iPad for Dad, #21: An Easy-to-Use Speaker
My dad loves to listen to music, mostly classical, but other musical genres as well. Mostly he fires up his stereo, a boom-box, or the local classical music radio station.
Now, he has a third option — listening with his iPad.
For Christmas we gave Dad the iHome rechargeable portable speaker for iPad. The iPad itself simply sits in the doc, the same way it sits on Dad’s keyboard dock. While the iHome sound isn’t quite at the quality of his stereo speakers, it’s good.
We downloaded the TuneIn RadioPro app which streams all types of music and programming from hundreds of radio stations. I preset seven or eight classical and jazz music stations as well as a baseball channel and a few talk shows. All dad has to do it touch the preset buttons.
If he wants to do more with TuneInRadio, and I expect he will, we can do more instruction later.
If you like this post, check out the others in the iPad for Dad series. iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13, iPad for Dad, #14, iPad for Dad, #15, iPad for Dad, #16, iPad for Dad, #17 , iPad for Dad, #18, iPad for Dad, #19, and iPad for Dad, #20.
iPad for Dad, #20: Battery Life
Dad continues to write on his iPad.
If you are still thinking about purchasing an iPad, either for yourself or for a senior parent, read the excellent, and very entertaining, iPad battery tribute over at Paul’s iPad blog. iPad batteries last a long time. Even when a person is working on heavy-duty projects, charging on a daily basis is rarely required.
Best Quote from Paul’s Post
How good is the battery? You find yourself doing funny things when you buy an iPad. I noticed this on day two of my iPad journey where I took her on an obligatory trip to Starbucks when I found myself doing something funny … I stopped looking for the seat next to a plug, I looked for the comfy chair.
My dad continues to write away on his iPad, and rarely does he need to think about the battery. Total convenience! And I have the same experience with mine.
Please visit the other posts in this series.
iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13, iPad for Dad, #14, iPad for Dad, #15, iPad for Dad, #16, iPad for Dad, #17 , iPad for Dad, #18, iPad for Dad, #19, and iPad for Dad, #20.
iPad for Dad, #18: Discovered Stories from My Family’s Past
Mom and Dad about a year after this story on the steps of Dad's church in Union City, New Jersey,
Those of you who have read even a few of the posts here at As Our Parents Age know of my ongoing series, iPad for Dad (read the first in the series). A little over a year ago, I splurged and bought my Dad an iPad for his 87th birthday. My goal was to encourage him to write and more specifically, share his writing with me and other family members. A committed journal writer, Dad’s diaries fill many shelves, spiral notebook after spiral notebook, pages covered with handwritten entries dating back to 1947.
The iPad has encouraged hours and hours of journal writing, pieces that can easily be sent around to family members — all he has to do it hit the picture of the envelope and his thoughts are on their way to me or to a friend, to his granddaughter, Rachel, or his niece, Sandy. To be exact, 214 journal entries have been e-mailed to me over the past year, and at least every other one includes something new (to me) about his life or our family. Who knew?
What I do know, however, is that iPad is a gift that keeps on giving back to me, as Dad writes and remembers and writes some more. And his ideas, insights and stories about our family keep on coming. Read more »
Some New iPad for Dad Readers?
Check out this Wall Street Journal blog post, A Look at iPad Users. The story shares iPad ownership stats, recently released by ComScore, including a terrific graphic that depicts iPad sales by age group. Notice the statistics for age 65 and older and then add those iPad sales to the stats for the group just below, age 55 to 64. Bottom line? Lots of seniors own and are using iPads. The Journal’s blog post also features a short video news report that leads with the iPad data.
ComScore is a digital intelligence, data, and marketing firm.
Watch for a new iPad for Dad post - coming son.
If you are considering purchasing an iPad for your senior parent, read some of the post about my Father/Daughter iPad adventure. Click on the any of the links below.
iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13, iPad for Dad, #14, iPad for Dad, #15, iPad for Dad, #16, and iPad for Dad, #17.
iPad for Dad, #17: Who’s Managing Dad’s iPad?
Last April, when I purchased Dad’s birthday iPad, I set it up to download and sync on my computer. For the past ten months I have updated the iPad and kept track of apps they might like, downloading applications when I visit. Things have been just peachy. Until now.
