The LG Wine– US Cellular

I will be the first to admit that I don’t know much about U.S. Cellular.  My store doesn’t offer their services and I’ve never been a paying customer (though I’m getting to know the local employees since writing this review.)  All in all, I’m not the most qualified person for the job.  Luckily, I have two things working to my advantage: 1. The local U.S. Cellular employees seem friendly and willing to answer questions and 2. My roommate’s grandma has a Wine.

The Wine is also a simple phone to navigate, though it doesn’t eliminate luxury features like the camera or text messaging the way the Samsung Knack did.  So there’s a bit more to learn with this phone, though that can be avoided if one wishes.

One of the Wine’s major selling points is its four simple navigation buttons.  They are pictorally represented: The envelope brings you to messaging, the clock to the alarm settings, the photographs to your pictures, and the trademarked star brings you to U.S. Cellular’s online store.  So if you’re thrifty, you won’t be pressing that button.

The buttons are large on the phone, the screen is large, and it is hearing aid compatible, so it meets my basic requirements for a simple phone.  However, this phone really isn’t all that simple.  It has quite a few functions including an internet browser, tip calculator, and the ability to record unique ringtones from its microphone.  This phone does not sacrifice functionality to simplicity–and it is because of that that some people might not like it.

After all, there are those out there who DON’T want a 1.3 megapixel camera, who will NEVER surf the internet, and who just want a BASIC phone.  (I hear this a lot in my job.)  This phone is not for them.  I’d say this phone is more for people who are already used to using cell phones, but are beginning to develop hearing or vision problems and would like to ease their troubled senses.

All in all, a little more complicated than I think is necessary, but still a good choice.

From MobileCrunch.com, a Test of Swype!

Hope you enjoy! I wonder if this is exactly the same as the Omnia II works.

The Pantech Breeze– AT&T

Well, so far I’ve provided one economical solution to the simple phone problem.  However, I can already hear you say: “But Christine, I don’t have Verizon, and I don’t particularly feel like changing my company over a phone!”

The good news: you don’t have to.  Almost every carrier (the exception might be Sprint, we’ll talk about that later) has a good solution to this problem.  Today, I’m going to talk about AT&T’s simple phone.

The Pantech Breeze.  I have to say, this is the best name out of any of the phones I’ll mention.  Breeze.  It says, “I’m simple, I’m mellow, I hang out at the beach.”  Catching on is a ‘Breeze.’  Whereas the Knack doesn’t make much sense–maybe one could have “the Knack” to using the Knack?  And the Jitterbug?  The name is obviously meant to play upon one’s sentimentality and emphasize the shape of the phone (ladybug-like), probably its least important feature.  But I like the Breeze.

Actually, I like a lot of things about the Breeze.  While my store does not carry this particular phone, I had the opportunity to play with a live demo version at the local AT&T store.  This is probably a good opportunity to say “Thank-you” to the kind employees who not only answered my questions knowing that I worked for their competitior, but also kept smiling when I set off their theft alarms repeatedly in my attempts to get to know the phone.

The feature that I found most fascinating, and therefore, caused me to set off the alarm most often as I played with it, was the magnifying glass.  That’s right–the MAGNIFYING GLASS.

How, you might be thinking, did they fit that in the phone?  Actually, there’s not a physical magnifying glass as much as a program on the phone that acts as one, but it  achieves the same results.  Pantech takes advantage of the camera installed on the phone to play live feed of whatever it’s pointed at, only magnified.  Therefore, if you were asked to read some tiny print like, let’s say, what might be on a cell phone contract for example, you could whip out your brand-new Pantech Breeze and use it to read the fine print.  (“$18 upgrade fee?  We didn’t discuss that!”)

Besides the magnifying glass, the Breeze comes with the standard features you’d require in a simple cell phone: the large buttons, large text, and hearing aid compatibility.  It also has three pre-programmable speed-dial buttons labeled “1,” “2,” and “3.”  Therefore, I would suggest you rank your children by favoritism, so it’s easy to remember who’s who.  (Just kidding, we know you love them all equally, right?)  It also has a loud speakerphone, Bluetooth capability, and the ability to text with T9.

On the downside, this phone does not have a charging cradle like the Knack or an operator like the Jitterbug.  Reviewers on AT&T’s website complain that the first few numbers in the phone book are AT&T pre-programed and can’t be removed.  Still, I think it’s a very worthy phone and would be a “Breeze” to pick up.  Even better, this phone is great for a transition into using the internet on your phone.  The browser is easy to reach and navigation is familiar to those used to using a computer to surf the internet.  This is a multi-function phone in disguise.

All in all, a very capable little phone.

