Does any one here have a decent cell phone?

[exploder3211]

Ok, i am fed up. I can not get a cell phone that will live longer than 6 months. My last three or four where samsungs and this last one lasted all of a month. I just called appnut tonight and when i hit Send a few minutes ago to call him back it shut off and won't cut back on... GRRRR.. Have had several motorols and they are even crappier. The best phone i ever had was a Samsung and that why i kept buying this brand.. That phone lasted me 18 months.. So when i needed to upgrade i kept on trucking with samsungs.. Anyway i am a diehard verizon wireless customer (they have never ever cut off my phone even when i forgot to pay the bill for 3 months, they just set up payment arrangements).. Any ideas for a good phone?? Thanks

 

[goprog]

I have had the same Samsung for 5 years now? The only issue
it has is sometimes it gives some sort of error - don't remember
if it is a number error or what. Then I remove, reinsert/reseat
the memory card (SIM card?) and it continues on.

 

[supersuds]

Nokia

I despise Motorolas too. They won't hold a charge for me and they're awkward as hell to use; plus voice quality is not that great.

I've always had good luck with Nokia. Just got a new one and love it.

 

[decodriveboy]

Do not

buy anything Motorola! What a bunch of overpriced crap, designed to fail after six months if it even lasts that long.

 

[pulsator]

I've had no troubles with my Motorola Razr! I just love it, the charge will last for days and it has a very convenient alarm clock and I can connect it directly to my comp and take the pics and vids off it and transfer then to my comp while it charges!

 

[buffster]

Could it be...

...your service provider and not your cell phone? It wasn't clear to me what issue you're having with your service. Based on what you wrote, it appears that the issue may be dropped calls. If so, Verizon may not provide the best coverage in your area. I tried them for a short time, but their coverage in my area is terrible. I don't care how great their customer service is. If I can't get a signal, the other aspects of their service is irrelevant.

I had a number of Nokia phones and they all worked very well. My last two phones have been Motorolas. I've been pleased with their overall performance (how well I can hear the person on the other end and how well they can hear me, signal strength and battery performance), but the outside case--they're flip phones--have cracked on both. And, I'm relatively gentle with my phones, i.e., I don't toss them on the counter or drop them; I set them down. I am thankful that I have Cingular, well now it's AT&T, as a service provider, because I plan to get an iPhone soon.

If your issue is dropped calls there may be other contributing factors. If you have a sim card, you might check to see if an upgrade is available. Believe it or not, I noticed a marked difference in call quality when I got a new sim card.

I hope this helps.

 

[red_october]

The Nokia Communicators are great. If the area you live in supports its GSM bands, you can pick up a 9290 for cheap, and it will last for ever. The newer 9300 supports the east-coast bands (though I got by with a 9290 out here for a year) and has some newer gee-whiz features, but it's still a solid phone. I've had Communicators for a long time and I won't have anything but, now.

 

[badata]

phones

nokia is good......samsung has been the BEST for me. As I do not (and don't care to) have a home phone, I rely on my cell phone for everything. I would be completely lost without it as I use it ALL day long for work. I have had my current phone for about 2 years with NO problems. Once in a while (every 9 months) it needs to be "reset" and all I do is take the battery out and put it back in and it works like a charm again.

 

[whirlcool]

I used to have a cheap Kyocera that wasn't worth the time of day.
I've had a LG for two years now that is still working fine. Holds a charge for three days. I'm using Verizon, which does pretty well in most places I have traveled to.
I used to use Sprint, but they seemed to always go "out of range" in the Texas Hill Country.

Now T-Mobile is a real joke. My neighbor has them and has to go outside to use it. My cousin in Chicago has the same problem, she said they told her it can't transmit/receive in houses with plaster walls. Go figure!

 

[DADoES]

I had a Nokia (with Cingular) for years (got it a few months before the Minne convention -- when was that? 2000? 2001?). Changed the battery twice. Was forced to change phones this month, they're shutting down the old network. Pwah. Got another Nokia, for free, I imagine the cheapest one they offer. It's a flipper, with a camera. Don't want all that hoo-haa, just a phone that does NOTHING ELSE but send/receive VOICE calls. Seems to be no such thing any more.

Hate Cingular/SBC -> AT&T, but they're lesser of the evils I suppose. Other carriers' minimum plan was $40/month, managed to stay at $30 with cingular.

 

[tolivac]

Just got A Motorola Razor cell phone.I have US Cellular.They have great service and coverage in my area-can use the phone at work,my house or around town.I have had the Motorola phone for only a few weeks and like it.The battery charge holds for several days.My old Audiovox phone would only last a couple of days-the battery was fading.Went to US Cellular office to get a new battery but ended up with the new phone.I have also disconnected my wired home phone and don't miss it-the telemarker calls were a real pain.Now just use the cell phone.I was also getting tired of paying two phone bills.For cell service used to have Sprint-they were USELESS-couldn't use their phone at home or work.Had to go into town before it would work.

