Reply With QuoteBack in the day I used a Nokia Communicator- an excellent piece of kit for its time. Having cursorily Googled a minute ago, it appears that they have relaunched an updated version of it. Would that fit the bill?
My wife stubbornly clings on to her Nokia dumbphone. The only upgrade she would welcome would be a keyboard for sending texts rather than the "press 1 three times for C" ballache.
It doesn't have Bluetooth, but does have a mini USB.
Any wise owls out there with workable suggestions. Workable in this case means enableable by an averagely-intelligent puppy.
Last edited by unclealec; 22nd September 2023 at 11:38.
Back in the day I used a Nokia Communicator- an excellent piece of kit for its time. Having cursorily Googled a minute ago, it appears that they have relaunched an updated version of it. Would that fit the bill?
There's no way you could talk her into a Nokia 5510 (presumably from Ebay)? I had one of these for a few months in 2001 and my, flimsy, recollection was that the keyboard worked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5510
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
It might be time to force her into the 21st century Alec.
My mum was the same, but my dad bought her a smartphone for Christmas a few years ago and despite initial gripes she wouldn't be without it now. A year or so later he even got himself one - we hope this year he might even learn how to answer it!
Originally Posted by Carlton-Browne
There's no way you could talk her into a Nokia 5510 (presumably from Ebay)? I had one of these for a few months in 2001 and my, flimsy, recollection was that the keyboard worked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5510
I remember one of our customer service ladies had one of these and it was "textastic". Whether you'd feel that way 22 years later is another issue.
I had Nokia 9300 and 9500 but sold them on for a reason. Times change. If the Communicator really is coming back I would take a look.
Back in the '90s I was issued with one every time I was on call. I remember using it to clear down files from a Unix server that had gone over threshold from a restaurant in Regent Street, one Saturday evening.
Throw phone in the bin and move with the times is the simplest solution. My parents are in late 80's and manage with a smartphone
Sent from my Pixel 6 using TZ-UK mobile app
Shw finds my smartphone impossible to use given her very poor eyesight. The tactile keyboard on the Nokia dumbphone she finds much easier to locate the keys, but of course the slow nature of texting with dumbphones would be nice to circumvent. Maybe not possible.
I was hoping for some sort of cable-connected keyboard. I can't find anything by browsing.
Have you considered a typewriter and a pigeon?
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
If she has a PC/laptop then MS make a phone link app for texts and of course there is WhatsApp Web?
Tried it, but the pigeon wouldn't type anything unless we scattered corn onto the keyboard; then it was just random letters.
I understand that younger generations can't envisage that some (not all, granted) very old people are devoid of any IT savvy or indeed inclination.
Her using a dumbphone is a triumph of persuasion.
I am just trying to think of ways pf helping her to enjoy her last few years in her hazy world of obscured vision.
It's no biggie if she can't text. She has managed 80-odd years without that faciity, so for her last few she won't be any worse off.
I think this is one of the defaults for phones for slightly older people who don’t want lots of features and need to keep it simple
https://www.doro.com/en-gb/shop/mobi...8100-8e6ccfba/
Thanks wileeeeeey; I can see that would be a good phone for the technically-challenged.
Not for my present wife however. She definitely needs a tactile keyboard. She struggles to see keyboards clearly enough to use, so feeling her way round them comes easier. She isn't totally blind, just blurred and distorted vision. Probably comes in handy with just ugly old me for company.
Not all older people have the abilities of TZers and your parents. My Mother had difficulty distinguising between her phone and TV remote.
What are you actually looking for?
A keyboard attachment?
Old school Blackberry with larger keys (if they still work)
Keyboard attachment for phones - wireless blue tooth
I was hoping for a keyboard that could attach via the miniUSB, but I don't think such things exist.
If buying another phone was an option she would have done so.
It would be much easier for her if there was a tactile keyboard. Given her sight problems, she uses a magnifying glass for most things, and no she doesn't find the magnifying-glass-on-a-stand that I bought suitable.
No problem, I will just tell her that I tried to find a connectable keyboard and failed. She is used to me failing at things.
I don’t think the phone would support an external keyboard anyway, that connector is used for the ‘headset’ that usually comes in the box and gets thrown away in it’s little ziplock baggie when you find it in a random drawer after 5 years!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Even you can't do the impossible. Ask some of the young whizzkids on your monthly Zoom call.
Hi Alec a bit left field but have you looked at RNIB phones link below. Large keys and simple operation, do texts but not web enabled. Mother in Law used one when her eyesight was fading. £35 from memory off amazon or direct from RNIB resellers.
https://shop.rnib.org.uk/technology/phones-and-tablets
Steve
Thanks for the suggestion Steve, but she is fine with the Nokia keyboard. I was just trying to find a way round the "press twice for G" time-consuming syndrome. It puts her off texting, which is a shame, but apparently no way round without changing devices which she is reluctant to do as she has become accoustomed to the Nokia keyboard.
I think I can say that I can conclude this inquiry with the result that she wil just have to persevere with the "press four times for O". There are worse problems she needs to address.
I had a flashback this morning - Eriksson did something akin to what you want:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256163160495
But obviously it's no good to you.
I also have one of these in a drawer somewhere which was pretty good until it developed some sticky keys:
I used it occasionally with an Ipad.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
That was what I was hoping for CB, but there's nothing that I can find compatible with her Nokia, or indeed any current model of dumbphone.
As I have said ad nauseum, smartphones are out due to her requirement for a tactile keyboard.
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