Update: finally I settle with a Motorola w205, a simple mobile phone without any unnecessary gimmicks.
I already have a black RAZR, but I don’t feel that it’s my dream phone. So here is a list of requirements for a mobile phone that someday I would like to own (oh, how old fashioned I am!):
1. No camera. Not a single pixel. I don’t need such a built-in camera. I’m not a photographer anyway. And if I need to take pictures, I still have (and love) my digital camera. In case I forgot to bring my camera while witnessing a beautiful moment, I choose to let this moment lives in my mind.
2. No ring tone. I don’t like customizable ring tones. And I prefer to have my phone just vibrates so that I wouldn’t accidentally shock and annoy somebody else due to an incoming call. For alarm purpose, I still have a cheap radio-synchronized clock (with a very annoying alarm, which is important) at my disposal.
3. No music player. I hardly have time to listen to music from a normal MP3 player, let alone from a mobile phone. If I travel, I prefer to read books. Or to think about anything. If I really really need to have some music, the basic USB-memory player is usually sufficient. My music collection is very limited anyway.
4. No radio. Same reason as above.
5. No Bluetooth. At home, the only device which has Bluetooth support is this RAZR. So what’s the point of having it if I could not exchange anything with any other gadgets?
6. No advanced connectivity, either hardware or software. No WAP, GPRS, UMTS or any other cryptic abbreviations that laymen hardly can understand. Except for trying WAP for the first time (back then in 2001) and just out of curiosity, I never touched it anymore. I have no urgent need to always have latest access to any web sites or my e-mails. I’m not a road warrior.
7. No Java. No games. No entertainment stuff. If I really really need to kill time by playing something, I could still practise e.g. chess in my mind (I’m a very bad player, but you get the idea).
8. No PIM applet. I am not a busy manager. My schedule is very simple and I seldom forget anything important. A simple clock and a normal monthly calendar could still be useful, but not more.
9. No color display, if that reduces both the price and the current consumption.
In exchange for the above, I’d expect these:
(a) Decent battery, and thus less often to be charged. Ideally even only once a month. In this modern world, we can have lots of different types of chargers. It would be too hassle to even deal with these chargers every now and then.
(b) Usable interface. No endless items in the menu. No flashing but useless animations. No need to tap some buttons hundred times just to start writing an SMS. No automatic default to T9 or some other text prediction system that can’t be turned off.
© Excellent form factor. Not too small and not a large as a brick. Something physically similar to RAZR is not too bad. I prefer clamshell model because I like it and I think it’s more practical to use.
(d) Can be used to place and receive a call 🙂
With this no-music, no-web, no-fancy-stuff, no-singing-and-dancing requirements, I guess I have to go back to an old model. But which one then? What would you recommend?