Any recommendations for a new cellphone?

March 11, 2013 4:52 PM

Because maybe, just maybe, it's time to replace my antique Nokia.

Okay, so maybe all the people who've been bugging me are right: perhaps it IS time to replace my perfectly functional but 12-year-old Nokia and finally join the 21st Century. I'm not looking for anything fancy; all the Nokia does is make & receive phone calls; all I'd like to add is texting capability --- I have no need for a camera, and can live without it having ninety-gazillion bells & whistles.

(Subsidiary question: I'm currently with AT&T: should I also change carriers?)

posted by easily confused to technology (16 answers total)

If you're several waves behind the smartphone curve, you might be able to get a cost-free taste of the iPhone and/or Android experiences by asking friends if they have an old smartphone lying around you could activate for yourself on a short term basis to see how you like it. We're several waves into that now and many of your tech savvy friends may have a phone hanging around that they consider outdated that would nevertheless be a nice introduction point for someone who's been clinging to an old Nokia.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:09 PM on March 11 [2 favorites]

You need to tell us more about what you want. So far all I see is that you want it to be able to do text messages. AFAIK there is no phone on the market that does not have that capability.

What are your priorities between price, size, weight, battery life, etc. Your dismissal of "bells & whistles" kind of suggests you aren't interested in a smartphone... Or are you open to that option?
posted by aubilenon at 5:19 PM on March 11

Take care: if you use a "smartphone," even a very very old one, on AT&T's network, it will conclude that you must have forgotten to cancel your old plan and sign up for an expensive data plan, and will take the liberty of signing you up to "fix" your "mistake."
posted by 1adam12 at 5:21 PM on March 11

Note that at&t will eventually find you if you use a smartphone running Android or iOS and force you into a data plan, even if you turn off mobile data entirely. I had been using various non-Android and non-iPhone smartphones for well over a decade and when I eventually got an Android phone they wanted around $40 a month extra to keep my data and text service. If you're not interested in a smartphone and its attendant data costs, I'd suggest one of the new Nokia Asha phones. It's like what you have now, only newer.

They have basic web browsers (or you can download opera mini and have a quite good web browser) and play music and take pictures and all that good stuff, but they're less than $200 brand new without subsidy.
posted by wierdo at 5:22 PM on March 11 [2 favorites]

I've had various Nokias in the past, then a Blackberry Curve, and finally an iPhone4.

The iPhone is, by far, the worst phone I've ever owned. Reception is much worse than the blackberry, even though both are 3G devices on ATT. Call quality is consistently poor. I often miss calls when my girlfriend calls me from her iPhone 4, and vice-versa. The phone UI is inconsistent - two years later, I still find myself hanging up the wrong call when a second call comes in. And if you try to use the phone up against your face, your face will randomly press buttons, unless you either keep the face of the phone at a 90-degree angle from your face, or pressed right up against your skin. I only ever make calls using the wired headset.

It is a great web browser, and app-running time waster.

So be careful and try out whatever smart phones you are interested in, as others suggest. If you just want a phone you are likely to be disappointed. Making and receiving calls seems to be fairly low on the priority list for smartphone designers.
posted by b1tr0t at 5:31 PM on March 11

What's the model number on that antique Nokia? How sure are you that it doesn't do SMS?

Your chance of finding a modern phone that fits you as well as one you've been using for 12 years and isn't festooned with stuff you don't want is pretty slim.
posted by flabdablet at 5:32 PM on March 11

I don't think you want a smartphone.

My backup Nokia 100 is probably right up your street.

Day to day I use a smartphone, but the Nokia 100 is great for your usecase. It's a light basic phone. It probably works a lot like your current Nokia but:
- It sends texts
- Has great battery life
- Weighs nearly nothing

Best of all? It's dirt cheap.

I personally couldn't live without internet, calendar syncing etc on my phone. If you don't want that? I commend this to your consideration.
posted by ElliotH at 5:46 PM on March 11 [1 favorite]

The economics of prepaid phones are probably a good fit for you. Just go to the grocery store and get whatever prepaid phone looks good and is cheap. I believe you can port your current number to a prepaid phone these days.
posted by twblalock at 5:50 PM on March 11

In terms of network, it depends on where you live. If Verizon has good reception where you are, I'd say go with Verizon because their customer service is great. You pay a little more but you get what you pay for. That said, there are some places where AT&T flat out has better coverage.

