Less than 10K Phone for senior citizen

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cranky

Skilled
Hi

Need a phone for a senior citizen who is 100% computer illiterate but loves a good screen and a comfortable interface. She was using my hand-me-down N85 till it stopped charging and the back cover broke. Though we are getting the phone fixed, it may not be possible to fully revive it. After a day or so of using a backup Rs 2k Nokia S40 phone she realises she actually wants a better experience.

So we are thinking of going to Windows Phone (specifically, the Lumia 630) given it is a tile-based interface and probably more suitable for someone with poor eyesight and slow-moving hands than the fiddly Android icons and homescreens. Input regarding the choice is absolutely welcomed, but had a few specific questions:

1. Are the live tiles manually resizeable? Or is the size related to the number of tiles in the row?

2. Are the number of homescreens fixed, or is it possible to reduce them? We will be only using the phone for receiving and making calls to a very limited set of numbers, and reading SMS. Everything she needs can be on a single homescreen.

3. Are there any network-capable file browsers available for Windows Phone, and which would you recommend?

4. How good is the Kid's mode (which is probably where I would keep it for her as she might press wrong tiles sometimes)?

Thanks for your help.
 
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1.) Tiles are resizable - Big/Medium/Small
Big and Medium would usually have some extra information
Like if you want to see last received WhatsApp message in Tile - Enable BIG Tile
If you want to see count of WhatsApp messages - Medium and Small Tile.

2.) Windows Phone has Vertical scrolling screen if you add Tiles beyond the screen size
A Horizontal swipe would open the App drawer.

Not sure about the other two points.

Do have a look at Redmi 1s, it has a simple mode for elders with big font.
 
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cranky said:
1. Are the live tiles manually resizeable? Or is the size related to the number of tiles in the row?
Click to expand...

Yes we can re-size them. While re-sizing if one makes a tile bigger it will 'push' other tiles out of row

cranky said:
2. Are the number of homescreens fixed, or is it possible to reduce them? We will be only using the phone for receiving and making calls to a very limited set of numbers, and reading SMS. Everything she needs can be on a single homescreen.
Click to expand...

You can add/remove tiles.
 
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IMO...even an android would be okay.
You can put everything useful as widgets on the main screen, including call/contact shortcuts. So you can have 1 screen with peoples faces which she presses to call.
You have network file browsers, with folder shortcuts you can place on the home screen.
You can have a windows live tile like skin, which you can lock so that nothing gets deleted or moved around accidentlly.
Plus, it's got voice dialling, so you don't even have to press any buttons.
And you can use google now, which gives great location and weather updates.
 
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WP lacks (AFAIK) network capable file manager apps. As for other requirements, Android will do fine.

For example, I gave my GNex to my mother and made it simple to use for her by simply installing Nova Launcher. Went onto remove all but one homescreen, placed the apps she thought she would use the most (Phone/Dialer, Messaging, YouTube) and ticked the option to "Lock the Desktop" in Nova's settings. The latter would prevent any accidental removal or addition of apps icons to the homescreens. Set the DPI to the GNex's stock value (320) and made the icons as large as possible. Even my grandfather was able to discern the app icons then.

Of course, I did all this as a spare GNex was lying around. If buying new, would have definitely considered WP. But then again, that same interface can also be enjoyed on Android with the various WP launcher apps. And since you need a capable file manager app, Android is a better choice.
 
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Thanks for the replies, all, much appreciated.

My understanding is that skinned themes are a little fiddly and require more CPU cycles, thus affecting both battery and responsiveness. This is why we never considered the Droids.

The Redmi would be good if it were at all possible to buy one, which it isn't, at least not easily. I have no intention of being treated like a third-class citizen when trying to buy a phone. I don't want to wait in queue and then play the 'fastest finger first' game, or pay one of the dozen scammers operating with little ethical sentience by selling their in-cart items.

ch@ts could you please indicate to me which exact skin and widgets you would recommend (not what a search would throw up) as my Pipo tablet came with such a skin which was pure garbage as it couldn't be totally customised, and the system lagged badly with it installed. My general experience is that the quickest software layer happens to be the OS, and all apps and widgets that run on top of that a little slower. Including OEM skins like Sense UI etc.

vyral_143, I am assuming you meant homescreens in the second line of your reply? That would be heartening.

eternoMind, thanks for the tip. The File manager is for me, not her, so I can use it to watch movies or edit documents when I'm doodling around in their flat and I don't have to carry down one of my devices, as per my current practice. In case I don't find a suitable app, it's still not a deal-breaker.

I'm leaning towards the Lumia 630, which seems to be the ticket and Amazon has a good price today. Will wait for tomorrow to see what the sale brings :D On the Droid side, any recommendations (non-Xiaomi) or caveats? Was thinking about the Zenfone or one of the Gionees.
 
