Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got this phone for my 94 year-old Dad, who is extremely hard of hearing and has never used a computer or a touch screen. It replaced his old flip phone, which he was unable to hear anyone on, and which he never really learned to text on. Initially, he was afraid that he would "mess up" the new phone, and he had trouble with the touch screen, because he kept stabbing or pushing at it. Nor would he let me teach him how to use the phone, so after I set it up, I gave it to him along with the very good user guide. Within two days, he was making phone calls and sending and reading texts with relative ease. He's still not 100% accurate with the touch screen, but he's getting better at it. Here are the things that I think are great about this phone: 1. It has REALLY excellent clarity for phone calls. My Dad can hear me better on the phone than he can when I am standing directly in front of him. This is the first time in years that we have been able to have actual, back-and-forth phone conversations. It's practically a miracle. I read a review from PC Magazine that complained that the Smart2 was not loud enough, but with my Dad, louder just makes sounds more indistinct. What he needs is clarity, and that's what he gets from this phone. 2. It is easy to send and receive texts on. The fonts are large and clear, and the keyboard is easy to use, with practice. For someone like my Dad, who has NEVER used a smart phone or a computer, the touch keyboard was challenging at first, but he's getting much better as he uses it. 3. It has a text-based, rather than an icon-based interface. For Dad, this made a big difference. He was totally flummoxed by the icons when he looked at my IPhone, but the text-based interface makes sense to him. 4. Great Call, which is the plan provider for the Smart2, piggybacks on the Verizon network, which is the only network that works reliably in the area where we live. 5. You do NOT have to get the health services portion of the plan. The Smart2 has a red 5* button at the bottom of each screen. If you get the health services plan, pressing and holding the 5* button connects you to a Great Call service that listens to your problem, determines the proper response, and either resolves it or contacts the appropriate emergency responder. If you do NOT get the health plan, pressing and holding the 5* button connects the user directly with 911, which for my Dad is actually more useful than having to go through Great Call. 6. The phone is cheap. You can get one from Amazon for about $75. Now, here are some things that are not so great. 1. You are stuck with Great Call as the plan provider, so you cannot just add this phone to your existing Verizon plan. The Great Call plans are expensive. My Dad spends very little time making and receiving calls, and doesn't use email, so I got him a minimal monthly plan that includes 200 minutes of voice calling, 300 texts, and 100 MB of data, for $31 including taxes and fees. There is an unlimited voice and text plan that includes some data for about $60 including taxes and fees. This would be OK for folks who already have in-home internet and can get most of their data via Wi-Fi, but for others like my Dad, he'd go through 100MB pretty quickly if he was using a few apps and email. 2. Customer service is spotty. It took me four phone calls over two days to get Dad's account set up, partly because I had to have Dad available to authorize a) his credit card information, and b) having me set up as the contact person for his account. Some Great Call representatives were good, others not so good. Most annoying of all, though, were the two times I called and tried to reach the sales department, which is who you need to talk to to activate the phone (by the way, $35 activation fee if you get the phone anywhere other than through Great Call). The recording for the sales department said that it was closed, even though I was calling within normal business hours. In order to actually reach the sales department, I pressed 1 for "yes" when the recording asked me if I wanted to respond to a survey, and I was then connected to the sales department. I can't explain that, but it was frustrating. 2. The battery capacity is not fabulous. Dad needs to charge his phone every night, and he is not using it all the time. Summary: Pros -- great, inexpensive relatively easy-to-use smart phone with truly epic call clarity. Cons -- expensive phone plan only available through Great Call.