Whats a good cell phone model?

[_RaT_]

I need a new cell phone and was wondering if there were any suggestions of a particular brand and model. I am with Cingular.

 

[escavader]

Im fond of my KYOCERA KX-16 .It has all the features i want and has the best reception of all the phones my friends have.I had a motor rola for 1o years prior GOOD RELIABLE PHONE.I drowned my first kyocera by putting my atv in the bottom of a raging stream,but i recently replaced it with a used one on ebay and its equally as good.i have us cellular.
I dont use my camera,but a friend told me the newer camera phones are better because they can be down loaded into your computer,vs sending the pics to your carrier who charges a fee to sent it e mail.MINES THE OLDER TYPE.
ALAN

 

[MrJimi]

Thats kinda like asking whats a good tractor? I am with Cingular and I have read all the reviews etc. and we own 2 Sony-Erickson Z520A's and we love them. The battery last forever and the camera will take over 300 pictures and some of my pictures are with cell phone. And the best part, they were free
Jim

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I need a new cell phone and was wondering if there were any suggestions of a particular brand and model. I am with Cingular.

What features do you want? Phone? Modem? Games? Do you have any jurisdictions that require a headset when driving? Etc?

If you live in an area where there are driving & talking restrictions that require hands-free operation, then I'd recommend a phone with bluetooth wireless connection to a headset or a car kit. There are several models that feature that and don't require any physical connection to the phone. I use a Treo 650 with a Parrot car kit, as soon as I get into the car and turn it on, the phone links to the car and if I get/make a call it mutes my car stereo and plays the call over the speakers. It even has voice command to make calls.

Many models allow for email, but if you are a heavy emailer, get a model with a keyboard. That feature limits your choices but there still are several options.

A camera phone is a gimick, but can actually be useful at times. I've used mine several times when I never thought I would need to have a camera with me. The same has occured with the lovely Mrs_Bob who has occasionally used her phone to snap a picture. Even if you don't like gimicks, the feature can come in handy when you least expect it.

 

[Bird]

I liked the idea of the camera, and have on rare occasions used it, I wanted a speaker phone, my wife wanted the Bluetooth wireless gadget, and we, too, are with Cingular, so we have the Motorola V551. It has way more features than we'll ever understand or use, but we like it.

 

[_RaT_]

What features do you want? Phone? Modem? Games? Do you have any jurisdictions that require a headset when driving? Etc?

If you live in an area where there are driving & talking restrictions that require hands-free operation, then I'd recommend a phone with bluetooth wireless connection to a headset or a car kit. There are several models that feature that and don't require any physical connection to the phone. I use a Treo 650 with a Parrot car kit, as soon as I get into the car and turn it on, the phone links to the car and if I get/make a call it mutes my car stereo and plays the call over the speakers. It even has voice command to make calls.

Many models allow for email, but if you are a heavy emailer, get a model with a keyboard. That feature limits your choices but there still are several options.

A camera phone is a gimick, but can actually be useful at times. I've used mine several times when I never thought I would need to have a camera with me. The same has occured with the lovely Mrs_Bob who has occasionally used her phone to snap a picture. Even if you don't like gimicks, the feature can come in handy when you least expect it.

Bob, I have a Motorola Razor right now that I thought I would give to my wife simply because her new job does not have a phone she can use for private use. The phone is fine except that my big hands have a bit of trouble getting the right key. I like the size though. I put the phone in my pocket. I only use the phone, no email, internet and the pictures I take are simply to identify the caller. A simple phone is fine provided I can read the text on each button and can push the individual numbers fairly easily. I do like the idea of bluetooth as I could see doing hands free in the car. I like long standby times, I use about 200 minutes a month so talk times are on the lower end.

 

[LMTC]

I bought a nokia 6256 last Dec. primarily because it was fully bluetooth enabled (a first with verizon...but I had to get the phone at radio shack). Very happy with it. Use a logitech bluetooth earpiece, good clarity & volume. VG reception and range. It will take a memory card (SD I think) and I currently have about a hundred entries w/ info and app. 60 songs on the card.....it will play mp3 files....and there is plenty of space left. Memory in phone is good for a couple hundred phone entries and a few pics. Also has a credible camera. somewhere around $200 when I bought it, and a bargain at that in my opinion.

 

[rich_ncal]

I am with Cingular, along with the rest of my family.

My one of my family is a chronic phone abuser. She tends to often drop the phone in water, leave the phone out in the rain or lose the phone. So I buy her two or three phones each year. The Nokia phones seem to take the abuse well.

The Nokia phones also seem to work well in noisy places for me, like in the car with excessive back ground road noise. Some other bands microphones seem to be very sensitive to road noise and wind.

 

[George2615]

I too am with Cingular. I have had the Motorola V400 camera phone for about 2 yrs. now. It has built in speaker phone as well. I only use it about 75 min. a month and had no problems. I also am looking to upgrade since after 2 yrs. it is all scratched up and now the battery is needing to be charged every other day. I used to get a full week on a charge. I am partial to the Motorola line flip style phone so I may upgrade to a V551 or similar to be able to use the same charger / accessories.
Wife has a newer style flip (don't know the model but not a Motorola) she doesn't like it too well, says its too hard to open and too small. She preferred the V series Motorola phone as well. If I get a newer V series I'm sure she'll want one too.
I also have a Motorola i305 phone for work which is a rugged phone. Covered in a rubber case. Its a durable phone for the work environment but that service is through Nextel. I dont know if Cingular has the same model available.

 

[Bird]

may upgrade to a V551 or similar to be able to use the same charger / accessories

I believe the V400 may be what we had before. Whatever it was, we upgraded to the V551 to get the Bluetooth, and yes, we still use the same charger, both in the house and we have one in each vehicle. The ones in the vehicles are very rarely needed or used.