The Jitterbug phone from Samsung is a cell phone like none I've ever used. It's the perfect no-frills phone, because you can make calls simply and quickly. As a basic phone, it's reminiscent of the old standard desk phone. It's great for the technically challenged and for those who want no more than a way to call friends and family.

The first thing that attracted me to the Jitterbug (which is also the name of the service that runs it) was its big buttons and displays. I would have felt comfortable handing it to my in-laws and asking them to use it, knowing that they've never made a cell phone call in their lives.

The Jitterbug is substantial -- at least as substantial as the cordless home phones that still reach from ear to mouth if you hold them to the side of your face.

Best of all, the fonts are large. My wife loves them because she is always fumbling with her glasses to see small fonts; and she doesn't have to do that with the Jitterbug.

But if you want to take a picture with your phone, you're out of luck. Don't look to carry around your appointment book or list of things to do, either. It's just a phone. Even the texting capability is very one-dimensional. It can text; but only to one person at a time. It doesn't suggest words through a pop-up dictionary; and if you make a mistake, you have to backspace through the characters to fix the problem.

The Jitterbug is quirky; but some of the quirks make it better. When you open up the clamshell, for instance, you hear a dial tone, just like when you pick up a traditional home phone.

There are no fancy navigation buttons -- just up and down arrows, a "yes" key and a "no" key. Those keys let you answer questions such as "Select phone book?" Anytime you want to make a selection, press yes. To cancel it or ignore a selection, press no. These two keys even act like a start-call and end-call button that you find on most cell phones.

While this makes simple tasks even simpler, the lack of frills can sometimes make things a bit tougher. There is no noticeable way to skip through your phone book, for instance. You have to look at entries by scrolling with the up and down arrows.

The phone works on the Jitterbug network, which in the past has been a cobbled-together set of independent cell phone companies. But a recent agreement the company made with Verizon Wireless soon will have Jitterbug piggybacking its service onto Verizon Wireless' national network.

That bodes well for Jitterbug users who will gain the advantage of more cells on a broader network. Although Jitterbug, the company, doesn't have a wide variety of phones from which to choose, it does provide an interesting solution for a segment of the market that seems to be left in the dust as more companies concentrate on complicated feature-rich phones and iPhone look-alikes.

Jitterbug is a dose of the good old days, when telephones simply made phone calls and emitted a friendly dial tone.

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