The intense competition in the cell phone industry has manufacturers constantly adding new features. This wealth of features may make phones a little smarter, but it often makes them more complex to use. So in this atmosphere of competition and increased functionality, it is refreshing to see a cell phone that chucks the “smart” features to focus on basic features and ease-of-use. The Jitterbug cell phone is just that: a simple phone that is easy to use.

The newest version of the Jitterbug phone is called the Jitterbug J. As shown in Figure 1, it comes in a small white box.

click to enlarge
Figure 1: The Jitterbug box

Inside the box, you will find the Jitterbug J phone, the battery, a wall charger, a Quick Start Guide, a How-to-Guide, a Customer Agreement, an Activation Guide, and information on the Jitterbug 30-day return policy. These items are shown in Figure 2. It is surprising that the phone comes with so much documentation because it is a phone that most people will be able to just pick up and start using without looking at the guides.

click to enlarge
Figure 2: What’s in the box

The Jitterbug J that we reviewed is dark gray graphite. The Jitterbug J also comes in a pearlized white and bright red. A portion of the sales price of the red phone goes towards Jitterbug’s donation of $500,000 to the American Heart Association’s "Go Red for Women™" movement.