In frustration I bought my mom the Jitterbug One Touch Phone. I had tried several times to teach her how to access her cell phone’s phonebook. Eventually I went searching for “cell phones for seniors” and came across the Jitterbug. It comes in a dial style also but for my mom and her shaky hands not having to punch in phone numbers was very attractive.
I started to order the Jitterbug online but due to my slow connection I called. While I was talking with the very nice customer representative I learned more about the Jitterbug and how very easy it is to use. The customer service representative programmed the phone for me with 15 numbers. The phone holds 50 numbers which can be programmed by the owner (or me) or you can use your phone to call the operator. This will take you to customer service where you can get numbers added or questions added. Note: that if you call the operator the call will take minutes away from you. When I called customer service after I got the phone I used my cell phone when my minutes were free. Customer service has been fantastic. They are available 24 hours a day.
You can also use the operator button to place a call. So if my mom really got stuck she could press the operator button, get Jitterbug customer service and the Jitterbug operator will dial the call for her.
I gave my mom this phone for her birthday so I wanted it all set up when I gave it to her. I only had to charge it for 2 hours and it was ready to use. I couldn’t find in the manual information on how to program voice recognition so she could just say a name and it would dial. I called customer service and in seconds it was set up for me. Amazingly the Jitterbug recognizes names rather than voices so anyone can call a number in the phonebook via voice recognition. She had a little trouble at first figuring this out. When a name is said oftentimes more than one name pops up. All that you’ll have to do is highlight the name you want to call using the up and down arrows and hit the yes button because you will get a prompt that asks if this is the call you want to make.
The phone has the phone number right on it! That amazed me because my mom never could remember her phone number so now she has it right in front of her. There is an on/off button; the arrows I mentioned; yes and no buttons which are used when prompted asking if you want to make a call; the operator button I mentioned; a middle button that can be programmed in a number of ways. I had my home phone number put there so all she has to do is hit the large middle button and the phone will dial me; and a 911 button. The buttons and screen are large and easy to see.
The ear piece volume can be adjusted with a button on the outside of the phone. There’s rubber all around the earpiece making it very comfortable. The ringer volume can also be adjusted. The on and off button turns the phone on and off.
Jitterbug One Touch is truly a gem. I’m so glad I found it. It’s perfect for someone who has a hard time seeing since the buttons are so large or someone like my mom who can’t understand anything technical and whose hands shake.
The cost with a $35 activation fee was $167. You will have a choice of how many minutes per month you want which can be changed at anytime.
