[candy_van]

Well it's about that time for me to upgrade.

Had my Curve 8310 for a few years and my SIM card is absolutely ancient (~2003) and both are starting to fail.
Got it used from a buddy so I've been off the grid with it so to speak - no data plan - and I'm fine with that btw; talk/text are really all I need.

Anyway as I've had a Blackberry (and liked it) for so long, I'm wondering what would be some good unlocked phones to look at in the $150-200 range.
Also want to make sure that upgrading my SIM card (it's an ancient Cingular one from 2003) won't be an issue (see updated post below).

 

[MetalBeerSolid]

LG Neon 2?

 

[jackeyjoe]

Nokia has the best dumb phones, any one will do really.

 

[wierdo124]

in all honesty, the only differences between most of them is the brand.

 

[candy_van]

Yea pretty much. This HTC Freestyle doesn't look too bad.
It's like faux smart phone

Doesn't have an accelerometer for the keyboard which kinda sucks, but I suppose I could deal with it.
Reviewer mentioned no wi-fi...I didn't think there were any non-smartphones with that (are there)?

 

[Mr Bear]

There are non-smartphones that have wifi.
Might have to do a little research over at gsm arena tho.
I'm pretty sure that the T-mo Nokia Nuron has wi-fi. Could possibly find an unlocked one.
You can also get pretty much any unlocked phone and use it on att without data plan/wifi only.

 

[jackeyjoe]

Several good dumb phones I can think of off the top of my head are the nokia N95/N96 and one of sony's various older phones. They will all fit your needs, and off memory they all have WiFi too. As for the HTC, your venturing into low end smartphone land which isn't a good place to be

 

[Mr Bear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackeyjoe Several good dumb phones I can think of off the top of my head are the nokia N95/N96 and one of sony's various older phones. They will all fit your needs, and off memory they all have WiFi too. As for the HTC, your venturing into low end smartphone land which isn't a good place to be

In the original post, says he prefers qwerty keyboard.

 

[jackeyjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Bear In the original post, says he prefers qwerty keyboard.

N97 or hiptop slide then? Any further and you're going into smart phone territory which defeats the point of asking for a dumb phone...

 

[KOBALT]

Just stay away from the Tilt 2 from HTC. Worst phone ever!

 

[candy_van]

Right well so far that Freestyle thing seems to be the best of the lot...which is pretty much crap

I'm thinking now I should just get an unlocked smartphone on eBay so I could at least get some free wi-fi or something.
Also need to get a new SIM card (mine is from 2003 and still reads Cingular - I think it's time lol).

Anything I should be wary of here?
Only reason I ask is b/c my brother got his G/F a Blackberry Pearl off eBay and somehow they got forced into a data plan regardless as the phone/SIM card auto activated (so he says).

 

[srsparky32]

trust me, dont get a dumbphone. get a smartphone..i got my droid incredible and i will never look back. its just so fun to play with and its so smart

 

[r34p3rex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by candy_van Right well so far that Freestyle thing seems to be the best of the lot...which is pretty much crap I'm thinking now I should just get an unlocked smartphone on eBay so I could at least get some free wi-fi or something. Also need to get a new SIM card (mine is from 2003 and still reads Cingular - I think it's time lol). Anything I should be wary of here? Only reason I ask is b/c my brother got his G/F a Blackberry Pearl off eBay and somehow they got forced into a data plan regardless as the phone/SIM card auto activated (so he says).

Dont' buy any smartphone that AT&T personally sells. Any AT&T branded smartphone will force you onto a data plan

You can take your pick at any unlocked T-Mobile or unbranded GSM phone

 

[candy_van]

Quote:

Originally Posted by r34p3rex Dont' buy any smartphone that AT&T personally sells. Any AT&T branded smartphone will force you onto a data plan You can take your pick at any unlocked T-Mobile or unbranded GSM phone

Well yea I'd want to look for an unlocked one, I'm just curious how the heck my brother managed to alert AT&T they had a blackberry without a data plan
(I have a Curve 8310 I got used and have been under the radar for years).

Wondering if that had to do with the newer SIM card? Again my current one is an acient Cingular one

 

[Mr Bear]

Well, ATT requires data on certain phones. And is based on the phone used with simcard. Most unlocked (non-ATT)/unbranded phones should work.

 

[r34p3rex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by candy_van Well yea I'd want to look for an unlocked one, I'm just curious how the heck my brother managed to alert AT&T they had a blackberry without a data plan (I have a Curve 8310 I got used and have been under the radar for years). Wondering if that had to do with the newer SIM card? Again my current one is an acient Cingular one

They keep a database of all the IMEI numbers (serial number of your phone) that they sell. That's how they can tell you had a blackberry

Did you happen to have a non-AT&T branded curve?

 

[error10]

There's no need to replace the SIM card unless it either fails, or you want a SIM card with more storage space (or you get a handset that needs one of the new micro sized SIM cards). Either way ATT will give you a new SIM card with your same phone number for a few bucks. (I forget the exact charge.)

 

[candy_van]

Quote:

Originally Posted by r34p3rex They keep a database of all the IMEI numbers (serial number of your phone) that they sell. That's how they can tell you had a blackberry Did you happen to have a non-AT&T branded curve?

I have no idea if my brother's GF's BB Pearl was branded or not.
My Curve is branded AT&T on the bottom, but I've never been forced into anything extra (all I have is phone/texting).

Again only thing I can think of is her SIM card was newer and mine is so old it's practically off the grid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by error10 There's no need to replace the SIM card unless it either fails, or you want a SIM card with more storage space (or you get a handset that needs one of the new micro sized SIM cards). Either way ATT will give you a new SIM card with your same phone number for a few bucks. (I forget the exact charge.)

I've been getting some weird issues over the past few months.

A while back my Curve would say there was no SIM card...pulling it out and reseating it would fix it.
Recently I've been getting error messages randomly when trying to place calls, something about an error with radio signal.

I think both are starting to act flaky.

 

[r34p3rex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by error10 There's no need to replace the SIM card unless it either fails, or you want a SIM card with more storage space (or you get a handset that needs one of the new micro sized SIM cards). Either way ATT will give you a new SIM card with your same phone number for a few bucks. (I forget the exact charge.)

You can ask for a replacement SIM, no charge. Just tell them it won't read and they'll replace it, no questions asked

 

[error10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by candy_van A while back my Curve would say there was no SIM card...pulling it out and reseating it would fix it. Recently I've been getting error messages randomly when trying to place calls, something about an error with radio signal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by r34p3rex You can ask for a replacement SIM, no charge. Just tell them it won't read and they'll replace it, no questions asked

Well, if they're free, you may as well just go and get a new one. It won't help if the SIM card is fine and it's the Curve that's the problem, though.

Remember to copy any data off the old SIM that you might want to keep.