Sure wished there was a phone service

[Jim Franklin]

without any of those extras. Just phone service. We finally were able to remove the texting and some of the other extras we did not have any idea how to access or operate. Praise the Lord. Siill have a bunch we would never use anyway. I would still rather have a crank phone to access the operator and have her connect me with the party to whom I wish to speak.

[Wayne Paul]

without any of those extras. Just phone service. We finally were able to remove the texting and some of the other extras we did not have any idea how to access or operate. Praise the Lord. Siill have a bunch we would never use anyway. I would still rather have a crank phone to access the operator and have her connect me with the party to whom I wish to speak.

You have got to be Joking!!!

I would hate to give up the privacy of my dedicated number and go back to a 12+ household "party line" where any, or all, of your neighbors could listen to my conversations. I was very happy to see that go away in the late 1950. (I do have an old "crank" phone on the wall for decorative purposes.)

[Shea Zellweger]

Check out Jitterbug :) http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones/

[Susan Unger]

My parents could appreciate where Jim is coming from [the service part, not the lack of privacy part]. Dad has basically given up on his cell phone all together. Mom still tries but was disgusted to find out this week that the text messaging inbox was filled with junk texts - that she had to pay for!

[Jim Chabot]

without any of those extras. Just phone service. We finally were able to remove the texting and some of the other extras we did not have any idea how to access or operate. Praise the Lord. Siill have a bunch we would never use anyway. I would still rather have a crank phone to access the operator and have her connect me with the party to whom I wish to speak.

Out here Verizon can still provide a no frills service, but you have to get a little cranky (pun intended) with them to get it. The last time I renewed my contract, I explained that I wasn't real happy that I had to give up my StarTac phone. I didn't want voice mail, or texting and I can't remember what else I crossed off the list. At first they said that it was included and had to stay, then I mentioned that I was shopping around, not necessarily for price. Funny thing how that will get the cooperation flowing. I had them set it up and tried to use the voice mail and texting before I would sign. Turned out that they set it up just right and I've been happy.

[Susan Unger]

Check out Jitterbug :) http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones/ You know, my dad in his pre-cell phone days, kept telling my mother and me that he was going to get a Jitterbug phone. This was fine as they are geered to working with senior adults. I was ready to help him with this when the time came. BUT THEN for some unknown [known only to his male mind, Shea ;)] he decides to go to Verizon and get himself a phone. He knows he gets frustrated easily by electronics. And he knows that if any electronic devise in his life works it is because I have helped him with it. But no, he didn't want to wait for my help. I've been to that Verizon store....it is noisy [making it impossible for him to hear what is being said with his hearing aids] and the clerks, while not rude, they are not sensitive to the needs of a senior adult who is lost in the electonic world. Sure enough, he left with a phone that frustrated him and was hard for him to use.

When the contract is up next year, Mom might suggest he consider jitterbug again.

[Mike Wooldridge]

I would still rather have a crank phone to access the operator and have her connect me with the party to whom I wish to speak.
Jim, this is 2010 not 1910. I suspect you wouldn't like the "good ole days" as much as you think you would. :)

[Rich Schmidt]

Aren't there pay-as-you-go phones that you can pick up in, for example, Wal-Mart that don't have contracts and don't have frills? Or do all those plans include text messaging, etc?

[Bill Morrison]

without any of those extras. Just phone service. We finally were able to remove the texting and some of the other extras we did not have any idea how to access or operate. Praise the Lord. Siill have a bunch we would never use anyway. I would still rather have a crank phone to access the operator and have her connect me with the party to whom I wish to speak.

Jim:
Kay and I got rid of the texting (which we don't use) on our Sprint line when we started getting [U]charged[U] for each text we were receiving from people we didn't even know! I'm with you: why must we be constantly forced to buy things we don't want or need. Power windows on a car are another pet peeve of mine: isn't it great when they won't hardly go up or down in the winter. And then paying to fix them when they break! Crank windows were just fine on a car.

BILL

[Jim Franklin]

I told the Verizon person that anytime I am charged for something or some service that I don't use and don't know how to use I consider it a scam. That got his attention and he agreed to block any incoming text messages. But said he could not reimburse me for text messages that had come that I never accessed and did not know who sent them. Sometimes some of this overrated technology seems to be some braniacs way of scamming and stealing from old people. "Frustration" is no where near an adequate term. At least with crank phones you probably knew the person who was working the switch board. I don't have anything to hide.

Wayne, you jet pilots have a distinct advantage in technological understanding over an old Geography and History educator.

[Shea Zellweger]

I told the Verizon person that anytime I am charged for something or some service that I don't use and don't know how to use I consider it a scam. That got his attention and he agreed to block any incoming text messages. But said he could not reimburse me for text messages that had come that I never accessed and did not know who sent them. Sometimes some of this overrated technology seems to be some braniacs way of scamming and stealing old people. "Frustration" is no where near an adequate term.

Jim,
You really should look into Jitterbug. It's like a "regular" phone, except you can take it out of the house.

[Jim Franklin]

So what is Jitterbug? Don't get me started on some kind of dance and what does it have to do with a telephone?

[Shea Zellweger]

So what is Jitterbug? Don't get me started on some kind of dance and what does it have to do with a telephone?

Thought I already gave the link once: www.jitterbug.com . It's a telephone service specifically geared toward senior adults who have no interest in the "frills" that come with cell phones. All their information is available on that website.

[Mike Wooldridge]

My parents could appreciate where Jim is coming from [the service part, not the lack of privacy part]. Dad has basically given up on his cell phone all together. Mom still tries but was disgusted to find out this week that the text messaging inbox was filled with junk texts - that she had to pay for!
I don't know about other carriers but on Sprint you can call *2 from your cell phone and ask the customer service person to block all text messages. There's no charge and the only texts you'll get are occasional FREE texts from Sprint.