Hi all,
my mom (60+) needs a new phone. She used Nokias eversince and so should it be again in order to keep adaption minimal.
The phone is used for calls and sms only and should have no touchscreen but big buttons (normal buttons, but the bigger the better ).
No apps, browsing, mails, wlan, bluetooth or videos needed.
Something like the Nokia 3410 with a color display would absolutely do it.

What simple phones can you recommend?

I can recommend Doro depending on where you live.

Great phones big buttons and displays.

Thanks Dave. Doro might be an option in the future (70+).
For now, it shouldn't be a dedicated phone for seniors, a simple Nokia would be fine, but which one?

Nokia C2-01 and 2700 classic are in the race at the moment.
2700 classic is 2 years older, but still 40% more expensive.
Thoughts?

Don't be afraid of adaptation. If your mom is normally lucid that age isn't a problem to learn a little bit.

My mom started with a Motorola MicroTAC Elite in the late 90s and then went to my Nokia 1100 after i left it. Now she is 60 as well and i gave to her (forced by me :P) my old Nokia 5310 before buying my 5230 (if you look at my timeline down in this post you'll see later i sold the 5230 and finally bought the N9).

She has learned to use the 5310 very well at least with calls and SMS uses, although she didn't wanted to learn how to take a picture, listen to the radio or browse the WAP Web. But that's because she didn't WANT to, i'm perfectly sure she can, but don't wanting to is another story. She uses the options menu and the dictionary while writing SMSs, manages tha contact list and many other advanced things.

Arm yourself with some patience and buy her the most common and cheap phone you can find from Nokia, Win7Mac has given you two excellent choices. Then after a week and some "how to do" reminders she will be on her way, specially if her comes from an early Nokia phone.

My mom even uses my N9 to make calls whenever she wants, because i've a much bigger contract than hers and it serves well for long distance calls. I've teached her how to unlock it and browse to the apps view and pick the green phone icon, the hardest part was telling her no to hit so hard the screen while using a touch phone (nearly all the people 50+ years old think the new phones screens are like the hard-to-press old ATMs touchscreens, haha). I even think you should try a touchscreen, I have strong suspicions that the new smartphones are even easier to use to older people thank mos of us think.

Good luck!

I defenetly see need of adoption for old people, why consider a nokia. I think Doro or simular beat nokia for old people 100% of the time. They only issue is if they can accept that the are old and don't care for brands.

I'm not afraid, she is... and lucid, too.
She had a look at the Doros, but she's still too vain to use those. But sooner or hopefully later their time will come, I guess. They absolutely have their justification.
So we agreed on a "most simple with good tactile buttons and sound quality" Nokia, no touch.
She performs really bad on her laptop, the mouse is not her friend... I often have to help her out with simplest things on the phone and teamviewer. So no experiments...

Nokia C2-01 and 2700 classic are in the race at the moment, because they are available in store. Is the 2700 any better in built quality?

I think a cheap iPhone 3GS could be ideal.

Theyre not only cheap. Theyre relatively simple and easy to use.
And eventually she would learn how to use more advanced features like Camera, YouTube, Browser etc etc.

It may even make her "hip" before a replacement ; )

What about Nokia 7280?
Are the letters too small, too difficult to read?
What about Nokia 6800? Or, Nokia E70?
Best wishes.

Thanks for your input.
Iphone 3GS - she wouldn't make use of all the features, so it's still too expensive.
Nokia E70 - also still too pricy.
Nokia 7280 - R U nuts? A lipstick-fashion-phone with a slider end and a Navi-Spinner in the place of a keypad? WTF... Nice idea, but no way.
Nokia 6810 could be it, but it's not available online anymore.
The new 100 looks ok too, but for 19€... what can you really expect?

Since she already knows the 2700 classic, I think I'll take her to a store and try out the Nokia C2-01, 100 and alike and see how she likes them. It's hard to decide without having them in hands and actually using them.