Cell phones

[edg]

So I'm thinking about buying a cell phone. Unless someone can come up with an overwhelming reason not to, I will probably go with Cingular as a provider, as they're the only provider in the US (to my knowledge) who allow unused minutes to be kept across months.

What I'm not sure on is the phone. I have three solid criteria:

It must not be a flat-body phone (in other words, it needs to be a flip-top or have a sliding panel that reveals the keypad), unless the power button is not easily accessible.

It must not cost me, when all is said and done, more than $300.

It must be heavy-duty enough to withstand being kept in my pocket.

Features, like games, text messaging, cameras, and the like, are completely optional; they're nice (except for the games - playing games on a cell phone = ugh) but I don't require them. What I do need is a device that will let me get in touch with people, and that will let people get in touch with me, when I don't have a land line handy.

So. Anybody have recommendations? What should I look for? What should I avoid?

Comments

[sariel-di.livejournal.com]

I think most flat-body phones have a keylock setting - it leaves the phone on, IIRC, but it also means that you have to do something specific (Mom's is a 4-digit code, I think) to turn off keylock, so you don't have to worry about accidentally dialing people. Although I agree, flip-top or sliding ones are better.

... other than that, I have no idea, but. [giggles]

[edg.livejournal.com]

Well, my concern is that the phone will accidentally turn on while it's in my pocket. ^_^ Leaving it on would sort of defeat the purpose!

Besides, I like the Star Trek feel of a flip-top phone. :D

[sariel-di.livejournal.com]

[nods, giggles] It's annoying, yeah. But the keylock should be available if you wind up having to go with a flat-body. [grins]

[laughs!] Entirely understandable! ^^

[edg.livejournal.com]

- True enough. My main concern is that I really don't want to leave it on all the time; I'm not interested whatsoever in my (putative) cell phone replacing my land line, and I don't want to encourage people to call me. :)

- "Kirk to Enterprise..." "What? Who is this?"

[sariel-di.livejournal.com]

- [laughs, nodnods] Gotcha. [grins] Luck with the search! ^^

- [giggles!]

[sapphohestia.livejournal.com]

I've got a flat-bodied phone and have never had a problem with it turning itself on/off because the button has to be pressed way in and held for several seconds. It's pretty sturdy, since I have a tendency to be a bit rough on my stuff due to clumsy-ness and general ineptitude. Of course, it looks clunky and isn't very cool, but it's served me well. Just sayin', ya know. Good luck. I used to hate cell phones, now I use them all the time.

[sapphohestia.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I think my cell was free or something like $10 with rebates. I got it online, can't remember what the website was, though.

[solaas.livejournal.com]

That's what you have the 'no sound' option for! I use it all the time. ^^;;

[finding_helena]

Heard some bitching about Cingular, but that doesn't really mean much, because I haven't exactly been trying to collect unbiased information.

[telerib.livejournal.com]

I find that I don't come close to using all the minutes on my bottom-of-the-line Verizon plan. The rollover with Cingular is nice, but if you don't use the phone a lot, you may not really need it.

I don't know about other providers, but I know that Verizon lets you call other Verizon cell phones for free - even during the day, IIRC. No minutes charged. My sister and dad - two of the three people I usually call on the thing - also have Verizon cells. So it made sense for me to get one, too.

My phone (which I'm happy to show you) I believe meets all your criteria, and costs $20. My plan is ostensibly $40/mo., but taxes and fees bring it up to $50 in reality. But if you don't have a happy little Verizon calling circle, I see no compelling reason for you to go Verizon.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

When you sign up for the plan, especially if you do it online, they'll offer you all sorts of phones at various costs, some of them free. I'd advise just getting the lowest price one they offer that has a flip-top. (I almost got a flip-top one, but it would have been $50 for the phone instead of free, so.)

[solaas.livejournal.com]

Siemens make some of the best cellphones on the market these days, and after them there's Ericsson. Nokia, unless you buy something _very_ expensive, is not recommended from this person. :)

[aurorafirechild.livejournal.com]

I would go with any provider that isn't Sprint. Sprint=Evil, Money Hungry Industry. I have and LG Verizon phone that I'm happy with, although the commerical with the guy running around to different places on his cell phone saying, "Can you hear me now? Good!", is very misleading, since I've been to some of those places, and get NO RECEPTION. Don't get a Kyocera brand phone. They are pieces of crap and won't last you long. Your best bet is to look at phones online, as suggested previously, and see which brand fits your needs, and which provider fits your price range. :)

Assuming Nokia has US models for their phones:

[cherrypep.livejournal.com]

Nokia Nokia Nokia, ancient ancient ancient (6310 (http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6310i) for example) goes my suggestion. Text message ought to have been standard on everything since, geez, forever (had it since 1999 and it was not new then). These PDA slash phones are disgusting yuppie gunk, and most of the hinge designs suffer from the horrors common to all moving mechanics.

Whatever you buy, test it first. Poke some buttons. Hold it in your hand and see if the buttons are big enough for your sylph-like fingers, if they have a satisfying click or not. And search the Web for problems with that model, see who has had what problems and when. And, if it is at all possible, use a trial model. See if you can operate the bastard thing without a manual. Nokias have sweet usability, whereas my father's (something Japanese what I have forgotten) is outstandingly annoying, and you can spend six to eight hours poking around Alcatel phones just looking for a simple feature that you are sure must exist, then giving up in disgust. The software on which a phone runs is what makes it a useful tool or otherwise, and if you don't find yourself feeling good with it, watch it, because you will grow to hate the damn thing.

I have found that insy tinsy teeny weeny cellphones are dead annoying to use and keep track of. My German one, a Nokia 7210, is beyond the pale comfort-wise, and had I no nails on my thumbs I would probably swear as I dialed numbers. And it worms its way to the bottom of bags and stays there, particularly when I need it. My UK network one, a 7100 (7110?) is rather more comfortable to use and has the same feel as the 6310, but I am told by surfers that the sliding cover gunks up in seconds if you let sand near it (see? Moving mechanical parts need servicing). Mine OTOH has lasted five years and counting and seems to be working for an indestructibility record.

OTOH, you can't get most of the sweet European models in the US I notice (because of this joyful CDMA wondernetwork standard, the one that y'all were planning on importing (http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/2171271) into eye-raq). So probably, 90% of what I tell you is false. But so is 90% of everything else, so that's good stats.

[ex-tepes85.livejournal.com]

I'll sell you a bag phone for the price of shipping it to you. You can keep it in your car and feel all 1337. ;)