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Cellular Phone Forum / Country Specific / Australian Group / September 2005Granny Phone
I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. She won't use one of those emergency services where you press a button that's on a lanyard around your neck - she doesn't like "bothering" people, especially if the emergency turns out to be not life-threatening. She's agreed that a mobile phone where she can press one button to call a relative (eg like Nokia's "hot buttons" where you press and hold down, say, "2" and it then dials her daughter) is acceptable. So, we're looking for a handset that's very simple, preferably with large buttons. The less complicated the better. She won't need WAP/MMS/Camera/iMode/3G/SMS/(add 10 more wizbang features here). Large enough so it's not easily lost, small enough to hang on a lanyard around her neck is the go. The only new-age feature that might be useful would be a speakerphone facility that ACTUALLY WORKS. I heard that Motorola is developing (has developed?) an almost feature-less phone that specifically addresses this market but I don't think it's on the market yet. Suggestions, peoples? I think I'm pretty much up to speed with plans, though not aware of any plans that have a nil monthly access fee for new customers at present. High per-minute charges are OK (it's largely for emergency use) but a low monthly access fee or a high number of prepaid months for minimal $$ is important. Wine produced with the aid of milk products and traces may remain. 5c refund at collection depots when sold in SA. Errors and omissions excepted. Biodegradable. Does not include tax or tip. 2.1 standard drinks. Your mileage may vary. Some contents may have settled in transit. Use twice, then recycle. No user-serviceable parts inside. Flammable. 100% Australian owned and operated. May contain traces of fruit or nuts. Unlimited. Terms and conditions apply. If pain persists, see your doctor. If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for emergency > purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. > She won't use one of those emergency services where you press a button that's > on a lanyard around your neck - she doesn't like "bothering" people, > especially if the emergency turns out to be not life-threatening. > She's agreed that a mobile phone where she can press one button to call a > relative (eg like Nokia's "hot buttons" where you press and > hold down, say, "2" and it then dials her daughter) is acceptable. > So, we're looking for a handset that's very simple, preferably with > large buttons. The less complicated the better. She won't need > WAP/MMS/Camera/iMode/3G/SMS/(add 10 more wizbang features here). Large enough > so it's not easily lost, small enough to hang on a lanyard around her neck is > the go. Those two criteria are mutually exclusive. Its not going to be small enough to hang around the neck if its large enough to have large buttons. Even say a Nokia 5110 is rather too large to hang around the neck. > The only new-age feature that might be useful would be a speakerphone facility > that ACTUALLY WORKS. > I heard that Motorola is developing (has developed?) an almost feature-less > phone that specifically addresses this market but I don't think it's on the > market yet. It is outside the country. Often called the dork phone in the wog lingo. > Suggestions, peoples? What do you propose to do about charging it ? Not sure how viable it would be overall even with a nokia that is small enough to hang around your neck. You'd have to lock the keypad to ensure it doesnt call accidentally and the nokias arent that ideal in that area for geriatrics, unlocking before speed dialing might end up a bit hard to grasp, specially once she starts to get worse than she currently is. It was interesting to watch the gradual degradation of capability with my dad, at one time he was quite capable of printing out his order on the Mac, faxing it to the onsite restaurant for unit delivery, but as he degraded it wasnt even possible to fax him a list because you couldnt stop him picking the bloody phone up even if you rang him before hand and told him that you were about to send a fax. > I think I'm pretty much up to speed with plans, though not aware of any plans > that have a nil monthly access fee for new customers at present. There's still a few around, Southern Cross Mobile and Unison. > High per-minute charges are OK (it's largely for emergency > use) but a low monthly access fee or a high number of prepaid months for > minimal $$ is important. I'd go with southern cross myself, mainly because unison is on vodafone and they charge more for paper bills etc. > The Family <someone@somewhere.com> wrote >> I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for >> emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. >> She won't use one of those emergency services where you press a >> button that's on a lanyard around your neck - she doesn't like [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > What do you propose to do about charging it ? > Not sure how viable it would be overall even with a