John's Phone

[Rollo]

http://www.johnsphones.com/

This was reported on the news last night as a technological marvel but somehow I don't understand the point.

John's phones don't have Wiffi, MP3, internets or USB Cheese Waffle™ but if you're paying almost €70 for anything, surely you expect it to do stuff. Otherwise why bother? You may as well just pick up an "I don't care" prepaid phone from a supermarket; you can get some of them for 1 dollarpound.

[Mark]

€70?! I would expect such a thing for around £10, and indeed Tesco were selling exactly such a device, 1 week standby, big keys, credit card sized for around £10. Strange.

So I see that you're a waffle man?!

[MrJan]

For old people, innit.

[Dave B]

What's wrong with this and £69 change?

Charles Dunstone, founder and chairman of Carphone Warehouse, yesterday heralded the arrival of the cheapest ever mobile phone - priced at just 99p. "It is the cheapest phone we have ever sold," Mr Dunstone said of the pre-pay Alcatel OT-209 which went on sale nationwide on Friday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...ile-phone.html
Or Tesco are selling this for £16.97. It's a Nokia so it'll be a piece of cake to operate, and at least it gives you the option of texting and has a proper phonebook.

I would ask why any sane person would spend €70 on such a crippled piece of hardware, but I see in today's news that some iPhone owners are spending $279just to convert their handsets to white casings - Nokia were doing coloured facias for a tenner a decade ago!

[MrJan]

Old people don't want colour screens and FM radio, it confuses them. My gran (aged 92) has a mobile with only 5 buttons, I had to load 5 numbers onto the sim card using a different phone so that she could use it. It cost more than those other phones but it's far easier as all she needs to do is hold '1' to phone my house etc. To a lot of people using mobile phones is just something that you easily pick up but not all old people are the same, they just want something that's perfectly simple.

[Dave B]

Old people don't want colour screens and FM radio, it confuses them.

You can't generalise: my 79 year old father has a Samsung with colour screen, camera, picture messaging and all sorts. He may not necessarily use all those features, but their presence doesn't bother him. I think it cost him £30, by the way, still half the price of "John's phone".

What happens with John's Phone when a relative sends a text or a MMS? My dad doesn't text, but is still capable of responding to one when pressed. It's nice to at least have that option.

[MrJan]

You can't generalise:

Well I can hardly be specific, I don't really have the time to speak to every old person in the world.

My point is that there is a market for simplified phones, I'm not agreeing with the price but I can see why some people would pay extra for a very basic phone.

[Mark]

You can't generalise: my 79 year old father has a Samsung with colour screen, camera, picture messaging and all sorts. He may not necessarily use all those features, but their presence doesn't bother him. I think it cost him £30, by the way, still half the price of "John's phone".

What happens with John's Phone when a relative sends a text or a MMS? My dad doesn't text, but is still capable of responding to one when pressed. It's nice to at least have that option.

But it's certainly true for my Mum - 68. Now she's certainly got her wits about her, but technology is never something she's been comfortable with. Everything has to be, "Push button A, then button B, then button C". If it's "Push button A then push button B or C depending on what's on the screen" forget it! Doesn't help she can't *see* the screen anyway!

[race aficionado]

Soon, for Daniel's delight, iPhone is coming up with the iGramps & the iGrandma cell phones. It will also include the "help. I can't get up and I need some frik'n help" ap.


. . . . sorry, it's one of those days . . . . .


mokin:

[airshifter]

Soon, for Daniel's delight, iPhone is coming up with the iGramps & the iGrandma cell phones. It will also include the "help. I can't get up and I need some frik'n help" ap.


. . . . sorry, it's one of those days . . . . .


mokin:

The WinOld phone will easily best the iGramps though, with only a single button. Just hit the button and reboot the system!