No-frills, long battery life phone?

A

AirBear11

New member
I'm in Central/Northern NJ and my contract with AT&T Wireless (which was bought by Cingular) is about to expire as is my pos Motorola v600 which I can't wait to chuck in the river. Sooo... I'm in the market for a new phone and possibly new provider.

Cingular and Verizon get decent reception around here (there may be others, but I'm not sure) and I'm looking for a phone with no bells and whistles necessary, just something that doesn't eat batteries for breakfast.

I don't need a camera, a pda, games, video, and I certainly don't need any sort of web access or internet connection. I just need a reliable phone capable of making and recieving calls, storing some phone numbers, and possibly recieving SMS messages as the highest tech feature I really have use for. Again, my main feature concern would be battery life (short term and over-all). I'd prefer a stick-type phone over a clamshell after recent ordeals, but form isn't much of a factor either.

Now, does such a beast exist anymore in my market? Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

Jay
 
Looks are only subjective... the original poster just wanted as simple (and probably as cheap) a phone as possible, so that's why I came up with that answer. On the topic of Motorolas, there's also the V190, right?
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely looking at the Motorola v190 with the rated battery life but I am still a bit weary of any of the Motorola clamshells. My current one has a lot of trouble recognizing if it's opened or closed.

To be more specific about my original query, I don't much care what the phone can or can't do, I'm just looking for the best battery life and reliability where I don't have to recharge the battery constantly and then blow money on replacing it every few months. As far as price, yes, I'd prefer something not too expensive, but it doesn't have to be dirt cheap... price comes second to the battery life so I'll pay a premium for that alone.

Thanks again!
 
I've tested many phones, & I've only spent *my own* money on digital Nokias. Great, basic phones for making & receiving calls, also good phonebook & for SMS.
 
Good call on the Nokias... I do miss my old Nokia, very reliable for a long time.

The 6010 looks like a pretty solid choice so I'm definitely adding that to the top of my investigation list.

What do you guys think of the Nokia 6820? I couldn't help but notice the huge rated battery life and it would likely be free for me if I do go with Cingular for my new contract (which I'm sorta on already since they bought AT&T Wireless). Reception in the areas I frequent seems to be very good with Cingular as well. I'll search the forum for comments on it, but feel free to add your own given my criteria.

And thanks again for your input!

d4d
 
Wirelessly posted (Pritesh's Sierra Wireless Voq: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

i would recommend the Motorola V180. simple phone that boasts quad band roaming, mp3 ringtones, and mini-USB. you don't have to use those features, just know that they're there. The 6010 is a great phone. I don't quite feel the 6820 for you, the keyboard would be unnecessary, as it the camera. They're hard to find now though (6820). Hope this helps.
 
Wirelessly posted (Pritesh's Sierra Wireless Voq: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

i would recommend the Motorola V180. simple phone that boasts quad band roaming, mp3 ringtones, and mini-USB. you don't have to use those features, just know that they're there. The 6010 is a great phone. I don't quite feel the 6820 for you, the keyboard would be unnecessary, as it the camera. They're hard to find now though (6820). Hope this helps.
 
As nice as the workhorse reputation of the v180 is, I'm going to have to avoid it due to the clamshell design display problems which I've read are quite common with this model and have plagued my current phone. I'm thinking I should really avoid the clamshells all together now.

Yeah, I don't much care about a camera at all. I only brought up the 6820 because of it's rated battery life (though I have little idea if it lives up to that at all in reality) and the rather embarrasing fact that I've never managed to master any sort of of regular/predictive text input on a phone and it takes me forever to reply to an SMS.

Now I'm leaning towards the Nokia 6010 or possibly the 3120. So far you guys have made a very strong case for the former, hehe. Again, I appreciate all the input!

d4d
 
As for no-frills functions and battery life, the 6010 will be better than 3120. You can also toss the 6010 around without having to worry it'll break into pieces. The 3120 certainly feels more fragile. Also, if you can find a cheap but brand new 3595, you can also consider that one because the 6010 is the 3595 with a new faceplate. I'll have a brand new 3595 coming my way this weekend. It'll be a good work phone.
 
Okay, I ran into a friend of mine that actually has the 6010 and her husband has the same phone I've been having problems with (which has been a nightmare for him as well) so between conversing with her and all the feedback from you guys I think I'm sold on the 6010.

Thanks again folks, all the input is highly appreciated and I'm confident now that this is the right choice for my needs (and budget! hehe). Now... who wants to teach me how to use T9 message typing effectively? lol.

Jay
 
As long as you can get used to the size (not so much weight) of the 6010, you'll have a decent time with this phone. As for your V600, don't chuck it, sell it! The 6010 is also easily unlockable, so you can also switch providers as you wish assuming you're not on contract.
 
I would, but it's in terrible condition with a shallow crack in the outside shell from the right edge to the little mirror part in the center, an LCD that seems like it's leaking something, and an open/closed detection system that clearly needs to be fixed. I doubt it would be worth much if anything. I'm likely better off with the satisfaction of going all Office Space on its arse, no? lol

Jay
 
BTW, what then are the 1st and 2nd worst phones in the past 4 years? Just curious. IMO, I've felt very skeptical about Motorola in the recent years because of quality problems and the like... I hear enough about those problems from friends and coworkers - a good number of them own Motos!
 
maybe a 6101/6102, clamshell and nokia if you're looking to go that route, the 6010 is just a brick, a good working brick, but such a brick
 
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