We live in a world filled with technology. And it’s often rather challenging to figure out which new technologies will benefit you. So we’ve done a deep dive to find those tech tips that can make your life much better.

Skype, Facetime, and WhatsApp – All three of these will allow you to visually connect with your children, grandkids, or friends. It’s truly like having your favorite people in your living room – without the mess. You must download Skype and WhatsApp, but Facetime comes already applied to all Apple products.

Words With Friends — It’s like a modern twist on the classic Scrabble and currently the world’s most popular mobile word game, ‘Words With Friends’ is a fun and free way to test your literacy skills. You can play and chat with friends and family, or find a challenging opponent from the many players in the online community section. What we like about it is that it’s free, brings out your competitive side, and allows you to play others from around the world.

Waze and Google Maps — Both of these apps use GPS to give you rather accurate guidance for directions. Both offer voice guided so you can focus on the road while having a voice tell you where to turn. It’s programmed to find the best route, then give you point A to point B directions. They can also find places to eat, a hotel, and where to buy gas.

Speech To Text — Every smart phone has this. It’s that little microphone symbol you’ll find in any search bar or text you send. Simply press that button and speak: the phone will type out whatever you are saying. Be sure you can read it as it doesn’t always get every word or phrase correct, but you can type it out manually to correct, OR just press the microphone button again and start over. This app is especially good for anyone with arthritis or has visual challenges. 

Weather Apps: Yahoo and The Weather Channel — They’re really about the same. Both can give you accurate weather for today as well as up to 10 days in the future. It gives you the wind speeds, Celsius or Fahrenheit temps, visibility, and more. You can program it just for your area, or up to 20 different areas. Best of all, you can get the weather any time you want.

GoodRx — If you struggle with the high cost of prescription medications, this free app can save you lots of money. It compares prices from more than 60,000 pharmacies to find you the best price for your prescription drugs. No credit card or sign-up is required. There is no commitment or fees to use GoodRx.

Red Panic Button — A great app for any senior, the Red Panic Button is a distress and safety app that sends alerts to family and friends whenever you’re in danger or in need of assistance. You simply tap the button to send a text and an e-mail to everyone in your emergency contact list. The message consists of the nature of your emergency and GPS coordinates of your location.

Beyond these tech tips, SCOA offers other technology assistance for seniors, like our Claris Companion Program. Contact us today and learn more.