Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Senior Cell Phone Comparison: Pantech Breeze III Vs Samsung SCH-r100


Yes. It's time for another battle between cell phones for senior citizens.This time we will compare the Pantech Breeze III against the Samsung SCH-r100. A competition between a flip phone and a bar style handset.

The Breeze III is a third-generation phone that has been a staple on the AT&T line-up. It's the third member of an excellent group of senior phones that have served the carrier's subscribers. However, the Samsung SCH-r100 should be a worthy opponent for this phone. It was offered by a number of carriers and is now fighting alongside the Jitterbug J in GreatCall's offering for the elderly.

Let's proceed with comparing the specs, features, plans, and other factors for these phones.

Overall Design:



Samsung SCH-r100 Technical specs:
 

Dimensions: (inches) 4.2 x 1.7 x .54
Weight: (ounces) 2.6
Display: 1.7 inch 128 X 160 pixels and 65K colors

Pantech Breeze III Technical specs:

Dimensions: (inches) 3.90 (H) x 2.02 (W) x 0.74 (D)
Weight:  3.6  ounces
Display: 2.2 inch 320 x 240 pixels

The Pantech Breeze has a larger display with sharper resolution. It also has an extra display, which is smaller but shows the time and date.

Both of these phones offer keypads that are friendly for senior users. The Breeze III offers a spacious keypad with large and easy to press buttons, which are also separated and slightly raised above the surface. The R100 features troughs between the rows of keys to help users dial or compose messages.

Price: (reflects price at the time this post was published)

The Samsung SCH-r100  is a no-contract phone that is being offered at $39.99

The Pantech Breeze III is available at AT&T for $29.99 with a 2 year contract.

Cell Phone Plans:

Samsung SCH-r100 plans:


Pantech Breeze III Plan (AT&T Senior plan):


There you have it. We hope that the info on this post can help one to choose the best mobile phone for seniors.

Stay tuned for more senior phone comparisons and other information on cell phones for the elderly.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Senior Cell Phone Comparison: Tracfone SVC Phone Vs Consumer Cellular Doro PhoneEasy 410


Are you ready for another battle of mobile phones for seniors? A week ago we matched up the Jitterbug J against the Just5. This time we will compare two more excellent phones for the elderly. Here's a comparison of the top senior-friendly features of the Tracfone Senior Value Cellphone and the Doro PhoneEasy 410 from Consumer Cellular.

We will follow the same formats with images and information to let our readers decide. Let's begin with:

Overall Design:
 
Front closed:


Opened:


Displays/ Screens:

The Tracfone SVC phone sports dual displays. The external screen has a resolution of 128 x 128 and the larger internal display measures 1.5 inches with 65K colors. On the other hand, the Doro PhoneEasy 410 features a larger 2 inch LCD display with 176 x 220 pixels.

Keypad/Buttons

Both of these phones have keypad with buttons that are ideal for senior mobile phone users. The SVC Phone comes with over-sized lighted keys while the Consumer Cellular Doro PhoneEasy 410 offers a spacious  keypad with large digits, and the separated keys that are raised above the surface.


Senior-friendly features:

Let me enumerate the features of these phones that can help seniors. Let's begin with the SVC phone:
  • Easy menu navigation
  • 911 Emergency Location Assistance
  • Hearing Aid Compatible
And for the PhoneEasy 410:
  • Emergency SOS button 
  • Speakerphone
  • Hearing aid compatibility: M3 T4

 Price: (reflects price at the time this post was published)

SVC Phone$14.99 at KMart (Senior Package) with leather case, car charger, and hands-free headset

Doro PhoneEasy 410: $25.00 after instant rebate, applied at time of purchase.


Cell Phone Plans:

Tracfone SVC:



Doro PhoneEasy 410:
This comparison clearly show that both of this handsets can fit the needs of seniors. The handsets are pretty similar with both offering flip phone designs, simple features, easy navigation, and cheap pre-paid plans. 
We hope that this comparison can help you pick a phone for your needs. 
Stay tuned for more comparisons of cell phones for seniors and other similar topics.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Senior Cell Phone Comparison: Jitterbug J VS Just5 J509


I recently thought of a new format for our blogposts. We have already feature a lot of cell phones for seniors so I have to admit that finding new devices to feature is getting more challenging. So I  thought that it would be interesting to make use of our old features and make comparisons.

I notice that many tech sites are comparison two or more phones against one another. This kinds of articles are often called phone battles, dogfights, or battle royals. So I thought this format would also work for our viewers since its interesting and helpful.

However, I will refrain from making a conclusion as to the winner of the comparison at the end of the post. You, our readers, will be the one's to decide the winner.

OK, enough with the intro and on with the battle. For this post we will compare the Just5 J509 and the Jitterbug J senior cell phones. These handsets are on the forefront of the market for cell phones for the elderly. So let's begin with a comparison of the physical design:

Jitterbug J Vs Just J509

Overall Physical Design: The Jitterbug J is a flip phone while the Just 5 is a bar-style device. Here are some images for comparison.

front:

 back:

These images should give you an idea on how these devices look like and compare in terms of physical design. The Jitterbug J is available in graphite and red, while the Just5 can be purchased in black, red, white, orange, and gray.

Display/Color Screen: The Jitterbug J comes with dual displays. The internal screen measures 2.1 inches while the external display comes in at 1.1 inch. On the other hand, the Just5 has a monochrome LCD display.

Keypad/Buttons: This is a crucial feature for a cell phone for the elderly because seniors may have weak vision,. User-friendly keypads with large buttons that raised from the surface and separated from one another is ideal. Here are the images for the keypads on these handsets:

Emergency Button: Both of these handsets come with an emergency response system. The Just5 has a large dedicated button to automatically call emergency contacts and the Jitterbug J users can dial “0” anytime to reach a U.S. based, 24-hour operator.


Price: (reflects price at the time this post was published)

Jitterbug J:  $99.00

 Just5 J509: $89.99

Plans:


Now before we end this post let me highlight other points that were not directly addressed above. GreatCall, Jitterbug's manufacturer offers apps and services for seniors. We have covered some of them in this blog such as the LiveNurse and Medication Reminder.

OK. So what do you think of our first mobile phone for seniors comparison posts? Do you want more of these? We have plenty of SVC fans among our commenters so I'm sure they want to have their handset featured in an article like this.

Stay tuned for more posts on comparisons, featured phones, plans and other topics connected to senior mobile phone users.

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