Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Aging In Place Wednesday

Each Wednesday, Laurie Orlov, tech industry veteran, writer, speaker, elder care advocate and Faculty Advisor for the Aging in Place Technology Department at Computer School for Seniors will be sharing her insightful research on how seniors can safely and successfully live independent lives in the home of their choice.


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Cell phones and smart phones


What phone is right for you?


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Today Jitterbug owns the message in this market.
Laurie Orlov of Aging in Place tells us - "Great Call's Jitterbug reputation was built around its no-contract, easy-to-use phone. Buy just as many minutes as you will need, no more no less. There is a bit of grousing here and there on the Internet about service issues, but the overall story remains senior-focused and friendly."

Some interesting Cell Phone Options

* Consumer Cellular and particularly the Nokia 6085h, no-contract phone plans along with a phone description that is particularly appropriate for seniors.

* Tracfone and Hop-on.com offer no-contract plans as well, and Hop-on presumably offers a senior phone -- ChitterChatter HOP 1890 -- a GSM offering, although the overall Hop-On website looks like it was designed for twenty-somethings headed out for a night on the town.

* BlackBerry - many seem very happy with the sound quality and the combination of useful functions available in a single device. There is even an application for those seniors who are suffering from vision loss -- expensive, but it will read the text out loud. There are even free applications for BlackBerry -- I noticed one that lights up the screen more effectively than the standard product.

Remember - don't get locked into a contract until you know what you are getting into and research, research research before you make a decision. There are plenty of choices out there!

For more information, visit Laurie at http://www.ageinplacetech.com/ and at the Aging in Place Technology Department at http://www.cs4seniors.com/

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