There have been so many hot topics lately, some of them I feel that I would be better off staying out of. So I have decided to bring up a topic that I have not seen elsewhere.
That topic is "Pagers For Seniors". You high tech Baby Boomers out there need to invent a pager with a Qwerty keyboard with the buttons far enough apart that we Seniors can use it. Many of us (most, in fact!) have arthritis in our fingers and hands and handling a Blackberry or a Sidekick comfortably is a chore.
I have put off purchasing a pager for myself for that reason AND because T-Mobile coverage is very poor in our area. I am presently focused on the Blackberry, but which one?? All my deaf friends who have pagers are much younger than myself. THEIR advice has been well received and duly noted. I actually would like to have a Sidekick, but I long ago learned that I cannot have everything I want. Smile.
People of my generation learned to type on a manual typewriter which means that we can bang away on a computer faster than most. I can even carry on an oral conversation with my husband without stopping what I am typing. But a pager for me, at my age, has me stymied.
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Welcome, Lantana. It is good to have more mature deaf people in the deaf blogosphere.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there needs to be a pager/cell phone designed for older users whose hands and eyes may not work as well. The baby boom generation is large enough that hopefully the manufacturers will listen.
It had not occurred to me - shame on me!
ReplyDeleteIt's still new, but doesn't mean we shouldn't be considering of other people who might have difficulty with using pagers, but need them.
It's a good thing you bought this up and hopefully with persistence, you'll accomplish something!
I'm 35, but I first had my TTY at age 8 so I type pretty fast, too!
I also can look away while typing when my children interrupt me and want to ask me something. *smile*
I seem to be a sole loner in my peer - everyone's wondering why I still haven't gotten one yet!
I've only touched SKII twice!
The cost scare me and it's bad enough that I'm addicted to my laptop (I do everything here - working, school, bills, making phone calls, keeping track of my children's school work via emails)...that I can't imagine how WORSE it would be if I had a pager!
It is very useful if there's an emergency, though.
Do keep bringing this up from time to time - there might be an opportunity that would come in handy to assistance the seniors.
Perhaps you could contact as many seniors who agree to sign a petition and send it to the manufacturers?
Now that the problem is out in the open, perhaps we will be able to maneuver a Sidekick or a Blackberry as Senior Citizens!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, very much appreciated.
I am wondering if very large men with big hands and fingers also have a problem?
Lantana (also known as Defdamsel)
Well I know a fellow with amazingly large hands and thick fingers who is better than I am with the little cellphone buttons, yikes.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if something where you could draw the letters onto the screen would work? There are PDA's that do this, and I know phone/PDA combos as well. Not sure where I'd start checking this angle out, but the technology, to write letters that are translated into text accurately is there. It would be a lot nicer than trying to push the little buttons.
Beg, you mean I have to learn to DRAW at this late age? How about a cat sitting backside?
ReplyDeleteLantana
My friend types his SK II with his first fingers because he said his thumbs were too big. My husband types his Blackberry pager with his right first finger. There are some phones with BIG key pads. Why can't the pager companies produce them like these??
ReplyDeleteMany people are using their pager like SKII/SKIII or Blackberry. I cannot understand why they are paying so much money. For instance, 30 dollars per month for the pager service, approximately 30 dollars per month for the TV cable, 40 dollars per month for the internet service. They forget that they have to pay the electricity and water bills. And, even a house mortgage. What a crazy! It is likely that they will have large debts until they are free when they are retired. They allow the service companies to increase their customers' bills every year.
ReplyDeleteI do not own a pager, but I have to pay my health bills. I do not mean that I am cheap. I just wish that our people able to control their money so that they could "control" the companies for a better price.
I still do not have a "pager" or a "cell phone". Money is not the problem with me, it is the common sense. I have a hearing husband, so to punish me I would have to pay more for "hearing access".
ReplyDeleteActually, I have nothing to say that cannot be said on a laptop computer. But I am still looking for a pager/cellphone/whatever that will not charge me an outrageous price for doing little.
I travel with a laptop and hook it up as soon as I get settled. That is good enough for me.
Deliver me from everything that is "trendy". I have no urge to keep up with the Jone's!
Lantana