Posted on 11/17/2011 10:12:10 AM PST by Don@VB
Trying to find a good tablet for email and simple internet tasks for Mom age 83. A tablet that goes from boot up to listing new email messages in the least number of steps a priority; It doesn't need to be a power machine (no gaming etc) but quick and easy to use for simple tasks. Thanks in Advance!!
A lot of elderly find it easier to swallow capsules...
We just got our Grammy a “MailBug”...it is just for emailing...very simple...she loves it...she is 94. Just google mailbug. All you have to do is plug it into a phone jack and you’re ready to go. Cheap too.
I organize them once a week into daily bins.
What makes you think he or she won’t use it for gaming. Didn’t the new version of Call of Duty just come out?
Have you looked at the iPad? Pretty much impossible to not be able to use.
Why would you just not use an iPad or iPad 2? They can be operated by just about anyone who can see...
ipad.
My 75 y/o mother got an iPad and loves it! She browses the internet and reads book from both iTunes and Kindle apps. She likes it so much she went out and bought an iPhone too.
We have an iPad and a Samsung android tab. For simplicity, the iPad wins. My 3 year old figured it out with no problems. The Samsung touch interface is a little more squirrelly, it has a lot more mis-touches than the iPad. I am intrigued by the Kindle Fire, though. Maybe somebody who has tried one will chime in.
The new Kindle Fire is supposed to be pretty easy to use, and priced at $199 it’s not a huge investment as a “let’s try it and see how it works out” type thing.
You asked.
For the low price ($200-250), I think the Nook/Kindle Fire may be what you want. It can easily and quickly send and receive email. Not knowing her eyesight, the ability to read books in LARGE text, and various fonts - may be something she would really like.
The iPad is my particular favorite; very easy to use, can easily make text larger - with the 10in screen, it can display more of a large text than the smaller Kindle/Nook can with it’s 7inch screen. iPad will run more money, in the neighborhood of $600 for one I would consider (16 Gig is just too small for full utilization).
If it is just email, look for a Peek Pronto.
If Simplicity is your game, iPad is the winner, hands down. Ease of use nothing remotely comes close.
Pretty much any Android tablet or iPad should be good for basic Internet use. You mention e-mail; is she mostly going to be receiving messages and writing them? (If she’d going to be writing messages of any length, a netbook might be better.)
Thought of I Pad, just wondered if she would be getting way more than she would ever use.
I don’t mean to hijack the thread, and this is not totally off base, but since the FR geeks are sure to be on this thread:
Can I expect to be able to access network files with a tablet, or does it just somehow use the WiFi connection ONLY to access the Internet?
Thanks.
Kindle Fire and Android sound promising.
It may but you never know... She can watch shows on it, read and send email, watch video clips, view pictures, “surf” the internet, then there are apps - Scrabble, Crosswords, Angry Birds, etc... It’s so easy to use you will be surprised how much the non-tech savvy person can do. Plus there is no “boot-up” time and the battery lasts for hours.
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