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Cell Phones..... What do you recommend?

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yungin's-dad

yungin's-dad

Last of the Baby Boomers
Hey all,

I am in need of a good cell phone. I am eligible for an upgrade on my cell phone, but am scared of getting an crappy one. I think I would rather buy a used one, that I know is solid. I am happy with my current phone (Casio G'Zone Boulder), it's ruggedized and solid as heck, but it has no keypad, and I have five kids that all like to communicate through text messages. I prefer to talk, but if I want to communicate through text, I need a good phone with a keypad. I try hard to thoroughly investigate all of those types of purchases, and my findings are that the new phones these days are not very dependable. I have an old LG VX9900 the first EnV to come out, which my wife uses. It's a rock solid phone with little to no problems and has the keypad. Just about all of the new phones I've looked at all have massive problems. They shut them selves down, lock up, or just quit working. The best thing I've seen so far is the Casio G'Zone (can't remember the name), it has a keypad and is "ruggedized" like the Boulder, but I have to extend my service for 2 years, and it will still cost me $150.

Anyone out there in the know, have a good suggestion as to a really good phone? Right now, I'm thinking I'll find a used VX9900 on the bay or where ever else. It's a no frills, ugly phone, but it gets the job done.

Thanks,

Ron
 
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I can't figure out why Casio seems to be the only one that makes the ruggedized phones. I suppose it is because if the phones last too long you won't buy another one. Cingular once told me that they expect their phones to last one year, though they have a 2 year contract until upgrade. :thumbsdn:

I would probably buy the Casio you are looking at even though it will cost a bit more. If it lasts and does what you want, you are ahead.
 
I keep returning to Nokia. I like the sound quality and they are quite rugged. I bought an E61 recently and it's very tough. I've lost count of the number of times it's hit the pavement. My previous 6300 Classic was great too. I still have it in case I ever need to send the other phone for service.
 
I stayed with Nokia for years because of the good luck I had with the 51xx, 61xx, and 71xx series until about 5 years ago and then got an LG flip, then a Motorola SLVR (fun phone), an LG VU and finally an iPhone 3GS. I've had the iPhone now for about a year and was always an anti-iPhone/iPod person but now I thoroughly enjoy it and, teamed up with an Otter box, it's quite rugged. But it depends on your carrier.
 
I have an LG Rumor2 thru Sprint. Have had it for over a year with no problems. Actually there are three of them in my house as the wife and daughter have one too. No problems with any of them. I like them because they have a slide out keyboard, can do texting, take pics and can access the internet. Do not do video though, my next phone will. I have dropped mine several times with no damage to it.
 
VinylHanger said:
I can't figure out why Casio seems to be the only one that makes the ruggedized phones.
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Samsung offers one encased in rubber thru Verizon. A carpenter friend has one and has dropped it several times.
Like an old TIMEX, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
I've owned a Samsung Vue for three years and love it. Sounds like a corded phone and with daily use, only needs a charge once a week.

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Isn't it ironic that you have to pay for cell phone service, then pay extra so you don't use the cell phone, but text instead?

I had the same issue with my kids. Since I'm the one who pays the bill, I won. They call me on the voice phone.

As far as which phones are good, my wife and kids have gone through plenty, and they all seem to have their faults. My old beater Samsung has never let me down.
 
As the technology has and continues to evolve, voice service becomes more and more irrelevant to the carriers. It's all about data, content and apps now. Just about any of new phones will require a data plan. The choices for a basic phone just to make calls are getting thinner and thinner. As someone that's been in the business since '88 when the new hot phone was an 8# bag phone with 15 minutes of talk time and a whole 2 hours of standby, I don't get too excited about phones anymore and settle for my wife's and daughter's cast offs. That said, there are 3 camps out there Blackberry, IPhone and those using the Android operating system. We're a VZW family and over the years Motorola and (surprisingly) LG have proven to be the best performers. Not so much with HTC. If you have a GSM phone (SIM Card) then you have the widest choice.
 
Thanks everyone!! Some great comments and advice here! Greg..... How've you been buddy? I have Verizon. I have always respected Nokia, one of my favorites too! I just don't know anything about their new stuff. Celt, the Samsung would probably be a great phone too, but much like the Casio (in more ways than one), it lacks the keyboard. elcoholic, you remember how badass those bag phones were? It was kind of like those huge boom boxes we used to carry on our shoulders. Now everything seems digital, small, and unreliable. I truly think my best bet will be to do as VH said and just pay the money and get what (I think), I want.

Thanks gang!!!

Ron
 
yungin's-dad said:
Thanks everyone!! Some great comments and advice here! Greg..... How've you been buddy? I have Verizon. I have always respected Nokia, one of my favorites too! I just don't know anything about their new stuff. Celt, the Samsung would probably be a great phone too, but much like the Casio (in more ways than one), it lacks the keyboard. elcoholic, you remember how badass those bag phones were? It was kind of like those huge boom boxes we used to carry on our shoulders. Now everything seems digital, small, and unreliable. I truly think my best bet will be to do as VH said and just pay the money and get what (I think), I want.

Thanks gang!!!

Ron
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My first one was a 3W Mitsubishi. I would take in to little league games and order from Dominos. It was very rare to see anybody outside of the business with a phone back then unless they were doing serious business. At $0.45 /min or part thereof my house account phone bill ran about $1,000 a month!
 
Ive been using my trusty Motorola L2 for nearly 5 years now. It has no camera, it doesnt surf the web, but its tough as nails. Its been dropped in puddles, the toilet, thrown in fits of anger, and still works excellent. Best of all, I dont have to get raped for data plan every month. I experimented with an iPhone 3GS a year ago, but sold it after a couple of months due to the high phone bills for a data plan I hardly used. Id rather surf on a full monitor instead of a 4" screen. FWIW, Im not an old coot either, ripe old age of 30 :yes:
 
Currently I have an ancient Motorola Razr on Verizon. I'll be switching soon to an HTC Windows Phone 7 phone on either AT&T or Sprint (due to work). Not pleased about the carrier change, but I'm looking forward to the new phone...

-D
 
The exact model phone I use and it is solid as a rock & holds a charge for days even w/ regular use. Excellent no frills phone I recommend highly. Good "call", Celt. :D


Celt said:
Samsung offers one encased in rubber thru Verizon. A carpenter friend has one and has dropped it several times.
Like an old TIMEX, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
I've owned a Samsung Vue for three years and love it. Sounds like a corded phone and with daily use, only needs a charge once a week.

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Click to expand...
 
I have been using my Sonim Quest for about a year, I have dropped it, and dropped it in water, it keeps going, I am not a texter, it will text just no large keyboard. The battery holds a charge for about a month. They are expensive, I have Cingular so I bought the phone elsewhere, put in my Sim card and have been using it since, no new contract.

sonim-xp3quest-01.jpg


http://www.sonimtech.com/features_xp3quest.php

Here is a good review. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh6JMHzQOV8

The 3 year no questions ask warranty is nice to have. They are bulky like the old candy bar phones, if you need durability this is the phone.

Jim
 
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In my world, Verizon has the coverage and superb customer service. Casio G-Zones are the most spastic friendly phones. Get another G Zone and treasure it. If you must have the latest gadgets get Blackberry or Droid X. I am using a Motorola which is decent but has had too many failures. Getting a Blackberry or a Droid next phone most likely. If a G-Zone will stand up to me in tumble mode, you shouldn't be able to kill it. :tresbon:
 
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