Would an iPhone be best for my 86yo mother?

[RegGuheert]

Thanks for all of the anecdotes and advice!  I've gone back and forth, but I finally decided to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime that is identical to the ones my children have.  Total cost was $59.99 for phone plus $2.49 for the case plus $9.29 for three tempered-glass screen protectors.  Ultimately, it was the "Easy Mode" which sold me on that phone.  We'll figure out a way to deal with the tiny charging connector.  If that connector becomes a problem, we'll move on to something else.  That makes four of the Grand Primes here, so we have lots of hot spares and can do walk-throughs if needed.

 

Now I'm faced with the issue that Mom has her email address with here dial-up internet provider.  I'll need to move her over to something else.  Fortunately, I don't think she receive emails from very many different people.

 

I'll try to take a few screen-shots of "Easy Mode" once I get it set up to show what it looks like.

[StephanieZ]

I'd go with an iPhone with a large screen. 

 

When Alzheimer's got bad with my mom, we went with an iPhone for her and it was awesome. Just put *all* the "extra" unused icons -- including settings/App store/etc in a folder, hide the folder on the 2nd page of the home screen -- and she'll likely never see it and never mess stuff up.

 

On the home screen, just have the essential apps -- phone, FaceTime, text (if she texts), etc. 

 

FaceTime was *awesome* when Mom's dementia got bad. It's much, much easier for a distant loved one to carry on a "conversation" when they can use pictures, and Mom really enjoyed just "seeing" and "being with" my brother, even when she couldn't converse coherently. My brother could be connected, and be with her for 20 min or longer . . . On a voice-only call, there were times when they couldn't have managed a minute . . . but with the video, my brother could entertain her, show her things, pets, etc . . .and Mom enjoyed just SEEING him. 

 

You don't have to have any password. We didn't on Mom's phone . . . It's easier to use w/o a PW.

 

Mom was able to answer her iPhone up until her last stroke . . . 

 

So, anyway, I'd go with an iPhone for sure . . . big screen . . . and clean up her home page/contacts/etc. And put it on your network so you can use FindMyiPhone to locate the phone/set off the alarm/etc if it's misplaced. (If you can't put it on your own Apple network/family group, be sure to set all that up for her so you can log into it and know the passwords, etc.)

[Lanny]

Thanks for all of the anecdotes and advice!  I've gone back and forth, but I finally decided to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime that is identical to the ones my children have.  Total cost was $59.99 for phone plus $2.49 for the case plus $9.29 for three tempered-glass screen protectors.  Ultimately, it was the "Easy Mode" which sold me on that phone.  We'll figure out a way to deal with the tiny charging connector.  If that connector becomes a problem, we'll move on to something else.  That makes four of the Grand Primes here, so we have lots of hot spares and can do walk-throughs if needed.

 

Now I'm faced with the issue that Mom has her email address with here dial-up internet provider.  I'll need to move her over to something else.  Fortunately, I don't think she receive emails from very many different people.

 

I'll try to take a few screen-shots of "Easy Mode" once I get it set up to show what it looks like.

 

Awesome...  I strongly suggest getting her a Gmail email address, because she will need that anyway, to setup an Android phone account. Use your imagination, but keep it short and simple for her, so she can tell her friends what her new email address is.

 

I knew there were still people with Dial Up Internet in the USA, and find that hard to believe, but it depends on where one lives.

 

Regarding the Chargers and Data Cables.  I bought a bunch of them, from an eBay Seller in PA, probably 2 years ago.  My wife thought at the time I was a little off, but you would be surprised how many of them we have used.  Someone arrives at our house without a Charger, here's a free gift...  Charger goes bad. Here's a new charger... The last thing was quite recent, my wife wanted another Data Cable.  I think I paid approximately USD $7 for a Lot of 10 cables and maybe that much for a lot of 7 AC/USB Chargers, including Shipping in the USA.  Not sure of the prices or quantities, but they were very cheap and they work fine.  

