I want a Cell Phone that is only a Phone
By dlnieto
@dlnieto (60)
United States
October 17, 2008 4:28pm CST
I am tired of going to my local provider and being pitched machines that do all sorts of things I don't need or want. I don't need a camera, audio player, web linker, calendar, notepad ... blah blah blah - What I do need a handy useful phone - Just a phone. And at a reasonable price.
OK, OK, so there is this Jitterbug thingie. After doing the math I find that is way more expensive over time than a loaded cell phone handset that the local provider offers. The downside of getting one of those loaded handsets is that it takes a bunch of time to learn how to use it. Again, all I want is a phone, you know one of those things where when it rings you say, "Hello," and where when you want to make a call you enter the digits and say, "Hello."
The current loaded handset I have has so many options and buttons that I have difficulty using it as a phone, I've even pushed a button to answer it only to find that I took a picture of my nose and I kept saying "Hello" over and over again as the thing just kept on ringing.
It seems that manufacturers have side stepped providing a phone sans all that baloney that is unneeded, the providers package that stuff at lower prices than the Jitterbug thingie and don't feel there is a market for the PHONE in a cell phone offering.
5 people like this
18 responses
@Barbietre (1438)
• United States
18 Oct 08
You sound like my husband, but yet, he does use the calculator and the appointment thing, so he is fooling himself. Me? I embrace technology and my palm Centro has all the bells and whistles. But it is also a business need and an expense which I can deduct. I use almost all of the features. And I am an old lady.
1 person likes this
@trixyteddy (1070)
• India
19 Oct 08
that is amazing! It just takes about an hour to learn the complete features of any cell phone. You got to treat it as a new toy! play with it for a bit, and bam! you know everything about it!
@animeniak (425)
• United States
18 Oct 08
Yeah, I am so with you on this one. I have a phone right now, and it does not have any camera integrated in it, and I am satisfied with it, because I can talk to my friends and my family without too much trouble (except the signal reception is pretty poor with T-Mobile though). But the sad thing is that the phones these days will always come with a camera and a music player at least. I don't NEED a phone that has all those kind of fancy stuffs, like you say. All I need is just a cell phone that can receive the signals pretty much anywhere, and the phone that I won't have too much trouble talking on. I think it is pretty cool though, that it has some of the ringtones added in, which I think is a pretty cool thing. But then again, there are like two games on my phone, which I barely play around with -_-;; I really don't get why people these days would want to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone with bunch of fancy things added to it, it's really not worth it if you ask me..
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Oct 08
I doubt if any phone network contract deal will now offer you a simple,basic phone,as they all see "The next big thing" as the ultimate selling feature...You'd probably have to go the "Pay as you go" route to get a simple phone.Nokia did a "Back to Basics" range of phones a few years ago,the 1000 Series,which had basic LCD screens,no cameras,music players,etc..some people want a phone that does just that,others want to have the latest bells and whistles to show off with..good luck finding one!
1 person likes this
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
18 Oct 08
Try motorola model v195. The phone is GSM based phone & it will work with GSM service providers like T-Mobile or AT&T. It's one of the most basic phones. You can have it set up, or have the sales guy set it up, so that all you have to do is if the phone rings, open the flip to anser & when you're done, close it. It doesn't have camera, it doesn't have complicated music player, just a simple phone. You can goto mobiledia.com to check out the reviews on it. I've included a picture of the phone below. Hope this helped a little.
@dlnieto (60)
• United States
18 Oct 08
Thank you for the suggestion, I have checked it out and aside from finding it as 'discontinued' it appears to be available from Amazon - now all I have to do is find out if the carrier supports it and will make it work for me. Something I've found out is that no matter how simple or fancy the phone the service plans available are still expensive. Some plans do have add-on pricing for add-on fancy features. It will be fun to see what happens.
@AnneMarie39 (77)
• United States
18 Oct 08
I have the same cell phone I've had for over 4 years. I will hate it if something happens to it and I have to go into one of the stores.
@Munchkin547 (2778)
•
17 Oct 08
My mum has this problem too because she doesn't want one with all fancy things on it, she got hers on special offer at a supermarket because it is an older one! It's on a pay as you go tarriff rather than a contract though! I bought one for my dad off ebay, if you buy older models, especially of nokia phones they tend to be easier to use and also last quite a long time, i don't think they cost too much either! xxx
1 person likes this
@ajithlal (14716)
• India
18 Oct 08
I would prefer you to go for a simple mobile phone of Nokia, etc. Most times we do not use all the features of the mobile phones that are present. Most times we use mobile phones only for talking and sometimes for listening to the songs. I think it is better to use mobile phones that do not have complicated functions because they are very expensive and also takes days to learn. If you like to have these features or additional features then go for the mobile phones with the features that you like.
