Less than 10K Phone for an elderly person for Calls & occasional Whatsapp

R

Rickyk

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Guys,
need recommendations for a new phone for an elderly person. I have read several similar threads but am extremely confused so any advice appreciated.

Questions:-
1. Budget?
A: Under 10k but can be stretched a bit further if required.

2. Preferred display size, type and resolution?
A: 4 - 5" screen size. No screen type preference. However the screen should offer good readability as the person for whom the phone is intended is 70+ years and wears glasses.

3. Preferred operating system? (Android (with version), iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: No preference. Note that the person for whom the phone is intended is not tech savvy. Therefore, an OS that is simple and easy to use would be preferred.

4. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: No preference.

5. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: No "Chindia" brands - period. Should have good after sales service in region Gurgaon.

6. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Very basic use limited mainly to Phone calls & very occasional Whatsapp use. No other use whatsoever.

7. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: No preference. Person for whom it is intended has only one Sim though.

8. New or Used? Online or Offline?
A: New. Open to buying online via Amazon or FK only.

9. Any other requirements?
A: Reliability, decent build quality, efficient battery life.

10. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: No.
 
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Rickyk said:
Guys,
need recommendations for a new phone for an elderly person. I have read several similar threads but am extremely confused so any advice appreciated.

Questions:-
1. Budget?
A: Under 10k but can be stretched a bit further if required.

2. Preferred display size, type and resolution?
A: 4 - 5" screen size. No screen type preference. However the screen should offer good readability as the person for whom the phone is intended is 70+ years and wears glasses.

3. Preferred operating system? (Android (with version), iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: No preference. Note that the person for whom the phone is intended is not tech savvy. Therefore, an OS that is simple and easy to use would be preferred.

4. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: No preference.

5. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: No "Chindia" brands - period. Should have good after sales service in region Gurgaon.

6. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Very basic use limited mainly to Phone calls & very occasional Whatsapp use. No other use whatsoever.

7. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: No preference. Person for whom it is intended has only one Sim though.

8. New or Used? Online or Offline?
A: New. Open to buying online via Amazon or FK only.

9. Any other requirements?
A: Reliability, decent build quality, efficient battery life.

10. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: No.
Click to expand...

Go for Microsoft Lumia.

Android - Moto E
Yu Yurophia
 
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Hi Koolcoolkg.

Thanks for your reply. Which Lumia do you recommend? You haven't mentioned any specific model no.

Yu-Yuphoria I won't touch with a 100 foot bargepole as I consider it a "Chindia" brand with zero after sales support reliability..
 
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a bumper

does whatsapp work in power saving mode ?

throw all unwanted icons in a folder titled 'do not open'. Keep only essentials on the main home screen. max size for font.

turn of notifications that are unecessary. no auto update.
 
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Thanks for sharing that video link blr_p

So this is the only option I have then? No other recommendations guys?

I found several other phones that seem to fit the bill but have no idea on what their pros/cons are.

Phones like the Asus Zenphone 5, Lenovo A6000+ (has to be "booked" before purchase apparently), Redmi 2 etc.

Any feedback on these in comparison to the Moto E 2nd Gen?
 
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Why not consider the Spice Dream UNO Mi-498. It is an Android One phone with 5.1.1 Lollipop update. It is currently out of stock on Flipkart but yesterday it was available for 4K.
 
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Rickyk said:
I found several other phones that seem to fit the bill but have no idea on what their pros/cons are.

Phones like the Asus Zenphone 5, Lenovo A6000+ (has to be "booked" before purchase apparently), Redmi 2 etc.

Any feedback on these in comparison to the Moto E 2nd Gen?
Click to expand...
zenphone 5 is big, there is 4.7 version. battery on zenfone tends to be low though in exhcnage for faster processing. you dont need t oplay games, you want more battery.

redmi 2 does not have backlit keys but it has a user replaceable battery. better camera than moto e. MIUI though instead of stock android. I think stock is better than skinned.

spice dream uno also got good reviews. almost stock like android. hardware reliability and then service if required are to be determined.

lumia 640 is a good option too. best camera of the lot. but you need to ensure software you want to use works well on it.

and finally moto e 2nd gen, of which many here have and are happy with. loud speakers.

those are your three options.
 
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Redmi 2 looks solid for the price. There is one feature in miui called lite mode. Doing this gives you a list of huge icons and easily readable screen. Recommended for people who are older and are slightly visually disabled. So i feel it makes complete sense. Check some videos on youtube about lite mode on miui
 
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skoka123 said:
Why not consider the Spice Dream UNO Mi-498. It is an Android One phone with 5.1.1 Lollipop update. It is currently out of stock on Flipkart but yesterday it was available for 4K.
Click to expand...

