Find me an AT&T/Cingular cellphone that doesn't suck.

May 20, 2008 3:15 PM

Help me buy a new AT&T/Cingular cellphone that doesn't suck? I need reliability, general feature quality, and (ideally) calendar synchronization, don't need outrageous expense...

I'm finally at the point in my cellphone contract where I can get a discount on a new phone for extending for another two years, which is great, because I hate my current phone. Since I'm doomed to stick with AT&T/Cingular for at least that long (it's the only company that gets decent signal on my campus), I don't mind the serfdom, but here's the problem: I can't find a phone that looks at all appealing.

Here's what I'd like:
1. Price: I don't want to spend more than a hundred bucks. I'd go a little higher if I could find a steep, steep discount on something wonderful (like an iphone). I don't care whether I do this by buying from AT&T or from a third party, so long as it works with my current account. And I don't mind buying refurbs, so long as they won't crap out on me and leave me holding a big financial burn. And I don't want to buy an expensive data/media plan to get the full discount. (That's AT&T's latest trick: hundred dollar mail-in rebate cards to get the advertised price, and you only get the rebate card if you not only get a 2 year voice contract, but also a ripoff data plan at an extra 20 bucks a month.)

2. Quality: general cellphone stuff is the most important. I hate my current phone (loathsome Sony Ericsson Z525a) because it does stupid crap like crash if shaken, freeze up, flicker all night because the connector for the charging cable isn't good, etc. The phone needs to work right, be audible, have decent battery life, last for 2 years, etc.

3. I don't need random toy features like cameras, ringtones, etc. Though they're nice if they come without costing more money or requiring compromising on other features.

4. Competent design. Another thing I hate about the phone I have is it puts some "push to talk" button on the side (I don't even know what "push to talk is," except AT&T charges you a lot of extra money for it.), so every time I took the phone out of my pocket, I'd press the button and get an error message. I eventually pried the button off the device in a fit of frustration. No more of this garbage, please.

5. Decent PDAish features would be nice, especially calendar sync with desktop (running vista, or linux if that's easier).

6. I don't want to buy a data plan now, but it would be nice if the phone could handle it should I want to do so later.

Is there a phone that can hit my sweet spot here? Or am I just totally dreaming that the cellphone companies could produce something other than glittery garbage and marketing tricks to screw the consumer?

posted by paultopia to shopping (16 comments total)

OH: also: size. The smaller the better. I keep my cellphone in my pocket. I thought about getting a palm centro, but looking at them in the store, they look like they're about to fall apart if you breathe too heavily on them.
posted by paultopia at 3:19 PM on May 20, 2008

why not just get a Blackberry Curve?
posted by unexpected at 3:19 PM on May 20, 2008

Dude get a Blackberry Curve / Pearl. Yes, there's a button on the side that by default is mapped to Push to Talk, but you can reassign it. I have mine reassigned to the calculator. Use the keylock feature as well.

After you get it, do yourself a favor and get a skin for it from bestskinsever.com AND get the official blackberry skin. I use both and carry my phone in my pocket and it is in perfect condition.
posted by andrewdunn at 3:28 PM on May 20, 2008

I just noticed your thing about size. Get a pearl.
posted by andrewdunn at 3:29 PM on May 20, 2008

Seconding a BlackBerry Pearl.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 4:02 PM on May 20, 2008

I have a Cingular 3125 that has been great to me for the past 8 months. I got it because it does Outlook calendar sync and I couldn't navigate the blackberry joystick. There are some buttons on the side that drive me crazy sometimes (turn on camera, start media player) but I think they're re-mappable. My level of sloth is higher than my level of irritability. The only thing I've done extra to the phone is buy a Window Mobile notepad application so I can keep lists of stuff on the phone. It would be nice to have a full keyboard for texting, but it's not that big a deal to me. Calendar sync and small size were the most important features to me when shopping. I don't do email or web surfing on the phone, I have no data plan.

HTC makes the 3125 for cingular, you can also search for "HTC 3125"

I can fit the phone and my wallet in my front left pocket.

It takes awhile to boot from power off, and sometimes seems like it's locked up immediately after booting, but once it starts, it seems rock solid. It has crashed only a few times that I can recall.

I believe I paid < $100 for it when my contract came up for renewal. It might have been refurbed, I can't recall.
posted by dr. fresh at 4:16 PM on May 20, 2008

For what it's worth, you should check out the phone deals on amazon.com

Pretty much every phone AT&T carries is either free or money back on there, and I had no problems extending my AT&T contract with them.
posted by Oktober at 5:20 PM on May 20, 2008

I just got a Palm Centro and I really like it. My only complaint is that I have to use the Palm Desktop software (or whatever it's called) for syncing my address book and calendar from my computer.
posted by All.star at 6:12 PM on May 20, 2008

I bought an At&T Tilt. It is like an iphone without the hipster emo. It has everything and the kitchen sink.

Amazon has the best cell phone deals.
posted by andryeevna at 6:28 PM on May 20, 2008

Wow, great tip about amazon, thanks! those prices are wonderful...

Oktober, did you have to talk to someone re: extending the AT&T contract via amazon, or is it an automatic thing?
posted by paultopia at 6:51 PM on May 20, 2008

(never mind, I see on amazon's site)
posted by paultopia at 6:55 PM on May 20, 2008

I love my SonyEricsson z550 - steer clear of the z520 or z525 - they were lemons (I had 2 of them.) I got my z550 on Amazon, unlocked.
posted by IndigoRain at 2:05 AM on May 21, 2008

My wife liked the w580i I got so much that she ordered one a week or two after. We're both really happy with them, but I honestly don't know offhand if it will do what you want it to with syncing.
posted by owtytrof at 9:17 AM on May 21, 2008

That's a SonyEricsson w580i, by the way. Sorry for the double-post.
posted by owtytrof at 9:18 AM on May 21, 2008

Blackberry Curve seconded, or IDEALLY get yourself one of the discounted iPhones. You can unlock it with http://ziphone.org/ for massive apps.

I unlocked my touch and I can sync calendar, contacts, and get any other program I need. The iPhone is a pretty decent phone as well. If they were on Verizon I'd have gotten one instead of my LG Voyager last weekend. I understand the unlimited data plans are very worth it as well, ESPECIALLY since you can access standalone apps for mail, as well as the iPhone has the best mobile browser out there. Texting and phone calls are simple as can be.
posted by PetiePal at 9:58 AM on May 21, 2008

discounted iphone? what is zis ov vhich you speak?
posted by paultopia at 5:24 PM on May 21, 2008