With our growing decency on smart phones to check everything from our emails and breaking news to the progress we're making with our exercise routines, it seems almost natural that we should also be using our smart phones to check in on our loved ones. Many of our older relatives however, see smart phones as being a part of a foreign dialect that they'll never even begin to understand, so how could we use our mobile phones to make sure our elderly and technophobic relatives are safe? The answer is the 3rings service from 3rings.co.uk, a service that has been custom built to allow smart phone owners to check in on loves ones with the latest app and on-line services.
The ethos behind 3rings is to bring the old fashioned '3 rings code' into the 21st century
The inspiration for the service comes from the pre-mobile phone days, when we'd have to call home and let it ring three times to let our parents and guardians know we were safe. The ethos behind 3rings is to bring this old fashioned 'code' into the 21st century. All that is required for users to receive or send a 3rings message is a landline, so elderly parents and grandparents can simply make a call directly to the automated service via their landlines. This will trigger an automated response to a network of friends and family members, who can be notified through a bespoke app, text message, email or phone call.
Company founder Steve Purdham (alongside CEO Gareth Reakes) first formulated the idea for the service during frequent business trips, where he found keeping in touch with his elderly mother difficult due to the long distances he was travelling and the different time zones he was moving through. He said that in such circumstances that “Keeping in daily contact with family can be difficult,” so he set about creating a simple solution which answered the question, “are my ageing mum and dad okay today?”
3rings is a tool through which users can be provided peace of mind and feel better connected to their families
The service is essentially a tool through which its users can be provided peace of mind and feel better connected to their families. Purdham underlines that he doesn't intend for the service to “Replace that personal call or visit which is so appreciated,” and says that it instead is designed to act as a “Safety net, there for the times that you can't be."
The app is available now via the official 3rings website with free apps also available for iOS and Android via their respective stores. There is a free trial available and two paid services; a 'simple plan' for £5.99 per month and a 'premium plan' for £9.99 per month. The simple plan allows up to 10 friends and family members to be added to the service and 2 households, whereas the premium plan allows for 4 households and up to 50 friends and family members.
For a video demonstration on how 3rings works, you can watch the '3rings Story' via YouTube
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance copywriter from Kidderminster whose parents can barely turn on a computer, let alone navigate a modern smart phone. His dad still owns and uses a Nokia 2210.
