Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: A kind person left a comment on my review letting me know that you know get more minutes for the same price, making this phone a better deal. This is from their comment: Great Call has upgraded their plans to provide more minutes for the same price. Copied from their website: 200 Minutes $14.99 600 Minutes $19.99 1500 Minutes $29.99 3000 Minutes $39.99 Unlimited Talk & Text $49.99 Thank you, Jumpindogs! Original Review: I got this phone with the intention of buying another one for an elderly relative if the phone turned out to meet her needs. She has a flip cellphone but I thought this one with the emergency/health button might be better for her. The call plan must be purchased through Great Call. This phone can't be used through other carriers. I didn't see anywhere on the Amazon page that there is an additional $35 setup fee, but there is. The plans are expensive for what they provide. The cheapest plan at $14.99 a month offers only 50 minutes talk time, certainly not a good deal. It includes call waiting, caller ID, free roaming, and free long distance, but even something as basic as voice mail has to be purchased at additional cost. The cheapest GreatCall GoPlan is $24.99 a month, but still includes only 50 minutes talk time. It also includes activation of the 5Star button, instant access to a health professional, as well as other health-related features and voice mail. Well, I was still willing to give it a try using the quickstart guide. That 249 page user's guide is daunting even to me, and would be much more so to someone not technically adept. I entered my serial number. All 18 digits of it. No dashes, spaces, letters, or anything else to make it more readable. And then I had to enter it again. Certainly not an easy task for someone who wants an easy to use phone with big buttons because her eyesight isn't great. Got that done. Entered more information, including my zip code. Got a message: "The zip code that you entered does not match what he have in our system." Aauggh! I suspect that the message is because the phone was not shipped directly to me through the company but through Amazon Vine, and something that will not be an issue for buyers. The phone itself does have big buttons, about as big as they can be given the size of the phone. Especially important, the numbers on those buttons are quite large. The screen is easy to read with large text. It's not intuitive that to place a call to a number that isn't in the phone's book, you just press the numbers, but that should be a simple thing to learn. The menus can be somewhat confusing at first but are not hard to figure out. Still, I think some elderly people would need someone to help them set up and learn to use the phone. The volume, both ringtone and voice, can be set quite loud, again something helpful for many people who would use this phone. There are multiple ringtones to select. I tried the 5Star button and my call was answered immediately and professionally, and the first thing I was asked was if this was an emergency. After hanging up, I then received notice that I had a new text message, so when I tried to retrieve that, I somehow called 5Star again. I'm not sure how I did that, but again, the person who answered was professional and courteous. What I especially like is that unlike those landline-dependent pendants that many people use, this is cellphone based so an emergency can be reported easily and with one button even when someone is out and about. So, overall I am pleased with the phone but I think the setup could be easier, and I think people who have slowed down in their mental capabilities will need someone to help them set up the phone and walk them through its uses. I think the 5Star button, the immediate connect to a person who can help in an emergency or even just with medical questions, is terrific. The plans are expensive for regular phone use, but that the 5Star service and health options are good ideas for someone who needs those, so whether the plans are worth the cost depends on an individual's needs and use. My first impression of the phone and service was negative, but improved as I used the phone. Will I buy one for my relative? I'm going to have to think about that for awhile but my overall impression is much better than my initial impression.