Recommend an AT&T non-smart phone

[CurseTheSky]

Hi guys,

I have a Droid X on Verizon as my personal phone, and an LG Vu on AT&T for work / personal uses. Kind of backwards, I know. The Vu is a major POS - the touch screen is horribly unresponsive (not just compared to my Droid X; compared to my girlfriend's enV Touch as well), and a 1-2cm area near the bottom of the screen doesn't register touches at all (despite multiple calibrations), making actions like pressing the # key on the dial pad rather difficult. It's getting to the point where I'm missing calls from clients because I can't press the right buttons fast enough, and sending a quick text in T9 mode is a huge chore.

To make a long story short, I'm looking for a new phone. I'd like something that doesn't need a data plan, or if that only leaves crappy flip phones as choices, then something that only requires a cheap data plan. I'd like a phone that charges via micro USB so that I can share chargers between it and my Droid X, and I prefer touch screens, but am open to anything.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Anyone? I just need something that will be dependable, relatively cheap (not spending $500, but $200 or so isn't out of the question), have decent battery life, and charges via microUSB. Phone calls are the primary use, but I need to be able to send texts as well, so a full QWERTY keyboard would be a plus (though not necessary).

I'm currently looking at the Nokia X3 / X6. The former seems fairly low-end for what I'd be paying, while the X6 is a bit more expensive / advanced than I really need. The big problem is, I don't know if I'd have to get a data plan with either one, which would be a deal breaker.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

If you bring an unlocked phone on to AT&T, they don't know what you have. The exceptions are if you bring an unlocked iPhone 4 or a Nexus One.

I am one who has run Symbian a few times on AT&T. Symbian is very good in terms of keeping you OFF the internet when you don't want to be on. In fact it has a UAC-like thing where it asks you to connect each time. Many of us Symbian users weren't used to this when coming to Android which pulls data every second of the day.

My GF uses my old N-series right now and has no data plan. The other thing good about these Symbian devices is that you should easily get 2 days of battery life. I pushed exchange email from 8-6pm each day and I got 2 days of charge easily with 30min - 1hr of phone calling too.

BTW Nokia's have very good reception. My N82 held up in low reception areas with no problems.

 

[dougp]

Anyone? I just need something that will be dependable, relatively cheap (not spending $500, but $200 or so isn't out of the question), have decent battery life, and charges via microUSB. Phone calls are the primary use, but I need to be able to send texts as well, so a full QWERTY keyboard would be a plus (though not necessary).

I'm currently looking at the Nokia X3 / X6. The former seems fairly low-end for what I'd be paying, while the X6 is a bit more expensive / advanced than I really need. The big problem is, I don't know if I'd have to get a data plan with either one, which would be a deal breaker.

Do you have something against the E-series?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16875205156

 

[CurseTheSky]

Do you have something against the E-series?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16875205156

I prefer horizontal QWERTY keyboards, but that one does look intriguing. The price is pretty good too.

 

[dougp]

I prefer horizontal QWERTY keyboards, but that one does look intriguing. The price is pretty good too.

You can snag it from eBay for like $130 too.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

If you are going the buy your own unsubsidized route a blackberry curve could be a good option as well. They are cheap and plentiful on craigslist.

 

[CurseTheSky]

So just to double check, if I buy an unsubsidized (unlocked) GSM phone, even a smart phone, I can pop my AT&T 3G SIM card in it, somehow turn off all data (depending on the phone), and simply use calling / texting / WiFi without incurring any extra charges or problems with my non-data plan, right? Are Nokia / Symbian and Blackberry both capable of turning off ALL phone data? Obviously I won't be going with an Android phone.

On the other hand, grabbing something like an iPhone has the potential of being scanned for / discovered by AT&T, and having data automatically added to my account, from what I understand.

With all that said, what's my best bet in terms of functionality / battery life? Primary focus is call quality, secondary focus is texting. Having a decent browser for WiFi would be nice as well, but not required. After having a Blackberry Tour for a while, I absolutely refuse to get anything with a trackball. Again, price range is $100-200ish, up to $300 for something exceptional.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[Rayb]

The nokia E series can do what you want, for an unlocked budget smart phone with great qualities is not a bad choice. The Symbian UI will allow you to customize the connections anyway you want, great reception and long battery (2 days +) life.