Recommend a decent, cheap mobile phone?

[Contreras]

I don't want a fancy smartphone, just a mobile with decent call quality (i.e. I can use it without having to go into a quiet room), battery life, etc. I will put my existing SIM in and carry on as before.

Recommendations... are there any Nokia ones worth having (every phone I owned was a Nokia) or do I need to go elsewhere?

Nokia 100.

- Dual band
- No camera
- No MP3
- Battery 35 day standby
- Nice and small (unlike most smart phones)
- Cost: 10 quid from PC World "unlocked" with your own PAYG SIM.

Don't take that as a recommendation. I only tried one out in store on behalf of a friend, but it had a clean display and a nice feel - I liked it as "a phone" and for a tenner you can't go wrong. IIRC, the next model up is larger size, has MP3 and dual-SIM but you'd need to check that.

[Scrag Meister]

Not sure if they are still available, but if all you want is phone and text functionality, I had a Nokia 6310i which has 14 days battery life and worked fine for 4 years til I went Smartphone/IPhone.

[CodeCobbler]

These work for me:

RETROBRICK - the home of vintage and rare mobile phones

[darmstadt]

My other issue with smartphones is batter life. I'm from the generation who is used to a phone lasting all week, not charging every day!

Is it possible to turn off internet connectivity (wifi+3g) easily so when in the house it's just a phone and doesn't suck all the battery? Or do I simply have to accept owning a smartphone means a different way of thinking?

Yeah, you can turn all that stuff off. My HTC Desire was actually pretty good but the LG Optimus was crap. The Google Nexus I have isn't too bad but I've upgraded to a humongous battery (the phone is rather a bit thicker now) but stays on for days with all functionality. The other halfs Galaxy is pretty damn good but the S2 comes this week so I'll see what thats like...

[doodab]

My other issue with smartphones is batter life. I'm from the generation who is used to a phone lasting all week, not charging every day!

Is it possible to turn off internet connectivity (wifi+3g) easily so when in the house it's just a phone and doesn't suck all the battery? Or do I simply have to accept owning a smartphone means a different way of thinking?

Android ones have a little control panel widget you can use to switch wifi, GPS, background data syncing etc on and off. Battery life still isn't stellar though. I bought one of these for emergencies as I'm always running out of juice when using the thing as a wifi hotspot on client sites: 6000mAh Portable Power Bank for Mobile Devices : Portable Power : Maplin Electronics

[d000hg]

My other issue with smartphones is batter life. I'm from the generation who is used to a phone lasting all week, not charging every day!

Is it possible to turn off internet connectivity (wifi+3g) easily so when in the house it's just a phone and doesn't suck all the battery? Or do I simply have to accept owning a smartphone means a different way of thinking?

[d000hg]

I got a text from O2 just today about this... I don't have the wording but IIRC from July:

1. You'll pay £0.50 connection fee for calls, then it will charge as a normal call, maybe even using your bundled minutes
2. Maximum of £1.99 per day for data

[yasockie]

I'd chip in as I travel a lot between various EU countries.
I need to keep my UK number up and running, but I also need data connection wherever I am currently - for email, but also things like checking train timetables (nationalrail.co.uk vs bahn.de etc)
I think until EU resolves this with proper legislation (to ban roaming charges altogether) I also need two phones, except I specifically need a smartphone with GPS, decent browser etc. My main phone is iPhone, but for the secondary one I hope to get away with a cheap Android one and not sure which one is best at the moment?

[d000hg]

I have considered the 710 having heard good things about it, but it's a bit above what I want to pay really if I get a SIM-free handset.

I'm currently on a SIM-only contract from O2 which costs something silly like £10/mo, maybe I am better to upgrade but my current tariff gives me 300min, unlimited SMS!

[Durbs]

I assume these phones simply use one SIM at a time and you turn them off to switch which one?

Never used one but this: Nokia Dual SIM - Get double the benefits with a Dual SIM phone - Nokia - India says:

You keep one SIM inside the phone, then swap between multiple SIMs using the slot on the side of the handset. Your phone remembers messaging and other settings for up to five SIMs, depending on your handset. You can switch easily between two SIMs inside your phone with one touch of a button.

I'd have hoped that both sims were 'live' i.e. business and personal calls both go to the phone automatically but looks like only the currently active sim works?

If it were me and I was after a cheap(ish) phone I'd go for a Nokia Lumia 710. I may indeed do this as my contract is up in a few days and i'd rather to wait to see what happens with Iphone 5 and WP8 before getting my next 'fancy' phone. The missus has a 710 and its a great, fairly simple, well built handset. I know you said you didn't want smartphone features but they DO come in handy occasionally.

[d000hg]

Anyone got a dual-SIM phone? I'm tempted to get a work SIM since a new client is likely to want to phone me a lot, but don't really want an extra handset.

I assume these phones simply use one SIM at a time and you turn them off to switch which one?

[Spacecadet]

The best "dumb" phone I ever had was a Sony Erricson w810i

It was small,battery lasted ages and the keyboard and the rest took plenty of abuse but still lasted. It was so good i got a second one after loosing the first when only a couple of months away from upgrade. Then after my next upgrade I kept using it untill the speaker finally gave out (I think it got water damaged)

[d000hg]

I don't object to smartphone type functionality, it's just not any kind of priority. I think even dumb phones tend to have half-decent browsers these days... even my N81 lets me check my gmail!

[northernladuk]

I know you say you don't want a smartphone but the base HTC Desires do the job for pretty cheap. Family has them S and X. Some of them use the internet games, SWMBO texts and calls only. All of them do the job and don't with normal use battery seems fine. Seem to do what they are supposed to for a decent price.

[d000hg]

My trusty Nokia N81 is showing signs of age - battery life dwindling and call quality seems pretty bad.

I don't want a fancy smartphone, just a mobile with decent call quality (i.e. I can use it without having to go into a quiet room), battery life, etc. I will put my existing SIM in and carry on as before.

Recommendations... are there any Nokia ones worth having (every phone I owned was a Nokia) or do I need to go elsewhere?