nokia that > is small enough to hang around your neck. You'd have to lock > the keypad to ensure it doesnt call accidentally and the nokias > arent that ideal in that area for geriatrics, unlocking before > speed dialing might end up a bit hard to grasp, specially > once she starts to get worse than she currently is. Guess one of the flip phones would fix that problem fine, and unlikely that she'd stop being able to work out how to call using it. > It was interesting to watch the gradual degradation of capability > with my dad, at one time he was quite capable of printing out his [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > I'd go with southern cross myself, mainly because unison > is on vodafone and they charge more for paper bills etc. > > The Family <someone@somewhere.com> wrote > [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > > I'd go with southern cross myself, mainly because unison > > is on vodafone and they charge more for paper bills etc. An Ericsson T20 is perfect for this if your lucky enough to find one second hand. Flip phone with voice activated dialling that can be set to activate when you open the flip - my father is completely blind and it's easy for him to flip open the phone, say a name and have it dial for him. Similarly, calls can be answered using the active flip. > > I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for emergency > > purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > I'd go with southern cross myself, mainly because unison > is on vodafone and they charge more for paper bills etc. Plus the fact that Unison are dodgy. hi check out Vodafone Simply http://www.vodafone.com/article/0,3029,OPCO%253D40000%2526CATEGORY_ID%253D213%25 26MT_ID%253Dfa%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D258792,00.html? to be launched in AU before the end of year > I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for emergency > purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > per-minute charges are OK (it's largely for emergency use) but a low monthly > access fee or a high number of prepaid months for minimal $$ is important. > check out Vodafone Simply Too big to hang around your neck and while a speed dial may have to be setup by someone else, its easier to use when done elegantly like Nokia does it. > http://www.vodafone.com/article/0,3029,OPCO%253D40000%2526CATEGORY_ID%253D213%25 26MT_ID%253Dfa%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D258792,00.html? > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> use) but a low monthly access fee or a high number of prepaid months >> for minimal $$ is important. >I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for emergency >purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. <SNIP> I have taken *no* time to see if the following matches your needs, but when I spotted "Granny Phone" in an RSS feed (gizmodo.com) earlier today I had to take a look-see..... <http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Sept2005/1904.htm> DJ! - OzDJ OzDJ@clubduh.com http://phlog.net/user/OzDJ Interesting. Particularly the "Safe Navi" capability that "makes it easy to check where family members are at all times." Presumably this is a network feature that can remotely interrogate the phone. Not yet offered in Australia? Pity it's 3G only. The customer lives outside a capital city where there's no 3G coverage as yet. >>I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for >>emergency [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > OzDJ@clubduh.com > http://phlog.net/user/OzDJ > I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for > emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. > > She won't use one of those emergency services where you press a button > that's on a lanyard around your neck - she doesn't like "bothering" > people, especially if the emergency turns out to be not life-threatening. My mum was the same until she woke up in hospital. She now wears the button around her neck, and presses the button near her phone twice a day. Nothing like the real deal to bring people to their senses. > She's agreed that a mobile phone where she can press one button to call a > relative (eg like Nokia's "hot buttons" where you press and hold down, [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > If pain persists, see your doctor. > If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > My mum was the same until she woke up in hospital. She now wears the > button around her neck, and presses the button near her phone twice a day. > Nothing like the real deal to bring people to their senses. Does it work when she heads down the street? (ie is it connected to the mobile phone system or just a POTS box in the house?) >> My mum was the same until she woke up in hospital. She now wears the >> button around her neck, and presses the button near her phone twice a >> day. Nothing like the real deal to bring people to their senses. > > Does it work when she heads down the street? (ie is it connected to the > mobile phone system or just a POTS box in the house?) She's just got the direct line button, and a pendant which goes through