Getting Mom a Mobile Phone
I found myself frustrated by yet another miscommunication with my mother that could have easily been resolved with a quick call from a cell phone - if we only had one. Right then I resolved to purchase a cell phone for every member of my immediate family. Regardless of the best technology out there, I was checking out other things besides price, models and plans. If you're also in the market for cell phones for yourself and older family members, I've got some questions you might want to consider.
Even when I was on my way to buy a cell phone I found that I needed one. After waiting almost an hour for my husband to pick me up, a friend happened by and let me borrow her cell phone to try to track down my husband. After my call, I explained my mission and my friend raved about her carrier and that they were the only cell phone service that worked in the city's underground subway system. With that information, I decided that I would sign up with her company. So you may also want to ask yourself how important is it to get reception on the subway? Ask your coworkers what cell phone provider works for them in the office building or any other place you want to be reachable by your family.
Once my husband arrived, we set off to purchase our new cell phones. Although there was an independent dealer near by, we drove a bit further to purchase everything directly from the service provider. I wanted to deal directly with the company and didn't want to take a chance that the independent dealer couldn't answer all my questions. I decided that I would be more comfortable knowing that the information I would receive would come directly from representatives of that company.
First thing we did was pick our phones. My husband chose a cell phone and PDA combo. Personally, I didn't want something that weighed much so I asked to see the most basic phone they had. From there, I decided to move up to a model that had an extra handier feature that appealed to me. I was not familiar with the brand I got, but it seemed popular enough. We considered a couple of other questions that might be influential in your purchase. For example, do brands matter to you on standard gadgets? If you do invest in a high priced brand, would insurance be worth it?
There were other questions we had to answer for ourselves. What plan to get became more a question of what kind of plan can I live with? Because we wanted to include my mom on our plan, we decided on a family plan that allowed us to include her phone for a small monthly fee and allowed each of us to call one another at no cost. Activation fees varied per plan and per length of contract, and we had to ask the salesman to repeat himself a couple of times. We decided on the two year plan, which seemed like a big commitment, but it seemed to save us money in the long term and we realized that we weren't going to be shopping around for these kinds of things. We also asked for a price breakdown before we signed anything.
You might also ask about special deals. They offered us an extra phone at no additional cost. Since it was a low-frills model, it was perfect to be my mom's first cell phone. When I gave my mom her phone, she got a little sentimental, and setting it up for her so I was the first number on her speed dial was priceless.
Related Articles in Computers and Technology
How to Assess Cell Phone Features
AARP Resources
Test Your Wireless IQ: Navigating the Cell Phone Service Maze in the Be a Wise Consumer section of AARP.org
Wireless Gone Wild in the AARP Bulletin
AARP does not recommend or endorse any of these products or web sites. Please be advised that there are other similar products and web sites available which were not reviewed and are not listed here.
Karla Turcios
Based in Washington, D.C., Karla Turcios reports on tech issues and the Latino community in the U.S. If you wish to contact Computers and Technology staff regarding this article, please send your question or comment to computers@aarp.org.
