You want him to see the grandchildren's faces on a Sunday, and you want him to answer. Those are two different wants, and the device has to satisfy both. Most of the choice comes down to how easily he can answer, not how many features the box lists.

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Start with the answering, not the features

Before you open a single product page, watch how he handles the phone he already has. Does he pick up on the first ring, or does he let it go and call back later? If he lets calls go, a device that rings loudly and sits where he already sits may work better than one that only lights up when someone starts a call. Ask him to show you what he does when the phone rings. He will probably say he doesn't need a screen. Let him say it. Then ask what he'd do if you called and nobody answered.

What to compare, side by side

Put the candidates on one page and compare these things in writing:

  • Screen size he can read from his chair, not from where you stand in the store.
  • Whether it needs Wi-Fi, and whether the signal reaches the exact spot it will sit. Test the signal in the kitchen with your own phone first.
  • Whether he can answer with one press, or has to swipe, type, or find a menu. One large answer button beats a home screen.
  • Whether the ring is loud enough to hear over the television, and whether it sounds different from the other noises in the house.
  • Whether you can call it from your own phone, and whether the call can start without him touching anything.
  • Who can add or remove people from the contact list, and whether that is handled on your account or on his.
  • Whether there is an ongoing charge after the first period. Ask for the answer in writing, and ask what happens to the device if the service stops.

What to ask before you order

Call the seller and ask three questions: how long the return window is, who you call if the screen freezes at seven in the evening, and whether the device needs a software update he has to accept on his own. Write down the answers and the name of the person who gave them. If the update needs his approval, plan to be there when it runs, because a device waiting on an update he never saw will be dark on the day you need it.

Set it up before he sees it

Do the setup yourself, either at your house or at his table with him watching. Add his contacts, make a test call to him, and make a test call back from the device to you. Leave one card beside the device with the two steps he needs: how to answer, and how to call you back. Then stop. Don't turn the first week into a lesson.

The test that decides it

Inside the return window, make three calls: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, one after dinner. If he answered the first time without help, keep it. If he didn't, the device is the wrong one, not him. Send it back and try a different one.

Keep the box, the receipt, and the seller's number on the same shelf. You will need all three the first time something freezes. If you want someone nearby to help with the setup, see Local Help for a Widowed Father in St. Louis.