Is there an app to help me with my 90 year old Mom?

[jgirvine]

My mom is still driving, and is doing well, but I am noticing that she now says out loud every coming turn, and no longer says left and right, but points in the direction. I wonder if it is because she is starting to get confused about how to get home. I would like to add a measure of safety. I have her a flip phone, and she does very well with it, but a smart phone is just beyond her abilities. If she could use a smart phone I would just add Life360 to it and be done. So, here is my thought, I buy an inexpensive 3g smart phone and put on a pay as you go plan. Plug it into her cigarette lighter and leave it in the car all the time, so it only acts as a tracking device. What I am looking for is an app that would basically turn everything off unless power is to the phone. That way if the car was parked in the garage it would not be using data locating itself to Life360. Has anyone done anything like this? Any suggestions? Sure would appreciate the help. Thanks

 

[Unforgiven]

Sounds like something tasker could do for you. I'm not up to speed with it, but I'm sure someone could help you set it up.

 

[Thom]

A few things ...

I'm not sure what you mean by "turns everything off". Without knowing I don't know if automation with Tasker is possible.

Some older (cheaper?) smartphones might have a problem with their batteries if they are always plugged in. They might overcharge the battery. This is not a problem with an

Tasker on a smartphone could be an option. You could use a smartphone for this application and have it automatically configure the apps of interest when it starts up. It would be no more complicated for her then a flip phone. This is very simple to do in Tasker.

If she is verbalizing every upcoming turn and can not remember the words left and right ... are you REALLY sure she is safe to be driving?

... Thom

 

[jgirvine]

Thom;
Yes, I am still ok with her driving. I try to ride with her often. We had a friend who's Mom went to the hair dresser one Friday morning, everything seemed fine. Her body was found 6 days later in her car out of gas 200 miles away. Got confused and started driving... that is always in the back of my mind.
When I say turn off, I mean the data portion. So I am not burning data on a pay as I go phone.
I assume I could google the names of different phones I am considering to see if there have been any reports of battery issues with being plugged in?
I appreciate your comments. I would not have thought to check on the battery issue. One thing I just thought of is I need to see if her Jeep Liberty the cigarette lighter is on all the time or only when the car is running....

 

[Unforgiven]

Thom;
Yes, I am still ok with her driving. I try to ride with her often. We had a friend who's Mom went to the hair dresser one Friday morning, everything seemed fine. Her body was found 6 days later in her car out of gas 200 miles away. Got confused and started driving... that is always in the back of my mind.
When I say turn off, I mean the data portion. So I am not burning data on a pay as I go phone.
I assume I could google the names of different phones I am considering to see if there have been any reports of battery issues with being plugged in?
I appreciate your comments. I would not have thought to check on the battery issue. One thing I just thought of is I need to see if her Jeep Liberty the cigarette lighter is on all the time or only when the car is running....

FWIW, I have a RAM 1500 with a USB port for charging that is on all the time and a cigarrette lighter that is only on when the key is in the on position.

 

[Thom]

Tasker can turn Mobile Data off and on an un-root-ed Kit Kat phone. I do not know if it is supported on an un-root-ed Lollipop phone or if you are required to be root-ed.

... Thom

 

[funkylogik]

Also a thought. There's no way of automatically turning a phone on so if she hasn't driven in a day or so and the battery dies, no offence but is she capable/would she remember to turn it back on once it's had a chance to get some charge in it.
Major respect to you for being such a concerned son btw

Next step is the tracking app. Would you want to track her in real time or just be able to request a snapshot of her position on a map?
EDIT scratch that last bit. I reread and see you have an app in mind sorry

 

[Thom]

Tracking and control ... no debate ... it's ...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus.client&hl=en

... Thom

 

[jgirvine]

Tracking and control ... no debate ... it's ...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus.client&hl=en

... Thom

Thanks... I will look into Cerberus. Looks like it would not use a bunch of data on a normal day to day basis.

 

[jgirvine]

Ok, Just checked my Mom's Jeep Liberty. The cig lighter is hot all the time. So once I plug the phone it, it "should" stay on and charged. So I need to check that it is not a cell phone that has overheat problems.... Right??

 

[Thom]

It's like Android Device Manager on steroids.

Remotely tell it to launch a task.
Remotely tell it to take pictures.
Warning ... the remotely launched siren sound is VERY loud.
The list goes on and on and on.

(I learned about it from someone on Android Forums a while ago.)

... Thom

 

[Unforgiven]

Ok, Just checked my Mom's Jeep Liberty. The cig lighter is hot all the time. So once I plug the phone it, it "should" stay on and charged. So I need to check that it is not a cell phone that has overheat problems.... Right??

Any LithiomIon battery should be fine.

 

[jgirvine]

I am planning on using Page Plus Cell for my pay as you go service. I actually have a flip phone right now that has over a hundred dollars in time that won't expire till December. Was an emergency phone I provided a young nephew, and the time has just built and built. I will switch it out for a smart phone on the account. Looking at Page Plus, I like either the LG Optimus Fuel, or the LG Optimus Dynamic either the l or ll version. They also sell ZTE, and Huawei, but I have never heard of either of those..... thoughts? BTW a huge thanks for your help today. I am thinking this is a viable low cost sleep at night option. Oh, and went with mom to her doctor today, had her drive, she did great, and doc says he hopes he is in half as good a shape as she is at 90. I live 10 hours away, and make it in every 3 months.... always a little worried.

 

[electricpete]

My mom had LG optimus fuel from tracfone which became mine after she upgraded. It's easily rooted with towel root (find the specific codes needed by googling). Great battery life. Android 4.4. But tiny 3.5" screen...

My 85 year old mom uses a smart phone. She didn't handle the ui well, but handles voice commands just fine. Since she can use the Google voice call command even offline..she's got what she needs. She also likes asking questions to her phone. I check her notifications and battery when I visit.