Consumer Cellular isn’t a company that is specifically tailored for seniors; however it has cell phone plans that are simple, low cost and will provides a variety of those to choose from. What happens is Consumer Cellular buys airtime from the other leading wireless phone providers and then takes those minutes and repackages them for their individual service plans. Since they are purchasing airtime from other providers the coverage areas are basically going to be the same as the other cellular companies.
The nice benefit when it comes to Consumer Cellular is that there isn’t any long term contract that has to be signed and their service comes with a  risk free, satisfaction free guarantee. What this entails is someone can try the service for 30 minutes of phone use or 30 days, whichever comes first and if you don’t like the service at that point you’re able to cancel and don’t have to pay anything.
The plans start out at as little as $10 a month and there is no long distance or roaming charges with the plans. Additionally you can change your plan at any tie and if you want to add a phone to the same plan you can do so for only $10 dollars.
There is a $35 activation fee and there are only four phones to choose from. There is a phone that is offered for free after a mail in rebate and the most expensive phone is around $115.
The Plan Costs and Details
•    $35 activation fee
•    $.25 per minute for overage
•    No long-term contracts
•    Free voicemail (airtime rates do apply)
•    Can switch plans without charge
•    Text messaging (for a fee)
•    Are able to keep the same phone number
For all additional information and to choose a plan visit http://www.consumercellular.com/
AT&T Senior Nation 200
AT&T released a wireless cell phone plan that is directed at those that are 65 years of age or older. The new plan is a lower cost one that is geared towards the senior that doesn’t need to use a cell phone all that often but would like to have one for emergencies and to help them stay connected to:
•    Family
•    Friends
•    Children
•    Grandchildren
•    Doctors (for medical purposes)
You’ll find that the plan is structured like the other plans that are offered by the company but will provide lower minutes and will not offer as many extras and features as the regular wireless plans. This plan includes 200 anytime minutes, 500 night and weekend minutes with unlimited mobile to mobile calling with only $29.99 per month for access.
Additionally, there are no roaming or long distance charges and unlike the other plans you will not get rollover minutes with this plan.
Just like the other plans there are early termination fees but there is a 30 day satisfaction grace period to try the service and still avoid the termination fee. In order to be eligible you have to be 65 years of age or older.
For additional details and to purchase the Senior Nation 200 plan visit AT&T

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Unlike before there are now wireless phone plans available for seniors that want to have a cell phone but don’t need all of the bells and whistles that all of the current cell phone plans and providers offer. A good cell phone plan for seniors offers an awesome alternative for the people that want to have a phone while they are traveling or for emergencies.
The important thing to note is while the plan will be more affordable they will be more limited in the minutes that they offer and if you are someone that will be using your phone more often than a more common plan is going to be better to fit your needs. This will help you to avoid any of the costly overage charges. Sometimes it can be hard to track the amount of minutes we are using on our phones and we can often tend to use our phone more often than we had thought come the end of the month.
The plan that we’ll talk about today is the Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus plan.
Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus
Verizon now has a plan of their own for those aged 65 on up. These lower cost plans are geared specifically towards seniors that don’t use a cell phone that often but want to make sure that they have a phone for emergencies and to stay connected to loved ones or to their doctor for medical purposes.
With the Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus plan you’re able to add additional phone lines, make international calls and even have internet access though fees may apply.
The plan details are as follows:
•    200 anytime minutes
•    500 night and weekend minutes
•    No domestic roaming charges
•    No long distance charges
•    Unlimited amount of national in calling minutes
The plan costs are as follows:
•    Activation fee of $35
•    $25 if you need a secondary line to get a two line calling plan
•    Monthly access fee of $29.99
•    Additional $.45 per minute charge if you go over the minutes in the plan
•    There is a 1-2 year term required per line

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While AT&T doesn’t have a specific cell phone designed solely for the senior citizen in mind it does have a cell phone plan that is designed for seniors. While they don’t have the phones specifically for seniors millions of the older generation doesn’t really have the need as they are more accustomed to using a more traditional cell phone and are actually quite at ease using them.
The thing that AT&T does offer though is the cell phone plan that is specifically designed with the needs of seniors and the aging customer base in mind. Those people that have reached retirement, have all grown children and those that might require a smaller minutes bundle for any other reason are able to realize the cost savings that is associated with lower cell phone usage.
The cell phone plan is the Senior Nation 200 plan. What this plan offers is any users that are over the age of 65 will get the following:
•    200 anytime minutes
•    500 night and weekend minutes
•    Unlimited mobile to mobile calling
All of these options are available in this plan and it is only $29.99 per month. Just like with any regular cell phone plan there will be no long distance charges and additionally there will be no charge even if the customer should be roaming.
There is a 45 cent per minute charge for any minutes used beyond the plan allotment and there is a two year contract required.
There are a couple phones below that are the more traditional type of cell phone that could easily double as a “cell phone for seniors” due to some of the features they come with. 

AT&T PanTech Breeze
The PanTech Breeze is claimed to be able to be a senior friendly phone. Some of the features offerings are:
•    A clear speakerphone
•    Loud clear volume
•    Large buttons which are well spaced for easier dialing capability
•    Three programmable quick call buttons for easy dialing
•    Large fonts
•    Simple menus
Even though the cell phone is a more basic phone the phone does offer additional functions that its competitors don’t offer that will be appreciated by the senior that is more confident and wants to use a more modern cell phone while still having some of the senior friendly features.
The additional offerings are:
•    VGA quality camera
•    Downloadable games
•    Ringtones and wallpapers
•    Text messaging capability
•    Picture messaging capability with sound
•    Web browsing
•    Bluetooth
This phone is available for no cost when the customer purchases a two year qualifying plan.
The final phone we’ll quickly talk about is the AT&T Nokia 6085.
AT&T Nokia 6085
This phone offers the following options:
•    Large and simple keypad
•    Hearing aid and TTY compatibility
•    Speakerphone
•    Voice dialing
•    Voice driven menus
It also comes with all of the features that a more experienced cell phone user would want:
•    Multimedia messaging
•    Web browsing
•    MP3 player
•    Digital camera
•    Much more
This phone is also free with the purchase of a qualifying plan.

