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

[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. ^^;;