Where In the US Can You Get Just a Cell Phone?

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @09:16AM from the no-bell-no-whistle dept.

arakon writes "I am looking around for a cell phone for my technically challenged mother and all she wants is just a phone, and yet there seem to be no carriers in the US that carry a plain cell phone with good reception and battery life. All of them bundle cameras, PDAs, MP3 players, and a kitchen sink with a battery life of 2 hours, all for the low price of $350 or more... Having looked around, the Motorola F3 is exactly what she wants but it doesn't seem to be available in the US. If we order it online will it work on US carriers? Are there any comparable products out there with a similar feature set and price range available for US networks?"

1 of 505 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Re:Get thee to eBay by ex-geek · 2007-07-17 09:59 · Score: 0, Troll

Honestly your best bet is probably to purchase a used GSM phone from eBay. There are quite a few of them out there, so you'll have choices. One that was very popular and manufactured for a while (or that uses a battery that's still in production) would definitely be the best.

Then just take it and get a basic plan at T-Mobile or Cingular (AT&T). Pop in the SIM and go.

Isn't this also possible with the regular american CDMA phones? I'm curious, since as a european, I tend to think of the USA as the place where nobody stops you from driving around in a rusty car with malfunctioning brakes that you bought for 500$ from some shady used car salesman.