the btb alarm system. When she's out she has a mobile with quick dial numbers in it. Seen any of the new Philips xeniums? What you should do: Set the number you want for speed dial as the the voice mail number. Biggest advantage: Fits your requirements, battery lasts for 720 hours, so no chance of forgetting to charge it.... Trust me, we have all been there, and murphys law.... Biggest disadvantage: VERY expensive, but isn't it worth it in the end? Plan to go on: Get an optus prepaid sim card. If you have one already, then set up an automatic me2u transfer each month through optus zoo. this will ensure the credit remains alive indefinately, (optus gives you 1 month to use credit apparently, but currently it extends validity by 6 months) Otherwise: Go with Vodafone Prepaid (I very much dislike vodafone, but they have a 365 day offer... which is perfect) Alternatively, Recharge telstra sim card with 3 30 recharge cards, then transfer the credit to somone else for cheaper through #100# which will give you 2 years validity... or u could even leave the credit on there, with telstra, each time u recharge, the validity EXTENDS by the specified amount... My telstra sim says it expires sometime in 2010.... Hope that helps... Make sure u dont go stingy on a phone, it will be worth it in the end. As for the 3g comment earlier, contrary to popular belief YOU CAN use a 2.5g sim card in a 3g phone. (granted that this makes it a waste of money,) B.E.S.T CHEAP IDEA: Get a 5110. get a ultra light vibrating battery Get a flip faceplate. Set 5 as the emergency number. If the phone gets dropped, 50% chances state it will ring the emergency number, If the phone is squeezed really tightly, it will ring the number. 2nd Best Cheap Idea: Get a Xenium 929, set up voice dial,  SignatureUnkit does it have to hang around her neck? cause thats kind of unrealistic. plus your granny mightnt like it SignatureFreakyAye > does it have to hang around her neck? cause thats kind of unrealistic. > plus your granny mightnt like it It's pretty normal for women to dangle things around their necks. When she's in the garden, how else will she carry it without hassles? Her dresses don't have pockets. So yeah, I'd prefer a phone that has an eyelet for the attachment of a lanyard etc. > Seen any of the new Philips xeniums? No. Is this a grey-market phone? - I think Philips stopped using the "Xenium" tag a couple of years ago - Phones have been removed from www.philips.com.au - There's a range of Philips phones on www.philips.co.uk but none of them are 'Xenium' - There are no Philips-branded phones for sale on the Optus, Telstra or Voda websites. Ditto www.dse.com.au. I seem to remember something about Philips selling its Asia-Pacific phone business to LG. If so, maybe the phones you refer to now have an LG moniker. I wonder what LG model numbers are pertiinent here? If the Philips range of Xenium phones was very expensive, this might explain their demise. We agree on one thing though - long battery life is a big plus. > What you should do: Set the number you want for speed dial as the the > voice mail number. [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > Get a Xenium 929, > set up voice dial, >> I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for >> emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > button around her neck, and presses the button near her phone twice a > day. Nothing like the real deal to bring people to their senses. Doesnt always happen like that. My dad would never wear it, even when he ended up in hospital and was lucky enough to crash where it was still within reach. It appeared to be too much of an admission of how much he had deteriorated. He was happy to take a mobile with him when out walking in case something happened while walking, but wouldnt wear anything around the house. >> She's agreed that a mobile phone where she can press one button to >> call a relative (eg like Nokia's "hot buttons" where you press and [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> use) but a low monthly access fee or a high number of prepaid months >> for minimal $$ is important. It looks like my best choice might be the Nokia 1100 http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,8764,54090,00.html which has largish tactile buttons. But no speakerphone. $99 from Telstra with $10 credit on a prepaid plan for 30(?) days, then $30 every 6 months. Or $88 from iSim with $20 credit for 6 months, then $10 every 6 months. The Nokia 3120 http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,,56340,00.html has a speakerphone but the buttons don't look as user friendly. $129 from Virgin with $15 credit on a prepaid plan for 180 days, then $30 every 6 months. Does anyone know how well the speakerphone performs on budget Nokias? A nice feature of Telstra Prepay is that I can set up auto-debit via BPay so no need for the Granny to mess with recharge cards. iSim allows BPay recharge too. iSim looks to be the best deal. Quite good call rates (39c/min, no flagfall) are a bonus. Do any other Prepaid service providers have a recharge via BPay option? Also, I think the Optus network (used by iSim) is