Good cheap verizon cell phone

July 31, 2005 2:20 PM

My dad just renewed our contract w/ Verizon Wireless. Can any MeFites recommend a good (and preferably inexpensive) bluetooth / camera cell phone?
posted by creeront to technology (11 comments total)

Plutor showed me the Cell Phone Finder when I asked a similar question a while back. It'll help you figure out what you want.
posted by boo_radley at 3:28 PM on July 31, 2005

On verizon, you're pretty much SOL if you want bluetooth and a camera. I think that the Treo 650 (expensive but good) and the Moto v170 (kind of crappy, but not as expensive) are the only choices currently (at least they were a month ago when I looked at what was available on Verizon).
posted by freshgroundpepper at 3:43 PM on July 31, 2005

actually im on verizon as well.... is there a mp3player phone combo that can be modded to work with verizon?


thanks in advance.
posted by specialk420 at 3:51 PM on July 31, 2005

er.. that was supposed to be the motorola v710 not the v170
posted by freshgroundpepper at 4:12 PM on July 31, 2005

New Verizon cam phones with Bluetooth are the Motorola E815 and the LG VX8100. I've not had direct experience with either, but I've been pretty content with my previous LG phones for Verizon (VX6000 and VX8000), so I'd probably give that one a go.

Also, in case you weren't aware, Bluetooth functionality is crippled to an extent on all Verizon offerings in order to get you to have to pay more to use their services to transfer pictures and the like. I don't know all the details off the top of my head, but search the Verizon section at Howard Forums, and you should get a pretty good idea of what you can and cannot do with it.
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 7:04 PM on July 31, 2005

Whoops, those phone links don't work outside my session. Links to Phonescoop here:

Motorola E815 (which acts as the upgrade to the 710 mentioned by freshgroundpepper)
LG VX8100
posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 7:09 PM on July 31, 2005

I have a Treo 600 (wish the 650 was available at the time). With pTunes and LightWav, you can get any ring you want. With an SD card, you can store them and transfer from your computer with ease. I got a 1G card and have the equivalent of an iPod Mini. My only complaint is that the reception is not always adequate.
posted by plinth at 7:32 AM on August 1, 2005

boo_radley -- thanks for that link!
posted by k8t at 9:36 AM on August 1, 2005

There was an article in Slate a while ago on the Nokia 6600 that prompted me to get one. I don't know if it is compatible with Verizon, but I like its large screen and PDA features. I use it with T-Mobile's T-Zones plan, which give me basic web surfing and email as a US$5 add-on to make voice plan. I recommend reading the slate article: The Super Phone You Can Get For Free
posted by tsackett at 12:55 PM on August 1, 2005

I just picked up the e815 myself when I renewed my contract. For me, with the contract renewal plus being due for a phone upgrade the phone was free, so I can't speak to cost.

So far I like it quite a bit. In addition to performing all the basic cellphone tasks well, it's got a speakerphone that's actually usuable, and the camera is one of the best I've seen on a phone. Here's a random pic I shot with it outside in daylight, and here's one in terrible conditions, to give you an idea.

I haven't tried yet, but apparently most of the Verizon-crippled bluetooth functionality can be unlocked, if you've got a USB data cable and are brave enough to edit the SEEM configuration files on your shiny new phone. As mentioned, poking around in Howard Forums will give you a pretty good idea of what's possible and what's involved.
posted by bripod at 6:46 PM on August 1, 2005

Wow, bripod's photos look excellent for a cell phone. My Moto V710 is an abominable camera. Glad to see Moto has taken criticism to heart. But wish I could get the 815 now...
posted by Tubes at 12:45 PM on August 2, 2005