I fired my iPhone 4 back up without a data plan. It’s still great when there is wifi and I need it, but mostly its just a phone with iMessage.
Oh, and bad-ass armored cases are like 12 bucks for them, since they’re old now.
I turned off all the notifications on my phone, except for essentials like WhatsApp to text with. Damn thing hardly makes a peep. But I don’t feel a need for constant minute-by-minute updates on what someone’s cat is doing, either, so I guess I’m kinda anti-social.
Consumer Cellular is a carrier aimed at old people, I think they have some house-brand models? or at least, would have straightforward info on the dumbphone features they carry.
Can you explain why WhatsApp is a thing? Don’t phones text just fine out of the box? What does using a third-party app get you?
I’ve got a Blue tank http://www.amazon.com/BLU-T190i-Quad-Band-Battery-Bluetooth/dp/B00AA6WVBA/ref=sr_1_7?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1424711769&sr=1-7&keywords=blu+tank and another music player model looks to be like the Zoey. Got them as prepaid, vacation phones. It’s not as high quality as my ericsson’s back in the day, but is pretty solid and easy to use, costs $25 and goes a week on a charge.
You already know the answer: http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/04/25/vertus-issues-exclus.html
I shifted from a (faulty, admittedly) iPhone to a Nokia 108 earlier this year and it’s been weirdly liberating. Cost £10 and works fine for phone calls, although I’m having to re-learn predictive text. I’ve mostly been using it to wean myself away from the perception that email, social media etc are methods of real-time communications. And they aren’t. I haven’t really missed out on anything important because I can’t reply to it when I’m on the bus, if anything I’ve just tuned out some of the trivia that doesn’t demand a response anyway. So a minor win for the attention span.
Only downside so far is that EE don’t really do proper pay-as-you-go any more. I have to pay a pound a week for so many minutes and texts and that expires each week, which is complete rubbish. So don’t get suckered in with that.
Oh, and the battery lasts something like two weeks between charges. Two weeks. TWO WEEKS.
I thought about it and decided this did not have to be a Virtu post, but I would totally rock a Rococo Swarovski Constellation Luxe with Predictive Concierge
For option 3, you could look into at switching to a prepaid carrier and so you can pay for a very small amount of data. Just a few hundred MB would probably be sufficient for maps and messaging.
The good ‘Bunnie’ Huang has an interesting contender if you can find it, or a slight variant, somewhere.
I have an old Samsung Zeal. It is a flip phone that hinges vertically for phone calls and horizontally for texting. I’ve had people with high end smart phones love on my phone. I have it because I can’t afford to go to those data plans.
That appears to be the same as those credit card ones spotted on ebay and amazon. Looks like you can basically get them at all sorts of classiness levels.
Cricket Wireless has a pretty dandy LG.
Something to be said for the satisfaction of flipping a phone closed when you re done with a phone call.
That actually looks pretty perfect. It’s so completely horrible but it’s taking an angle grinder to objections that come down to ego. I see one for $130 on ebay.
I have a Nokia 515 and it’s great. Really nice call quality. However, note that in the US you will only get 2G speeds regardless whether you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile (or their MVNOs). T-Mobile seems to have better coverage for 2G overall, as I believe AT&T is trying to phase 2G out.
I don’t use the 515 yet as my primary, but I will be moving to it full-time very soon.
If this is for daily use (rather than occasional) then I wouldn’t recommend the Nokia 105 or its ilk.
I have one as a backup device and typing on it is not a joyous activity. If the screen was slightly larger or the UI a bit more advanced then it would be a different story. The keyboard doesn’t lend itself to protracted input either.
It does have great standby times but it’s probably better suited to a pub or festival phone/burner than a daily driver.
Just my 2 units of currency.