The Knack –Verizon

A few days ago, I told you about my grandmother’s problem with her stylish phone.  She could have learned to use it, but saw that as a waste of her time, and her eyes glazed over when she did ask us to show her how to use it.  In the last article I presented you with her problem, a common one, but I never told you about the solution we found.

Well, now I will.

Our family is pretty much a Verizon family.  I’m not sure how we got started with Verizon, but we take full advantage of the free mobile-to-mobile minutes, so our loyalty has been fixed.  (Sometimes I want to be rebellious and talk about getting a Sprint line, or maybe even picking up AT&T’s iPhone, but I digress.)  So when it came to picking out a phone for Mrs. Dunkle, we only looked at Verizon’s selection.

Thankfully, due to the foresight of Verizon’s phone-pickers (whoever they might be, thank you), good old Verizon had the perfect phone–the Knack.

While the phone might not have as large of buttons as the Jitterbug, it features a large text setting, great hearing aid compatibility, and an innovation that I admire–the ICE button.

ICE, I’m told, is a standard abbreviation among rescue personnel standing for “In Case of Emergency.”  For those individuals who did not purchase the Knack, please remember to program a contact into your address book titled, “ICE,” whomever you would most like called in the event that you are unconscious or otherwise incapable of speech.  Rescue personnel will look for this contact in your phone.  However, for those of you with the Knack, all you will have to do is program your top three phone numbers (yes, three, making it very convenient for those hardworking folk who wish to help you) into this button.  It even has a convenient space therein for your medical history.  If you are worried that you will need help to do this, simply ask your phone salesperson.  I’m sure that they would be more than willing to help.

Another feature that I like about the Knack is that it comes with a charging cradle.  I don’t know who designed the charging ports on most phones, but if I have so much trouble getting the little plastic guards to slide out of place, you can bet that someone with rhuematoid arthritis is going to have some trouble and be wishing some very bad karma upon those designers.  The charging cradle eliminates the need to open the very tiny hatch and guide the charger head into the tiny hole.  Some chargers even have to be squeezed whilst inserting or removing the device!  A charging cradle means that every night before bed, you can plop the phone down into its slot and rest easy, knowing that it will be fully charged by morning.

So far, I think my grandmother is enjoying the phone.  Her biggest complaint?  Probably that I don’t call it often enough.

(Love you, Grandma.)

The Jitterbug–revisited

Geraldine Dunkle, age 89, wakes up early every morning to get started on her day’s work.  Keeping a large house on four acres isn’t an easy task–there’s cleaning, cooking, weeding and mowing to be done, and every day she does it alone.  Mrs. Dunkle has been a widow for more than 30 years now, and she takes pride in her independence and vivacity.  Lord knows, she can run circles around her granddaughter when it comes to energy–I’ve never been able to keep up with her.

Still, there is one thing that’s she doesn’t find easy.  The compact, stylish, and by all means, good phone that her son picked out for her is just too much for her to care to learn.  It’s not that she couldn’t learn to use her phone; I believe my grandmother is capable of anything she sets her mind to, it’s more that she doesn’t have the time or inclination.

So what to do?

This is going to be the first in a series of short articles about phones for the elderly.  I hope that this will be a useful resource to those looking for phones for themselves, or for loved ones who “don’t have the time” for understanding a more complex phone.

I think it’s natural to start with the Jitterbug.  It’s by far the best-known phone geared toward the elderly and it remains the most user-friendly.  It features “Yes” and “No” buttons that are more intuitve than the left and right keys that change options for different menus on most other phones.  To make things even simpler, every action of the phone is formed into a question that can be answered by “Yes” or “No.”

And if that weren’t simple enough, there is always a live advisor (generally a native English speaker for those who don’t do well with accents) waiting at the touch of a button to direct a call, contact emergency services, or just answer a basic question about the phone.

Sounds great, right?

The only catch is the price.  Cellphone plans tend to have similar prices, but the Jitterbug plans were outliers on the scale- way above what everyone else paid. With the advent of the Jitterbug “J,” plans have become more reasonable.

For your benefit, I’ve simplified the chart on the Jitterbug website and read all the fine print I can find. (Jitterbug ‘fine print’ tends to be 12-pt font.)

Cost (dollars)	Number of Minutes	Price Per Minute	Night and Weekends
15	50	$0.30	none
20	100	$0.20	none
30	200	$0.15	500
40	300	$0.13	500
60	700	$0.09	500
80	1000	$0.08	500

Overage charges are $0.35 per minute, which is pretty normal for a contract phone with a basic plan. Nights and weekends run from 7PM to 6AM, which is what Sprint offers, the best of the contract phones. Minutes do roll-over, though only for a second month, so accumulating large amounts of minutes will be impossible. However, any additional minutes purchased on top of your plan can be used over the course of a year.