 

If your mother's vision is good enough, when she plugs the cable into the phone to charge the battery, the USB logo always goes on top when you plug the cable into the phone. 

[RegGuheert]

Awesome...  I strongly suggest getting her a Gmail email address, because she will need that anyway, to setup an Android phone account. 

Gmail used to be my default, but not anymore.  I'm actually interested in finding good alternatives to gmail.  In any case, you do not need a Gmail email address to set up a Google account.  Any email address will do.

 

Use your imagination, but keep it short and simple for her, so she can tell her friends what her new email address is. 

She's been out all day and does not have a cell phone.  It's impossible to get in touch with her! :tongue_smilie:

 

I knew there were still people with Dial Up Internet in the USA, and find that hard to believe, but it depends on where one lives. 

Yeah, it's crazy!  What's worse is what Verizon was charging for her land line: $100 each month!  $20 of that was taxes (about 12 different line items).

 

Regarding the Chargers and Data Cables.  I bought a bunch of them, from an eBay Seller in PA, probably 2 years ago.  My wife thought at the time I was a little off, but you would be surprised how many of them we have used.  Someone arrives at our house without a Charger, here's a free gift...  Charger goes bad. Here's a new charger... The last thing was quite recent, my wife wanted another Data Cable.  I think I paid approximately USD $7 for a Lot of 10 cables and maybe that much for a lot of 7 AC/USB Chargers, including Shipping in the USA.  Not sure of the prices or quantities, but they were very cheap and they work fine. 

Yeah, every time the change cable standards, there is always of dearth of cables around here (along with an overage of the old style).  It's happened with USB printer cables, Mini USB, Micro USB, the old Apple connector and the new Lightning connectors.  We had a couple of Micro USB cables break about two years ago and we were really quite short on them.  I asked my oldest son if he had any and he brought me about 5 of them.  What I figured out was that he had often forgotten his charger and cord when he came home from school and had just taken them back with him.  No wonder we were so short!

 

I guess the next cable shortage will be USB-C.

 

We have TONS of 120VAC USB power supplies.  Those are MUCH more durable than the phones and they rarely become obsolete.  I'll have to set Mom up with a 12V USB power converter for her car.

 

If your mother's vision is good enough, when she plugs the cable into the phone to charge the battery, the USB logo always goes on top when you plug the cable into the phone. 

Yeah, that's true for the Samsung phones we have, but it's not universally true.  Some of the HTC cords have NO USB logo on them and some of the HTC phones have the plug upside down while others have it the normal way.  The logo on the Samsung cord I am giving to Mom is too small, so I'll mark it some way so she can see it easily.

[Lanny]

About the plug on the end of the Data cable that you plug into the Samsung phone to charge the battery. Possibly borrow some Red fingernail polish from your wife or DD and paint the top of the plug Red. 

 

The car charger is a must, if one is using Google Maps or Waze, or the battery will run down, before arriving where you are going.

 

ETA: There is ONE thing my low end 2014 Samsung can do that the much more recent and upscale Motorolas and the Lenovo cannot do.   One day, my wife wanted to put something from her phone onto the SMART TV.   The Samsung has something in the USB Hardware that has that technology. The others do not have that capability. I do not remember what that is called. It was a year or so ago.  Other than that, buying new phones, more bang for the buck with Motorola or Lenovo for us.   Our neighbor, the Electronic Engineer for a major cell provider here, buys more Motorola phones than Samsungs. His latest phone (purchased this year) is a Motorola.  

 

For what you paid for it, that Samsung you bought for your mother should do a great job for her.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Lanny

[Lanny]

OT: The Motorola phone your daughter bought, Used, from a friend,  that was on AT&T...  Assuming that it is Unlocked, and also that it has a Radio for the GSM band(s)  T-Mobile uses for 4G LTE,  it may be that AT&T specified one of the LTE technologies, and the technology used by AT&T is different from the technology T-Mobile uses.  From an article I read months ago, when they test,  the T-Mobile network  is usually a faster Data Network. FDD or TDD?

