Despite being a techie and subsequently loving gadgets I have to admit I find it frustrating choosing a new mobile phone. You see what I want from a mobile phone is:
- To make phone calls.
- To recieve phone calls.
That’s it! Nothing else, I don’t want to “txt msg my m8’s thx”. I don’t want a camera, or mp3 player and I’ve got a good old fashioned paper diary with phone book (it never runs out of battery power at critical times). Ok I’ll admit there’s a few nice to haves in a phone:
- lightweight.
- Small.
- But not so small that I can’t press the buttons without hitting the surrounding ones. Plus I want to be able to read what’s on the button clearly.
- Good battery life.
- Durable.
I’m sure I can’t be alone in this having helped several eldery relatives (and some not so eldery) to setup their phones recently I’m convinced there’s a market for simple, reliable user friendly phones for people like them (and me). Not just that but the disposable income of the eldery is significant so there’s quite possibly a good business opportunity for a mobile network here.
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Absolutely, gimmicks are for little kids to mess around with when they are bored.
Nokia 6310 - selling for £60 + if you can find one, produced in 2001 and still in demand!!!! The manufacturers must hate products like this.
I agree entirely, there must be a huge market for simple and easy to use phones. I would much rather have a phone that makes reliable voice calls, than one that can record video and take photos. I’m not surprised to hear there’s a popular Nokia phone in this category.
Like Ford cars, do you think we could get a Nokia 6310 L, a 6310 LX and a 6310 Ghia, each with added functionality..
Andrew,
I like the idea and as most modern phones are based on standardised operating systems (within each manufacturer) it ought to be easy enough to scale back features for basic models - possible even based on the registration code - much like the new Microsoft Windows Vista does.
Anything from the Nokia 11xx series would suit people who simply want to make and recieve calls perfectly. They are also amazingly cheap on network subsidised pay as you go deals, starting from about £20 usually with £10 airtime thrown in.
Battery life is at least a week if you are using it regularly, a fortnight if you are not.
I managed to buy one for £22.49 with £25 airtime on Virgin Mobile a few months ago (the 1101, but I also have a 1100 kicking around)
So you see, someone’s already doing it and it’s amazingly cheap. Grab one now if you are still looking for a phone.