Going Full Circle With Mobile Phones
Just over five years ago I upgraded my phone to a Nokia 6100 . Two years later I asked your advice and bought a P910i. Last year, once again, I "upgraded" to a Nokia N73.
Over the course of those five years I've become less and less happy with the phones I've been "upgrading" to. Increasingly longing after the days when you could buy a phone without the gimmicks of FM radio, themes, cameras, poly-phonic ringtones etc. Why can I no longer buy a simple no-nonsense phone!?
Well, it turns out I can and probably always could. The problem was I just didn't realise it. The phone companies do a good job of peddling the latest phones and having us (or at least me) believe there's no other way. Why I always get suckered in to renewing my contract just to get a new phone that I never really wanted I don't know.
My contract with Vodafone is again due for renewal. What I've done this time though is just buy a refurbished Nokia 6100 off eBay for £30.
The problem with buying phones is that they're bought mainly on impulse while in a shop and on the basis of what they look like and how cool they appear to be. The most important factor should always be how usable it is. The trouble is it's normally too late by the time you realise using it is a major pain in the rear-end and you then have a year's worth of frustration to come as you battle with the annoyances of the phone you chose.
A case in point is my most recent phone - the Nokia N73. The number of times I've screamed out loud at it. Even throwing it at the floor in anger on occasion. It drives me completely bonkers. Most of what it does that is annoying are tiny little things. When you use something on a daily basis for a whole year these little bugettes become a major source of frustration.
It's not that I'm a Luddite or anything. I just don't see the point of technology for the sake of it. My phone doesn't need a camera in the same way my car doesn't really need sat-nav. Sure they might be useful to have but I can manage fine without them both. I've already got a perfectly good camera (I've never seen a photo from a phone that wasn't crap) and happen to like using a map to find my way around.
The Nokia 6100, while only 5 years old, will seem like it's from some by-gone era and probably have people pointing and laughing. It is, for me though, the perfect phone -- sturdy, simple and small. I just hope they keep appearing on eBay for years to come.
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Totally agree Jake, I feel like some old-timer, harking back to the days where mobiles were used for texting and phone calls, that was it.
I believe there's a huge gap in the market for a phone that does that, and that alone. Most people over 50 (maybe even 40) don't understand or care about listening to the radio via their mobile or that sort of thing. They're the ones with money.....
In France the main operator sells cheap and simple cellphones, called "Simply" :
{Link}
Their target is seniors & people like you who just want to phone.
I dunno if it works, however. But that's a pretty good idea.
If you're looking for newer no-nonsense phones (if the 6100 dies on you), Nokia has the 1110i, and the newer 1200.
The 1110i: {Link}
The 1200: {Link}
My father has the 1110i. It has great buttons and great battery life.
In Norway they cost about the same as you paid for the 6100.
I go about it slightly differently - I never impulse buy, I research the crap out of it. Which means that I usually manage to get something for around AU$200 (new) that does everything I need, and from all reports doesn't piss people off.
I currently have a SE K750i, and I find the non-core stuff (camera, bluetooth, mp3 player, radio) pretty useful.
It's nice to always have a camera (with video) on you all the time, especially when you spend half your time chasing an 18month old around. Image quality is nothing on my dslr, but it's good enough to capture the moment.
Radio is good for going to the football and listening to the commentary, mp3 player is good for audiobooks when I don't take my ipod etc.
Sure, the quality of any of the features is way below that of a dedicated device, but they're handy on occasion. And best of all, in my 750i at least, they don't get in the way of the main functions.
Ben
I'm with Ben. Yes, camera phones make pretty crappy pictures... but I have my phone in my pocket every waking moment, and I rarely have the camera on me. So frequently, the choice is between a bad picture and no picture at all. I never thought I'd want a camera in my phone, but I actually find it pretty handy.
I've only had a cell phone for two years. It cost me $100US/year for the phone and the minutes. It's some kind of Nokia but I don't see a model number on the case. In two years I've charged it maybe ten times. Only my wife has the number and then I only turn it on by pre-arangement like when I know she's arriving at the airport and I need to pick her up.
I've got one customer that always calls me on his cell and it always drops about every third word.
I just don't get the fascination with the things and I would never want to pay a monthy subscription fee for the things.
I don't think I'm a luddite, I just don't need to talk to people that much:)
Peace,
Rob:-]
The only "feature" I've ever been interested in is size, and the only phone I've ever had that got it right was the Eriksson T-28W. A tiny, wafer-thin "flip phone" design, it had the dual virtues of disappearing in a pocket (no RoboCop techno-bulges) and effectively spanning the ear-to-mouth distance with a slight face-accommodating bend in the middle. Jeez, I wish they still made 'em like that.
One option that was supposed to be available late last year here in the US was the "Jitterbug". A simple, no frills phone and nothing more - for cheap. Target market was seniors on fixed income and low income or emergency use.
I too was suckered into the upgrade and extend contract scheme. The software runs slower as is evident by the slower button response, but the screen is bigger and more vibrant and it has a camera, which while not really needed, works well enough for capturing white boards at work or spontaneous moments with the kids.
My gripe is that upgrading a phone usually means any software you've purchased for your old phone no longer works. That's a real shame but seems unavoidable.
I've successfully fought off some waves of techno-envy and still use the same Nokia 6590 I bought over 5 years ago. Thus far it's been rock solid. It'll do text, even though I typically don't, and syncs with my Notes calendar. Yes, I get clowned sometimes for it's monochrome display and lack of Inspector Gadget-like features but I've got no contract and extra ducats for other toys.
I, like you, hate huge multifunction phones.
Only my current phone has had a camera. My last Nokia looked suspiciously like the 6100 you had. The bare essentials and tiny!
When that started to go on the blink I shopped for the smallest, easiest to
use phone I could find.
The only pre-reqs were that it used the latest Next G network (wide highspeed coverage in Australia) as I do lots of motorbike trips in country areas.
Ended up getting a Nokia 6120. Even with its crappy camera it is a small phone. With its micro-sd slot it makes a useful MP3 player. And it seems dead simply to use all its syncing software (even with Notes Mail apparently).
Been hugely impressed by its "delight" features (Nokia Maps, bluetooth interface with GPS) that are hidden behind its simple everyday interface.
Mobiles....Bah humbug.
Driving along minding my own business today and some policeman busts me for being on the phone. (I was actually chewing a fingernail - disgusting habit)
Finally convinced the swine, who was lying through his teeth saying he saw the phone in my hand (despite the fact that I hate the things and won't have one in my car), to leave me in peace.
Can't blame the bloke though I suppose. The driving up here in Darwin is terrible, and people are always texting at the wheel & stuff even though they can hardly steer their cars anyway.
My only bit of advice is whatever phone you have, buy a hands free for the car.
Handsfree make very little difference to accident rates for people talking on the phone. Sad but true
Do you know whats 4 times more dangerous than driving/talking on the phone??
Using a sat nav device. Wonder when they will be outlawed?
That's funny, I'm in a very similar boat. Every year I get a super-duper new phone that I end up hating because it's inevitably slow and buggy. I'm around 12 months into an 18 month contract with an N73 which I like (it's lovely being back with Nokias after having an SPV C500 then a C600) but I know it's my last super-duper phone.
I couple of months after I got it my wife came home with a Nokia 6300 which looks smart and is tiny and slim and fast with a gorgeous screen - it makes my lardy old N73 look rubbish.
It's small and fast for me next time, deffo.