Durable cell phones?

S

skorgu

Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
58
I have an almost two-year old cellphone, and it's worked tolerably well thus far. It's an LG VX-10, which was the cheapest they had at the time. As you can see, however, I'm not the most delicate person when it comes to my stuff.
cellphone.jpg


Note that the display isn't unreadable because of the picture, it's unreadable because the phone has about a dozen failing or failed vertical LCD lines on the front face. The plastic is cheap and the entire body has come apart several times. I can't entirely blame the phone or LG for this damage, as I'm hardly a model customer, but I would like to know if anyone has any horror stories about their phones so I know what to avoid, or recommendations for what to look for/what phones are worth the price. I don't need my phone to take pictures, play games, display 6.32x10^23 colors, buy me a soda or deliver a bad SUV to wherever I am, I just want it to be a phone, get good reception and battery life, and play nice with my laptop (as a modem and to sync my contacts).

Several people I know have Nokia phones and they seem to survive well, so at this point I'm leaning towards the Nokia 3589i, which is available with Verizon in NYC and has the fewest battery-draining idiot features. I wish Verizon didn't loathe Nokia phones; the 3589i is the only one they offer.

My second point is just to rave about Verizon's cell network, especially here in NYC-area. I'm the only one of my friends who ever gets anything like a signal, and that has saved my bacon numerous times. If only Verizon's phone selection wasn't so pitiful...

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have.
 
They would have to make the perfect phone and then not release it in the States, wouldn't they. Darn them all to heck.
 
It's a shame that someone doesn't make a rubber incased cell phone like those little Motorola "Talk-About" walkie-talkies...Those things will survive anything short of a direct hit from a Tomahawk missile.:D.
 
DEA said:
not all nokia phones are that rugged
over time, the lcd and the reception will go
this is especially true of the smaller models
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I second what DEA said. I've seen a few LCD failures in older Nokias. However, I've noticed that flip-top phones have an even worse track record when it comes to the LCD. They just don't take the abuse as well as a solid chunk of plastic. IMO the phones with no moving parts will always be more durable and less of a deployment hassle (for those tactical ninja phone calls). Ever see a ninja with a folding katana? :).

Dann, there actually was an Ericsson phone like that. It was rubber encased, shock-resistant, and supposedly water resistant (probably not to any great extent though). Ugly as all hell, since it had a 1.5 inch wide flap of rubber coming out the top to encase the antenna. It was orange and rather squat and chunky, a bit like the Motorola Talkabouts.
 
glockman99 said:
It's a shame that someone doesn't make a rubber incased cell phone like those little Motorola "Talk-About" walkie-talkies...Those things will survive anything short of a direct hit from a Tomahawk missile.:D.
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Nextel Motorola i530
 
tonyccw said:
And Nextel is a close second in coverage in the NYC area.
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I switched to Nextel(from Verizon) after the NYC blackout. I currently have the i90, but I'll probably upgrade to the i710 or i730 soon.
 
K Williams said:
I switched to Nextel after the NYC blackout.
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I was sold on Nextels after the Blackout as well. They were the only carrier that was still up and running 4 hours after the Blackout. All the other carriers had either lost power to their towers, or were so congested it was impossible to make a call.
 
Sanyo makes a rubber in-cased phone that is still small and easy to carry, I don't remember the model number but they have them at most Radio Shacks now.
 
They don't build phones tough anymore.
Personally i like nokia phones since they're more user friendly. They used to have the special tough models like the 6250 which is water resistant and is shock resistant.

The toughest phone i have used is the 6310i. It's slim and has outstanding battery life. I still use it but i also use the newer 6230 which is cool in terms of gadgetry but not really that tough.
 
Siemens have a range of phones with rubber gaskets and shock proofing, I've had mone for 4 years now and it still going strong.
 
The only thing I can offer is to stay away from the Motorola V60. I'm on my second one. I droped my first one on the carpet in my living room and broke the antena off. But the worst part is the buttons on the side. If your not careful, you can press a button just by picking up the phone and turn the ringer off. That's very fustrating when your waiting for a call!!! Just as soon as my contract is up, I'm kicking Alltel to the curb. Then me and this POS Motorola V60 are going to take a little trip to the range. Only one of us is coming back. I'm planning on switching to Verizon. Alltel just ain't cutting it anymore.
 
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