Cell Phones for Arthritic Seniors

I was surfing the web foe news and updates on cell phones for seniors when I stumbled upon an interesting blog post. Russel Shaw of ZDNet.Com wrote about an interesting experience while spending a Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the home of a senior citizen with arthritic hands.

Shaw narrated that the elderly lady's daughter and brother-in-law signed her up for a cell phone plan, and bought her a cell phone. After exploring her new cell phone, the senior made an interesting comment. She said:

“Don’t the people who make these cellphones realize that these tiny keys are very difficult for older users with arthritic hands?”

This experience led ZDNet blogger to emphasized the need for larger-keyed cellphones for arthritis sufferers. Clearly, there is a need for large button cell phones for seniors.

Well, I made a post on large button cell phones for seniors last month. I gave some examples of handsets that would be ideal cell phones for arthritic seniors. These handsets have wide keypads with large buttons.

I pointed out that the Jitterbug, UTStarcom Coupe 8630, and Sanyo SCP 7050 are good choices for mobile phones for the elderly because of their special buttons and keypad. There is no doubt that these phones will be useful for a senior citizen suffering from arthritis.

One of the visitors also suggested that the Nokia 6085h from Consumer Cellular also sports a large keypad. It is also important to mention that Consumer Cellular offers inexpensive plans for casual users beginning at just $10 a month.

There are cellphones for arthritic seniors in the market but they are few in number. With the exception of the Jitterbug J, no other large button cell phones for seniors have been released. This probably due to the fact that manufacturers are paying more attention to younger users.

That's it for this post on large button cell phones for seniors suffering from arthritis. Tune in to this blog for more news and updates on mobile phones for senor citizens.

New Jitterbug Phone for Seniors Arrives!

There is no doubt that Jitterbug is one of the leading forces in the cell phone for seniors industry. The brand has almost become synonymous with the cell phone for senior citizens market. We have featured the company's phones and services in this blog multiple times and we now welcome the arrival of a new Jitterbug device into the industry.

Great Call, the moving force behind these useful handsets for the elderly, has announced a new version of the Jitterbug. Called the Jitterbug J, this cell phone for seniors features the same clamshell with large buttons. This special handset is now available online and via select retailers.

However, the Jitterbug J has a slimmer and lighter design than the SPH-a110 and SPH-a120 models. Despite it's new design, this simple cell phone for senior citizens remain comfortable in the hand.

The new Jitterbug J cell phone for senior is simple when compared with most of today's mid-range and high-end cellphones. However, it also offers new features that were not found in earlier models. The new features found in this new Jitterbug phone include Bluetooth that enables the use of wireless headsets.

This new mobile phone for seniors also provided improvements such better -screen navigation, custom ringtones, dedicated speakerphone key and call waiting. The Jitterbug J also boast of a battery that can last 30% longer than previous models.

New services include the MyCalendar app, which lets users add calendar items online that automatically sync with their handset. This new Jitterbug phone also offers new SMS templates and 24/7 access to a nurse call-in service.

Users can also subscribe to the Complete Care package that bundles in roadside assistance and free replacement of lost or broken phones. I like this service. It appears to be beneficial for elderly users. It is offered at a very affordable monthly price of $9.

Unfortunately, the Jitterbug J phone for seniors is offered at the same price of $147. We would have liked it to have a more accessible price in the face of the current economic downturn.

That's it for this post on this new Jitterbug phone. Tune in to this blog for the latest news and updates on cell phones for seniors.