Are there any smartphones designed for the eager-to-learn, but still-on-training-wheels senior citizen?
With the right amount of help and training, many people - regardless of age - can learn the basics of smartphone operation. To help make things easier for those who do not have a lot of experience or patience with modern gadgetry, some manufacturers are making smartphones specifically designed to be easier to use.
Such products include the Pantech Flex, an Android smartphone that offers an optional Easy Experience interface with larger text and home screen shortcut buttons. GreatCall, which makes the big-buttoned Jitterbug flip phone, now has a touch-screen smartphone, the Jitterbug Touch.
The Doro PhoneEasy 740, another simplified Android handset with a large touch screen and a keyboard, is scheduled for introduction in the United States next spring. The CNET site has an early review of the PhoneE asy 740.
If a bigger screen is the most desired feature, standard smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy Note line, which has a 5.3-inch display and can be used with a stylus, may be easier to use than a smartphone with a smaller screen. Apple's iPhone 5 model features a more petite four-inch screen, but Apple offers free workshops for new users at its Apple Stores in most major cities.
