Before finding a gift for anyone, it’s important to understand her requirements. Some of your grandma’s needs may only need the phone for emergencies, whereas others will make you and your family rue the day you gave them mobile access, and that’s how we’re going to look at things, as two separate people, one who hates and one who loves new technology.

Grandma One: the Old-Schooler

Grandma does not require Bluetooth. Grandma probably can’t work a QWERTY keypad. Grandma has no MP3s. This grandmother doesn’t need the high-end or even mid-range features users like you and I enjoy, and there’s no way to convince her that she does. Grandma needs a phone she can take with her, and that’s about all.

Grandma might have arthritis, which rules out any phones with extremely small keys, so the SLVR and RAZR and KRZR and most other modern Motos are out, as well as many, many other phones. She needs big keys, and they don’t come any bigger than those offered on Samsung’s Jitterbug.

good camera, maybe something that makes it easy to load them onto her computer. A flash is handy, as church basements are often a little too dark. And video capture is great for little Suzie’s soccer game, which is useless to you and I, but a cherished memory to those from the Eisenhower administration.

In the end, grandma’s are people; they’re just very, very needy people. Any cell phone can work, but the trick is finding one she’ll like, so we hope this helps. Big buttons or big features, cell phones are personal, and people your grandma’s age tend to be particular. We’ve narrowed the field, but feel free to use the comments to share other ideas you have for your mom’s mom’s cell, we’re curious to see how the rest of your families work.