@trixyteddy (1070)
• India
18 Oct 08
I agree with you. I just haven't racked my brains for all those extras. It just eats my brains. So I too prefer having a cell phone that is only a phone. My sons just laugh at me for this.
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
18 Oct 08
I know how you feel which is why I have kept my old phone and still use it. Sure it is chunky compared to the new ones but it does the job. I cannot understand why no one sells phones that are just phones any more.
These days every cell phone is a gadget not a phone any more. They will not market one that is just a phone as they want you to sign up for lots of stuff that you do not want and cannot afford. If you are not careful you end up paying for stuff that you did not even know was their as it was free when you signed but started charging you credit card after the free period expires.
@bournecaindelta (2477)
• India
18 Oct 08
It's really hard to find such a phone these days. Considering the fact that most people prefer to have extra features with their mobile devices. The cheapest and the best i can suggest you is the Nokia 1100. It's a very sturdy phone. Not very good looking, but has the feature that you just mentioned. Go out in the market and try it out. It's very simple to use and is very sturdy. So small falls and breaks wont hurt it. In fact, my friends bang it against a wall and then use it to show how sturdy it is. An it still works. You can look for such a phone.
bourne
@sheen_sheen (8)
• United States
18 Oct 08
This is so funny because it reminds me of my boyfriends mom. She is always huffin and puffin over all the new crazy fancy phones that are so popular. She just bought a new phone the other day and she was going crazy when the sales people at verizon were showing her the millions of fancy little phones, she just kept saying..."just a normal phone, nothing special, it just needs to work!" hahaha
I was laughing sooooo hard! Thats some funny stuff, I personally don't mind them, i actually love them lol But I do understand what you mean, some people just want phones to be how they originally started! lol Nothin wrong with that!
okay so i should introduce myself, my name is sheena and I'm new to mylot! Nice to meet you!
@Lazers (152)
•
18 Oct 08
Just look for a small black and white one.
There are plenty like that, and they often just call and text people, and on pay as you go only cost around 15-20 GBP.
I suggest you look into your phone stores for some like these, or a big supermarket.
Even look on ebay for an old model, you can find some for under a tenner there.
@MissGia (955)
• United States
18 Oct 08
These phones with all the fancy things on them are necessary for a lot of people in today's world. People who are on the go a lot but always have work to do rely on their cell phones and PDA's for extra productivity.
But, i think the cell phone industry could profit from also just making regular phones. Just a phone and maybe the ability to get different ringtones..Come on everyone loves ringtones.
Good luck in your search for "just a phone", lol.
@unusualsuspect (2602)
• United States
18 Oct 08
That's funny because I was talking long distance to my son a couple of hours ago and he was telling me all the things that his phone does and the programs that he downloads for it. I couldn't resist asking him if he can make telephone calls with it. I don't have a cell phone because I don't need one, but if I ever do, it will be as basic as it's possible to get. Though I imagine by that time, the darn things will also turn your TV and stereo on and off for you, and maybe even cook dinner.
@ShellyB (5241)
• United States
18 Oct 08
We have look into the jitterbug phone and I agree with you, it is an expensive choice.
And it basically has the same buttons as this cell phone from virgin mobile.
You can have prepaid plans, or pay minute by minute.
I do not believe you will find a cell phone that is nothing else but a phone but you can learn to use a simple cell and ignore the rest. The model in the pic can send texts, and has other features but no camaras and is priced at 12.99 by Virgin Mobile right now.
The cell can be activated in their website and be set so you can answer it as soon as you open it and you can dial any number and press the green button and there is your phonce call.
There is another cell phone by Virgin Mobile called aloha but I think only the website sells them and the Marbl is sold everywhere, like Walmart, walgreens, radio shack, and target, I am sure other places have them too, but those are the places where I have seen them.
@AcreativeMind (56)
• United States
18 Oct 08
True, most cellphones these days, are more than just cellphones. A friend of my mind has an IPHONE, seeing it up close looks like a mini computer, it can do most of the things that a computer can, only it doesn't have a mouse. My last cellphone had a digital camera built in, I rarely used it. Bad thing is, it seems like we have to keep upgrading every 2 years, because some features on the cellphone, doesn't work. yes, give a cellphone, that is "JUST" a cellphone.
