Mobile phone recommendations?

[Hufty]

Apologies if this has been asked before but I couldn't find much when searching.
I need to drag myself out of the 18th Century and embrace technology. My old mobile is beginning to fail and I need to replace it. As I haven't been in the market for a mobile for a long time (several years) I have lost touch with what is available and would rather trust the valuable opinions of Ppruners rather than the ever-so-shiny suited phone salespeople in the local phone emporium.

I need a phone that (is):

- Pay as you go so I can use my existing VODAFONE sim card
- Tri-band
- Has good reception (I know that should be a given, but I have heard that some are better than others and the company use it as a primary contact when I'm on standby) :yuk:
- Reasonably small and light
- Enables me to download decent ringtones
- Costs around or below £100

I don't care about a camera, mp3 player etc. but wouldn't object of they were included.

Can anybody recommend something decent? Thanks as always :)

[BRL]

Look on ebay for a Samsung D600(or even a D500). Good phone for the casual user. :)

[potkettleblack]

I just brought a Nokia 3120 which is triband, colour screen, small/light and will take a data cable so you can synch it with Outlook and download ring tones and applications etc. Cost me under £50 and I promptly went online and some kind soul provided an unlock code for FREE so it is now simfree. Amazon has been doing them for around the £50 mark but google is your friend. Ebay are good for things like data cables and dual sim card holders if you want to run it with a couple of different sims. The Nokia software is free from their website.

Used to be contract and go for the latest and greatest camera/mp3 etc but since going pre pay I am saving a bundle and have realised just how little I actually needed/used all of that extra whizz bang stuff.

[ILOVEMCO]

hows about the samsung Z140v, small leightweight and has full 3G, exclusive to Vodafone all for about £100

[frostbite]

The Sagem my V55 can be had off eBay for about £20 - don't know if it meets all your requirements.

[BEagle]

Silly ringtones are so.....chav.

Not for aviation professionals.

[Saab Dastard]

Nokia 6310.

Bulletproof mobile phone. The pinnacle, the apogee! A veritable Rolls-Royce.

We were recently forced to "upgrade" to Orange C500s at work.

All of us that could, have "downgraded" back to the 6310.

[huckleberry58]

Sony Ericsson K700i. It's pretty good and cheap.

[airborne_artist]

Another vote for the Nokia 6310 - but I also like the Sony Ericsson 630

[Eddie_Crane]

If I may post my opinion...
I had 3 Samsung phones... and my suggestion is you avoid them.
Bad reception and quite short battery "endurance" (in my case however perhaps this was related to frequent bad reception and subsequent "signal power boost")...

I'd look at the Finnish alternative (I've had one of them as well for 2 years and no complaints so far) ;)

[BOAC]

Following a recommendation from a fellow PPRuner I bought a Motorola V3. It does all I need. Very pleased with it.

[VP959]

OK, I know this is going to sound very like Victor Meldrew, but why the heck can't mobile phone manufacturers make them with BIG buttons?

Ever since I was forced to get rid of my ancient Nokia (about 2000 vintage) which died and couldn't be fixed, I've had a succession of phones with simply useless buttons.

All I want to do is make telephone calls. I don't want a camera, dont use or need the text stuff and can live without everything except basic functionality and Bluetooth connectivity for the car.

I presently have a Nokia 6230i, which is simply unusable as I keep activating unwanted functions all the time when all I want to is dial a number. Prior to that I had (still have) a Nokia 5100, which at least had semi-usable buttons but was a complete pain to turn on and off (needing superhuman strength on the top switch).

I mostly use the phone hands free in the car, but find that I simply can't find the right button on all this sub-miniature junk currently on the market.

I'm sure I can't be alone with this problem. Does anyone know a make/model phone that has sensible sized buttons please?

VP

[Conan the Librarian]

Dear VP959,

it is a revelation to find somebody obviously over 30, that still needs a device for phone calls, as opposed to whatever they do this week, or next.

I was horrified to loan a Sony E T610 form a friend, but found that the butttons, although small, need so much pressure that you are in no doubt, as to what you have inputted. Wish I could say the same for the majority of my posts on Pprune. By the looks of it, this one too, but I leave it unedited.

Conan

[VP959]

Conan,

Given that many people over 30 seem to have and use mobile phones, why on earth don't the manufacturers cater for this market?

Personally, my wish list for a mobile phone is:

- It must be intuitive to operate (why the heck should I have to read an inch thick manual to use a phone?).

- It must have a display that clearly shows the number being dialled, even when the thing is a couple of feet away on a car dashboard.

- It must have buttons that one can stab at from a distance with at least a reasonable chance of hitting the right one, without activating some arcane alternative function.

- It should be a reasonable size, so that it actually fits comfortably in the hand of a normal, rather than sub-miniature, human being.

- It should not be encumbered by pointless, non-primary function, gimmicks aimed seemingly at the pre-teen age group.

VP

[Charley B]

Snap BOAC!!!!
Quite pleased with mine as well---would have preferred it Pink though!!
Have made it this with a cover!!
Seriously though camera is good,text took a bit of getting used to after the Ericsson K700i that I had.
Other half has the Ericsson V800 3g but has had quite a few problems with it,now on his second fone!

[frostbite]

I bought a secondhand Sagem myV-55 (dedicated Vodaphone PAYG) off eBay for less than £20. It has a camera and all the features you might like to use but possibly wouldn't.

Pop your own SIM in one and away you (should) go.

[Gonzo]

Another vote for the Moto V3. I've always had the traditional 'ringing phone' ringtone, can't stand tunes.