The 'Jitterbug' Generation

Nov. 21, 2006— -- The first time my father tried talking into my five-inch-long cell phone, he shouted practically at the top of his lungs, unable to comprehend that his voice could carry into the teeny-tiny mouthpiece of the little-bitty phone.

And forget about dialing it, reading the screen and using all the bells and whistles it came with; as much as he wanted a cell phone to take with him in the car, it was all too much to handle.

Dad didn't need a phone that he could take photos with, or text messages with -- he just wanted to be able to stay in touch in case he was delayed or having an emergency. After a friend of his fell at home and couldn't get help for a few hours, Dad wanted a phone he could carry around the house.

Flash forward to 2006 and the advent of a senior-friendly cell phone, the Jitterbug. Actually, there are two versions -- one that's simple and one that's even simpler.

The simple version has a brightly-lit screen, large buttons on a regular keypad and easy-to-comprehend Yes and No commands.

The simpler version has the same easy-to-read screen and offers just a few options -- 911, Operator (Jitterbug has it's own live operator who can connect you to people on a contact list of your most used numbers) and a third button that can be customized for one-touch dialing (to a home, an office, a child).

I road-tested the version with the normal keypad and it was a revelation -- I could dial numbers and read the screen without my ever-present reading glasses. The earpiece was padded and cut out a lot of ambient noise and the screen prompts were clear and easy. And it was big enough to balance between my shoulder and my ear while I was walking and carrying packages to the car.

Does this mean I'm getting on in years? Um, no. Does this mean I'm almost a Luddite? Well, I have to say, a little less technology and a little more simplicity seems to suit me these days.

Price: $100-150