 

"LTE FDD uses paired spectrum that comes from a migration path of 3G network whereas TDD LTE uses unpaired spectrum that evolved from TD-SCDMA."

[RegGuheert]

OT: The Motorola phone your daughter bought, Used, from a friend,  that was on AT&T...  Assuming that it is Unlocked, and also that it has a Radio for the GSM band(s)  T-Mobile uses for 4G LTE,  it may be that AT&T specified one of the LTE technologies, and the technology used by AT&T is different from the technology T-Mobile uses.  From an article I read months ago, when they test,  the T-Mobile network  is usually a faster Data Network. FDD or TDD?

 

"LTE FDD uses paired spectrum that comes from a migration path of 3G network whereas TDD LTE uses unpaired spectrum that evolved from TD-SCDMA."

There's a bit more to the story with T-Mobile:  They just purchased a massive amount of nationwide 600-MHz spectrum which they will begin deploying later this year.  Since there are no existing cell phones which contain 600-MHz radios, we will likely need to get newer phones in a year or two to take advantage of this massive network enhancement.  When T-Mobile rolled out their LTE offering last year, they sent us FOUR Samsung Galaxy Core Prime phones for FREE (plus $7 total shipping)!  I doubt they will do that when they roll out 600-MHz LTE, but the might offer some discounts.  We'll see.

 

Anyway, it's best not to invest too much in cell phones now since they certainly cannot take advantage of enhancements coming in the near future.

[Lanny]

4 phones for free is a great deal. Hopefully they will offer that if/when they offer the new Band in your service area too.  If we were going on a trip to the USA today, I would probably get SIMs for USMOBILE (an MVNO that runs on T-Mobile) or on T-Mobile.  

[Reefgazer]

My mom is 87 and the larger Samsung phones work better for her older eyes.  Heck, who are we kidding?  The larger Samsung phones work better for *my* older eyes.

[RegGuheert]

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and the experiences you shared in this thread!  It was very helpful!

 

How is she at touch screens in general?

Mom's telephone number was transferred to her cell phone overnight and she came over today to learn to use her new phone.  I have to say that watching her struggle with the touch interface was very interesting.  Here are a few things she had trouble with:

- She pushed REALLY hard on the glass sometimes.  "Touch, don't press," I would say.

- There are three main screens (with the three dots showing where you are).  She had a very hard time knowing which way to swipe to move around.

- When she was presented with a list of contacts from which she needed to make a selection, she would stop once she SAW the selection she wanted, not realizing that she actually needed to TOUCH her selection.

- Typing on the virtual keyboard was a bit of a chore to her since she often touched the wrong key.  I encouraged her to turn the phone sideways to get wider buttons.

- She struggled with the volume buttons being directly across from the on button on the sides of the phone since it was hard to turn it on/off without changing the volume.  Frankly, that is a real issue with the design of the device which you simply need to get used to.

 

Really, I believe she felt like she was drinking from a firehose this afternoon.

 

One thing that was funny was when I showed her the micro USB connector and how it only goes in one way she said "Oh, I know how to do that since the Trac Fone I've carried for several years has the same connector on it.  I can do that just fine!" So, I guess I blew the connector thing out of proportion just a bit! :o

 

I may have just found something on the Samsung Galaxy that addresses many of my concerns: "Easy Mode".

I'm very pleased with the choice of the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime with Easy Mode.  I don't think anything with smaller interface elements or more complication would have worked for Mom today.  Below are screenshots of the interface as Mom sees them.  From left to right: Speed Dial Buttons, Main Screen, and App Buttons:

 

   

 

Did I mention that I want Easy Mode on my phone?  And that it doesn't have it for some unknown reason... :glare:

 

I told Mom that her "final exam" was to call me once she got home.  She passed!