One of the most exciting features of the new Jitterbug plans, however, is the creation of Jitterbug family plans. For $15 each, you can add up to five phones to any of the $30 and up plans. (The first two plans on that chart are meant for occasional and individual use.)

Not only will the two phones share those minutes, but they will also have unlimited calling between the phones, just as in a regular family plan. In the past I noticed that couples would only purchase one Jitterbug to share between them, and I often posed the question, “What do you do when you two are apart?” They would usually tell me that they spent so little time apart that it didn’t matter, but it seemed to me that the time that they would most need it was when they were separated.

Perhaps this family plan will encourage more couples to buy two phones and keep them by their side when alone. I know that I feel better knowing my grandmother has a phone by her side when she’s driving tens of miles on country roads to get to the nearest grocery store.

All in all, I’ve been very impressed with the positive changes Jitterbug has made to its plans. The one thing I couldn’t discern from the website, however, was whether they still had that surprise $35 activation fee, the ultimate fine print fee. I’d imagine that they still do, or they would have advertised it, so be aware.

The newer model of the phone features Bluetooth and texting, both of which seem like features that might be extraneous, but do add to the versatility of the phone. One thing that I do appreciate about the phone though, is that it has a dial tone. I’ve found that many of my customers more used to home phones find it unnerving not to have one, and they wonder if the cell phone is even turned on. One woman confessed that she didn’t make a phone call for the first two weeks that she had her phone, until her son told her she didn’t have to wait for the dial tone to place a call.

Features like these make it clear that Jitterbug has done its market research and genuinely cares about the needs of its customers. Personally, I wish my phone made call waiting an optional feature!

One other thing to know about this program is, when I last set it up about six months ago, it required a credit card for payment—the bills were not sent to the house. This caused much consternation among my customers, many of whom had never set up automatic bill pay before. In this situation, I suggested having a trusted son or daughter pay the bill and have their mother or father write them a monthly check, but this is hardly a perfect solution.

Overall, I am very impressed with the new Jitterbug. It is a product that I would recommend.

****IMPORTANT NOTE****  If you or a loved one have already purchased a Jitterbug, you might have received a notice from Samsung asking you to update your software.  This is extremely IMPORTANT as the software ensures your ability to dial 911.  Do not ignore this letter.  Newer models of the Jitterbug do not need the software update.  If you are unsure of whether you received a letter, feel free to bring your phone in to your local Best Buy for a check-up.  The software update takes around 20-25 minutes.

Thoughts on the Samsung Omnia II

When I saw the Omnia II up on PhoneScoop, my favorite site for phone news, I was overjoyed.

I owned the Omnia original and was almost perfectly satisfied with it, so I’d been anticipating the arrival of the new and improved version. Looking over the basic stats on PhoneScoop, I was not too impressed with the newer model. Yes, it had a sleek design and a screen with even more resolution, but my eye was immediately drawn to the camera section and I was dissapointed to see that the megapixels remained at 5.

Reading further on, I was even more surprised to see that the memory remained at 8 internal GB and the same 16 GB of expandable memory possible. Why did the makers not up at least that second number to 32 GB? However, as I read on, I was reminded of how advanced the original Omnia was.

I enjoyed many of its wonderful features, including the FM radio, WiFi, RSS reader, and, at every opportunity, the business card reader.

Strangely enough, the main reason that I got the phone was the camera, and I wasn’t quite satisfied with it. I had difficulty creating folders for the images so I quickly accumulated gads of photos that I had to scroll through individually, and I never found a good Windows Mobile Facebook app, as at the time I was using it, one didn’t exist. In the new model of the phone, there will be built-in social networking such as Facebook and MySpace and I was interested to note that the Omnia II will include Bing.

Bing has promised an improvement in their voice search with this latest update, and I’m eager to try that feature out.

The thing I’m most curious about, however, is the Swype technology. On Verizon’s website they claim that it is possible to type 50 words per minute “without lifting a finger.” (On Swype’s page that number is 30) I had heard that the optical mouse included in the last version would be replaced with a new device, but I was completely unaware that they would have new typing technology. I cannot wait to get my hands on an Omnia II and try out its keyboard!

There were a few reasons that I ultimately abandoned my Omnia. The first was the keyboard, which while fun at first, was small and often necessitated using the stylus. The second was that I wished to connect my phone to my car stereo through a 3.5 mm jack and blast me some Pandora. The new Omnia has a 3.5 mm jack.

The last reason was that I was simply unfamiliar with the most basic Blackberry features, and those phones accounted for a great deal of our sales. I gave up the best phone I’d ever had in order to learn about Blackberrys. **

All I can say is, bring on the Omnia II!

** (Don’t worry about me, though, I have an 8330 that is quite spiffy.)