Tough lovin' is hard on a cell phone
December 27, 2007 3:11 PM   Subscribe

Need an inexpensive indestructible cellphone for my SO. Since the ol' luddite has converted to this "cellular phone" business he's managed to bang the ever-loving crap out of this phone.

He leaves it in his pocket, where it gets jangled against his keys and change. The screen is scratched up, the charger requires a piece of tape to stay connected, and I'm just waiting for buttons to start falling off.

He's not eligible for an upgrade until August. Egads. I don't think the phone will make it that long.

No, he is not going to wear it on his belt. Not happening. Period. A protective case is unlikely, as it will add bulk, and he will hate this. Yeah, he's fussy. (But handsome!)

Suggestions for a less-delicate phone? Bear in mind that I'm not looking to spend a lot of money, and will have to buy this thing unlocked or whatever, since I am not paying full price through AT&T.
posted by desuetude to Shopping (28 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I usually avoid flip phones, and I go with something like Nokia and examine it for build quality (if it feels solid).

I currently have the Motorola Rokr, which although it's a somewhat crappy phone, doesn't flip, doesn't have any external antennas, etc.

I also buy a case for my phones, it allows you to clip it to your belt (depending on case) and it has a plastic cover for the screen.

No specific suggestions beyond that. It might be possible to get the same phone used for relatively cheap off eBay and then buy the unlock code from someone.
posted by so_ at 3:17 PM on December 27, 2007


a flip phone will last longer in a pocket.
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:17 PM on December 27, 2007


You can also get stick on screen protectors that you can cut to fit if you don't want a case. I don't find the case to that big a deal. Unless it was pink, sell him on the fact that it's leather :)
posted by so_ at 3:18 PM on December 27, 2007


If you don't go with a flip phone, use something older like a Nokia 6630 that is painfully durable and has protection over the screen that's part of the removeable and replaceable cover.

Just don't expect much in the way of features. Oh, and the ol' luddite needs to understand that a phone is not a wallet.
posted by davejay at 3:26 PM on December 27, 2007


There are two options:

Option One:
a) He begins to organize his pockets. Wallet on one side, keys and change on the other.
b) He practices. Always the wallet on one side, keys and change on the other.
c) You get the thinnest, cheapest phone you can find (perhaps the Motofone F3, which is ultra-cheap and compatible with Cingular/ATT out of the box).
d) He always keeps it on the wallet side. It slowly goes to hell, but that's OK.

Option Two:
a) You get him a phone the MeFi folks say is a good, indestructible phone.
b) He puts it in the same pocket as change and keys.
c) It quickly goes to hell.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 3:34 PM on December 27, 2007


A friend of mine has cerebral palsy, and she bought the predecessor to the Kyocera KX440 several years ago. It still works despite the fact that she's generally rough with it...she drops it, isn't gentle with the buttons, keeps it loose in a bag attached to her wheelchair, etc. I'm not sure how convenient it would be to keep in a pocket, though.
posted by christinetheslp at 3:36 PM on December 27, 2007


You're out of luck. They don't make indestructable cell phones. They make them just sturdy enough to last about a year, then you have to get a new one.
posted by jeffamaphone at 3:42 PM on December 27, 2007


If you can find a Siemens M65, they're extremely hardy. Looks like they're going for around a hundred bucks on eBay.
posted by j.edwards at 4:00 PM on December 27, 2007


I keep my cellphone separate from my keys and it's still a wreck. But it's a fine working wreck. Nokia 3100. My parents are trying to get me a new phone because EVERYONE thinks it's about to fall apart very soon (the individual case parts are broken, there's no numbers on the keypads...) but as far as I'm concerned, if it works it works. It's been like this for a year and it still works.
posted by divabat at 4:06 PM on December 27, 2007


