For those who don’t need a smartphone

I want to address this message to clients who don’t want a smart phone.  Yes — they are not for all of us.  However, maybe you want a smartphone but have a spouse, child, or parent in your life that just needs a basic phone.  This message is for you.

What this message will cover :   2 cell phones and two brands of service.   Both of these phones and service providers are items that I could personally support clients with.  I can help clients get set up with either of the options listed below.   Before I get started, I know that some people try to get a TracFone for mom.   TracFone is not owned by an American company and I don’t like their tricky calculations on minutes.  I don’t do TracFone.

OPTION 1:   Service Provider:  Consumer Cellular.   Phone:  Doro 626

https://www.consumercellular.com/Info/PhoneDetails/571

Consumer Cellular is a company that is set up to service seniors and technical novices.  They operate on the AT&T nationwide network.  While people can bring smartphones, iPhones, etc. to Consumer Cellular — I am choosing to keep it simple here.   The Doro 626 cell phone is about as simple as it gets.   It is senior friendly.   You can make calls, receive calls, and add some contacts to an Address Book.  I would never really recommend creating texts on a small phone like this, but you can certainly receive them from family who want to send them to you.     Consumer Cellular has senior friendly plans that start at $20 per month.  They will send out monthly bills.  The $20 plan is perfect for basic needs.

OPTION 2:   Service Provider:  AT&T Go Phone.  Phone LG B470

https://www.att.com/cellphones/lg/b470-prepaid.html#sku=sku7830291

Go Phone is the prepaid cellular brand of AT&T.   The LG B470 is a simple flip phone for basic use cases.  It can perform the same basic tasks as the Doro phone I just mentioned.   I want to include this option of AT&T Go Phone as a service provider for those who don’t want the typical monthly plan.  ATT Go Phone has an option where you can pay $100 for the year.  You will get about 1000 minutes with that option.  The $100 balance does not expire for a whole year and this is a great, pay once and your done option.   It is imperative that you keep your credit card on file with them so they can renew your plan when the year is up.

Ultimately, I think Consumer Cellular is a better option because of their outstanding customer service.  However, if you want a pay once a year and you’re done option for extremely light use — then the Go Phone is my next best option.

I have given you the links so you can order the phones directly.