Nokia 7230
Review The UK product lists of the major phone makers are surprisingly barren of handsets designed specifically for the more advanced in years, but I thought it wise to include at least one from a major name that can be picked up on the high street with a PAYG deal.
Nokia's 7230 is an entry-level handset but today even that gets you a 3.2Mp camera, A2DP Bluetooth and 3G. Not HSDPA, mind you, but do you seriously want to explain what that is to someone who can remember the Blitz?
Slide the 7230 open and a keypad is revealed that looks small when compared to all the others reviewed here. But the layout is clear and simple enough to be usable even to the most inexpert user.
The 7230 uses Nokia's Series 40 operating system, which is one of the more simple, logical and non-threatening mobile phone OSes, and the 2.4in screen is commendably crisp and colourful making a cinch to see what is going on. Once you have explained to your Nan the basic theory behind the navpad then navigating the 7230's menus is straightforward.
Built-in features include Ovi Maps, the Opera Mini web browser, a Facebook application and an e-mail client making this a good choice if your old folks are silver surfers. The camera is nothing to write home about but does the job well enough and you can slip a Micro SD card loaded with the best of Vera Lynn or Max Bygraves into the phone should you wish to, Nokia supplying a 2GB card in the box.
Verdict
Without anything in the way of emergency features and lacking hearing-aid compatibility, the 7230 can't be regarded as a truly pensioner-friendly mobile, but as a decently specified, up-to-date and fairly easy-to-use handset it's not at all bad. ®
COMMENTS
Well my dear young chap....
Well my dear young chap, this was very funny and in a lot of ways very helpful. But what we use here on Planet OAP is a couple of PAYG nokias, which we bought for a tenner each or so. The buttons are a bit small, the ringing is not excessive but loud enough. You have to consider what we use it for. We almost never make calls on it, we never send texts on it. No-one except each other ever calls us on them.
So why do we want them at all? Because we go off on walks or biking in isolated areas, and we need to be able to call for help. Or we are wandering, separately, around a city centre, and we'd like to be able to call up and say where are you.
See, its not a necessity, its a small convenience. As long as its cheap, and usable, its fine. The thing you are finding hard to grasp is that mobiles are such a tiny part of our lives. They are not something we are going to spend lots of money on. A tenner is about right.
And we are professional, technical, people. We'd have no problem using iPhones, we just can't be bothered with them. We don't want facebook, because we value privacy. We actually do not want people calling us on our mobiles. The only people we want calling us is each other. We never give out the numbers, except to people who might need emergency access to us.
its a different world. I think this is what you are having trouble grasping. But thanks, it was an interesting survey, and who knows, our parents, even older than us, may find one of them interesting. I am interested in the alarm feature. That might be worth having for one of us.
So I am not knocking the review. It was a nice and in parts funny read. Just urging you to make more of an effort of imagination. After all, you will be here too. Sooner than you think....
Err - You are obviously NOT old and needing an older persons mobile.
How much! Do you KNOW how you get on the old age pension??? I have a Samsung E1100 which has quite large buttons and cost in PAYG about a tenner.
The only thing that really gets me is that despite Samsung saying you can download ringtones you actually cannot. I hate all the ringtones Samsung give you too. And I have never ever been able to try out any new phones to sample the noises they make - you have to buy the bloody thing first.
I just want a simple, plain, small and light phone with no knobs and bollox. Large high contrast buttons, and a simple ENGLISH ringtone that sounds like a bloody phone.
I cannot find one anywhere.
I'm 61 btw.
P.
A bit patronising but otherwise good article
"Not HSDPA, mind you, but do you seriously want to explain what that is to someone who can remember the Blitz?" - hmm, you're a patronising git. I know some science and technology professors in their 70s who'd make you look as thick as several short planks without even trying. Old doesn't mean stupid you smug little journo.
But apart from that, a really useful article, thanks, mostly well written, nice one Reg for putting this up.
Taste
"you can slip a Micro SD card loaded with the best of Vera Lynn or Max Bygraves into the phone should you wish to..."
Max Bygraves? Note to article author - 'old' doesn't necessarily mean 'brain damaged'.
I think I've one that might suit
My Samsung C3050:
http://shop.o2.co.uk/mobile_phone/features/Samsung/C3050_Black
Cheap, small and light (a touch plastic-y), has a loud ringtone that's a telephone bell, crap camera, big screen and big enough buttons (for my fat fingers).
Unfortunately it's got WAP, FM radio and an mp3 player - but you don't have to use them...
You can set the screen to white on black and make the text bigger, and it's got a battery life of about 3 days, even though I probably make between 1-3 hours of calls a day. It's got a nice set of alarms for waking me up, and it's survived several drops.
The only downside is that it's a bit crap at texting. As I only send one a week, I don't care.