more suited to oldies. It's easy to switch off voicemail divert-on-no-answer, right? So the phone eventually rings out if there's no answer? With Telstra it defaults to the "leave contact number via SMS" prompts system which is just another added no-need "feature" ie hassle. > I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for > emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > If pain persists, see your doctor. > If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > It looks like my best choice might be the Nokia 1100 > http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,8764,54090,00.html which has largish tactile > buttons. Dunno, still think a flip style phone is better, the nokia keypad lock system isnt as convenient as those. > But no speakerphone. Yeah, I'd never go without that again myself. > $99 from Telstra with $10 credit on a prepaid plan for 30(?) days, then $30 > every 6 months. Or $88 from iSim with $20 credit for 6 months, then $10 every > 6 months. Southern Cross is a better deal. > The Nokia 3120 http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,,56340,00.html has a > speakerphone but the buttons don't look as user friendly. $129 from Virgin > with $15 credit on a prepaid plan for 180 days, then $30 every 6 months. Does > anyone know how well the speakerphone performs on budget Nokias? > A nice feature of Telstra Prepay is that I can set up auto-debit via BPay so > no need for the Granny to mess with recharge cards. iSim allows BPay recharge > too. Still better to not have any fixed charge at all, with direct debit of the cost of the calls, available with both Unison and Southern Cross. > iSim looks to be the best deal. Quite good call rates (39c/min, no flagfall) > are a bonus. > Do any other Prepaid service providers have a recharge via BPay option? Better to go with postpaid in my opinion. Particularly with that class of user, no farting around at all once its been setup. > Also, I think the Optus network (used by iSim) is more suited to > oldies. It's easy to switch off voicemail divert-on-no-answer, right? > So the phone eventually rings out if there's no answer? Correct, I normally disable it completely. > With Telstra it defaults to the "leave contact number via SMS" prompts system > which is just another added no-need "feature" ie hassle. Sure, thats a major downside with the telstra system. >> I'm looking for advice/recommendations for a phone to be used for >> emergency purposes by an old lady who lives on her own. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] >> If pain persists, see your doctor. >> If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. I'll look into Southern Cross and Unison. Southern Cross looks like it's a Hobart company. Is it well geared up for servicing interstate customers? Any billing/service centre issues? Are they good to deal with? Unison seems to be a creature of the trade unions. Do I need to prove that I vote Labour before I get signed? Is the customer service and billing OK? >> It looks like my best choice might be the Nokia 1100 >> http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,8764,54090,00.html which has largish [quoted text clipped - 94 lines] >>> If pain persists, see your doctor. >>> If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > I'll look into Southern Cross and Unison. > Southern Cross looks like it's a Hobart company. Is it well geared up for > servicing interstate customers? Yep, the location is completely irrelevant. > Any billing/service centre issues? Are they good to deal with? Yes on both counts. > Unison seems to be a creature of the trade unions. Yes. > Do I need to prove that I vote Labour before I get signed? Nope. Dont need to be a union bludger either. > Is the customer service and billing OK? Its not perfect, but thats only in that they initially offered what turned out to be unsustainable, effectively crediting your account $6 or so per month if you had email billing and direct debit, even if you made no calls at all. Thats obviously not going to fly. >>> It looks like my best choice might be the Nokia 1100 >>> http://www.nokia.com.au/nokia/0,8764,54090,00.html which has largish [quoted text clipped - 95 lines] >>>> If pain persists, see your doctor. >>>> If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. Their website is a disgrace http://www.unison.net.au/ >> I'll look into Southern Cross and Unison. > [quoted text clipped - 121 lines] >>>>> If pain persists, see your doctor. >>>>> If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > Their website is a disgrace http://www.unison.net.au/ Different unison, stupid. Try http://unisonmobile.com/ >>> I'll look into Southern Cross and Unison. >> [quoted text clipped - 121 lines] >>>>>> If pain persists, see your doctor. >>>>>> If pain continues to persist, see your lawyer. > I'll look into Southern Cross and Unison. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Unison seems to be a creature of the trade unions. Do I need to prove that > I vote Labour before I get signed? Is the customer service and billing OK? No to both |
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