Ok so I've been putting off getting a new phone because I'm a cheapskate but my current phone has finally started to die, the speaker is rooted and a button or two have started to stop working.

I'd like to just be able to take my current sim out and put it in my new phone, I'm on some old prepaid telstra GSM network and it's all I need because all I do is make calls and text with the occasional mms. I don't use the internet and I've used the email function on my phone probably 4 times in as many years so I don't need the latest 3gs or whatever it is.

I'm after a phone I can buy outright that is unlocked for less than $500, I know you can get cheap phones for $70 but I've read a bunch of cnet reviews & stuff on them and they say the audio quality is pretty crap.

So, I turn to you my faithful peers for your most trusted opinion on phones. I was thinking this but I have no preference for model or make, my first phone was a sony eric, my 2nd was a scrotum roller razr v3 and that's what I'm currently using (and I'm happy with the scrotum roller but its dying).

You can suggest the iphone all you like but I'm not spending $1000 on a phone, $500 is the most I'm willing to spend.

e72

Have you done the math to compare

what your current plan is costing you, plus $500

to

signing up for a new cheap cap with someone and getting a free phone?

Caps / plans don't make sense for really low usage but it just might be cheaper for you.

6700 is fine for you, I'd say. Calls and text don't require a Nokia E72 smartphone.

Just go into a T[life] store or something and get a prepaid Next-G SIM with your number on it and a phone that will work on Next-G. The coverage of Next-G kicks the s*** out of everything.

Go the 6700, but get the black one. The silver/chrome one scratches up far too easily.

IMO, If you're not getting a smart phone it would be silly to spend that much money.

If all you want a phone for is calls/texts and perhaps the ability to take the odd spontaneous photo/mms, there are plenty of phones that will do precisely that for well under $100.

Spending any more than that really only makes sense if you want a smart phone.

I don't use the internet and I've used the email function on my phone probably 4 times in as many years so I don't need the latest 3gs or whatever it is.

I was the same as this pre-iphone. The sony erricsson k750i I used had basic internet functionality and opera mini, but it was utterly worthless even as a way to pass the time when bored on public transport. Couple that with the exoborant data charges before the iPhone hit the market and I elected to have data disabled on my plan.

No way i could turn back now though.

IMO, If you're not getting a smart phone it would be silly to spend that much money.

Definitely, I'd just get the cheapest most reliable phone you can if you don't want smart phone functionality. ie: nokia 1000 styles.

That being said, I don't know how people could live without a smart phone these days!

try the 6600 for $169
i'm getting back into these clam shell type phones.
i've declined a BlackBerry this new job and have an old clam shell and love it.
small and compact for me and i don;t find myself dealing with emails like i used to.
they are all still there on Monday!

If all you want a phone for is calls/texts and perhaps the ability to take the odd spontaneous photo/mms, there are plenty of phones that will do precisely that for well under $100.

Well I was going to get one of the $70 ones until a bunch of cnet reviews and other pages said the speaker on them f***ed up after a few months and the sound quality was crap which is one reason why I'm getting rid of my current phone.

$500 is just the MAXIMUM I'd pay for a decent phone, obviously I'd look at the cheapest one that does what I want but if I have to pay a bit more for one that'll last more than a few months then so be it. My current phone has probably lasted 5 years? I've dropped it, thrown it around, abused the hell out of it and the screen hasn't cracked once during that time. The only thing wrong with it is the speaker is full of iron filings and now one of the buttons has started to fail and the other day the bluetooth thing decided to not work (hands free in my car so I want bluetooth).

Have you done the math to compare

what your current plan is costing you, plus $500

to

signing up for a new cheap cap with someone and getting a free phone?

I'm on prepaid now and that's the way I'd like to keep it as I know 100% there's going to be no extra costs at the end of the month from excess data usage or too many texts etc and I hardly use my phone at all.

6300, i'm livin in the past but love it

I agree smartphones suck, emails can wait till work on monday :P
f*** this afterwork work culture.

Smartphones ftw. I have cheap as hell email convos with certain people instead of using sms.