This past Saturday when I was visiting my parents, age 87 and 83, they asked, out of the blue, if they can download apps and how they might go about it. I explained how I have the iPad set up. That’s when they both looked me in the eye and asked me to make changes that will allow them to manage the iPad. Read more »
Holiday Gifts: Buying an iPad for Your Senior Parent?
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad adventure. iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13, iPad for Dad, #14, iPad for Dad, #15, and iPad for Dad, #16.
The Perfect Holiday Present — iPad for an Aging Parent
Last April I had a silly idea of purchasing an iPad for my Father’s 87th birthday. Without talking to him much about it, I bought the iPad and showed up at my parents’ house with the nifty little gadget in a an Apple shopping bag. It took about 20 minutes for my dad to be really in love, but he was intrigued and intellectually curious from the moment the iPad came out of the box. My gift idea was not at all silly.
I’ve had a blast helping him, watching him figure out things, and reading his regular missives — he rarely misses a day — posted from his iPad by merely tapping on the picture of the envelope. I gave him the iPad with addresses entered so that he did not need to enter addresses at the beginning. And suddenly I was writing the iPad for Dad series for this blog.
iPad for Dad, #16: Maps
Last weekend I visited my dad, and we had only a bit of time to enjoy the iPad together. However, quite by accident we started playing with the map application.
I turned on the location part of the map program and then showed my father how look over maps of his neighborhood and town. Next we put in a few favorite places from the — Carnegie Hall in New York City, Branch Brook Park in New Jersey, Rochester, New York, Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a town where he went to college and more. We even visited the Library of Congress.
Each time I showed Dad how he could enlarge the map to a point that allowed him see actual neighborhoods and streets that he remembered. He was just delighted to connect with so many familiar places. As we played together, we probably looked up eight or ten locations where Dad had visited, lived, or worked. Now I know that we can also do this on Google Earth, which not only gets to the street but also to a picture of the actual house or building – but a year ago, pre-iPad — when I demonstrated Google Earth to my parents, it required way too many steps.
Guest Post: Adult Child Develops iPad Apps for Senior Mom
Paul Rhoades is an adult child and a subscriber to As Our Parents Age. He keeps an eye on his 90-year-old mother and has introduced her to the iPad. I’ve looked at his apps, developed to help her use the iPad more effectively, but I have not been anywhere near my dad’s iPad so I have not downloaded them. Paul’s story, explaining how he has jumped into the iPad application design business, is interesting and, I think, worth sharing. Take a look at Paul’s applications if you are currently helping a senior parent learn how to use an iPad. He has also written an interesting iPad help document which is available for free on his website. Pretty cool for an adult child to observe a parent’s technology needs and get right on with developing a better and more helpful solution.Paul’s iPad Post
As a retired senior living in Ottawa, Canada, I have a long history with computing. My first job after graduating from university in 1966 was as a computer programmer with a life insurance company headquartered in Ottawa, and I even programmed Honeywell 800 computers in assembler language with punch cards. I have never been far from the industry, and I have seen many new developments in the high-tech arena over that time but none have excited me as much as the iPad.
Presently I am building iPad apps for seniors and others who have limited computer experience. Many people look to the iPad to as an entry point because of its accessible user interface. After observing my 90-year old Mom struggle with some of the simplest iPad applications, I decided to build her some. For example, she had never used a calculator because she didn’t know what some of the symbols meant. So I built her a calculator with no symbols, just words.
Becoming A Grown-up Child…
One day in April 2007 my husband and I were the adult kids in our families — we are the only adult children
— and the next day we became what we laughingly call “real grown-ups,” helping first one, then two, and increasingly all three of our parents. It’s time to give back, and we do so willingly and happily. However the process is not easy, and it is not free from anxiety and tension. Check out the As Our Parents Age About page to learn more about the mission of this blog.
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Copyright and Attribution Info
As Our Parents Age by Marti Weston is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on work at AsOurParentsAge.wordpress.com and AsOurParentsAge.net
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by emailing As Our Parents Age. To learn more about this blog go to the AsYourParentsAge About page.
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