, but if they aren’t marketed correctly they will be about as cool as adult diapers.

All in all, the jitterbug looks interesting.

Thanks for finding a phone for my dad! At last!

He threw his Verizon Treo across the living yesterday. Broken software, now broken hardware.

I’ve seen these phones being advertised in that weekly “magazine” that is shoved into the Sunday newspaper. I agree that “older people” need cell phones, especially for those with failing health.

Hey, at least the jitterbug is better or “more hip” to carry than that “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” device that you wear around your neck!

This is absolutely true. heh.

What is the target age for thise things, 75+?

My 67 year old mother sends me SMS messages from her normal cellphone regularly.

I have to tell these guys that want to sell devices to “older people” to slap yourself and get a little common sense. Do you think older people are retarded? If you want to cater to the boomers, for starters..instead of dumbing the device down…concentrate on usability, and customer service. These two factors will take you much further.

What’s needed is a phone that is ALREADY OPEN (my Grandma can’t open the lid, she’s essentially one-handed), VOICE ACTIVATED (fires itself up, dials out, and connects to an automated service when it hears the word “hello”), LOOKS LIKE A CONVENTIONAL HANDSET (Grandma’s confused by a small cellphone that doesn’t cover both ear and mouth like phones did in the 50’s) and allows Grandma to select from an automated menu (that I can set up) using voice recognition.

Grandma can’t press buttons — any buttons — and she probably wouldn’t be able to see the buttons no matter how big they are (at least not if they are in a cell phone form factor).

But she can talk, and she can hear, and she can grab an old-fashioned Ma Bell phone receiver with a deathgrip and hold it to her ear. Not bad for 92.

Hey Mike, thanks for picking up my story. I think you’ve got a good point that technolust (and sophistication) knows no age limit. But one reason I wanted to write about Jitterbug is that their approach to product design is so different from most of the companies we encounter here at Adaptive Path. Inside the industry, we get so caught up in following the trends that we sometimes miss the market opportunities that exist outside them.

Ha, I love Dads. My dad would probably say “well I don’t see why my Razr (from 100 years ago) isn’t good enough. it works just fine”.

I have to admit, for handicapped elderly, I can see a market for it. One of the Grandmas in my family is ill and has a lot of health issues. She lives alone with the family minutes away, but it doesn’t always mean she’d be able to dial a phone. So, on that end this is cool.

But the other grandparents, who are in their 80s and still pretty smart, would probably look at us like we think they’re idiots if we gave them something like this.

Michael, your dad totally rocks. My mom’s no Luddite — she was into email before I was — but she is baffled by most of the features on her phone. And I bet she’d appreciate having someone help her make calls, but not if she had to pay for it.

Ok - here’s a thought: instead of downgrading cellphones like this, why not upgrade a “lifeline” device from an at-home device to a cellular equivalent? One button connects them to an operator. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” whether they’re at the mall, home, or wherever.

The problem I see with these things is that there are two usage scenarios:

1. Getting a social phone for seniors to call friends and family
2. Getting an emergency signalling device

These two scenarios have different implied functionality and interfaces. These goofy modified cellphones that attempt to blend both do neither well creating a device that’s either (a) a social stigma for those capable of handling the complexity of a normal phone, or (b) an emergency device that’s too complex to use.

This would have been a best phone 4 years before. Not now.

http://www.suggestusability.com

It’s desperately in need of a) some amplification for the near-deaf and hard of hearing, and b) a step-by-step UI for making calls, etc.

My elderly parents aren’t dumb, and both use computers daily, but gadgets that they don’t use often (like cell phones) have to be easier to use.

I’ve fallen and I cant get up . . . 2.0

I’ve had a few elderly clients with cell phones, the funny thing is that they like to turn the phone off when they are not using it… they don’t seem to get that you just leave it turned on, in or out of the charger…. if they aren’t using it, it gets turned off….

Too bad the site dramatically fails W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. So much for “old people” using screen readers or other such assistances.

Mike,

You mentioned, “Business Week has a long story on the phones, which I must say make a heck of a lot more sense than Presto, the company that makes special printers for old people.”

I bought my folks the Presto service/HP printer last year for Christmas; works great. I administer it for them (I’m in VA, they move between OH & FL). They love getting e-mail from the family, including their grandson on his 3rd tour in Iraq, pics of their great grand children, etc. My Dad even calls me now to ‘do research for him’, then e-mail him the results. For us, its a winner.

