So I want to buy an OLD phone, like, vintage. Help?

[injected]

So I've been thinking about it. I'm poor. I can't afford the latest expensive phone. And, I really like the look of old, huge, candy-bar phones.

I've also been reading up on them. I read that as early as 1992 they had digital services like GSM and CDMA, which still work today!

So, I want to get one of these old phones. I want a CDMA phone, so I can take it into Cricket, and they can re-flash it and I can have their service. The only thing is though, I don't know if it'll work that way. They say they can flash any phone that's CDMA, including phones from other networks. But, will it work with such an old phone?

If not, I will have to settle for GSM and go with AT&T or something.

Also, I need texting. I only need calling and texting. Which old phones are compatible with texting?


To sum up, I want an old phone that's texting capable. I would prefer CDMA. But if flashing the phone with Cricket is impossible, then I would go GSM. Which models of really old phones will do calling and texting? Like I said, as OLD as possible. I love old phones. They're so cool.


Thanks

[Ian Brantford]

Good luck -- lots of older phones were much tougher and more reliable than what ships today. The thing is, the best ones are probably well-used and have batteries that are not in good condition. So, be prepared to sift through some that have sticky buttons. You might still have to buy a new battery that costs as much as an entry-level new phone, if such a battery can even be found.

If you don't want to go TOO old, and like to text, the Nokia E61 (and E61i) were well-regarded GSM handsets with full text keyboards. They were Symbian smartphones, but you can just ignore the advanced functions. Just about any older Blackberry would also do the job, and many models worked on CDMA.

[injected]

Well, I want it to be as old as possible, while having the ability to text. I saw the E61, it looks too new. I might as well get a newer phone. I really value the old retro look, it's appealing to me I guess

The Nokia 8110 is the phone I would like to have, but it only works on GSM900 which doesn't work in the US. The 8110 is also on the boundary of being too "new". hehe.

While I love the Brick phones, they're too impractical. I saw this phone on a website that was an old Motorola brick I believe, and they gutted it and put the insides of a newer phone in it. It's great - But, it's $260, and, it's way too big!!!

So, I guess i've got to find this sweet spot between functionality and novelty. But theres sooooo many phones! And not all of them work in the US! So it's hard to sift through all of them.


Sorry for being picky

[terhett]

I always like the Nokia 8290, 8390, or 8890. Those are very small bar phones and I believe all of them have predictive text. If you're looking for something bigger get yourself a Nokia 5190 with some interchangeable faceplates, no predictive text though. A cool phone that's more bulky would be the Nokia 9290. All of the above are GSM and are easily unlockable. Some other GSM phones I would look at are the Motorola V100 (you can only use a headset to talk on this one but it has a QWERTY keyboard), Motorola v60i (clamshell) or the Ericsson R380 World. It might be tough to flash some of the older CDMA phones but I admit I don't know enough about the older CDMA phones to know for sure.

EDIT: Also most of the older GSM phones don't have the 850 band so you may not get the same coverage as you would with a phone that uses 850.

[Mackdad]

Go to thrift stores and look for old phones. I have found old motos, sony's and samsungs for like a 1 dollar or 2.

[injected]

Go to thrift stores and look for old phones. I have found old motos, sony's and samsungs for like a 1 dollar or 2.

Good idea! Theres about 3 thrift stores within a 6-block radius of here, i'll be sure to check that out!


And to the other post above, I will check into those phones! I am not a fan of predictive text, I do not like it. So it's not a problem on those older phones.

I am really geared towards this thrift store idea though. I could find a nice one, then get a charger and (if needed) battery online.

I live right next to Tijuana, and on the border there are many surplus electronics stores that sell EVERYTHING, and for a good price. Perhaps i could find a battery there.

[Ian Brantford]

If you go with AT&T, you might have poor reception if you choose an older GSM phone that has only 1900 MHz, and not 850 MHz. T-Mobile might do better with 1900-only, of which there are tonnes of old-but-good phones out there, including tri-band "world" phones. The Nokia 6310i was a business classic with awesome reception on 1900 MHz, very long battery life, and was one of the last ones with a monochrome screen.

For a crazy-small funky GSM phone, try the Panasonic gd55 or the bug-fixed version, the A100 (if you can find one). It came in a plethora of weird colours and patterns. It had a monochrome screen and was 1900-only. There was a g51u model with colour and 850 MHz, but I don't think that many were made.

[rwalker1]

Good idea! Theres about 3 thrift stores within a 6-block radius of here, i'll be sure to check that out!


And to the other post above, I will check into those phones! I am not a fan of predictive text, I do not like it. So it's not a problem on those older phones.

I am really geared towards this thrift store idea though. I could find a nice one, then get a charger and (if needed) battery online.

I live right next to Tijuana, and on the border there are many surplus electronics stores that sell EVERYTHING, and for a good price. Perhaps i could find a battery there.

I've tried this too. I wanted a huge Gordon Gekko style phone for my office, so I looked around at second-hand stores in the area and on a couple of auction websites.

Every single phone had either a ruined battery, a damaged keypad, or was about to fall apart. I don't doubt you'll be able to find some old phones in good condition, but it's going to be very difficult finding an older phone with a working battery or decent keypad.

[noconfidence]

i'd advise agains't the v60 series of phones. They were nice phones but the damn antennas broke off all the time. I must have spent as much on replacement antennas and antenna bases as i did on the phone over the life of device. Its just a hassle to take the whole phone apart to replace the annoyingly fragile antenna base only to do it again a few months later when that one breaks as well.
I just looked on ebay and there are plenty of parts still available...

[adam917]

Sorry if I'm bumping a thread that should have remained dead, but considering that I have the desire to run old hardware on networks still running just for fun, I guess it makes sense to mention it:

I purchased both a Motorola Select 2000e and a Nokia 2190 recently and am waiting for them to arrive. I intend to use them with some of my roaming SIMs that work fine where I am (a city with plenty of 1900 MHz coverage on both GSM operators, with T-Mobile edging out AT&T obviously). I picked these models as they are some of the oldest, if not the oldest, that can run on 1900 MHz GSM. The oldest GSM 900 phone is the Motorola 1000 Autotelefon. It is said to get very hot when in use and has very low battery life compared to even the next models to début like the Nokia 2110 (also, the 2190 is the 1900 MHz version of the 2110). I am looking to get other retro phones in the future that can still work on present-day networks.

BTW, from what I understand, CDMA hardware that does not have E911 support can not be activated any-more (or can it?).

Anyone know if GSM is likely to be shut down any-time soon (say, by 2015)? I know LTE is supposed to go on newer bands like 2600 & 700 MHz but don't some operators not have this new spectrum and will be forced to 'pre-maturely' shut GSM or even UMTS down to make room for LTE?