Posted by Sharon Taylor on 7/27/07 12:12am
Msg #202145

OT - Cell phones with Verizon - need advice - long message

I had a wonderful older Nokia 5100 cell phone (the rectangular one with pull-up antenna - it's not a flip phone) - simple, quick and easy to use, no bells and whistles, very sturdy.
Sadly I lost it last Friday when it slipped out of my holder, and I didn't realize it until I was back home, about 45 minutes from my signing site. I had stopped at 2 stores in that town, and I went back to both of them, but no one had turned it in nor did anyone say they had found it.
I had a Samsung "backup" flip phone (new in box) Verizon sent me a couple of years ago when I renewed my contract, but when I got it out and tried to charge it, it wouldn't charge. Went to the Verizon store on Saturday morning, and first it seemed the charger was bad, so I bought a new charger plus a holder and an automobile charger, but then it turned out that the battery was bad as well...and of course they had no batteries on hand for it since it's a discontinued model. So much for my "free" phone from them. Grrrr.
Apparently there is a 1-year replacement on such phones, so the best I could get from the rep was a slightly-used Samsung SCH-u540 as long as I bought a $25 battery for it, and at least the accessories I'd just bought would work with that model.
Bad news - the reception is much worse than I had with my Nokia 5100, especially since I live in the boonies. Plus it has so many bells and whistles and features that you just about have to take a semester-long college course to learn how to do the simplest of tasks.
Called Verizon, and the rep sent me a Motorola V325i flip phone, saying it's a discontinued model but I could use my $100 phone credit and it would only cost me $20 for the phone. He claimed it's a great model with excellent reception for people in outlying areas like me.
It arrived today, and I'm charging it now. Went online and read reviews on CNET......and they are not good. I'm probably going to return it as it looks about as complicated as the Samsung, I don't like the battery setup, and the info in the reviews make it sound it's going to be a problem phone.
Soooooo, what I need is my Nokia 5100 back. Failing that, I need a good phone through Verizon that will be easy, dependable and reliable, with excellent reception capabilities. I don't need the bells and whistles. All I want is to be able to make calls, receive calls, hang up, access voice mail, see and return missed/received/sent calls, and add a few contacts that I can call by just pushing the right few buttons. Oh, and reasonable size buttons too, not those dinky ones.
Other than going on eBay and buying a replacement Nokia 5100 (hoping the seller is telling the truth and that it is still a good working phone), what would those of you using Verizon cell phone service recommend as a good phone for my simple needs, and keeping in mind that I live in the country on a plateau surrounded by trees about 6+ miles from the nearest cell phone towers, and that I travel 10 rural mountainous counties for closings?
Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Reply by jba/fl on 7/27/07 12:17am
Msg #202146

Sharon: I'm w/you on this - just plain and simple. I have had luck w/eBay phones from those with good feedback, lots of it too. Had a phone that I loved, way out of date, and was able to find for $10 + s/h $5. Usually w/give guarantee that it works, or replace. Otherwise, I just don't have any further sugg. Good luck.

Reply by ZeeCA on 7/27/07 12:21am
Msg #202147

just do NOT go to circuit city BIG no no n/m

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 7/27/07 12:33am
Msg #202149

Yea, Best Buy and Circuit City are awful

Circuit City has the absolutely worst reviews relative to their ripoff return policies, and Best Buy has horrible customer service as well. I would never buy electronic stuff from either store.
I will either get an acceptable phone through the Verizon store or get one from eBay or maybe find someone who had a Nokia 5100i that they are no longer using and would be willing to sell me. I'm going to stop by the local thrift store tomorow as they always have a bin of old cell phones that have been donated to them. Hopefully they'll have a few like my old one. If so, maybe at least one will still be in good shape. We have a FreeCycle group in my area too, so I'll post on there and see if anyone has one they're no longer using.
In the meantime, if any other mobile notaries here are using Verizon service and have a cell phone from them that you are happy with, I'd love to hear what brand and model it is and what you like and don't like about it.

Reply by ZeeCA on 7/27/07 12:35am
Msg #202150

Re: Yea, Best Buy and Circuit City are awful

they ripped me off over 30% w/ their creative math for a 15% restock fee

try free cycle

Reply by jba/fl on 7/27/07 1:03am
Msg #202160

love freecycle! Have recd 3 ph. from there n/m

Reply by christiSocal on 7/27/07 1:59am
Msg #202164

I love freecycle too. Try asking on it for that type phone.

It's a yahoo group. I've gotten several things from people on there and given away stuff I didn't need anymore. Awesome site!

Reply by MistarellaFL on 7/27/07 10:55am
Msg #202223

Sharon I LOVE my LG 8000

From Verizon. Great reception, too.
It has many features...no GPS though.

Reply by Vince/KS on 7/27/07 6:59am
Msg #202173

Mine is a Motorola V325 also with Verizon. It has more features than I want or use but it does work well. I bought the extended life battery and it works for about 5 to seven days in-network and less than that when out-of-network. Especially good in rural areas. For instance it worked well in remote areas like Yellowstone, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Parks within the last couple of years. Another hiker was surprised to see me using the phone and said that his is only functional for taking pictures in the Parks. It did cost more than the replacement guarantee would pay for, but it has bounced along really well.

Reply by PA_Notary_II on 7/27/07 9:50am
Msg #202192

Re: OT - Cell phones with Verizon

Your reception is heavily dependent on your location, however Verizon is the best I've ever used. The 'free' phone I got with my last sign-up is a Motorola T300 CDMA. It is a very simple non-flip phone that does everything you want while remaining just a phone. Also has a speaker phone feature that really came in handy while doing a purchase loan in a Realtor's office. Had the TC, Realtor, bwr and seller in conversation during the closing. Be careful of those older phones. If they don't have the GPS chip in them, Verizon will refuse to activate them. Happened to me twice. Google Motorola and check this model out.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 7/27/07 11:12am
Msg #202229

Thanks for the recommended models - will check on them

Thanks for letting me know which Verison models you like. I'll be checking them out over the next couple of days both online and in the Verizon store. I really would rather have a "candybar style" phone than a flip phone, but it seems like Verizon (and most other places) push those flip phones.
I just don't need the extras - don't need a camera, don't need GPS, don't need text messaging capability, don't need anything except on, off, ring on, ring off, vibrate on, vibrate off, answer, hang up, check messages, see received/sent/missed calls along with time of calls, and a simple menu to dial or erase those calls......along with excellent reception, of course.
I have to keep the current phone on a window ledge positioned just right in order to get one bar, and even then I missed two calls this morning because the bar went down to none without the phone even being moved. Grrrr. And if I answer it, I have to keep my head right up next to the window pane and move the phone as little as possible, or it will drop the call. I ended up going out on the porch to return the calls, and even there I have to stay still or I'll lose the one bar that's up.
If anyone else can recommend a model, please do. The actual experience of my fellow notaries is the best information I can have when choosing a new one.