J-j-j-jiterbug! You put the boom-boom into my heart / You send my soul sky high when your lovin’ starts.
So wrote the great literary poet George Michael, in his magnum opus “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”, penned and performed in 1984. At the time, Michael was unaware that, a mere quarter century later, there would be a telephone celebrating his genius and at the same time easy to use for his 45-year-old fingers. It’s name? The Jitterbug J, the stuttering initial of the original song moved to the end of the name to better suit the mouths of ageing denture-wearers.
The Jitterbug J is a an upgrade to the super-simple Jitterbug phone, a cellphone which does almost nothing but make calls. Despite some problems with the original (a software bug meant that 911 calls wouldn’t work — oops) the Jitterbug was apparently popular enough to inspire a sequel. However, even the Jitterbug has suffered from mission creep, with new features being added to a handset sold on having almost none.
What’s new? You can now customize ringtones and change the color of the screen, you can choose from a library of pre-written text messages (sample message: “Get off my lawn you damn kids!”) ,use a calendar, and access the Live Nurse, a real nurse waiting for your call.
There are some hardware differences, too. Bigger buttons, speakerphone switches on the front face of the phone and a better battery. Contract-free plans start at $15 per month and go up, although if grandma is burning through 1500 minutes a month, you might want to consider buying her an iPhone.
Product page [J-j-j-jitterbug]
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