Before I switched to a smartphone, I had a little LG phone that had a flip-open keyboard and I really liked it. It's much easier to text on a full keyboard. And having a camera is nice - you'll find yourself using it occasionally, even if just to remember what something looks like, or to take a picture after a car accident, or whatever. I can't imagine that any phone today doesn't have a camera.
posted by radioamy at 6:02 PM on March 11

I really want a Sonim but can't bring myself to pull the trigger.

http://www.sonimtech.com/products/

As mentioned above smartphones, at least the iphones, are great devices, terrible phones. Every time I have to talk to someone on it, it really makes me want to just get a nexus 7 and a sonim instead.
posted by hobo gitano de queretaro at 6:41 PM on March 11 [1 favorite]

Get a basic flip phone-- any carrier has 'em. These days, Samsung makes a cheap flip phone. All of them have T9 texting, and all have web access (however painful to use).

There are things to keep in mind:
- call your carrier and tell them you want to restrict the phone from using ANY data/internet access. This'll avoid any accidental (and costly) button pushes that trigger data fees on a non-data plan (I know for certain Sprint does this)
- you can also find cheap, used phones of the same style, and cheap batteries/chargers online-- or ask your friends/colleagues if they have any old phones. These phones can be activated and used, so long as they're made for the same carrier (essentially: Sprint phones can't be used for AT&T, vice-versa. Check online to see what's compatible).

I have a Samsung SPH-A900 with a new battery and charger, waiting for when either of my parent's phones die out. It's indestructible, does T9 texting, has a loud ringer, and holds a good charge. Unfortunately, I believe it's Sprint only.
posted by herrdoktor at 7:44 PM on March 11

Sorry if I confused the issue: all I want something that will make phone calls and text; it's not so much that I'll refuse a new phone if it DOES have other capabilities, but I'm not likely to USE those other capabilities. Actual talking-to-other-people phone calls will remain the main purpose..... yes, I AM a bit of a Luddite!

flabdablet: my antique Nokia looks like it's a 'model 3120b', if I'm reading the right info.

As for battery life, that's not really been a worry in the past, since my current phone is entirely turned off far more than it's on; but I know, that may have to change. Usage of a new phone would, I expect, remain very low (I carry it more for emergency situations than keeping in constant contact with the world!), and I don't expect to add more than a handful of texts per month.
posted by easily confused at 2:35 AM on March 12

The Nokia 3120b user guide says it can do text messaging (see page 42). Here's AT&T's support page for SMS on the Nokia 3120. If none of that helps, it may be that your phone doesn't have the correct SMS Message Center number programmed in, or you're currently on a non-text plan (does such a thing even exist?) and AT&T should be able to help.
posted by flabdablet at 3:01 AM on March 12

I use a similar Nokia to yours and it can certainly handle SMS. The 3120 was released in 2004, at which time text messaging was ubiquitous. In fact, Nokias had SMS in the early 90s.

Based on your usage patterns (occasional voice, very occasional SMS, nothing else), I really don't see why you would need to change your phone. Basic old Nokias are reliable, easy to use, have great battery life and I can get a signal when colleagues with iPhones on the same network can't.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 3:20 AM on March 12

Yeah, that one will send SMS. If you end up sending lots of text messages, I'd suggest getting one with a keyboard. Otherwise it's just a matter of giving at&t more money every month or $0.25 a message with no further action on your part if you haven't asked for a text message block in the past.

The message center number should have been automatically read from your SIM when you put it in the phone, so that shouldn't actually be an issue.
posted by wierdo at 7:51 PM on March 12

Indeed the message center number shouldn't be an issue. But I know from personal experience that at least on my Nokia 2730 it's possible to change it inadvertently by having the phone buttons randomly pressed by other pocket contents, and that my network provider's tech support people knew what to do to fix it.
posted by flabdablet at 8:30 PM on March 12