 

Also, I spoke with one of her friends today who has an Android phone and she promised to give Mom some tips on how to use the phone.

 

I'll try to call her tomorrow and see how that goes.

[Guest]

When we got my parents snd aunt phones for Christmas, we sat in the living room and called and texted each other for an hour. It was completely goofy.

 

I found it very interesting that while all four of my parents and in-laws snd my aunt were completely intelligent and accepting of change, it was the males who adopted the technology.

 

My beloved FIL was afflicted by Alzheimer's but the day he died he called on the cell phone, just to make (completely incomprehensible) contact.

 

Humans are amazing.

[Spy Car]

O.K. I think the iPhone SE is similar to an iPhone 5, so that's one strike against it.

 

 

ETA: Oops too late. Sorry.

 

 

Externally it is exactly the same. The SE has upgraded chip sets, but the same case and same sized screen.

 

The SE/5s case is IMO one of the best one Apple ever made. Very robust, unlike the flexible/breakable iPhone 6. 

 

I found a used 5s in immaculate condition to replace my son's (which was probably damaged by water) for $100 less than two weeks ago. I doubt many would feel the difference between the SE and the 5s, especially an 87-year-old . Just a thought.

 

The iOS seems far simpler in design that Androids (but there is bias here).

 

The screen size is the big issue. The SE/5s screen is fine for phone calls, but (depending on one's vision/correction) on the small size for web-use. The upside is the small size makes it easy to tote.

 

Bill

Edited July 19, 2017 by Spy Car

[Lanny]

<snip>

 

The screen size is the big issue. The SE/5s screen is fine for phone calls, but (depending on one's vision/correction) on the small size for web-use. The upside is the small size makes it easy to tote.

 

DD has a Motorola Android with (I think) a 5.5" display. Possibly 5.4".  When I look on the web site of the superstore where we buy Unbranded/Unlocked cell phones, the most expensive Lenovo Phablet they have has a 6.4" display. Not much bigger...

 

However, the downside of a large display (worst case a Phablet), is that it is hard to hold to your ear, to carry on a conversation that lasts more than 2 or 3 minutes.

 

And, in the case of a man, harder to   put a large phone into a pocket in your pants, which is where I carry my phone.   For women, putting a larger phone into a Purse is not a deal breaker. 

 

Everything is a trade off. A large Display is really nice, if one is looking at it directly, but the physical size of the phone is much larger.  

[Spy Car]

DD has a Motorola Android with (I think) a 5.5" display. Possibly 5.4".  When I look on the web site of the superstore where we buy Unbranded/Unlocked cell phones, the most expensive Lenovo Phablet they have has a 6.4" display. Not much bigger...

 

However, the downside of a large display (worst case a Phablet), is that it is hard to hold to your ear, to carry on a conversation that lasts more than 2 or 3 minutes.

 

And, in the case of a man, harder to   put a large phone into a pocket in your pants, which is where I carry my phone.   For women, putting a larger phone into a Purse is not a deal breaker. 

 

Everything is a trade off. A large Display is really nice, if one is looking at it directly, but the physical size of the phone is much larger.  

 

I held out for the longest time getting a smart phone. I was ribbed constantly for my stubborn attachment to my simple flip-phone. And part of my reasoning was that *if* I were to get a phone that I wanted a big screen.

 

But when they day came, I chose a 5s. In the end, I like having a small phone that slips into my pocket. We have a big phone (6s Plus) "in the fleet" that my wife uses, and sometimes it is handy.

 

At the right price, I'd like an SE.

 

Bill

[RegGuheert]

ETA: Oops too late. Sorry.

Not at all! I bought "A" phone for Mom, but I still have yet to purchase a cell phone for DD15. The default for her is also the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime, but I will hold off for a couple of weeks while the dust settles with Mom. If she cannot adjust to the Samsung, I'm perfectly fine with getting her an iPhone or something else (on T-Mobile only, though). I can just give the Samsung to my daughter, if needed.