Bill

Hi,

I saw the Jitterbug and thought it was just for elderly people but when I showed my 52 year old mom, she wanted one because it was so simple.
The monthly price may be more than other carriers but she gets to use minutes anytime-not be restricted by night and weekend times. Also, she can call the operator all the time-even to look up phone numbers. Our old phone charged us to use 411 but this way we can get info for free. She loves it so far, I would recommend to anyone that just wants a simple cell phone.

Good lord. Products that are functional, simplistic and perform their core objective serve a real need in the real world. There are many people, of all ages, who simply want to make a phone call. Great for young kids (for those parents who think kids must have phones) to avoid txt’ing issues and spam. I would wager that most people who have phones dont use 90% of the tools- they same ones whose VCRs blinked ‘12′ for years.

I even tried buying Mom a 1997 Nokia 5190 and she couldn’t figure it out, in fact she barely can manage a desk phone. The 5190’s sitting in my drawer. Great idea.

Why does the second phone in the image have a “Tow” button?

If drivers need a phone like that then maybe I’ll start looking at public transport …

Emporia also has a mobile with big screen and big buttons, they say aimed at over 40s!

sorry, left out link…see http://www.emporia.at/shop/gb/index.php

VERY COOL! I LOVE IT

http://netv.eb.cn/

Gave my mother in law a Presto printer for Christmas. Has been her favorite gift ever. We live 2000 miles away and we send her pics of the grandkids and email twice a week. I don’t see what about it doesn’t make sense. She’s incapable of learning email, and the Presto is a godsend. It works great.

Why the hate?

This is a great idea; they’re going to sell like hotcakes.

The market’s hungry for it, and the price is no object for most of the “elderly” who would actually use it. Plus; other family will cover the cost for them if needed…

…now if they can just figure out how to tie ‘em into hearing aids…pacemakers…and personal alarm systems…;-)

Seems like a pretty good idea, and I agree, Presto doesn’t.

Not only do they have to have large buttons but they also should have VERY simple interfaces. My grandmother always wants a new cell phone (she got one last year) but doesn’t even know how to check voice mail on the phone she has now. Try making phones simple!

Haha this is soooo unnecessary. My 75 year old Grandpa has a bluetooth enabled Nextel that’s damn near as functional as my blackberry. And he has bluetooth in the car….they might be underestimating how savvy older people have gotten….its not like cell phones came out last year.

funny

JJG - ah, I hadn’t noticed that you wrote the article. Cool. Yeah, I get your point and appreciate it, but I had to make mine, too. There is a fine line between targeting and condescension.

Wham! was unavailable for comment.

There is definitely a market for this. Older women living on their own. Simple. Easy to use. Heck, I might be tempted.

Presto Looks the worst idea since / - ummmm …..

“Drive thru cereal” …

-RB

I know a mobile with a similar service that seems to be much more interesting for elder people. it is described on http://www.3secur.de

2 weeks ago I ordered a phone as a gift for my dad. When I received it, it had the wrong area code. I called customer service and they were very nice and said they would send a return label to send the phone back for it to be corrected. After a few days and I hadn’t received the label, I called again. They apologized and said that they would email the label. I did not get the label so I emailed them. I still have not received the label. This was to have been a Father’s Day present. At this rate I wonder if I will have it by next Christmas. It does make me wonder about the rest of Jitterbugs ’service’.

I have been researching the Jitterbug extensively. It sounds like the perfect solution for my vision impaired father in law. However, it sounds like Greatcall really needs to get its act together before this innovated phone will take off. It will be no help to him if the operator isnt there to answer his call. Customer service sounds like a nightmare too. I’d like to see some positive reviews of this cell phone service before I invest in one.

The phone sounds like a winner, since very few of the wee phones (or PDAs) come with an auxilary keyboard with single use buttons. (My take on CTL-ALT-DEL has always been that if God had intended that we hit 3 buttons, we would have 3 hands.) The lack of service (and probably service area) negates the usefulness of something I would buy. I’m also awaiting a dependable provider for my area (other that GlobalStar.)

I found good reviews of the Jitterbug on Cnet.com and PhoneScoop.com. I have been looking into this phone also before buying it. I have seen various reviews that customers had no problems with customer service so there may just be a few people that had a negative experience but that is the same with any company. I am having faith in the positive comments I’ve read and purchasing one today!

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