Android for dads?

[awesomo4308]

So my dad's contract is up and he isn't the most tech savy person in the world. When I got my phone I spent hours and hours reading up on apps and stuff before my phone arrived but my dad isn't the kind of person who will do that sort of thing.

Should I recommend that he gets an android if he isn't going to try to get as much out of it as I do?

 

[mclarryjr]

I have a friend that sounds kinda like your dad that I talked into getting the Droid X which he did. It did take him a little longer then others to be able to do more then make calls and text but he figured out with a little help. Now after a few months he says it doesnt know how he ever lived without it. He will have 30 days to change it if he doesn't like it so I say give it a try.

Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk

 

[awesomo4308]

Ah yea, excellent point about the 30 day refund window. Thanks.

 

[jmejiaa]

I gave my old mytouch to my mother and she figured it out pretty quick. It's slow so she mainly uses it for txt and phone but I'm sure your dad will be fine

 

[_Zguy__]

Go for android
Know someone who doesnt even know when given icons are moved offthe one screen but its worth it for internet and other stuff
But you would neef to set him up with some apps and things

 

[NickA]

I say go for the Android too. I'm surprised the number of older people using smartphones. And hopefully when I'm older, my son will talk me into getting the newest, coolest phone that is out at the time. In all likely hood, I'll be waiting for my Samsung Fascinate to be upgraded to 2.2 still!

 

[irish22022]

get him the android, just got my dad one, and trust me - your dad can't be worse then mine.

necessary apps for dads:

some kind of T9/ABC keyboard (I got him smart keyboard). By far the most frustrating thing for older people is their fingers not being accurate enough to type on the qwerty keys.

Gesture Search - he will find this impressive, intuitive, and my dad uses it more often then not to find a contact as he doesn't seem to like the contact scroll in android. I just have it searching for contacts. He loves it.

Vlingo - this one is funny. The only thing my dad really wanted to play with was voice-to-text. He wanted to send texts by speaking. Google voice search is not nearly as reliable as this for texts and calls. You can't beat GVsearch for things like voice searching the internet or getting a map, but vlingo is excellent for voicing sms or making quick calls.

Launcher Pro (or ADW) - stock Android just isn't what people are looking for (I can only speak for motoblur, though). People want a dock. Simple as that. Get him a dock, and only give him three screens. More then that gets too complicated. Also, hide all the stupid apps he'll never need in the drawer (launcher pro feature). This will all make it seem much more usable.

Good luck man, I think if you help him a bit, he'll LOVE the phone.

 

[Bujin#IM]

I don't know what carrier you're looking for, but I got my non-techie wife an EVO. She likes it a lot, and the large screen size is certainly good for my aging eyes.

 

[Baconator]

Well it depends on where he works. If he works in an office then a touch screen android device would be good. A Droid Incredible or any of the Galaxy S phones are my favorite phones and would be really good for him.

If he works in like an oil field or a place like where you can damage your phone easily I would recommend a Blackberry. My reason is because they don't damage as easily as the touch screen phones. I hate blackberries but they are really good for people that work in those fields. If he doesn't want a black berry then get him a TOUGH android device and a screen protector. Also put a case on it.

What carrier is he with.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Depends on if he's good with gadgets. My father has trouble setting the clock in his car. He's electronically challenged.lol. I got my wife to switch but it took her about a month of frustration to get the hang of things. She still doesn't use the phone to its fullest capabilities...just texting and phone calls. I would say base your decision off of if he's good with computers and other electronic stuff. He always has the 30 day refund to switch if he doesn't like it.

 

[sivartk]

My dad (who said he would never use a smartphone) got the opportunity to get one from work. He asked which one and my brother and I both recommended the Incredible (because we both have it and knew we would be helping him initially).

After the first few days with various questions (mainly where to find things in the settings), he was off and away. Now he is constantly using it and loves it (especially since his work pays for the minutes and unlimited data)

..then again, my Dad at 58 is pretty tech savvy, so I expected him to catch on quickly. He is one of those types that if you get a call and he has a Windows question, it must be pretty bad and not a simple, did you turn on the monitor questions