 

[dj-gabriele]

I have (that's the third now... because the phone company gives them free to subscribers) a Motorola V3i, that's among the best phones I ever had. It even fell on the beach once and the tides got over it and it still works marvels. Plus you can't really scratch it! It's always falling out my pockets and is still brand new!
Plus the battery lasts forever! I charge it around once every 5 days with 1 hour of phone calls per day. Motorola is far durable than Samsung in my opinion, my sister used to have one of those and kept breaking, now she has my previous V3 and she's fine. I even have a motorola DB170 from 1996, it still works great and in case of emergency you could even put standard AA batteries in it!

 

[buffster]

I do not (and don't care to) have a home phone...

Michael,

I know that you're not alone in relying soley on a mobile phone. However, as someone in the health care industry, I'm surprised that you don't have a land line in the event you need to call 911. My understanding is that most emergency service providers (or 911 operators) don't have access to GPS and if your cell phone bill does not go to your home address, they may not know where to find you. Just a thought... especially for those of us who live alone.

 

[mattywashboy]

i use a nokia E65, its a great phone, only had it about two months, i used to have an LG which was alrite, took great vids (most of my washer vids were done on the LG phone). This one takes decent pictures tho *attaches sample photo*.

I will never have anything but nokia from now on, i like their stylish looks and easy to use.

Matt

 

[foraloysius]

Several friends of mine have lots of complaints about the LG Chocolate. A very sleek looking phone, but there seem to be lots of problems with it. I have a Samsung D500, had it for over two years now, never had a problemw with it. I'd buy a Samsung again any day. That said, I still have an old Nokia 3310 that is still working.

 

[jaxsunst]

I have a Motorola E815, it is a year old and I'm having battery problems. The phone before this was an LG, I think it was a better phone.

Right now, I am waiting for my contract to end, I want an iPhone

 

[lavamat78800]

LG Chocolate

I have a LG Chocolate!!

 

[lavamat78800]

My LG chocolate!

My Handy

 

[jasonl]

Suckular

Is probably THE most evil phone company besides, well it IS AT&T now. Surely, Ernestine is the director of costumer relations there ("We don't have to care, we're the phone company").

Right now, I'm using a RIM Blackberry 7520. It's a work phone on Nextel which for the most part works GREAT. Nextel's costumer service is great but it's expensive. Good thing I don't pay a dime cause the company pays for it. It feels so good to not have a $45 bill every month.

 

[jasonl]

If I had to choose a cell phone service, I would get a smaller company like Alltel or Centennial (a local company here). I've heard US Cellular is great too. They don't act like they work for Voldemort.

 

[gizmo]

getting OT...Australian TV ads

There is a good series of ads on TV here. They are for Telstra, the largest phone company. Telstra are introducing NextG, a new mobile phone technology. Their ads for NextG show famous people from USA and UK having trouble with their mobile phones, getting frustrated with them, then shouting, "This wouldn't happen in Australia!"

The first I saw was Bob Geldof, in an aeroplane, trying unsuccessfully to download an email. The hostess says to him, "Mr Geldof, you'll have to turn off your phone, we are about to take off." Geldof says, "just a minute, I'm just downloading an email." A few more times she comes back to get him to turn off the phone. Getting tense, he says," Yes, yes, It just dropped out and I'm trying again." When she says "you really MUST turn off your phone, we are about to take off", he shouts at her, "this wouldn't happen in Australia."

Another ad in the series has John McEnroe (former bad-tempered tennis player) in an elevator trying to use his mobile phone, but it isn't working. Someone else in the lift has recognized him but can't remember who he is. As the lift doors open and MacEnroe leaves, he angrily snaps his phone shut and shouts, "this wouldn't happen in Australia!" The other guy looks like a light has gone on in his head. "I know, Australia. Tennis. You're Pat Cash, right?"

I don't have a mobile phone so I can't give an opinion on what's good and what's not.

Chris.

 

[sikiguya]

TMobile Dash

I have a TMobile Dash, given to me by my husband who got a new phone through work. I am learning to like it! I didn't think I would, as I really loved my Blackberry 7100T.

I love being able to read my e-mails, take care of my eBay items I am selling, and it even has WiFi if I need it. Oh yeah, and Google Maps for directions.

