Have you heard about Jitterbug phones yet?
Basically they are cell phones like they used to be – or maybe even easier. They don’t have any unnecessary features and are really just good at one thing; being a phone.
The Jitterbug J
They just recently launched their new Jitterbug J Cell Phone. 
According to the website…
“Jitterbug provides industry leading, U.S. Based Customer Service available 24 hours a day. Friendly, 24-hour Jitterbug Operators greet you by name, connect calls, update your Phone Book and provide directory assistance. Jitterbug makes it easy to keep in touch, with a brighter color screen and a thinner, patented design that delivers clear sound while reducing background noise. We’ve expanded our affordable rate plans and nationwide service starts at just $14.99 per month. With Jitterbug, there are no contracts, long distance or roaming fees and no prepaid hassles.”
Available service plans
When looking at the Jitterbug service plans the first thing you notice is that they start very cheap. I haven’t seen a plan for $14.99 since 1997 – it doesn’t offer much, but for the person who truly wants to have a cell phone only for emergencies, that is a lot better than the cheapest plan at the major companies. I should also mention that the minutes rollover from month to month.
The higher end plans seem to be a bit pricey compared to what you would get from Verizon or AT&T, but then again you aren’t tied to a contract with this phone.
My thoughts about the Jitterbug
In reading a few Jitterbug reviews it seems like the phone is perfect for Seniors – which is clearly their target market. The buttons are big, the display is bright and clear, there isn’t a camera or memory cards to deal with, and everything is very simple to use. While I am supposed to be the age of someone who would hate this phone, as a wannabe minimalist, I feel a little attraction to it. I don’t like using cell phones and prefer to use a corded landline or even better – talking in person!
But either way, I see this phone as a viable option for…
- Seniors – who can’t (or refuse) to figure out how to use “normal” cell phones.
- Those who want a very cheap monthly cell phone bill – $14.99.
- Those who want to avoid contracts with their cell phone company.
The thing I don’t like about Jitterbug is that you have to pay for the phone upfront. It costs $149 and most of us are so used to getting tremendously discounted phones that paying for a phone this simple is a little bit of a bummer.
Jitterbug cell phone video review
The video review below was created in 2006 and apparently the two issues he brings up (the low battery indicator and charging plug) have been improved in the new version (Jitterbug J). But it still provides some good detailed info about the phone and how it functions.
I have added a video look at the newest version of the Jitterbug phone…
What about you? Do you use Jitterbug for a cell phone or know someone who does?
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Net10 seems to be a better option. The phone is cheaper up front, and the minutes are cheaper too.
Ian,
I haven’t heard of Net10 – I will have to check it out! Thanks!
Sounds good as an emergency phone for kids and seniors. Hate to say that I can’t do without my IPhone. It has cut way back on my sit-down time at the computer since I can check things on the fly.
These plans are harder to manage if you have teenagers! If you do it might save even more money to use the plans in conjunction with a less expensive phone service like Vonage. We’re paying $65/mo for two land lines, no restricitions.
We keep the minutes low on our cell plans, and have a a “5 minute” rule with our kids–if a call will go more than five minutes, they need to switch to a land line.
That can help with the limited minute feature of the better priced plans.
Jitterbug doesn’t seem to be the only one targeting:
- Seniors
- Those who want a very cheap monthly cell phone bill – $14.99
- Those who want to avoid contracts with their cell phone company
Companies like Consumer Cellular (www.consumercellular.com) also reach the senior population, offering plans as low as $10/month, discounts to AARP and AAA members and no contracts.
looks like cordlessworkz.com has a $30 coupon for the new Jitterbug J through July
Thanks for the post!More than the price of the cell phones ,it is the features that makes a cell phone model different from it’s competitors.
I am a big fan of the Jitterbug phone, it seems the perfect phone for those who want simplicity, no contracts and a reasonable monthly fee.
I talk with company occasionally and they are very eager to help and do their best for their customers.
I would rather the phone would show me how many mins. I have left instead of how many I have used.
My mom just got one of these phones, against my better advice. One big mistake is that the speaker port is ONLY on the inside of the phone, and so the ringer is very soft.
