Cheap mobile for bike use

[Chutzpah]

Hi all,

My trusty three year old HTC Desire finally met its end on a club run on Sunday. My fault as I didn't stash it away properly.

I barely use my phone nowadays (I've spent £5 in credit in the last six months as I don't use data when out and about, and use instant messaging, social media and VoIP when I'm in a wifi area to keep in touch with people), so I'm going to buy my wife a new phone and have her old one.

However, it did get me thinking that it's probably a good idea to buy a really cheap phone for when I'm on the bike, as the chances of dropping it/getting it wet are high (indeed, the Desire survived several soakings... poor thing was mistreated).

You can pick up a cheap Nokia for a tenner, but does anyone have any recommendations for simple mobiles that are relatively small and therefore ideal for your saddlebag or jersey pocket, and is cheap enough that if you ruin it you just shrug your shoulders and grab another one?

I really only need the thing to make/receive calls and use SMS messaging. I wouldn't use any other features of the phone.

 

[HLaB]

I've never had a problem, touch wood with any of my Nokia's, they're pretty robust and a good size usually. The old 3310 was my favourite lo tech phone.

 

[ColinJ]

It does sound like all you need is a battered old Nokia!

I bet if you put an ad in the 'Wanted' forum then you'd find someone on CycleChat who would send you one for the cost of the postage! (If nobody else offers you a phone, then you could have my old Sagem My X-2 but the battery is buggered and I don't think it is worth the cost of the postage plus a new battery!)

 

[PpPete]

Probably more of a phone than you need but Tesco (at least my local one) selling Motorola Defy Mini (unlocked) for £39
Not as small as the name suggests but scratchproof glass and somewhat waterproof.

 

[roadrash]

if you only want it for calls and texting i have one of these, on t mobile

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=t+...16&start=76&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:83,s:0,i:418
pm me your details if you want it and i will get it in the post.

 

[PaulSecteur]

Have a look at Samsung B2100. They go for reasonable money on ebay.

It has a camera, but its not good. Its a phone for phoning and texting. The battery is about 5 days.

No need to treat it delicately either...



Used but decent ones ebay for about £35

 

[ColinJ]

I think a cheap phone for texts and calls should cost £10 new, not £35 used!

For example ...

 

[DrLex]

Have a look at Samsung B2100. They go for reasonable money on ebay.
[...]
Used but decent ones ebay for about £35

Excellent phones - my wife had one to take riding & it survived multiple drops onto the Tarmac. Only cost £40 new from Tesco some years ago, so delighted to know that they still have value.
Most people have an unwanted cheap mobile somewhere; if you don't get one from a forum member, or a £10 jobbie from a phone store, why not ask colleagues at work?

 

[Globalti]

Walk in to some phone stores and ask for the cheapest phone they've got. I found a phone at Carphone Warehouse for £2.99, which is perfect for cycling. I've only used it once in three years and it's only rung once and when it did, my cycling buddy and I were mystified by the strange trilling noise that seemed to be following behind us. So now I've set it to play the William Patel Overture so we'll know it's the phone.

I could have had the same phone for £0.99 but it had a union jack keyboard and the back was a ghastly pink with a royal wedding monogramme - even I have my standards. The other problem with this phone is that it's so cheap that the buttons are not labelled so I don't know how to work it.

 

[PaulSecteur]

I think a cheap phone for texts and calls should cost £10 new, not £35 used!

For example ...

Its the robustness that costs.
Most people want a cheap phone for emergencies, such as a comming off.

No point having a cheap phone thats broken easily in an accident situation. The b2100 are not indestructable but I think they are worth the extra for when you really need them.

 

[Chutzpah]

Hi all,

Thanks for the pointers so far. I'm on Giff Gaff (a reseller of O2) so need a phone that would work with that. I may take DrLex's suggestion and put a note up at work.

One of my favourite phones that I've ever owned was the Nokia 8210. Nice and small, would be perfect for stashing away in a saddlebag! Can be picked up cheap on eBay, or does anyone know of a "modern" phone of similar size? (Having a camera would be useful if I needed it as the result of an incident)

 

[Globalti]

This is the next generation of my £2.99 phone: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/ALCATEL_OT_228/PPAY?colourCode=SILVER

Link doesn't work - look for Alcatel OT228. Seems robust enough but it's so cheap that it wouldn't matter if you broke it.