I'm quite adept at destroying cell-phones, but so far the Nokia 5140i has resisted my attempts to break and drown it. I've been using mine for a couple of years now, and it has so far survived one ~10 meter drop onto a concrete floor, and one journey into the washing machine. It's pretty hard to break, unless you're really set on it.
posted by Zero Gravitas at 4:19 PM on December 27, 2007


Funny, I just met a reporter at a holiday party who has been working in war zones the last several years, and he swears by his Nokia 6310i. Definitely no frills, but a beast and can probably be had for cheap on ebay.
posted by lovejones at 4:20 PM on December 27, 2007


Best answer: I recommend another approach. Buy him a phone (or three or four phones!) he can happily trash. I use an AT&T "GoPhone" prepaid phone with the barest of features that I picked up at a Best Buy for around $15. If you're on AT&T, you can just grab one of these phones and pop your sim card in it and it quits being prepaid and does your bidding. Mine doesn't appear on this list but there are plenty of incredibly cheap options on there (we're talking sub $20), particularly when you consider that you'll be throwing away the sim card that comes with it and never "refilling the balance". Many of the phones on that list are about comparable to the one your guy has in features. Maybe you'll even find one that's harder to kill. I've dropped mine down stairs.
posted by raygan at 4:24 PM on December 27, 2007


Nokias are exceptionally hardy and thinkingwoman is totally wrong—candy bar phones last longer than flip phones, less moving parts = less ways it can break.
posted by lia at 4:24 PM on December 27, 2007


Uhhh... but on candy bar phones, more of the moving parts (the keys?!) are exposed. And the screen—the only screen you get—is always exposed and can get scratched or even broken far more easily, whereas on a flip phone the screen you use to do most phone tasks is nicely protected. The outer screen may get scratched or damaged—but that screen isn't mission-critical. Candy bar phones, esp. the cheaper ones, are also larger, which means they're more likely to bump into things in pockets, get bumped up out of pockets, etc., which sounds like the OP's SO's main problem.

The phone I just suggested in the other recent cell thread is the Motorola v195. My boyfriend and I both have it, so it's a good test subject for this. Me: I never drop my phone, keep it in its own pocket, etc., and it's immaculate. Him: He keeps it in his pocket with keys while walking around all day at work, drops it all the time, etc., and while it's scratched all over (can't really avoid that, with our SOs' habits!), it's still completely functional, because the keys are protected by it being a flip phone, the outer screen is pretty rugged, and the charger/mini-USB port has a little rubber cover. Even if your SO were to manage to knock off or lose that cover, it'd continue to function just fine. I'd suggest that—my boyfriend just leaped into the cell age this year, too, and he's done great with it.
posted by limeonaire at 4:37 PM on December 27, 2007


I'm a candy bar phone and keys in the same pocket kinda guy, but it takes me about 30 minutes once a year to completely rebuild the phone (shell and keypad) with cheap OEM parts shipped from China. It's actually quite enjoyable, because you end up with a "brand new phone" for a few bucks and just a little bit of effort.
posted by shinybeast at 5:00 PM on December 27, 2007


I've pretty well abused my Samsung A900 for almost two years now, treating it more like a wallet than I should. It's made of metal, not plastic, the black paint has worn off, but gives it that Blade Runner look. Looks like it's about 60 bucks on ebay.

Like the Motorola v195 it's a flip-phone and has a cover to keep the charger protected.
posted by jeremias at 5:33 PM on December 27, 2007


Well, my brother had a one-piece (i.e. non-flip) Motorola phone of a several-years-ago vintage. Can't remember the model off hand. Based on his experience I would have to recommend that you go with Motorola. He's basically a caveman / heavy-industry mechanic, and he: A) dropped the phone in a bucket of tile adhesive, B) dropped a 30 lb. motor casing on the phone, and C) left the phone out in the rain repeatedly (usually digging it out of a mud puddle the next day). There was no noticeable effect on the phone (other than having to pick the occasional bit of tile adhesive or mud out of the keys).
posted by madmethods at 5:38 PM on December 27, 2007


