Looking for new Cingular phone

B

buckeyefan

New member
HELP!!!

I've been reading these forums for a while but really never posted much. At current, I'm trying to figure out what sort of replacement phone to get for myself and my wife.

Here are the details:

We both got free Moto V180 phones when we signed up for service about 1.5 years ago with a 2 year contract. My wife's phone only works with the headset (internal earpiece doesn't function) and my buttons are starting to die. Also, her phone started dropping calls after about 7-10 minutes. Just goes from full signal to zero for a few seconds and then back again. Mine doens't do this in the same locations (home)

I don't want to sign any more contracts as service can be spotty in our area. So I'm looking for an unlocked phone that will work well for us. Price is a serious issue and I would like to stay as cheap as possible.

For her, camera would be nice. I'm uncertian how things transfer to computers as we don't have Windows (only Linux). She also wants something with good reception and a loud earpiece. No MP3, video, etc. As basic as possible while working great for calls.

For me, a camera isn't necessary and is actually NOT desired since I cannot have camera phones in the building where I work. I really want a DURABLE phone as I have a hobby farm and use the phone in some rather harsh conditions when not at work. My Moto i58 (when I used to have nextel) was very durable and worked great. The V180 didn't hold up too well. I also really want a flip phone as it is nicer to stick in my pocket at work.

I'm very into computers, but know nothing about cell phones Any help would be appreciated!

Oh ya. What do I have to do to transfer my service to a new phone? Just switch the SIM card? If looking on E-Bay, how do I tell if I can use the unlocked phone. There is much to do with GSM and the like that is complete greek to me.

Thanks in advance!
 
Swapping phones is easy as long as the phone is definitely unlocked. Carrier branded phones can be unlocked too, but be wary of those. A seller could BS you on that, even though you'd be fine with a phone locked to Cingular, but if you're going through third parties you might as well try to go with an unlocked one. You can copy up to 250 contacts on to your SIM. That way when you put it in the new phone you can transfer basic contact info to the new phone. Also make sure the phone supports the frequency bands of 850MHz and 1900MHz. Quadband definitely has those two. Tri-band may or may not. They could be 850/1800/1900 or 900/1800/1900. Als for other setting such as data and messaging to work it depends on the phone. Some companies can actually send you the relevent info directly to the phone. Others require you to manually enter it.
 
Basically all youi have todo is transfer you SIM into the new phone. The phone can be cingular branded or unloycked as long as it has the 850mhz band. The 850mhz band is very important as for most of cingular operates on this band and if you dont have this band you will get horrible reception most likely.

As for the pictures, you can buy a transfer kit for the type of phoen you have but most likely it wont work with linux, so I just email the picture from my phone by attaching it to a regular MMS message and type my email in the # field. Then i save it from the email.

Phone suggestions --

I would say something like the Motorola L6. It has a camera and bluetooth and all the basic features. Costs about 100-120.00 Unlocked from ebay. My girlfriend has it and its a great phone. She like you wife wanted a simple phone and my L7 didnt cut it since it was so advanced, but she did really like the form factor and size. The L6 fits her needs perfectly.

Some other phones that would fit her needs Z520a (about 150.00 new), of course the infamous Razr (150.00-200.00 New or Used depends on the deal you can score), and the Nokia 6102 (100-130 on Ebay).

For you I would say if you wanted to stray away from the flip phones the L2 is a good choice. Its basically the L6 but without the camera. They are pretty durable phones, my gf isnt really that careful with hers and its still all good after 2 months of use. As far as flip phones i would say the Nokia 6061 would meets your needs. Nokias have always been durable phones. There isnt even a display on the front to break. Overall in my opinion and I know many other peoples opinions Candy Bar phones are more durable so try looking at the Motorola L2 and Nokia 6030.

Any other questions please let me know
 
Thanks so much for the helpful answers.

I looked at both the Motorola L2 and the Nokia 6030 and think that either would be great. The Nokia 6102i is appealing for a flip phone, and I like the bluetooth, but again, it has a camera so I can't really take it to work. Seems pretty pointless then. I also saw that I could get a pretty good deal on the 6030 on ebay (around $65) which is close to $80 cheaper than the L2. Also, it seems most people think Nokia has just as good, if not better reception than Motorola. Finally, what do most people use to carry their bar style phones? I've always just thrown my V180 flip in my pocket with my money clip and change. Sure the outside shows some wear, but the display is fine.

For my wife, I may go with a matching Nokia 6030. The price is great and the camera isn't a necessity since we have a nice digital that comes with us most places anyway. Matching phones are really nice since I can take one charger to work and leave one at home and both phones can charge on either.

My final question (I know. I ask a lot of questions) is that we both have Jabra headsets for our V180s. They work great for wired headsets, but will they work with the 6030s? They are a simple mini-headphone type plug (I think 2.5 mm)

Thanks again for all the help. Perhaps I can give back in some way down the road.
 
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