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I've thought of gifting smart phones to older members of the family but i'm struck at how adept they are with existing feature phones. Lot less to go wrong. What exactly will they use on a smartphone, almost nothing besides phone calls. What benefit is there then to learn a new interface.

So the key factor is portability & familiarity. Cost is reasonable. Real buttons are less fiddly with tactile feedback than touch screens. Battery can be replaced and is quite good given how small a screen it powers. Easy to repair. Speaker should be as loud as possible.

Otherwise you're looking at a close to 5 inch screen for easy legibility, that too is needs to be customised to present the simplest possible interface. Then you have to answer why they need to carry such a large phone in the first place.

Have seen a relative use a galaxy core from last year. its successor the core 2 has less ram and memory and costs the same. The same disappointing trend is noticed with 530 & 630 too which are downsized versions of their forebears in the series.
 
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The problem is the screen quality on feature phones. the N85 was a feature phone too, just had a lovely high-contrast OLED display. The TN screens with low contrast are all but unreadable in almost any conditions, and much worse the older people get. Hence the question...
 
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cranky said:
I am assuming you meant homescreens in the second line of your reply? That would be heartening.
Click to expand...

Yes on home-screen one can add/remove/resize tiles. I would also like to mention that Lumia 630 is with 512MB RAM. Though it would suffice for WP to run, handsets like Lumia 525, which is with 1GB of RAM, would be better for any app availability/compatibility.
 
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@cranky
The default KitKat contact app has direct dial and text shortcut widgets that you can place on the home screen. You can choose to either call or text a single number.

ES File explorer has a folder shortcut widget that you can map to any folder, local or network.


I've used just 2 windows styled launchers. One was windows 7 that I liked but can't find any more.
The other was https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lx.launcher8
I think it was okay, but I prefer the android interface to windows on phones. Like eternoMind said, use Nova, and make the icons/widgets as big as you like, and then lock the screen so that you can't make any changes.
 
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The Moto E?
Or is the screen too small?

Coz otherwise it runs Android at its purest. Has resolution that would result in reasonably large icons and text. But not sure if it would be capable of intensive playback/use of files over the network.

As for RedMi, it sports a 720p res display (could or could not be a problem since we are talking of a senior citizen here) but beware that it doesn't have backlit navigation keys. It's also a large and heavy set phone (again, both could or not be negative points because of the seniority factor; personally I love it) for the screen size offered. Those points apart, it's a great alternative if you can get over the fact that the process of getting one isn't the warmest feeling in the world. Still, would highly recommend this one!

Or, there is also the previous generation Moto G for sale on eBay. Much more grunt than the E while running pure Android with at least one more official update in the pipeline.

The Lumia is a good choice really, what with it's SoC and the large IPS display with that resolution should be friendly on the eyes for older folks. It loses out on RAM and File Manager aspect to the droids. I believe other areas like camera, dual sim are of no concern to you.
 
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I finally did order the 630, single SIM model. A large screen with a low resolution is actually a good thing so text and icons are nice and big at native res. I also figured that instead of me experimenting with apps and widgets to get it to work for her, I would depend on the core OS as much as possible (though I must admit I could have probably been good with a KitKat phone and widgets, so it was not as easy a decision) and get a nice bright and large display.

I tried futzing around with my Optimus/Kitkat for a bit but she didn't like it one bit (not sure why, and couldn't explain it to me). So we're going for a Nokia again. That itself made her happier :D

We'll see how it goes, worst case I can use it as my backup she continues on the smaller S40 phone.

The E would have been too small. It is bigger than what she was using, but the display isn't very good (I've interacted with that phone).
 
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@cranky

Here's what i did for my dad (100% computer illiterate). He was using a Nokia button phone earlier. His main needs were calling and text messages.

I bought him a Moto E and installed the Big Launcher.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.kunes.android.launcher.activity&hl=en

You can set it up in such a way that it shows only 5 or 6 apps on the Home Screen. Everything else is disabled.

The Icons are big and the interface is fast. Very little to no loss of battery.

His home screen is locked with the following options: Call, Messages, Camera, Gallery, Whatsapp, and Music.

It looks similar to this:
23gy6ad.jpg
 
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Wish I had seen this earlier :D, that app looks great.

@blr_p, the 620 is not the same as the 630 in terms of price and market segment. I believe the 630 is the successor to the 520, but I have not much understanding about the Nokia model hierarchy.
 
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indy1811 said:
Here's what i did for my dad (100% computer illiterate).
Click to expand...
Looks like something a 3 yr old can understand

where is the fisher-price logo :D

like learning to walk again.

cranky said:
@blr_p, the 620 is not the same as the 630 in terms of price and market segment. I believe the 630 is the successor to the 520, but I have not much understanding about the Nokia model hierarchy.
Click to expand...
hah, the guy in the shop must have told you that. What is the 530 supposed to be i wonder.

Everybody is at a loss to explain the difference. Nokia gets taken over and cost cutting is the order of the day.

For your purposes it won't pose too much of a problem :)
 
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