sinnick

If you know anyone who wants a cellphone without all the bells and whistles, check this out: www.jitterbug.com

It's targetted at senior citizens, but I think many mass-market users would be interested as well. Apparently, they have partnership deals set up with american wireless carriers, but they route the calls through a VOIP system, which allows them to deal with long distance calls more cheaply.

What's interesting to me is that there are no hidden extras ... not even long distance or roaming charges! No fucking "anytime" minutes, no "evening minutes starting at 9pm" or other such bullshit. The monthy bill is the monthly bill and that's it. They are eating any traditional carrier charges, in order to keep user fees simple and consistent.

It's literally just a phone and nothing more. You can't even send text messages. You get a set number of minutes, and you use them. Done.

You manage your contact list online, and then dial the numbers.

Because there are no roaming or long distance charges, there is no penalty for using this phone in Canada. You just can't buy it here (yet). But if you buy it in the states and bring it back, you would presumeably have a really cheap mobile phone (like $15 bucks a month cheap!).

This is exactly the product that my luddite mother wants.