Externally it is exactly the same. The SE has upgraded chip sets, but the same case and same sized screen.

 

The SE/5s case is IMO one of the best one Apple ever made. Very robust, unlike the flexible/breakable iPhone 6.

 

I found a used 5s in immaculate condition to replace my son's (which was probably damaged by water) for $100 less than two weeks ago. I doubt many would feel the difference between the SE and the 5s, especially an 87-year-old . Just a thought.

Thanks for the information on the iPhone SE. I think that is the iPhone I would want if I moved from Android since I don't like big phones.

The iOS seems far simpler in design that Androids (but there is bias here).

I don't see it. I use both everyday: I've had Android phones since the T-Mobile G-1 first came out and I've had iPads for about six years. I'm typing this message on my iPad Air 2, which I LOVE! With the discovery of "Easy Mode" (shown above), I have to say Android has the edge here. One screen has speed dials, another has information (date, time, wheather) and primary apps (phone, email, texting, camera and browser) and a third screen has additional apps (whatever you want). That's it! I'm wondering: Can you dial directly from an icon on an iPhone? What I don't know is whether "Easy Mode" is an Android feature or a Samsung feature. I suspect it is a Samsung-only feature.

The screen size is the big issue. The SE/5s screen is fine for phone calls, but (depending on one's vision/correction) on the small size for web-use. The upside is the small size makes it easy to tote.

I'm not a fan of big phones, but the 5" Samsung is just about right for Mom. It is no wider than the 4.5" Samsung I have, so it is not too hard to hold, but with the size and "Easy Mode", the icons are very visible.

[RegGuheert]

However, the downside of a large display (worst case a Phablet), is that it is hard to hold to your ear, to carry on a conversation that lasts more than 2 or 3 minutes.

 

And, in the case of a man, harder to put a large phone into a pocket in your pants, which is where I carry my phone. For women, putting a larger phone into a Purse is not a deal breaker.

I think this is why I have both a phone and a tablet. MomsintheGarden and I each have the 4.5" Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. She has an iPad Mini 2 and I have an iPad Air 2.

 

When I am at home, I rarely interact with my phone. Both MomsintheGarden and I park our phones next to the XLink Bluetooth Gateway and all calls are then handled using cordless phones throughout the house. This ensures high call quality since the phones sit in an ideal spot for reception. I set Mom up with and identical arrangement. With T-Mobile Digits on my iPad, I can send and receive all my texts using my iPad, which is exactly what I do at home. All other computer work is done on my iPad, windows laptop, or the family's shared Mac Mini.

 

When I am out, I sometimes leave my iPad home (not always!) and use the phone for calling and texting. I also use the Google Voice Search feature for internet searching.

 

MomsintheGarden's routine is similar except she does all her texting directly from the phone, even when at home.

[Lanny]

@Reg    Your family is extremely advanced with telecommunications...  I think my wife and DD and I all consult and use our cell phones, throughout the day.  We did have a low-end Android Tablet, but I am, supposedly, the person who damaged the Display,  which is now cracked,which doesn't have Gorilla Glass.

 

The very low-end Samsung I have been using for about 14 months doesn't have Gorilla Glass either... The person who was the first user of that phone was a boy who was 4 or 5 years old at the time he had it. I think he used it to play games.  Based on that very limited comparison, my guess is that cell phones are far more rugged than Tablets.  That said, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

I wouldn't want to be carrying a Tablet with me, when I'm out running errands, but I always have my phone with me, when I'm out of the house.  It is in the right front packet of my Jeans when I leave the house. In the same pocket with my wallet.  Keys in left front pocket.

 

Regarding SMS Text messages: Although I am well past my teenage years, I like to Text.  My favorite "Dumb" phone was a Nokia 6800 Messaging Device with a Full QWERTY keyboard.  I wish I'd bought 2 of them, because eventually our cell phone doctor couldn't fix it any more.  It had 2 sections and the connection between them, he couldn't fix, to cure the issues, and I had to move on to another phone.