I anticipate she’ll save A BUNDLE ON THIS PHONE because she’ll never hear it ringing !! WHAT A DEAL !!!
I bought one of these for my mom.and it has been a teribble experience.there customer service might be based in America.but they where rude.I kept getting disconnected.and why a activation fee? plus its supposed to be simple but then they want you to go on the computer to update it!and the minutes expire.still waiting for my refund.
Net 10 is ok if you can use up the minutes. The minutes will expire if you do not use them up. Better than that is to get any phone that has a sim card in it, go to t-mobile and get one of there sim cards and have it turned on. If you are a member of Bally’s fitness or any corporation they may have a free activation ect.. At t-mobile you can buy 1000 min for $100 and they will give you an additional 150 for free(1150 total) and the minutes do not expire for a year. That will work out to about just over $8 per month. T-mobille will also carry your home phone for just $9.95/month. That’s the best deal if you do not use the phone a whole lot. The service is for long distance, local, no roaming charges ect..
The Jitterbug J actually got some really high marks across the board, 4.08 stars out of 5 when averaging all of the reviews on the net. This is a huge improvement over the Jitterbug Dial, the previous model, which had an average user rating of only 2.8.
Jitterbug, as a company and service provider, are really moving forward and helping a senior market that seems to really appreciate their product.
The other big problem with the Jitterbug J is that the charger is a plug-in type. It is NOT a cradle-type. The phone is made by Samsung so they certainly could afford to add $2 to the price and give you a cradle. Anyway, it’s difficult for seniors to plug the charger into the cradle, you have to thread a needle into a USB-mini port that’s about the size of an artist’s wide-pencil. Better luck next try, Samsung!
Tried Jitterbug because I wanted cell phone service, not a multiuse computer-style component that costs over $100/month. Not happy. Jitterbug set up to comsume minutes unnecessarily. Doesn’t work as said. They claim they are still working on monthly minute balance. Mine just tells me the total minutes used since inception. Always the same. “We recognize the problem and are working to fix it.” They have been “fixing” it for many months. Minute plan is not simple and straight forward. Jitterbug is geared to charging users unnecessarily for time because of slow message retrieval and charge differences according to time of day. I will go elsewhere for service and dump my Jitterbug phone. Really, cheaper service with many add ons to be phone elsewhere.
jitterbug is a great phone, i think.
I once had Net10 which was a great experience – and a great phone that lasted over two years. After getting wrapped up in a contract with AT&T for two years, I ditched the contract days for another prepaid option – straighttalk. These are available online and at WalMart. They offer talk, text and web and a variety of phones from “free” simple models up to smart phones that are comparable to the large network options. The lowest option is $30 a month for 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and a limited amount of web usage. I use the unlimited plan for $45 a month.
The messageQube is another appealing option for seniors. It doesn’t make calls (and is only one-way communication, for that matter), but it might be a good idea for an elderly person who doesn’t want to learn a lot of tech or carry a phone around that might startle them.
When the contract on my ATT phone ran out, I got ATT pay as you go. For $100, I get one year at 25 cent a minute. OK by me. If I renew on the anniversary date, my minutes roll over. I got my wife a flip phone at Walmart. For $180, she got a phone and 800 minutes good for 18 months. That is $10 a month. The sound quality, area coverage and everything else is excellent. My only complaint is an open keyboard on my phone so I can’t carry it in my pocket, but on a lanyard. When my phone anniversary date comes around, I will switch to the Walmart phone. It has a camera, etc. that I don’t use. These phone seem to be the hot number before the smart phones came out. I have 2 different plans by 2 different companies (third plan for my land line by ATT) and I suspect they steal minutes from me. My land line every month has a few dollars for long distance that I never use since it is cheaper to use the cell phone for long distance. But, it is not worth an hour of my time every month to run it down. I cancelled my long distance connection 3 times over the years. Anything over 8 miles is long distance now on a land line. On both my cell phones, minutes disappear even if the phone is off and in a drawer for months. I need to write this down to be sure, but this has been going on for years.