TMobile has pretty good coverage in the Chicago suburbs but his other cell phone is Cingular (Motorola Razr or Slvr-I can't remember) and it works much better while traveling to central Illinois where the home office is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/UNLOCKED-HTC-DA...ryZ64355QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[exploder3211]

Thanks Guys. Wow... I have no issues with verizon, they have been easy to deal with and if theres a techinical issue they do fix it quickly.. Seems like Nokia and Samsung are good phones.. LG is another popular phone, but do i wanna deal with a company that treats customers like crap? So maybe its just me killing the phones

 

[washertalk]

I have Verizon for 2 years now and have had US Cellular in the past and both companies are very good.

I currently have a bol nokia that I have had for 2 years. I have never had a prob. with it. It does seem the battery is loosing longevity now. I keep it plugged into charger when ever I can.

AT&T is the worst, I had them in 2002, OMG. It is kinda well known.

i have a problem with electronics named after food or other appliances.
T- "where's your raspberry"
U- "their in the freezer. Are you making a smoothie?"
T- "no, I want to make a call"

B- "Do you have a razr?"
G- "I do, but look at me, my beard is touching my pecs and no I don't approve of body shaving. Do you think I use it?"
B- "I wanted to make a call"

S- "what do you think of the chocolate"
P- "I don't like chocolate. It looks, smells, and tastes like a petroleum product"
S- "I meant the cel phone"
P- "a chocolate covered cel-phone? That must be messy."

Keep the charger plugged in and be sure to update the software.
It is said that cel phones, in the U.S. are at the point computers were at 10 years ago. There needs to be streamlining and better products in addition to network continuity.

 

[cadman]

"Does anyone here have a decent cell phone?"

Exploder, here's one for you! Built Bell-System Tough!

My Kyocera slider finally bit the dust recently; performed great on the original battery for years but as of late, would refuse to pick up a signal. This was the perfect opportunity to go through with what I had envisioned for years. It's an early issue 500 series deskset (G1 bakelite handset w/metal fingerwheel, leather covered feet) using a SparkFun cell module w/PCB.

Reception is so loud and clear I've had to cover (internally) the receiver element with tape and a swatch of paper towel! It does require a SIM card so I moved providers to AT&T to get one. I think that's quite fitting actually : )

I've only been using it a couple days and it has its pros and cons, but I find myself able to carry on conversations the way I did years ago, without the annoyance of delicately holding a chiclet to the side of my head. Plus it had the convenience of a mobile without always being on my person. Lots of psychological fodder here!

Best thing about it, the mechanical ringer actually works!

 

[hoover1060]

Motorola RAZR

I'm on my 2nd one, the first one lasted 2+ years and would be still going if some B**CH hadn't bumped it out of my hand when I was in the grocery store.
I have Cingular wireless, their service is ok but not outstanding. I've had some other Motorola phones too, but the RAZR is the best one so far.

 

[lavamat78800]

Really can recommand LG

I really can recommand LG, never had problems with it, even of the fact that it fell for minimum 15 times down and is used by an teenager who mails a lot with it.

 

[hydralique]

Wow!

Cadman wins the prize here for both the most rugged and most creative phone! Years ago I was driving in heavy traffic in Hollywood and saw that the guy next to me had a lovely Princess phone bolted to the center of the dash top of his '59 Bel Air. I assumed it was there just for looks, but perhaps, like Cadman's phone, it really worked. I'd like to think so.

I'd love to have a cell version of one of my Ericofons . . . tiny, soft touch push buttons just don't have the feel of a real rotary dial.

 

[volvoguy87]

I love the WE 500 cell phone!

My best phone is my WE 302, but it has a cord. My best cell phone was a Motorola V60, but after several years of use and abuse, it snapped in half and Verizon said I couldn't get a new one just like it. Now I have a Samsung and it has been pretty good. I had the battery replaced once because it started shutting itself off. Just recently I had the entire phone replaced under warranty for the same reason. I went with Samsung because they have strong hinges, sound pretty good, and were affordable. I do know that the newer Motorolas have weak hinges and tend to break.
When my trusty V60 broke, the salesman at the Verizon store tried to sell me one of those phones that has more features than the Sears catalog. I told him that I didn't care it the phone cleaned my bathroom and cooked me breakfast, all I wanted it to do was make and recieve calls. I think that sometimes we get so wrapped up in all the extra features a phone can offer that we loose sight of its basic functions, like being a phone!

I'm 25 years old and I still use a LAND LINE,
Dave

 

[bundtboy]

So maybe its just me

I think you've hit the nail on the head with that hypothesis.

In every post you put up, you have a problem..

I keep waiting for you to post something about vintage appliances and to say how much you love and appreciate them.

My cheap cell phone works perfectly for me, and it's on AT&T. It's made by Sony Ericsson and I have even published many photos taken with that phone onto this site.

Here goes one now...Yesterday's Strawberry Fiesta Bundt...now just a memory.