Smartphones for Grandparents

This post is a bit of a departure from the norm – it’s a quick post about smartphones, and I’m obliged to tell you that it is part of a compensated post for the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® community so that you don’t wrongly get the impression that I’m trying to be sneaky and pull the wool over our eyes when I mention products.  🙂

As so many retailers and shoppers prepare for the impending frenzy of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and so forth, my husband observed that Black Friday doesn’t even really exist any more – it’s just an ongoing headspin toward the holiday season.  I’ve been pleased, though, that many retailers are responding to consumers while also remaining closed on Thanksgiving to allow their employees to be with their family.

I’ve never really participated in the fray and don’t find that changing, and I’m pleased that our families have made a concerted effort to take the holidays down a notch by focusing on our time together and fewer, more meaningful and thoughtful gifts.  One larger purchase my sister and I had discussed was new smartphones for our parents, who both have flip phones that barely function (Mom’s was taped together at last check) and certainly don’t do for sending photos of their adorable grandchildren.

They call their current devices their “dumb phones.”  They didn’t want a smartphone with all the bells and whistles, but I felt there had to be non-traditional options for them that would include a cheap wireless plan combined with a user-friendly smartphone and no over-the-top contracts.  I had learned about the Walmart Family Mobile plan and was pleasantly surprised by how perfectly it works for older adults and even kids the age of my children who just need a basic phone for emergencies.  Honestly, the Walmart Family Mobile options are pretty strong for just about anyone.

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It had been a while since I had shopped for cell phones since I’m in an endless cycle of contracts myself, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that Walmart has sort of a “self-serve” approach to wireless these days.  The display included various smart phone options with clear (and affordable!) pricing as well as starter kits (i.e. SIM cards) and monthly plans all in a sort of “pick-what-suits-you” format.

For instance, the Concord Smartphone offered by Walmart Family Mobile is super user-friendly as a fully-functioning smartphone, but not enormous and hard to handle for someone new to smartphones.  It’s easy to select what you need, and then handle all set-up and online account management yourself.  It really is one of the best wireless solutions since everything from very basic, cost-effective plans to unlimited plans are available.

All that to say that this is exactly what I would have purchased for my parents.  However, they finally made the leap and purchased replacements for themselves!  So, I’ll be purchasing this smartphone set-up and three months of service (no contract or obligation!) for another lucky recipient this holiday season.  Stay tuned!