Disabled looking for good 1st phone, cheap if possible

C

crouchingtiger

New member
Hi everyone!

This is my first post here! I am wondering what you would suggest for a good first cell phone. I did have a little experience with Cingular, but I will cover that in a second. Here are the basic prerequisites:
I am severely disabled and I use a wheelchair. There is a good chance the phone will be used in an emergency. Above all else, the PHONE MUST WORK when I use it.The phone should be easy to hold.Ideally upgradeable to a family plan, can work well in a car in an emergency. Or perhaps another phone -- what is the cheapest way to add one to a plan?Although I am not averse per se to Internet access, it is not a priority. No need for camera, multimedia messaging, etc.

?
I did have some eperience with an LG C1500 flip phone and Cingular's Nationwide 450 Anytime Rollover Minutes / 5000 Night & Weekend for $29.95 US Dollars.

I found the LG difficult to hold on to and was just plain too small for me. Another annoying thing about the phone was that the "Cingular logo" button [the orange central button with the Cingular stick figure] would **immediately** connect you MEdia net. Apparently, (and I don't know if there is any way to change the software's behavior) from that point on, you are charged for MEdia net access.

I also would liked to have attached a lanyard or string to the phone. This would allow me to pick up the phone more easily from the floor if dropped, and (in theory, at least) I could wear the phone around my neck, allowing for fast, easy, "always with me" access.

The only phone I am remotely aware of that would allow you to attach a string to it is the Firefly, but that model is mostly meant for little kids.

I opted out of the Cingular contract before the buyer's remorse period was over, but was still charged $48.96 for about 100 minutes of airtime.

Does this seem typical or usual? I was credited for the phone and activation fee, $63.54 and $36.00, respectively.

I am a bit of a gadget freak, so I am not intimidated by technology. Is it possible to get a good phone cheaply (for someone on a fixed income)? If so , what do you suggest? Can the "Cingular button" be modified so that it doesn't automatically try to connect to MEdia Net. What about other carriers? I am in Connecticut, USA, and my landline carrier is SBC. T-Mobile does not service my area, Verizon does, and of course Cingular does. I think Sprint does too. I am in the Northwest part of the state.

Finally, one of the possibilities I had briefly considered before ditching the LG was getting a hands free device (headset, earbud, etc.) that would obviate the need to hold the phone. What are the general types of headsets available. I doubt that my next phone will be a flip phone though, they seem small.

Any opinions about Tracfones?

What would you suggest? All comments welcomed.

Newbieguy
 
Cingular CS can put a block on the phone so media net cannot be accessed, so if the button did get pressed no charges would occur.
 
eden_nova,

I did have Cingular block it as soon as I figured out what was happening. It's a pity, though that the button could not be programmed to something else, or perhaps even made to only select choices from menus. After all, it's just software. If you want it to do something, it is programmed that way!

It seems very interesting that the button should default to a feature that makes money for Cingular, don't you think?

I don't have a phone anymore, though. I am evaluating things and want to know what others may suggest before I dive in again. It seems like the contracts can be so tricky for the inexperienced! Thanks kindly for taking the time to respond.

newbieguy
 
Hi, newbieguy2--The Samsung x427m comes with a carrying lanyard and a loop to put it through. It's not in the current Cingular line-up, but you can get one from ebay pretty cheaply and just put your SIM card in it from whatever phone you get with Cingular. It's a small flip, so I don't know if you'll like the size any better than you did with the LG. I too get annoyed by the Media Mall option being too easy to push, so I feel your pain on that one.

The Nokia 6010 is the most rugged phone Cingy has, also has great reception; however, it doesn't have a lanyard. Whether someone can customize this, I don't know. I was just looking at an on-line cell accessory shop, and there was a carrying strap item, which said it's compatible with Nokia phones, so maybe this would work somehow. If you can go that route, I think you'd like the 6010. The keys are big, and you can get one cheap or free when you sign up for new service. Good luck!
 
cgd and others,

Thanks for the information. I don't want to sound too dumb here, but what exactly does the SIM card do? I actually saw the card when I was first setting up the LG, but was not given an explanation of what the card does.

Of course, I'm assuming that the card carries my cell phone number and personal data so Cingular can bill me, but assuming I wanted to switch phones, is it just a matter of taking the SIM card out of phone "A" and putting it in to phone "B", or would this require Cingular's assistance to activate phone "B"?

For that matter, (and I don't want to get too off topic here), how hard would it be to make a phone not start MEdia Net by default when you push the Cingular button. Can't this behavior be changed? For that matter, suppose I wasn't a MEdia Net subscriber and didn't realize it when I connected to MEdia Net? They bill at 1 cent per KB, but what happens if you don't push any buttons? Is there any chance you would have a bill for hundreds of dollars? Does anyone know what actually happens? (If there is a more appropriate section to ask this question, please let me know. If I have committed a major breach of etiquette, please have mercy--I'm new here .

