I want a clever dumbphone.

January 4, 2011 2:16 PM

I'm mostly happy with my Nokia 2330 (weeklong battery life, ultraslim and light candybar, disappears in my pocket, holds up to light abuse), but am getting tired of the slow messaging. The inbox and other sections/menus take forever to load, and I seem to type faster than the phone's little processor can handle. If the messaging was speedier, it would be perfect. But it isn't, and I'd like to upgrade. What should I be looking at next? I'd like to keep the features I like, but have a speedier phone. I only text and (barely) call. I will be prepaid with AT&T or T-Mobile.
posted by Xere to technology (2 answers total)

I can't recommend anything specific, but consumer reports just did a giant round-up of phones and plans, from prepaid to basic contract to smart phones. It's not in the current issue, but one or two back. Their website won't let you see the info without paying, but many public libraries will have the magazine. I just read it at the library this afternoon, in fact, but was looking for different features and therefore don't remember any of the phones they recommended for your situation. I do know that they mentioned one prepaid carrier that offers a cheap text-only plan with 5 or 10-cent talk minutes that get billed as you use them, which sounds like it might be worth checking out for you.
posted by vytae at 7:21 PM on January 4, 2011

My husband and my mom both have the Samsung Intensity and they both love it & say it's great for texting. The Intensity is a Verizon phone, but I have seen it compared to the AT&T Tilt (although I've never personally used the Tilt).

One note of caution, though. If you love to text, just say NO to a touch screen. I have a Pantech Crux, and texting on that thing is futile and frustrating. My students (text fanatic teenagers) also rarely have nice things to say about touch screens of any brand.
posted by SamanthaK at 10:00 PM on January 4, 2011