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Some will ask the question of why the cell phones for seniors would need to be any different from the more typical type of cell phone. The reason for this is actually pretty simple as for many people as they get older needs change. That goes for anything really but definitely goes for cell phone usage.
There are many cases where the senior is going to need a cell phone this is much easier to:
•    Handle
•    See
•    Hear
In other words the aging adult/senior needs a simpler cell phone.
With the thought above granted there are a lot of seniors that are able to handle the typical cell phone but the typical cell phone plan isn’t something that fits their needs any longer. Things like with the kids all grown and out of the home, full time employment is just a thought in the past, etc… The typical cell phone plans that come with the huge pools of minutes are a thought of yesterday and are extremely excessive and unneeded expense.
The nice thing though is while it wasn’t the case in the past the options are increasing greatly and there are a lot of cell phones for seniors that will meet the needs of the aging adult.
The Original in Simple Cell Phones
When it comes to cell phones for seniors the original simple senior cell phone is the Jitterbug. The Jitterbug is widely considered to be the original phone that includes basic senior friendly plans as well.
When the Jitterbug was initially in conception it was thought for and designed specifically for the older adult, the senior, in mind. The Jitterbug is also very well suited for anyone that is seeking a cell phone that has:
•    Fewer functions to have to mess with
•    Larger buttons
•    Larger print (font) on the display screen
•    A high volume for easier hearing
The J phone from the Jitterbug line is also hearing aid compatible.
The Jitterbug is an amazing phone for any person that might need to have the occasional operator assistance. The operator assistance also provides other support which can help users with just about anything to do with their phone including helping the customer program numbers into their contact list.
The Jitterbug cell phone plans offer their customers very simple options that will provide such options as calling without having any long distance or roaming charges and there is no time of day restrictions which is very convenient to not have to track the day/night time minutes.
Plans for the Jitterbug phones will start as low as $14.99 per month and there is no long term contract that has to be signed unlike many of the cell phone provider counterparts. The price per minute change is going to be a little larger than many other packages that will offer the larger time bundles but this plan is more for the person that wants a phone for more limited use and those that want something for an emergency and a call here and there. for that type of person this plan is going to be an extreme cost saver.

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Cell phones keep getting smarter and smarter and smaller and smaller. Manufacturers are cramming more and more features into increasingly more compact designs (seriously – my first cell phone had twice the functionality and processing power of my first computer). For some, this is a plus. You can do more stuff without carrying more stuff. But for senior citizens who just want to make calls and don’t care if their phone can run Sim City, shoot a feature film and poach an egg, today’s smartphones are more than a little overkill. In fact, they are worse – they can actually be harder to use. Still, cell phones are a necessity for many senior citizens who wish to remain independent and keep in touch with their family.

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The recent unveiling of the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pre Pixi Plus (both on the Verizon Network) had previous Pixi and Pre owners excited with anticipation. While there were a few significant changes to each phone, some users will find that these changes are somewhat disappointing.

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Just about every company runs a credit check on potential customers before signing them up for service – including cell phone companies. If you’re credit score isn’t tiptop or there is something else on your credit report that is indicative of higher risk, you may get a $125+ deposit tacked on to your initial Verizon cell phone bill (which will be refunded after a year).

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Android has upped the ante in the battle of the smartphones and many consumers are torn between the iPhone and the sleek new Android phones running Google’s mobile operating system, particularly Verizon Wireless’s HTC Droid Eris and Nextel/Sprint’s Samsung Moment. These are all fine phones packed with all the features and functionality you need from a next generation smartphone, including unlimited data, corporate email connectivity, social media and messaging and seamless 3G web browsing.  But in light of the touch economic times, the X factor for most family cell phone plans (and individual cell phone plans) will be the cost of service. To help you choose the cheapest smartphone cell phone plans, we’ve put together a quick reference breakdown of the major costs and fees for today’s latest and greatest smartphones. (more…)

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Much buzz has been circulating about the latest Consumer Reports survey of cell phone service. If you’re considering switching cell phone plans or are signing up for cellular service for the first time, now is a good time to decide, while the Consumer Report ratings are their freshest. Here’s a quick summary of their findings:

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Like most cellular phone companies, it breaks Nextel’s heart to see you go. That’s why they’ve put up so many obstacles in the way to prevent you from doing so – 200 obstacles, to be exact. That’s right, if you want to move on to greener pastures before your contract is up, it’ll cost you $200. The rationale is that when you signed up with Nextel, they gave you a free Motorola Debut or a BlackBerry Curve or some other super awesome phone that would normally cost you hundreds of dollars to buy without a contract. Cutting out before your contract is up is sort of on par with being invited to a wedding, skipping the ceremony, dropping in at the reception to slug down two glasses of champagne and fill a doggy bag with chicken and beef and then hitting the road before the cake is cut. So, Nextel has a point.

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Many families are looking for cell phone deals, family plans, and wireless plans that make the most financial sense for their situation. They want great service, state-of-the-art technology, and good coverage areas, without spending a fortune. But, finding those cell phone deals, family plans and other great deals can be a cumbersome, difficult process. There are so many bargains and promises on the internet, that it can be hard to determine which are the best deals. Thankfully, Cell-phone-plans.net has a Cell Phone Comparison Tool, which allows you to narrow your search for the best cell phone deals, family plans and more.

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