So our family matriarch needs a mobile phone. At 80 years old she is not tech savvy at all and struggles a bit understanding all this stuff.

What is a good mobile phone for a senior citizen? What features do I need to look for in a phone that will make it a simple experience for her? She needs calls and possibly a little bit of texting.

Any recommendations?

At 80 years old anything with a GPS receiver and the ability for someone to log in and ping her location. Up to you whether you tell her though. Way too many oldies with dementia are going missing in urban and bush areas and passing away before they are found.

Imax1 said..

Olitech Easy Mate.
Ebay $ 170 delivered.
I have one , its just a phone text and camera . I dont want any more.
12cm x 6cm.
So simple to use , loud , and big buttons.
( all my mates stir me about it , but im bringing retro back ) , stuff em , ive got better things to do than constantly gawk at my phone.
If i want to go tech i use a computer at work or home.
Also has a one button emergency call that notifies up to 5 people.
Check it out

but 3G is that still OK?

I saw costco selling a dewalt ph .
Its got everything probably too much for grandma to play with with uhf radio & everything but it has a feature i thought was fantastic & probably great for an 80 yr old its got a man down feature .
Dont know how it works but the phone is for mines & tradies & stuff so if you hit the deck & are not moving it will automatically ring emergency services & tell them the GPS coordinates.
Its water proof shock proof its built with its own hard case .
It will be my next phone im thinking .
That is a lifesaving feature .

Imax1 said..
^^^
Its fine , works everywhere.

ps ; done some quick research and Telstra claim it will probably shut down in 2020 some time.
$ 170 for a couple years ????

That's longer than you'll get out of an iPhone.