 

To continue about SMS Text messages, I had (recently) installed an Android App from the Play Store web site onto my phone. I think it was called mysms?  Seemed to work, the first time I tried to send an SMS from this Windows Laptop. But then, a few days ago, I tried to send a message from my laptop, the indication was that it had been sent, but on my phone, I didn't see the message, so I typed it in on my phone, again.  It was to our Accountant, and was important.  I uninstalled that App from my phone.

 

I think you know you can install magicApp on a Tablet and that will turn it into a phone and you can call phone numbers in the USA, free, and they can call you if you have WiFi or Data? Also, you can send/receive unlimited SMS messages to cell numbers in the USA. We have a magicJack, so it is free for my phone, but if you do not have a magicJack, it is  $9.99 a year and they provide a USA phone number to you.  With WiFi or Data available, your Tablet can become a phone...  Or,  a Phablet.

 

I think services some people think they do not need and will not use, can occasionally be extremely important.  Two examples of that: Our AntiPlan (non plan) with Virgin Mobile Colombia allows one to call phone numbers in the USA, Canada, PR and VI, and I think also to Landline numbers in Spain.  I really had not contemplated  making International calls from my cell phone...  Early in June, I had to make 2 calls to TX and  probably the total time was about 30 minutes.  The same minutes I have within Colombia can be used on those International calls. A minute is a minute and it doesn't matter which of those countries I call.    If I was home, I could have called on the magicJack phone, which is on my desk.  That was super helpful the day I had to call TX.

 

Two days ago, I was a long way from home and had an issue with an ATM machine.  I heard the machine counting out money, but it did not give me any money...  Later, I was in the office of our Accountant. I called our bank in the USA on my cell phone...  It was OK.  The ATM machine apparently knew that it hadn't given me any money and it reversed the transaction.

 

The other thing is the magicApp, and I tried that first, but the Data available to me in their office wasn't good and the lady in our bank  told me it was breaking up, so I called her with my regular minutes, to get around that...

 

There are  SMS Text Messages sent to my cell phone, with the Invoice Number for our Monthly Health Insurance premium, that before they began doing that was a PITA for me to get.  Sometimes the Tax Authority here (DIAN) sends me SMS Messages. (Remember to file your tax return, etc...)   I think people who believe they will never use or benefit from SMS messages are missing out on something that could be vital. The same with Data.

 

We use the WhatsApp  App a lot. For free calls and for messaging, when there is WiFi or Data available.  WIth WhatsApp, both parties need to have WhatsApp installed on their device.  

 

I hope your mother does well with her phone. There are videos on the AARP web site, for Seniors, about how to use Smart phones. Probably on YouTube also.  I had purchased the Dummies Book for Android Phones and I read it 2 or 3 times, but it is really the using it daily and getting it to do more things for you, that make it so much more useful than a Dumb phone.  

 

To show you just how dumb I was. The first week of February 2016, my wife took me to the superstore (ALKOSTO) where we buy Unbranded and Unlocked cell phones.  She had purchased a Motorola phone there, the week before.  After we selected the model and paid for it, the Virgin Mobile Colombia person  put the SIM card into it, set it up so that they would   "Port" my old cell phone number from my old provider (CLARO) to Virgin Mobile Colombia.  And then, I wanted to make TEST calls...  So, I'm handed my new Android phone and I walk about 20 feet from him and he calls me.  I didn't know how to answer the call...   My wife and DD were probably laughing hysterically, but I didn't think it was as funny then, as I do while typing this.  And then, I didn't know how to call him.  After we confirmed that the phone could receive and  originate calls, I was on my way into the new world of SMART phones.  About 2 months later, unexpectedly, I gave that Motorola phone to DIL, who had destroyed her phone by dropping it once too often, and that's why I now have the old Samsung.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Lanny