Buying My First Phone

[Barbara Sheinbein]

Hello Everyone,

OK I am a bit behind the rest of the country, but I have decided to buy my first cell phone.  Of course I do not know much at all about this topic or how to shop for one.  

I want to keep things simple and at the lower end of cost.  Outside of basic phone use, I do not see myself using a lot of other features.  I can understand that it would be of help to have a way to take notes like an appointment or a telephone number.  I do not envision the need for email or the Internet.  It goes without saying that I need the phone to be blind friendly.  At this time, I plan to continue having a land line.

The type of cost that I am aware of include the cost of the phone itself, the phone service, and some sort of speech software.  What other cost will I incur?

What I would like from this list are suggestions on how to shop for a phone/service.  No idea is too basic to share.  LOL.    What type of features should I ask about to ensure the phone is speech friendly?

Thanks in advance for any help from the list members.

Barbara Sheinbein