Newbieguy2
 
yes all you do its switch the sim out and cingular doesnt really wven need to know

and if yuo buy a non cingular phone there wont even be a media net button
 
As thando36 said, you're correct about the SIM card. The only thing is you have to tell whatever phone(s) you get to store the names/numbers that you enter on the SIM card instead of just the phone. This is just a setting issue and will be covered in any instruction manual.

Thando36 has a good point about buying a non-Cingular phone to keep from having charges for data. There are phones which are unlocked and either unbranded or branded to T-Mobile or Rogers or some other carrier available on ebay or the buy/sell/trade forum here. In general Nokia phones are good about not having the big Cingular button. I'm looking at my 6030 now, and like the 3120 and 6010, you have to go through menus to get on Media Net. I don't remember if this is the case with the Samsung x427m--I'll look when I get home tonight.
 
Hey Newbie,

You may want to check out the Nokia 5140 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=424). It's small and has some decent features. It's splashproof (rugged) and it has this lanyard thing that wraps around it. You can find unlocked ones from various places on the net. If it is beyond your means, you may consider a similar rugged phone called the Nokia 5100 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=220). They are a bit older and you will be able to get them pretty cheap used from HoFo and other places. Both units are compatible with T-Mobile and Cingular (not Verizon or Sprint).

Buy an unlocked version, stick in your SIM and it will work.

The Samsung X427m is older and has been replaced by either the X495 or X497. One is branded for AT&T and the other Cingular. I have some and I've used them, but I'm not too fond of Samsung.

Personally I have a Motorola ROKR (which you can get unlocked for just under $200). It has Apple iTunes, a VGA camera, Bluetooth, stereo headset and 512 MB memory card. If you have a lanyard it can be attached to the ROKR in the upper left corner. I found the volume to be adequate in most normal conditions. Use vibrate in noisy conditions and you'll feel it. The stereo headset is plenty loud enough to hear with. In the US it is carried by Cingular (maybe you can get a deal with them). With ROKR you can change the MEdia Net softkey to one of many other things in the menu structure. This will prevent accidental data transfers. I have many phones to choose from, but the ROKR is just right for me. It has superb RF performance.

Speaking of emergency use, if you need a phone that you can use to call 911 in an emergency, get ANY old phone (GSM and CDMA phones, not TDMA) and keep it charged up. If you get into an emergency, it is a federal law that if a service provider's tower sees your emergency call it HAS to put it through. It will only work with 911 (or 112 and maybe *999). YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT! My recommendation is to find a 1 or 2 year old Sprint or Verizon phone for an emergency phone. They come equipped with assisted GPS which helps to pinpoint your location even if you don't know where you are.

Tango Uniform
 
preventing your phone from going to media net is very easy. just go into your connection settings, and change the connecting web page address. if you set it to nonsense characters your phone can't connect.
 
All,

Thanks for the suggestions! I am still mulling over my options. A couple of you have mentioned "unlocked" and "unbranded" phones. What are they, and what does one do to activate them? Do you just approach your favorite national carrier and say, "Hey, I bought this phone and want to activate it?" Are there any big pitfalls from going the unbranded route? Any clear advantages?

I appreciate all of your help. Keep the suggestions flowing, I'm taking notes! :-)

newbieguy2
 
If you stick with a GSM carrier (Cingular and T-Mobile are the major players in the US), you can purchase an "unlocked" GSM phone from many places (both in HoFo and the internet) and use it with your carrier. An unlocked phone is a phone that has the subsidy lock removed. A subsidy lock is a locking mechanism (software) placed in the phone which prevents the phone from being operated on a carrier other than the one it was sold to. For instance, if you bought a Cingular phone from a store and I put my T-Mobile SIM in it, the phone wouldn't work for me because of the lock.

The next question becomes, "why would the carriers want their phones locked?" In short, most of the phones they sell to you and me cost them more to buy from the vendors (Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, etc.) than what they are selling them to you for (with a plan of course). Those free phones aren't free to them. They subsidize the cost and make it up in the 2 year agreement. The "cancel early" fee you'd have to pay if you cancelled your contract early covers their cost to buy the phone in the first place.

In GSM phones you do not have to call the carrier and activate the unit. All they care about is the information in the SIM card. The only thing they may track in the phone is it's electronic serial number called the IMEI, but that's neither here nor there for this discussion. You can take your SIM and swap it from phone to phone and no one would care.

By the way, this does not work for Sprint or Verizon. With Verizon you have to call and activiate the phone and with Sprint you have to call as well, but the phone's electronic serial number (ESN) had better be in THEIR database or they aren't going to activate it for you (i.e., you can't take a Verizon phone and activate it on Sprint, but you could go the other way in theory).

Tango Uniform
 
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