I second the notion of the cheap phone. I have the $15 cheapest Tracfone compatible phone from Target. Very light, rugged, and batteries last forever. Low on features, but I rarely use it. It gets dropped quite a bit, put in my pcket with keys, and holds up well.
posted by krisak at 6:05 PM on December 27, 2007


Check out the Motorola F3, also known as the Motofone. I bought one on ebay for about $40. Just pop the SIM out of the current phone and into the F3 and you're all set. The thing is made for the developing world -- mainly India -- so it's sealed against dust and is very tough. It has pretty much no features, but battery life if great. I like it.
posted by Mid at 6:23 PM on December 27, 2007


Whatever phone you find, check out the "speck" line of cases for them. I've got a MotoQ, an EXTREMELY frail all-in-one. I got the speck rubber case for it and I've yet to damage it---and I've managed to run over it with pallet jacks (unloaded) drop it while climbing INTO my big International 4700 to the ground 6 feet below, and lots of other horrible stuff. The case has been more than worth its money---$25 on ebay.
posted by TomMelee at 7:21 PM on December 27, 2007


nthing Nokia candy bar phones as the most indestructible phones out there. I've literally thrown my against a wall repeatedly and each time all I had to do was put the parts back together and it still worked.
posted by christonabike at 7:48 PM on December 27, 2007


he swears by his Nokia 6310i.

I have an older version of that phone, have had it for years. Mine phone wishes it got to live in a pocket, instead I just toss it into whatever bag or vehicle I'm using that day. I drop it a lot, sometimes with added flinging action. It gets wet, muddy and greasy on a regular basis. I once went kayaking with it in my pocket instead of a drybag. But it still works perfectly and I have phenomenal reception and never lose a call. I have no doubt it will continue to work for many more years to come despite the abuse I throw at it.
posted by fshgrl at 7:56 PM on December 27, 2007


Response by poster: The current phone (linked in my question, folks) is a Nokia 6030.

I think the next phone should be a flip, to keep the keys and screen better-guarded against scratching, which is more an issue than fall-from-heights-impact.

raygan, for reals? The gophone option sounds too good to be true. Are they cheap because they're refurbs?
posted by desuetude at 8:26 PM on December 27, 2007


Vote for using the PAYG phones as throwaways. Several are $12 or so each at WalMart at the moment.

particularly when you consider that you'll be throwing away the sim card that comes with it and never "refilling the balance".

Gravy on this: You can make about $5/ea putting the unactivated SIMs up on eBay.
posted by Orb2069 at 9:10 PM on December 27, 2007


My Nokia 5500 is built to take a beating.. They scores very well on a durability test from a Russian smartphone forum.
posted by nonemoreblack at 9:25 PM on December 27, 2007


desuetude: Yeah, for reals. True, many of the ones on the AT&T site are refurbs, but I have no reason to believe they aren't reliable refurbs. My experience has been with two barebones gophones (nice rhyme there!) picked up at Best Buy, but to the best of my knowledge it should be possible with the classier gophones for sale on the web. I see some Sony Ericsson refurbs on there for $30, for instance, with bluetooth and a camera and everything. If I understand things correctly, AT&T has a great incentive to offer subsidized prepaid phones at extremely low prices because they make all kinds of money on overpriced prepaid minutes.
posted by raygan at 10:49 PM on December 27, 2007


Wow, they really put the Nokia 5500 through it's paces. The only negative I can see about it is that it clocks in at around $300. I'd second looking into the Motofone F3. It's pretty cheap ($50) and it looks like it can take a beating (the second half of the video shows the reviewer bending it, banging on it, dropping it, and stepping on it to w/o damage).
posted by lhl at 11:06 PM on December 27, 2007


I can't imagine living with the Motorola Fone F3. Take a look at its limitations. I'm all for basic cell phones, but this seems truly irritating, no matter how cheap and durable.
posted by raygan at 10:39 AM on December 28, 2007


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