Not interested in Spice/Mmax/Karbonn etc. as they allegedly offer pathetic/non-existent A.S.S in case something goes wrong. Thanks for the info anyway.

@blr_p
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Lumia 640 available anywhere from what I would consider a "reliable" source.

Any views on the Lenovo A6000+? FK is selling another batch later next week so will wait and see how that goes.

@Rayvonne Gonsalves
I was considering this phone quite seriously but there are simply way to many complaints on both FK & Amazon with regards to heating issues, battery problems and phones dying within a month.

Because of this, I just don't feel comfortable recommending this phone to the person in question.
 
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Rickyk said:
Not interested in Spice/Mmax/Karbonas they allegedly offer pathetic/non-existent A.S.S in case something goes wrong. Thanks for the info anyway.

@blr_p
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Lumia 640 available anywhere from what I would consider a "reliable" source.

Any views on the Lenovo A6000+? FK is selling another batch later next week so will wait and see how that goes.

@Rayvonne Gonsalves
I was considering this phone quite seriously but there are simply way to many complaints on both FK & Amazon with regards to heating issues, battery problems and phones dying within a month.

Because of this, I just don't feel comfortable recommending this phone to the person in question.
Click to expand...
Mahn im using it from 6months now and there is no issue. I have 1 redmi 1s
, 3 redmi 2, 1 mi 4i and definately have no issue with any of the handsets till now. Whats more is its just 6-7k and you get brilliant specs. Nonetheless its upto you. You are thinking of the countless no. Of negative reviews. But make sure to read the positives too. And considering the no. Of units xiaomi sells. The no. Of negative reviews keep getting bigger. Do a percentage wise graph of negative reviews compared to the no. Of reviews that will give u an estimate.
 
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For anyone interested, the Lumia 640 is back in stock with FK with a price cut to boot.

Now on offer for Rs.8,999 - down a 1000 bucks from its earlier price of Rs. 9,999.

@Rayvonne Gonsalves

Its not the no. of negative reviews that bothers me so much. If people were experiencing random problems I wouldn't be so concerned.

What I find worrisome is that the majority of reviewers are complaining about two specific issues - namely Overheating & Battery related problems.

I believe that even with the older Redmi 1S phone, Xiaomi was forced to release a major update specifically to address heating/battery related issues -

http://www.bgr.in/news/xiaomi-redmi-1s-software-update-in-india-fixes-heating-and-memory-issues/

This is why I am somewhat wary of this device/company considering the same issues are being reported for the Redmi 2.

Appreciate your feedback anyway...
 
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Yes exactly. What attracts me towards xiaomi is exactly this. They responded to customer complaints immediately and released an update for the same quickly. I dont see any other budget oriented brand doing so and hence the suggestion. All the best with your purchase.
 
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Great @Rickyk congrats! Please do post some initial feedback about "user-friendliness" if you can - both your own and mainly also from this elderly person who is going to use it :D I am seriously thinking of getting a couple of Windows phones too (for my mom/dad and myself) and it will most likely be the 640 and/or 730 !
 
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@vishalrao
I spent about an hour on the phone before I "handed it over" so I didn't really mess around with it too much. The who it was intended for seems happy with the phone SO FAR. Then again, its currently being used simply for calls & sms ATM so its early days.

I did find one "feature" quite disappointing if not downright silly. The person who the phone was for asked me to set a daily "wake up" alarm for 7:15 AM which I did. The following day I was told the alarm didn't go off. I thought maybe I didn't set it right but it wasn't the case.

I searched around the net and found that the phone needs to be ON for an alarm to trigger!

Thats fine for people who have their phones on 24/7 but I don't personally and found it quite stupid. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my 808 where alarms are triggered regardless of whether the phone is on or physically switched off...[DOUBLEPOST=1434893643][/DOUBLEPOST]@rikhav

Thanks for that advice. I did get a message telling there was an "update available" within 5 minutes of starting the phone the first time.

However as this is not my phone I didn't want to mess around with it because I'm not familiar with Windows 8 OS (whether mobile or desktop) so I ignored the update option entirely...
 
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@Rickyk I think all phones need to be "on" these days no? Otherwise in addition to alarm not ringing, the person will miss any incoming calls/SMS also. Are there any smartphones whos alarm rings when the phone is switched off??? Even my old HTC HD7 (Win7.5) needs to be "on" for the alarm to ring...
 
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^My current phone doesn't have this issue.

If its physically switched off at the time of an alarm, it switches itself on, plays back the alarm, then prompts whether it should boot completely into the OS, apply snooze (if its enabled) or switch completely off again...
 
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